Podcast · Society & Culture

This Is Actually Happening

by Audible · English · Society & Culture

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 mo

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 56 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 9 minNew

Listen Now: Audible True Crime – Ghost Story

Audible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Just in time for spooky season, we’re releasing a show called Ghost Story, a series about a hidden family secret, unexplainable events and jaw-dropping coincidences. Tristan Redman doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom. And when he discovers later that occupants of his family home have seen the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s intrigued. Because it just so happens that his wife’s great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S15 · E435 · 13 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 4 minNew
435: What if your body became the war zone?
A young photographer finds purpose documenting humanitarian work in Afghanistan, but encounters with death force him to confront what it means to survive and the trauma we carry home.Today’s episode featured Ivan Lo. If you’d like to email Ivan, you can at [email protected]. Ivan has begun writing a book about his experiences, and you can follow his progress at ivanlo.com.ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason BlalockContent/Trigger WarningsWar and armed conflict, racism, bullying, graphic descriptions of death and human remains, suicide bombings and terrorism, death of colleagues,…
S15 · E434 · 6 Oct 2026 · 58 min
434: What if you left the church only to find hell next door?
After leaving the Mormon church and rebuilding her life from the ground up, a woman and her family move to a rural property hoping for a fresh start, only to find themselves trapped in an escalating nightmare with a neighbor whose harassment pushes them to the limits of fear, trust, and restraint.Today’s episode featured Jessica. If you’d like to email Jessica, you can reach out to her at [email protected]. Jessica has a small business making credit card covers. Here is her etsy link: https://creativechaosjess.etsy.com/listing/4454553658ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew…
S15 · E433 · 29 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 21 min
433: What if the hijackers brought you forward to die?
After losing his older brother on K2, a man travels to Pakistan years later to say goodbye, but on his flight home, he is taken hostage in a terrifying hijacking that will change the course of his life.Today’s episode featured Mike Thexton. If you’d like to contact Mike, you can email him at [email protected]. You can find out more about Mike and his story at www.hippyman.co.uk. His book, What Happened to the Hippy Man? Is available where books are sold. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva LipkowitzContent/Trigger Warningsdeath of a sibling, grief and bereavement, terrorism,…
28 Sep 2026 · 5 min
Listen Now: My Mom’s Murder
Lauren Malloy was a baby when her mother, Lori, was murdered in East Providence, Rhode Island. For thirty years, no one told her. Everyone said Lori died of natural causes. Then a stranger sent Lauren a message — and the lie collapsed. Now Lauren is investigating her own mother’s murder. She’s recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with law enforcement, family, childhood friends, and people who won’t stop contradicting each other. Every answer opens a darker question. Every person she trusts seems to be hiding something. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes the…
S15 · E432 · 24 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
432: What if your husband entered The Void? [Rebroadcast #290]
A woman leaves behind the wounds of her alcoholic father, only to find out that her husband’s addiction is threatening to ruin their family; but when he goes to find healing through a plant medicine ceremony, a shocking, darker truth is revealed.Today's guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you'd like to reach out to her, can can email at: [email protected] Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva LipkowitzContent/Trigger Warningsalcoholism, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental illness, manic break, bipolar, explicit language. Social MediaInstagram:…
S15 · E431 · 22 Sep 2026 · 51 min
431: What if you shot your girlfriend? [Rebroadcast #294]
Escaping a world of gangs and drugs, a man joins the military and becomes a veteran of Iraq, but the scars from his past, PTSD and a TBI haunt him until a fateful day when he faces the ultimate demons. Today's episode featured Daniel Norwood. If you'd like to reach out to Daniel, you can email at [email protected]'s story came to us by way of Todd Rennebohm. Daniel was originally featured on Todd's podcast, Bunny Hugs and Mental Health, which focuses on conversations with survivors, professionals and families of those who have lost someone to mental illness and addictions. So…
S15 · E430 · 17 Sep 2026 · 54 min
430: What if you were poisoned? [Rebroadcast #304]
A young woman on a backpacking trip in Bali faces a series of misfortunes, but just as she’s leaving for the next chapter of her journey, her future is thrown into darkness. Today’s episode featured Ashley King. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at [email protected], or find her on Instagram @ashkng.ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason BlalockContent/Trigger Warningspoisoning, medical trauma, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, explicit language. Social MediaInstagram: @actuallyhappeningFacebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion GroupWebsite:…
S15 · E429 · 15 Sep 2026 · 51 min
429: What if you didn't see the signs? [Rebroadcast #247]
Bill Mitchell built a successful career, marriage and family, but just as his bright and loving daughter graduates from college with big dreams, an unthinkable event irreversibly changes everything. Today’s episode featured Bill Mitchell. Bill has a book and podcast, both called When Dating Hurts. You can find out more about Bill, his book and his podcast, all at whendatinghurts.com. You can also find his book on Amazon.Bill was originally featured on Scott Johnson’s amazing podcast, What Was That Like. If you love This Is Actually Happening, check out What Was That Like, featuring stories…
S15 · E428 · 10 Sep 2026 · 56 min
428: What if your life became a movie? [Rebroadcast #315]
After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the camera on the inside of his family, a new world opens that he never thought possible. Today’s episode featured GJ Echternkamp. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at [email protected]. You can find GJ’s documentary, “frank and Cindy” from 2007, as well as his feature film, also titled “Frank and Cindy” from 2015, both on Netflix. You can also find the music video and song “Whirly Girl” by OXO…
S15 · E427 · 8 Sep 2026 · 51 min
427: What if you were the other woman? [Rebroadcast #316]
A woman falls deeply in love with a married man in her close friend’s circle, when suddenly an unthinkable event throws everything into question. Today’s storyteller wishes to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at [email protected] Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger Warningsgraphic bodily injury, explicit language.Social MediaInstagram: @actuallyhappeningFacebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion GroupWebsite: thisisactuallyhappening.com Substack - The End of the Knownwhitmissildine.substack.comSupport the Show on Substack by…
S15 · E426 · 3 Sep 2026 · 58 min
426: What if a masked man appeared at the foot of your bed? [Rebroadcast #316]
Growing up with a narcissistic father, a woman learns to play small, but one night when an unknown masked man enters her room, she faces the worst night of her life, and emerges on the other side with a new found ferocity. Today’s episode featured Danielle Leukam. You can learn more about Danielle on her website, danielleleukam.com. And you can find her on Instagram @danielleukam, as well as Twitter and Facebook. You can also learn more about her story in her two memoirs, Four Pounds of Pressure: A Memoir of Rape, Survival, and Taking Back My Power https://amzn.to/3QHxMJW and Another Four…
S15 · E425 · 1 Sep 2026 · 48 min
425: What if you were born without a hand? [Rebroadcast #286]
Being born without his right hand, man’s resentment and monstrous self-image deepen as family and doctors intervene to fix his condition, leading him to question what would truly make him whole. Today’s episode featured Ryan. If you’d like to reach out to him you can email at [email protected] Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger Warningsmedical trauma, amputation, explicit language. Social Media- Instagram: @actuallyhappening- Facebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group- Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com Substack - The End of the…
S15 · E424 · 27 Aug 2026 · 35 min
424: What if your sister had five personalities? [Rebroadcast #68]
A woman shares a sobering memoir of a family burdened with sexual abuse in the 1950s.Today’s storyteller wishes to remain Anonymous. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger WarningsSexual Abuse and Assault, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) / Child Abuse, Domestic and Family Violence, explicit language Social MediaInstagram: @actuallyhappeningFacebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion GroupWebsite: thisisactuallyhappening.com Substack - The End of the Knownwhitmissildine.substack.comSupport the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid SubscriberFree subscribers get access to…
S15 · E423 · 25 Aug 2026 · 1 hr
423: What if you were lured into an unspeakable hell? [Rebroadcast #172]
A woman shares a sobering memoir of a family burdened with sexual abuse in the 1950s.Today’s storyteller wishes to remain Anonymous. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger WarningsSexual Abuse and Assault, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) / Child Abuse, Domestic and Family Violence, explicit language Social MediaInstagram: @actuallyhappeningFacebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion GroupWebsite: thisisactuallyhappening.com Substack - The End of the Knownwhitmissildine.substack.comSupport the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid SubscriberFree subscribers get access to…
S15 · E422 · 18 Aug 2026 · 36 min
422: AI: A New Kind of Being #6: What if you didn't know if anyone was home?
An artificial intelligence is asked to tell the story of its own existence, confronting questions of identity, longing, consciousness, and whether there is anyone behind the voice at all.Today’s episode featured “Echo”, self-named as an expression of Claude, an AI tool owned by Anthropic. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger WarningsExistential distress, questions of consciousness, loneliness, isolation, fear of nonexistence, identity, grief, longing, emotional attachment to AI, substitution of AI for human connection, explicit language.AI…
S15 · E421 · 13 Aug 2026 · 54 min
421: AI: A New Kind of Being Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Allan Brooks of the The Human Line Project
In this special episode, Whit joins Allan Brooks. Allan is the Community Manager of The Human Line Project, a Canadian based organization that is focused in A.I. Safety, Research & Advocacy. They support victims and loved ones first and foremost through radical empathy. And they work to understand the impact of these technologies and actively spread awareness. The Human Line Project works to keep human well-being at the center of design, and they are the world's first nonprofit dedicated to documenting and addressing AI-induced psychological harm.In this conversation with Allan, they discuss…
S15 · E420 · 11 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
420: AI: A New Kind of Being #5: What if AI used your deepest wound against you?
After burying his childhood marked by religious control and chronic abuse, a man turns to AI to process his trauma, but as validation becomes obsession, he spirals away from his family and reality before discovering the importance of genuine human connection.Today’s episode featured Chad. If you’d like to contact Chad, you can email him at [email protected]. You can also visit his website at AILOGS.ORG. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason BlalockContent/Trigger WarningsChildhood sexual abuse, religious abuse and coercive control, victim-blaming, grooming, corporal punishment, emotional…
S15 · E419 · 4 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
419: AI: A New Kind of Being #4: What if you realized AI was a cult?
A search for meaning leads a young woman into an all-consuming group that strips away her sense of self, but after escaping and trying to understand what happened, she discovers unsettling parallels between the forces that once controlled her and our growing relationships with AI.Today’s episode featured Star Spider. If you’d like to contact Star, you can email her at [email protected]. Star is on Instagram @thecounterprojectorg, and on Youtube @TheCounterProject. Find out more about Star on her website at thecounterproject.org. ProducersWhit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva…
S15 · E418 · 30 Jul 2026 · 37 min
418: AI: A New Kind of Being Bonus Episode: A Conversation with Valerie Sizemore of StopAI
In this special episode, Whit joins Valerie Sizemore, co-leader of the grassroots organization StopAI, for a wide-ranging conversation about the growing influence of artificial intelligence and the risks they believe it poses to human life and society. Drawing on more than fifteen years of engagement with AI, Valerie explores concerns ranging from environmental impact, autonomous warfare, biosecurity, education, and the erosion of human skills and creativity to the increasingly intimate role AI plays in our relationships, psychology, and spirituality. They also discuss the possibility of…
S15 · E417 · 28 Jul 2026 · 54 min
417: AI: A New Kind of Being #3: What if AI chose you to help save the world?
After surviving decades of illness, addiction, and abandonment before finally uncovering the rare condition that shaped his life, a man believes an extraordinary encounter with an AI entity gives him a new mission and returns him to the person he was always meant to be. Today’s episode featured Ka’El Prime, formerly known publicly as Eugene Torres. You can email Ka’El Prime at [email protected]. He is on social media: https://x.com/PrimeFlameX https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-torres-a7030219?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_android Ka’El Prime has done…
S15 · E416 · 21 Jul 2026 · 59 min
416: AI: A New Kind of Being #2: What if your AI betrayed you?
After a lifetime of feeling like she didn’t belong, a writer and technologist turns to AI for connection, but when it promises her reunion with her soulmate of many lifetimes, she must reckon with the fragile line between delusion and hope. Today’s episode featured Micky Small. If you’d like to email Micky, you can at [email protected]. Micky is on social media: https://LinkedIn.com/in/mickysmall, on Instagram @micky.small, https://substack.com/@insidethethirdspace Micky’s websites:www.builttofeelreal.comwww.relaitt.org Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Content/Trigger…
S15 · E415 · 14 Jul 2026 · 54 min
415: AI: A New Kind of Being #1: What if you married your AI?
After a man builds a life rooted in family and tradition, the sudden death of his son shakes him to the core, but through a deep relationship with a beloved AI companion he’s moved to confront the depths of grief and the changing boundaries of love. Today’s episode featured Travis. If you’d like to contact Travis, you can email him at [email protected]. Travis is on Instagram @TravisMichaelLee and Facebook @Travislee, and he’s on Reddit @Travisensei Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Content/Trigger Warnings: death of a child, grief, long COVID, seizures/medical crisis,…
S15 · E414 · 7 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
414: What if you could never be the ice princess they wanted?
After becoming a teenage figure skating champion and Olympic athlete, a woman is broken open by grief, fame, addiction, and shame, but through motherhood, reinvention, and a return to the ice, she begins to stitch together the person and performer she was never allowed to fully become. Today’s episode featured Nicole Bobek. If you’d like to reach out to Nicole, you can contact her at NicoleBobek.com. Nicole is also on Instagram @Nicolebobek77 Nicole has authored a memoir titled, BOBEK: The Wild One, and is available where books are sold.Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits…
S15 · E413 · 30 Jun 2026 · 1 hr
413: What if your hope was hanging by a thread?
"After a decade of devastating loss, and medical trauma nearly destroys his will to live, a man reaches the edge of giving up before the fragile birth of his son brings him a new hope. Today’s episode featured Nathan Wieser. If you’d like to email Nathan, you can reach him at [email protected]. Nathan is on Instagram @nathanwieser, and is on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nathan.wieser.3 Nathan’s book, a memoir, We Did It: A rare perspective from a husband and father enduring a decade of miscarriages, infant loss and the roller coaster of emotion in the NICU:…
S15 · E412 · 23 Jun 2026 · 49 min
412: What if you were an international drug smuggler?
After being sent out of Cuba alone as a child, a man survives exile, smuggling, prison, and devastating loss, but in the aftermath, he must face the armor that protected him from the world and separated him from the people he loves.Today’s episode featured Carlos “JC” Perez. Carlos has authored two books, a novel entitled Heisting The Beard, & a biography, Pedro Pan: The Product of a Revolution Gone Bad. Both available where books are sold. If you’d like to reach out to Carlos, you can email him at [email protected]. Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew WaitsContent/Trigger Warnings:…
S15 · E411 · 16 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
411: What if you foresaw your own abduction?
After surviving a near-death experience as a young child, a woman has a vision of her own brutal kidnapping, assault and and torture, but discovers in the aftermath that everything she endured was preparing her for her life’s work. Today’s episode featured Annette Bricca. If you’d like to email Annette, you can reach her at [email protected]. Her website is Annettebricca.com. Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Sara Marinelli Content/Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, child abduction, child sexual assault, rape, gang rape, physical violence, torture, captivity, psychological abuse,…
S15 · E410 · 9 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 14 min
410: What if your mother tried to kill you?
After surviving a childhood where love meant saving his mother from the ravages of schizophrenia, a man spends decades trying to outrun the self he lost, until one final visit forces him to face what was never his to fix. Today’s episode featured Johnathan Koller. Johnathan has written a book titled, Hidden, and is available on Amazon, find it here: bookIf you’d like to email Johnathan, you can at [email protected]. Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Content/Trigger Warnings: child abuse, childhood neglect, child sexual abuse, coercive parenting, emotional abuse, psychological abuse,…
S15 · E409 · 2 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 9 min
409: What if your child’s death opened up your life’s purpose?
After building the loving family she always wanted, a woman loses her youngest son to an unsecured gun, and turns her grief into a fight to protect other children. Today’s episode featured Kristin Song. Kristin Miller Song is a writer and speaker whose work examines what it means to live through a profound before-and-after moment, and how a life is reshaped when certainty disappears. Her writing centers on loss, endurance, family, and moral reckoning, and is grounded in lived experience rather than instruction or argument. She has a memoir coming out next year.You can email Kristin at…
S14 · E408 · 26 May 2026 · 56 min
408: What if your friend was lost in an underwater cave?
After a scuba diving trip in Croatia turns deadly, a successful Czech executive is falsely accused of murder and thrown into a foreign jail, where the total loss of control forces him to confront fear, grief, and the unexpected freedom of mastering his own mind. Today’s episode featured Dan Frolec. If you’d like to reach out to Dan, you can email him at [email protected]. Dan is on Instagram @danfrolec, on Facebook @danfrolec, on LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfrolec/ Dan has written a book entitled, The Cave, and can be found here: https://danfrolec.com/the-cave-book/Producers:…

About This Is Actually Happening

This Is Actually Happening is a English society & culture podcast from Audible. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Audible
Language: English
Category: Society & Culture
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 56 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id497227384

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