This Is Actually Happening podcast

This Is Actually Happening

·

  Wondery  

What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do? This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting [wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/] (https://wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/) now.

What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do? This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting [wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/] (https://wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/) now.

 

#307

394: What if a devastating truth only deepened the mystery? [Rebroadcast Ep250]

Growing up Black and queer in the South, a man finds an identity for himself through the a... more

6 hrs Ago

54 MINS

54:56

6 hrs Ago


#306

393: What if you survived the Bosnian genocide? [Rebroadcast Ep277]

From an idyllic childhood in communist Yugoslavia, as a teenager, Mirsad’s world becomes a... more

06 Jan 2026

1 HR 03 MINS

1:03:35

06 Jan 2026


#305

392: What if your daughter committed a seemingly unforgivable act? [Rebroadcast Ep182]

A mother struggles to raise her child through a series of chaotic relationships, when one ... more

01 Jan 2026

46 MINS

46:30

01 Jan 2026


#304

391: What if you committed a seemingly unforgivable act?

After a traumatic childhood, a young woman spirals into mental illness and in her darkest ... more

30 Dec 2025

56 MINS

56:14

30 Dec 2025


#303

390: What if you found the antidote in the venom? [Rebroadcast Ep284]

Growing up Muslim in the Middle East, a woman juggles the chaotic expectations of a severe... more

25 Dec 2025

49 MINS

49:46

25 Dec 2025


#302

389: What if you were crushed by 10000 pounds of stone? [Rebroadcast Ep274]

Struggling to prove himself and find his identity growing up, a man eventually builds a ca... more

23 Dec 2025

48 MINS

48:49

23 Dec 2025


#301

388: What if you woke up in a tsunami?

After narrowly surviving the devastating tsunami of 2004, a woman begins an unexpected jou... more

16 Dec 2025

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:03

16 Dec 2025


#300

387: What if your partner accused you of attempted murder?

When a man is falsely accused of attempted murder by the woman he’s spent years trying to ... more

09 Dec 2025

1 HR 00 MINS

1:00:45

09 Dec 2025


#299

386: What if you woke up with someone's hands around your neck?

The life of a promising actor takes a devastating turn when she is attacked in her home, s... more

02 Dec 2025

55 MINS

55:26

02 Dec 2025


#298

385: What if you found healing through saving abandoned dogs?

When a woman is brought to her knees by unimaginable grief, she finds her way forward by t... more

25 Nov 2025

47 MINS

47:37

25 Nov 2025


#297

384: What if you were run over three times?

After being run over three times and left pinned beneath a car, a woman emerges into a wor... more

18 Nov 2025

49 MINS

49:34

18 Nov 2025


#296

383: What if you survived Jeffrey Epstein?

When a young model finally escapes Jeffrey Epstein’s world of coercion, gaslighting and ab... more

11 Nov 2025

53 MINS

53:03

11 Nov 2025


#295

382: What if you spent four months as a doctor in Gaza?

A humanitarian aid doctor enters Gaza at the height of the conflict, and emerges with a so... more

04 Nov 2025

58 MINS

58:53

04 Nov 2025


#294

381: What if you opened a portal to the world next door?

When a woman begins waking up to a supernatural entity crawling behind her, she realizes t... more

28 Oct 2025

34 MINS

34:32

28 Oct 2025


#293

380: What if you had a spontaneous awakening?

Growing up in the notorious commune of Rajneeshpuram, and haunted by abandonment and addic... more

21 Oct 2025

54 MINS

54:57

21 Oct 2025


#292

379: What if you witnessed your client’s execution?

A man shaped by cruelty devotes his life to defending the condemned, discovering that real... more

14 Oct 2025

53 MINS

53:22

14 Oct 2025


#291

378: What if your private nightmare was also theirs?

A woman, who ignores her instincts, enters a marriage that soon spirals into betrayal and ... more

07 Oct 2025

59 MINS

59:14

07 Oct 2025


#290

377: What if you were a gay, Mormon, drug-dealing, federal informant?

After losing himself to meth and a double life as a federal informant, a man’s world colla... more

30 Sep 2025

1 HR 10 MINS

1:10:10

30 Sep 2025


#289

376: What if a car crash shattered your world?

When a sudden car crash shatters her world, a woman’s grief and struggle to keep living le... more

23 Sep 2025

54 MINS

54:25

23 Sep 2025


#288

375: What if you had to fight your way out of the jungle?

After a prominent life filled with passion and adventure ends with the death of her brilli... more

16 Sep 2025

1 HR 07 MINS

1:07:17

16 Sep 2025


#287

What if you were mauled by a grizzly bear? [Rebroadcast #262]

While hunting in the Canadian wilderness, a man accidentally comes between a grizzly bear ... more

11 Sep 2025

49 MINS

49:59

11 Sep 2025


#286

What if you didn’t sleep for 120 hours? [Rebroadcast #170]

A young woman hungry to explore the world goes on a trip to Tanzania and unexpectedly find... more

09 Sep 2025

55 MINS

55:06

09 Sep 2025


#285

What if you could never be what they wanted? [Rebroadcast #246]

Always feeling she had failed the ideals of her strict Muslim, South Asian family and comm... more

02 Sep 2025

45 MINS

45:53

02 Sep 2025


#284

What if you signed a billion-year contract? [Rebroadcast #243]

After a woman’s Mormon family falls apart following the death of her father, her mother br... more

28 Aug 2025

57 MINS

57:39

28 Aug 2025


#283

What if you woke up and couldn’t move? [Rebroadcast #242]

After growing up queer with a complicated father in the 1960s, a man forges his own path, ... more

26 Aug 2025

56 MINS

56:24

26 Aug 2025


#282

What if you went missing? [Rebroadcast #196]

A woman who seeks awakening through myriad healing practices finds her ultimate challenge ... more

21 Aug 2025

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:40

21 Aug 2025


#281

What if you never stopped searching? [Rebroadcast #195]

Decades after her brother disappeared in the early 1980s, a woman becomes deeply involved ... more

19 Aug 2025

55 MINS

55:06

19 Aug 2025