What I Survived is a true survival podcast featuring extraordinary first-hand stories from people who survived kidnapping, hostage situations, disasters, accidents and other extreme life-or-death ordeals. Each story takes you back to who these people were before everything changed, then insid
In 2009, Australian security contractor Rob Langdon shot and killed an Afghan colleague during a confrontation in Afghanistan. Rob says the man pulled a pistol and that he fired first in self-defence. What happened next would cost Rob seven years of his life. In Part 2 of Rob's story, he takes Jack inside the moment that changed everything — the shooting, the chaotic hours that followed and his attempt to get out of Afghanistan. He made it as far as Kabul International Airport. With a flight to Dubai waiting, Rob was just minutes away from leaving the country when he was arrested. Rob was…
Former Australian soldier Rob Langdon went to Afghanistan as a private security contractor. He would eventually be convicted of murder, sentenced to death and spend seven years inside one of Afghanistan's most notorious prisons. But before the prison, the death sentence and the fight to stay alive, Rob had spent much of his adult life as a soldier. In Part 1 of his story, Rob takes Jack back through his early life and the road that led him into the Australian Army. He talks about his years in the military, the experiences that shaped him and eventually his decision to leave and enter the…
After surviving malaria, starvation and near death in the Amazon, Benedict Allen was left with a question he couldn't shake: why had he survived? His search for an answer would take him deep into Papua New Guinea and into a brutal initiation ceremony designed to transform young men into “crocodile men.” In Part 3 of Lost in the Amazon , Benedict explains why simply returning home wasn't enough. Surviving had changed him, and he felt compelled to understand what it meant to be tested, transformed and pushed to the limits of human endurance. That search took him to live among tribal people in…
Lost and alone in the Amazon, British explorer Benedict Allen contracted two forms of malaria, including a potentially deadly strain. Starving, feverish and running out of options, the 22-year-old faced a decision that would stay with him for decades. In Part 2 of Lost in the Amazon , Benedict takes us deeper into his fight for survival as his physical condition deteriorates and the reality of his situation begins to set in. With little food and his body being ravaged by malaria, Benedict was forced to confront an unimaginable choice: to survive, he would eat the dog that had become his…
At just 22 years old, British explorer Benedict Allen set out to travel 600 miles through the remote northeast Amazon. It was supposed to be an expedition. Instead, it became a fight for survival. Gold miners hunted him. His canoe capsized, swallowing his supplies. Malaria burned through his body — two types of it, including one that could kill him in 24 hours. Starving, feverish and alone, Benedict made a choice that would haunt him for decades. He eventually walked out of the jungle. But something inside him forced him to confront his near-death experience and a question he needed to…
For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to…
For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to…
For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to…
For three years, Giovanni Rocco lived two lives. By day, he was a man with a wife and children. By night, he was Giovanni Gatto—a mob associate climbing the ranks of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of America's most powerful organised crime organisations. He was brilliant at it. Too brilliant. So brilliant that his captain, Charlie Stango, loved him like a son. So brilliant that he was proposed for membership—to become a made man. But there was a price. Everything he built was a lie. Everyone he loved was in danger. And when Charlie Stango asked him to arrange a murder, the FBI had to…
Season 3 is almost here! This season, we have an incredible line-up of guests, from an FBI agent who went undercover inside one of New Jersey’s most notorious Mafia crime families, a British explorer who found himself hopelessly lost in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, the Amazon, and a lady who was kidnapped by pirates and told she would die unless her ransom was paid. Plus many more incredibel stories. Our guests have all survived experiences unlike anything most of us will ever have to face. They’ve been pushed to their limits, endured the unimaginable and somehow made it…
I don't think a week goes by when someone doesn't mention to me the name Evaristo Salas Jnr. Evaristo's story has touched so many people, it's had us in tears of sadness and of joy and today is most certainly the latter as I sit down with Jnr after almost 8 months of freedom to hear how he's going and what's next for the man who lost 27 years of his life because of a lie. Become a member of the OMR family and start enjoying the benefits NOW . SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After 27 years incarcerated for a murder he always maintained he was innocent of, finally the courts agree! Evaristo Salas Jnr is a free man! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and…
After 27 years incarcerated for a murder he always maintained he was innocent of, finally the courts agree! Evaristo Salas Jnr is a free man! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and…
After almost 30 years of incarceration Evaristo Salas Jnr is going home. SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Recently I caught up with Jnr Salas after a massive decision was recently made in the court of appeals and it seems some in this case will be forced to answer some seriously tough questions. Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the…
Recently I caught up with Jnr after I got word that he had a recent hearing that was the most positive yet! Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Evaristo Salas was accused of firing two shots into Jose Arreola’s head in Sunnyside in November 1995. He was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder three days after his 16th birthday and was sentenced to nearly 33 years in prison. The gun used in the murder was never recovered and there was no physical evidence linking Jnr to the killing. His conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant, Bill Bruhn, and Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot. Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about…
Holly Deane-Johns grew up in a comfortable suburb of Perth, Western Australia. But beneath the surface of a privileged childhood lay a darkness that would shape the entire course of her life. When her mother became addicted to heroin, the drug found its way into their home — and into Holly's life — before she was old enough to fully understand what it would cost her. By her mid-twenties, Holly found herself in Bangkok facing a sentence that would take her breath away. Caught attempting to traffic heroin out of Thailand, she was sentenced to thirty one years in Lard Yao Women's Prison — one…
Holly Deane-Johns grew up in a comfortable suburb of Perth, Western Australia. But beneath the surface of a privileged childhood lay a darkness that would shape the entire course of her life. When her mother became addicted to heroin, the drug found its way into their home — and into Holly's life — before she was old enough to fully understand what it would cost her. By her mid-twenties, Holly found herself in Bangkok facing a sentence that would take her breath away. Caught attempting to traffic heroin out of Thailand, she was sentenced to thirty one years in Lard Yao Women's Prison — one…
On the evening of November 26, 2008, British freelance filmmaker Will Pike and his girlfriend checked into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai for a one-night stopover on their way to Goa. It was meant to be a treat. A single night in one of the world's most famous hotels. By midnight, terrorists were moving through the corridors executing guests. Will and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in their room as the siege unfolded around them. They could hear the gunfire, they heard people being executed in the hallway outside their door. When smoke began filling the room they had no choice…
On the evening of November 26, 2008, British freelance filmmaker Will Pike and his girlfriend checked into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai for a one-night stopover on their way to Goa. It was meant to be a treat. A single night in one of the world's most famous hotels. By midnight, terrorists were moving through the corridors executing guests. Will and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in their room as the siege unfolded around them. They could hear the gunfire, they heard people being executed in the hallway outside their door. When smoke began filling the room they had no choice…
On the evening of November 26, 2008, British freelance filmmaker Will Pike and his girlfriend checked into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai for a one-night stopover on their way to Goa. It was meant to be a treat. A single night in one of the world's most famous hotels. By midnight, terrorists were moving through the corridors executing guests. Will and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in their room as the siege unfolded around them. They could hear the gunfire, they heard people being executed in the hallway outside their door. When smoke began filling the room they had no choice…
About What I survived
What I Survived is a true survival podcast featuring extraordinary first-hand stories from people who survived kidnapping, hostage situations, disasters, accidents and other extreme life-or-death ordeals. Each story takes you back to who these people were before everything changed, then insid
What I survived is a English society & culture podcast from Jack Laurence. 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.
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
