What I survived

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 pull him out.

What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again.

This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive.

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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 pull him out.

What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again.

This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 pull him out.

What happened next was worse than anything that came before: witness protection, erasure, a life lived in hiding, and the realisation that the man he'd become—the only version of himself that felt real—could never exist again.

This is the story of an undercover operation that succeeded brilliantly and destroyed everything in the process. This is what it costs to survive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 through to the other side.

But surviving is only part of the story.

How do you come back from experiences like these? How do you rebuild, move forward and even thrive after everything you’ve been through?

What does it really take to survive?

What I Survived — Season 3 launches August 26th.

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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.

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Freedom looks good on you

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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 Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot.

Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

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 Arreola’s girlfriend, Ofelia Cortez (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot.

Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After almost 30 years of incarceration Evaristo Salas Jnr is going home.

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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 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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 (formerly Gonzalez), who was there when her partner was shot.

Many TV shows have uncovered horrific truths about the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Join the OMR family and get bonus extras HERE

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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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 the so called 'evidence' in this case, yet Jnr still remains incarcerated.

This is his story, as told by him. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 of the most notorious and brutal correctional facilities in the world. A place so far removed from anything she had ever known that she struggled to find the words to describe it.

This is the story of how a girl from Perth ended up behind bars in a foreign country, what surviving seven years inside a Thai prison actually looks like, and how Holly Deane-Johns found a way not just to endure — but to come back.

What I Survived is available on all major podcast platforms.

get Hollys book here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 of the most notorious and brutal correctional facilities in the world. A place so far removed from anything she had ever known that she struggled to find the words to describe it.

This is the story of how a girl from Perth ended up behind bars in a foreign country, what surviving seven years inside a Thai prison actually looks like, and how Holly Deane-Johns found a way not just to endure — but to come back.

What I Survived is available on all major podcast platforms.

get Hollys book here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 but to act. They broke the window, knotted together bedsheets and curtains, and tried to climb down the outside of the building, Will fell fifty feet.

He broke his back, his pelvis, both wrists and his elbow. He was confined to a wheelchair.

167 people died that night at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Will Pike survived and then came the part nobody tells you about, rebuilding a life, a body and a sense of self when the world that existed before November 26, 2008 is simply gone.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 but to act. They broke the window, knotted together bedsheets and curtains, and tried to climb down the outside of the building, Will fell fifty feet.

He broke his back, his pelvis, both wrists and his elbow. He was confined to a wheelchair.

167 people died that night at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Will Pike survived and then came the part nobody tells you about, rebuilding a life, a body and a sense of self when the world that existed before November 26, 2008 is simply gone.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 but to act. They broke the window, knotted together bedsheets and curtains, and tried to climb down the outside of the building, Will fell fifty feet.

He broke his back, his pelvis, both wrists and his elbow. He was confined to a wheelchair.

167 people died that night at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Will Pike survived and then came the part nobody tells you about, rebuilding a life, a body and a sense of self when the world that existed before November 26, 2008 is simply gone.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Latrache grew up poor in Denmark, joined the French Foreign Legion as a young man, and spent years as a high-end cocaine dealer to Copenhagen's wealthy elite before a prison sentence gave him five and a half years to reconsider his life choices.

What came next nobody could have predicted.

When Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger needed someone to pose as a shady arms dealer willing to negotiate illegal weapons and drug deals with North Korean regime officials, he needed someone who could be utterly convincing in the role. Someone with the background, the nerve, and the complete absence of fear that the job required.

He called Jim.

Under the alias Mr James, Jim travelled to Uganda, Spain, Norway and deep into North Korea itself, meeting with regime officials, sitting across tables from people willing to discuss Scud missiles and methamphetamine factories, all while wearing hidden cameras and knowing that if his cover was blown, people have been killed for considerably less.

The result was The Mole, one of the most extraordinary undercover documentaries ever made. But behind the footage is the story of the man who lived it — what it actually felt like to walk into the world's most dangerous dictatorship wearing a wire, and what it takes to come back out the other side.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Latrache grew up poor in Denmark, joined the French Foreign Legion as a young man, and spent years as a high-end cocaine dealer to Copenhagen's wealthy elite before a prison sentence gave him five and a half years to reconsider his life choices.

What came next nobody could have predicted.

When Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger needed someone to pose as a shady arms dealer willing to negotiate illegal weapons and drug deals with North Korean regime officials, he needed someone who could be utterly convincing in the role. Someone with the background, the nerve, and the complete absence of fear that the job required, he called Jim.

Under the alias Mr James, Jim travelled to Uganda, Spain, Norway and deep into North Korea itself, meeting with regime officials, sitting across tables from people willing to discuss Scud missiles and methamphetamine factories, all while wearing hidden cameras and knowing that if his cover was blown, people have been killed for considerably less.

The result was The Mole, one of the most extraordinary undercover documentaries ever made. But behind the footage is the story of the man who lived it what it actually felt like to walk into the world's most dangerous dictatorship wearing a wire, and what it takes to come out alive.

Jims books can be found here

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On the 19th of August 2007, British Army reservist and SAS trooper Jamie Hull was days away from completing his private pilot's licence when his aircraft engine caught fire during a solo training flight over Florida.

He had 45 seconds to decide how to survive.

With the cockpit engulfed in flames and the plane descending rapidly, Jamie did something that should have been impossible. He climbed out of the burning cockpit, stood on the wing of a plummeting aircraft, and jumped.

The plane exploded sixty feet behind him.

What followed was six months in intensive care, six months in a coma, third degree burns to 60% of his body, over 60 operations, and a 5% chance of survival. And then the longer, quieter battle, rebuilding a life, a body and an identity from the wreckage.

This is not just a story about surviving a plane crash. It is a story about what happens in the years that follow when the world moves on and the hardest fight is still ahead.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 19th of August 2007, British Army reservist and SAS trooper Jamie Hull was days away from completing his private pilot's licence when his aircraft engine caught fire during a solo training flight over Florida, he had 45 seconds to decide how to save his life.

With the cockpit engulfed in flames and the plane descending rapidly, Jamie did something that should have been impossible. He climbed out of the burning cockpit, stood on the wing of a plummeting aircraft, and jumped.

The plane exploded sixty feet behind him.

What followed was six months in intensive care, six months in a coma, third degree burns to 60% of his body, over 60 operations, and a 5% chance of survival. And then the longer, quieter battle rebuilding a life, a body and an identity from the wreckage.

This is not just a story about surviving a plane crash. It is a story about what happens in the years that follow when the world moves on and the hardest fight is still ahead.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Image Credit: Nigel Brennan

Nigels book is avaliable here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half.

Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks.

But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a story about what happens to a human being when everything is stripped away. The fear, the negotiation, the impossible decisions made by families on the other side of the world trying to bring their loved ones home. The moments of dark humour and unexpected humanity in the most inhuman of circumstances. And the daring escape attempt that changed everything.

Then there is the question that haunts every survivor, who do you become on the other side? How do you rebuild a life, a sense of self, a relationship with the world, after 462 days in hell?

In this series Jack Laurence sits down with Nigel Brennan for an extraordinarily candid conversation spanning the months before the kidnapping, the ordeal itself, and the long and difficult road to recovery. It is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever told.

Nigels book is avaliable here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in 1968, the daughter of a former pilot who became a Gurnsey newspaper editor, Annie won a scholarship to a private school and would go on to study at Britain's elite Cambridge University.

In 1990, Annie sat a Foreign Office examination in hopes of becoming a diplomat but instead would receive a rather obscure letter suggesting there might be other careers that would suit her better and that was the start of her recruitment into the infamous MI5, Britain's secret service. She was posted to their counter-subversion department, officially known as 'F2' and almost from day 1 found herself uncomfortable with what was happening behind the scenes. In 1996, she resigned from MI5 in order to help her then partner and MI5 officer David Shayler reveal a series of alleged crimes committed by the agency.

In doing so they had broken the official secrets act, a crime punishable by imprisonment, David and Annie we're now Wanted and being hunted by their former employer.

You can get a copy of Annie's book here

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Born in 1968, the daughter of a former pilot who became a Gurnsey newspaper editor, Annie won a scholarship to a private school and would go on to study at Britain's elite Cambridge University.

In 1990, Annie sat a Foreign Office examination in hopes of becoming a diplomat but instead would receive a rather obscure letter suggesting there might be other careers that would suit her better and that was the start of her recruitment into the infamous MI5, Britain's secret service. She was posted to their counter-subversion department, officially known as 'F2' and almost from day 1 found herself uncomfortable with what was happening behind the scenes. In 1996, she resigned from MI5 in order to help her then partner and MI5 officer David Shayler reveal a series of alleged crimes committed by the agency.

In doing so they had broken the official secrets act, a crime punishable by imprisonment, David and Annie we're now Wanted and being hunted by their former employer.

You can get a copy of Annie's book here

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David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller.

Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne.

David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come?

At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to invest their money in the drug business. With no one that could source it for them David jumped in head first and thus changing the course of his entire life.

David made millions of dollars, before an Australian task force swooped and he would spend 10 years in maximum security prison in Victoria. Once he was out he decided he was done with Australia and left for the UK, with a stop off in Thailand, a decision that would see him arrested again and facing the death penalty.

Just two weeks before he was to be killed by firing squad David did something that no western has ever achieved, he escaped.

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David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller.

Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne.

David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come?

At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to invest their money in the drug business. With no one that could source it for them David jumped in head first and thus changing the course of his entire life.

David made millions of dollars, before an Australian task force swooped and he would spend 10 years in maximum security prison in Victoria. Once he was out he decided he was done with Australia and left for the UK, with a stop off in Thailand, a decision that would see him arrested again and facing the death penalty.

Just two weeks before he was to be killed by firing squad David did something that no western has ever achieved, he escaped.

Get a copy of David's book here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller.

Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne.

David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come?

At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to invest their money in the drug business. With no one that could source it for them David jumped in head first and thus changing the course of his entire life.

David made millions of dollars, before an Australian task force swooped and he would spend 10 years in maximum security prison in Victoria. Once he was out he decided he was done with Australia and left for the UK, with a stop off in Thailand, a decision that would see him arrested again and facing the death penalty.

Just two weeks before he was to be killed by firing squad David did something that no western has ever achieved, he escaped.

Get a copy of David's book here

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Christopher Douglas Emms is wanted for allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Specifically, conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) by working with an American citizen to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DP, Its quite the mouthful.

Chris is a British citizen who, due to his status of being Wanted, now calls Moscow home. He and I spoke via Zoom about the charges brough against and just how on earth he came to be accused of helping North Korea avoid global sanctions. He says this is a situation that has been completely blown out of proportion.

None the less he has had his entire life turned upside down over the last few years, not only can he not return home to the UK for fear of extradition to the United States but he also had all of his UK accounts frozen and has never been able to recoup his money.

This is the story of Christopher Emms.

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Christopher Douglas Emms is wanted for allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Specifically, conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) by working with an American citizen to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DP, Its quite the mouthful.

Chris is a British citizen who, due to his status of being Wanted, now calls Moscow home. He and I spoke via Zoom about the charges brough against and just how on earth he came to be accused of helping North Korea avoid global sanctions. He says this is a situation that has been completely blown out of proportion.

None the less he has had his entire life turned upside down over the last few years, not only can he not return home to the UK for fear of extradition to the United States but he also had all of his UK accounts frozen and has never been able to recoup his money.

This is the story of Christopher Emms.

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Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010.

Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals.

Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on doing good in the world in which he now finds himself.

Once arrested and convicted he was sentenced to over 40 years inside a Panamanian prison where he remains today. While incarcerated Bill has become the prisons Chaplin and holds regular services for the other incarcerated men. He's also written a book about his experiences inside one of the worlds worst and most violent prisons, the link to which is below. Not only has he written a book but he also does a daily audio diary which he posts on youtube and has a Facebook page 'Friends of Brother Bill' that he uses to stay in touch with people on the outside.

But how did Bill become a killer, what happened in his life that would send him down this path? Bill tells me his story from his prison cell in Panama.

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Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010.

Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals.

Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on doing good in the world in which he now finds himself.

Once arrested and convicted he was sentenced to over 40 years inside a Panamanian prison where he remains today. While incarcerated Bill has become the prisons Chaplin and holds regular services for the other incarcerated men. He's also written a book about his experiences inside one of the worlds worst and most violent prisons, the link to which is below. Not only has he written a book but he also does a daily audio diary which he posts on youtube and has a Facebook page 'Friends of Brother Bill' that he uses to stay in touch with people on the outside.

But how did Bill become a killer, what happened in his life that would send him down this path? Bill tells me his story from his prison cell in Panama.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010.

Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals.

Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on doing good in the world in which he now finds himself.

Once arrested and convicted he was sentenced to over 40 years inside a Panamanian prison where he remains today. While incarcerated Bill has become the prisons Chaplin and holds regular services for the other incarcerated men. He's also written a book about his experiences inside one of the worlds worst and most violent prisons, the link to which is below. Not only has he written a book but he also does a daily audio diary which he posts on youtube and has a Facebook page 'Friends of Brother Bill' that he uses to stay in touch with people on the outside.

But how did Bill become a killer, what happened in his life that would send him down this path? Bill tells me his story from his prison cell in Panama.

Bills Book

https://www.amazon.com.au/Long-Live-King-Wild-Bill-ebook/dp/B09P8WNZXP

Life inside Hell

https://www.youtube.com/@lifeinsidehell

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Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010.

Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals.

Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on doing good in the world in which he now finds himself.

Once arrested and convicted he was sentenced to over 40 years inside a Panamanian prison where he remains today. While incarcerated Bill has become the prisons Chaplin and holds regular services for the other incarcerated men. He's also written a book about his experiences inside one of the worlds worst and most violent prisons, the link to which is below. Not only has he written a book but he also does a daily audio diary which he posts on youtube and has a Facebook page 'Friends of Brother Bill' that he uses to stay in touch with people on the outside.

But how did Bill become a killer, what happened in his life that would send him down this path? Bill tells me his story from his prison cell in Panama.

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This is part three of the TikTok fugitive.

I was alerted to Chad's story when I was tagged in his TikTok, the TikTok fugitive. I was intrigued by his story and just had to know more, so after getting InTouch we arranged to sit down for an interview.

Chad is a former high level Microsoft employee and a WANTED man, wanted by the FBI for apparent international kidnapping. He's accused of kidnapping his son and taking him overseas, this was a custody battle like no other. Chad and his former wife separated in early 2000's and so began a lengthy and strained legal battle that would go on for years, until eventually things would take an incredible turn. So out of control would it become that in 2009 Chad would be arrested in Bulgaria by agents acting on an Interpol red noticed sparked by the FBI and placed in a Bulgarian prison where he would have to fight against a US extradition order.

Millions of dollars and countless government resources would be put into trying to get Chad back in to the Us, three failed extraditions and an apparent kidnap attempt but why?

Chad's son, now 27, has always said he was never kidnapped, in fact he's been on many TV shows, as an adult to explain as much, yet Chad is STILL wanted.

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This is part two of the TikTok fugitive.

I was alerted to Chad's story when I was tagged in his TikTok, the TikTok fugitive. I was intrigued by his story and just had to know more, so after getting InTouch we arranged to sit down for an interview.

Chad is a former high level Microsoft employee and a WANTED man, wanted by the FBI for apparent international kidnapping. He's accused of kidnapping his son and taking him overseas, this was a custody battle like no other. Chad and his former wife separated in early 2000's and so began a lengthy and strained legal battle that would go on for years, until eventually things would take an incredible turn. So out of control would it become that in 2009 Chad would be arrested in Bulgaria by agents acting on an Interpol red noticed sparked by the FBI and placed in a Bulgarian prison where he would have to fight against a US extradition order.

Millions of dollars and countless government resources would be put into trying to get Chad back in to the Us, three failed extraditions and an apparent kidnap attempt but why?

Chad's son, now 27, has always said he was never kidnapped, in fact he's been on many TV shows, as an adult to explain as much, yet Chad is STILL wanted.

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First of all, thank you so much for the incredible support of the new series What I Survived. I'm currently working hard on Season 2 with some incredible survival stories on the way.

For those of you who are new to my work, I thought I'd introduce you to another series I created a few years ago. 'Wanted' tells the stories of men and women who are, or who have been, wanted by authorities. From international kidnapping and FBI and Interpol watch lists, to cartel hitmen, MI5 and even a prison escape.

Welcome to wanted!

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This is part one of the TikTok fugitive.

I was alerted to Chad's story when I was tagged in his TikTok, the TikTok fugitive. I was intrigued by his story and just had to know more, so after getting InTouch we arranged to sit down for an interview.

Chad is a former high level Microsoft employee and a WANTED man, wanted by the FBI for apparent international kidnapping. He's accused of kidnapping his son and taking him overseas, this was a custody battle like no other. Chad and his former wife separated in early 2000's and so began a lengthy and strained legal battle that would go on for years, until eventually things would take an incredible turn. So out of control would it become that in 2009 Chad would be arrested in Bulgaria by agents acting on an Interpol red noticed sparked by the FBI and placed in a Bulgarian prison where he would have to fight against a US extradition order.

Millions of dollars and countless government resources would be put into trying to get Chad back in to the Us, three failed extraditions and an apparent kidnap attempt but why?

Chad's son, now 27, has always said he was never kidnapped, in fact he's been on many TV shows, as an adult to explain as much, yet Chad is STILL wanted.

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"Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

After 12 weeks in Taliban captivity, Sean Langan had learned to manage hope. Ransom negotiations were happening—somewhere, with someone—but he had no control over them. Every day brought the possibility of release. Every day also brought the possibility of execution.

This is the final chapter of Sean Langan's survival story: the chaotic last weeks of captivity when negotiations intensified, the psychological toll of not knowing how or when it would end, and the moment he was finally released after three months as a hostage of the Haqqani Network.

But survival doesn't end when you walk free. We explore what happened after: the PTSD, the struggle to reintegrate into normal life, the haunting memories that don't fade. And remarkably, Sean's decision to return to war zones—this time covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Why would someone who survived Taliban captivity go back to conflict? What does captivity teach you about yourself? And can you ever truly leave it behind? Sean Langan answers all of this. From his darkest days in a Taliban prison to the frontlines of Ukraine, this is the complete story of what he survived—and what it cost him.

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”Sean were dead!”

Sean Langan and his fixer are no longer documentary subjects gathering footage. They're captives. Accused of espionage. Held by the Haqqani Network in Pakistan's tribal regions with no guarantee they'll make it out alive.

This is where survival becomes psychological warfare. How do you prove you're not a spy when your captors are already convinced you are? How do you stay sane when every day could be your last? How do you create routine, find humanity, and hold onto hope in a situation designed to break you?

In this episode, Sean describes what captivity does to the brain—how the prefrontal cortex shuts down, how your mind floods with random survival information, how you cling to small rituals just to maintain a sense of control. And most critically, how he learned to bond with the family his captors placed him with—the strange, complicated relationships that form when your survival depends on your ability to connect with the people holding you prisoner.

This is the neuroscience of captivity. The psychology of hope. The brutal reality of spending weeks in the hands of terrorists, never knowing if the next knock on the door is freedom or execution.

This is Part 3 of Sean Langan's survival story: how he endured. How he adapted. How he stayed alive.

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He Went Back to Meet the Taliban. This Time, He Wouldn't Leave.

It's 2008. The War on Terror is in full swing. Pakistan's tribal regions—the lawless frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan—have become one of the most dangerous places on earth for Westerners. And Sean Langan is heading straight into them.

He'd met the Taliban before, years earlier, and walked away. But this time was different. Post-9/11, the stakes were higher. The risks were greater. And the Haqqani Network—one of the most sophisticated and deadly terrorist organizations in the region—was operating with impunity in the very areas Sean wanted to film.

This episode chronicles Sean's return to northern Pakistan and the tribal areas along the Afghanistan border. We follow his journey as he arranges meetings with Taliban contacts, gets picked up by his fixer, and begins to notice something is off. The atmosphere is different. The questions are more pointed. The looks are harder.

He doesn't realize it yet, but he's already being assessed. Already being watched. Already in the initial stages of his kidnapping.

This is Part 2: the moments before everything falls apart. When a documentary filmmaker walks knowingly into danger—and the door closes behind him.

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Kidnapped by the Taliban: How Documentary Filmmaker Sean Langan Was Taken Hostage in Pakistan

British documentary filmmaker Sean Langan had covered war zones for years—Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. He was no stranger to danger. But in 2008, when he set out to make contact with the Haqqani Network in Pakistan's tribal regions, he was walking into something far more dangerous than he realized.

This is the story of how Sean Langan was kidnapped by Taliban militants while trying to film a documentary about one of the world's most feared terrorist organizations. We explore his journey into Pakistan's lawless frontier, the role of fixers in war journalism, the deadly landscape for Western journalists between 2001 and 2008, and the moment everything went wrong.

From Daniel Pearl to Nick Berg to Margaret Hassan—Western journalists, aid workers, and contractors were being kidnapped and executed at an alarming rate. Sean knew the risks. He'd seen the headlines. He'd reported on the stories. And he went anyway.

This is Part 1 of Sean Langan's survival story: his life before his capture, how he became a war journalist and the psychology of taking risks in war zones.

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Barry Hulse was living an ordinary life as a factory worker and father in Salford, Manchester, with one extraordinary passion—his love for Goa, India. He visited the coastal paradise so often that he and his mother pooled their money to buy an apartment there. It was his slice of heaven, thousands of miles from home.

But in 2006, during what should have been a routine trip with a friend, Barry's life was destroyed. That friend—someone he trusted—secretly smuggled over 75,000 diazepam tablets into packages Barry was mailing back to the UK, putting Barry's name on every single parcel. Barry had no idea he'd just become a marked man in India.

Three years later, in November 2009, when Barry returned to Goa, customs officers arrested him at Dabolim Airport. What followed was a nightmare that would consume nearly a decade of his life: three years and eight months on remand in Arthur Road Jail—one of India's most notorious and overcrowded maximum security prisons—before being sentenced to 20 years for a crime he insists he didn't commit.

This is the true story of survival in a foreign justice system where Barry didn't speak the language, didn't understand the laws, and had no way to prove his innocence. Inside Arthur Road's walls, built in the 1920s and criticized for inhuman conditions, Barry was crammed into barracks designed for 80 prisoners but holding over 200. He witnessed violence, corruption, illness, and desperation. He contracted malaria and lost dramatic amounts of weight. He formed unlikely alliances with gangsters for protection. He endured the psychological torture of wearing a prison uniform with yellow stripes—a public mark of his conviction for seven-plus years.

Through it all, Barry maintained his innocence. And somehow, against impossible odds, he survived. From Mumbai to Kolhapur, through multiple prison transfers, court battles, and the crushing isolation of being thousands of miles from home, Barry Hulse documented his journey in his powerful memoir, No Tension—a story of resilience, adaptation, and the unbreakable human spirit.

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On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured.

Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that would unexpectedly save his life.

This is Michael's first-hand account of survival, grief, and the extraordinary choice he made when facing death. Hear the untold story of Pan Am Flight 73 from someone who lived through one of aviation's most violent hijackings.

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On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured.

Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that would unexpectedly save his life.

This is Michael's first-hand account of survival, grief, and the extraordinary choice he made when facing death. Hear the untold story of Pan Am Flight 73 from someone who lived through one of aviation's most violent hijackings.

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On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured.

Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that would unexpectedly save his life.

This is Michael's first-hand account of survival, grief, and the extraordinary choice he made when facing death. Hear the untold story of Pan Am Flight 73 from someone who lived through one of aviation's most violent hijackings.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured.

Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that would unexpectedly save his life.

This is Michael's first-hand account of survival, grief, and the extraordinary choice he made when facing death. Hear the untold story of Pan Am Flight 73 from someone who lived through one of aviation's most violent hijackings.

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What are the odds of surviving a fall from 15,000 feet in the air? It's the equivalent of plummeting from half the height of Mount Everest. The answer should be zero and yet, somehow, Brad lived to tell the story.

At 22 years old, Brad was the kind of person who lit up every room, outgoing, gregarious, full of life. So when his family gave him a belated birthday present of a tandem skydive, it seemed like the perfect thrill for someone who embraced adventure. But what happened next was every skydiver's nightmare.

The main parachute would fail to open properly, then the reserve chute tangled with the first. Brad and his instructor spun violently through the air like rag dolls caught in a vortex, hurtling toward the ground at 80 kilometers per hour with no way to stop. They hit the earth with devastating force.

Against all odds, they both survived. But survival came at a brutal cost. Brad's spine was broken. His neck torn. And the invisible wounds, the severe depression, the PTSD, the psychological trauma of falling through the sky knowing you're about to die, those scars ran even deeper.

This is the story of what happened when Brad's parachutes failed. But more than that, it's the story of what happened after.

Find Brads book here

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is avaliable:

Australia Lifeline: 13 11 14 | lifeline.org.au Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 | beyondblue.org.au Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 | suicidecallbackservice.org.au

New Zealand Lifeline NZ: 0800 543 354 | lifeline.org.nz Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 Need to Talk: Free text or call 1737 | 1737.org.nz

United Kingdom Samaritans: 116 123 | samaritans.org PAPYRUS (under 35s): 0800 068 4141 | papyrus-uk.org Mind: 0300 123 3393 | mind.org.uk

United States 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 | 988lifeline.org Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 | crisistextline.org

For a broader international list covering additional countries, hotpeachpages.net

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In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue.

What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. With no GPS, no modern technology, and no communication with the outside world, the Robertsons were forced to survive on rainwater, raw fish, and turtle blood while drifting through an area of ocean larger than most countries.

This is the true story of one family's fight for survival against impossible odds. How they caught food with their bare hands. How they rationed every drop of water. The unthinkable conversations they had about what they'd be willing to do if rescue never came. And the remarkable resilience that kept them alive when most would have perished.

From the moment the whales struck to their miraculous rescue over a month later, this is the complete account of the Robertson family shipwreck one of the most extraordinary survival stories in maritime history.

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In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue.

What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. With no GPS, no modern technology, and no communication with the outside world, the Robertsons were forced to survive on rainwater, raw fish, and turtle blood while drifting through an area of ocean larger than most countries.

This is the true story of one family's fight for survival against impossible odds. How they caught food with their bare hands. How they rationed every drop of water. The unthinkable conversations they had about what they'd be willing to do if rescue never came. And the remarkable resilience that kept them alive when most would have perished.

From the moment the whales struck to their miraculous rescue over a month later, this is the complete account of the Robertson family shipwreck, one of the most extraordinary survival stories in maritime history told by the man that lived through the experience.

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In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue.

What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. With no GPS, no modern technology, and no communication with the outside world, the Robertsons were forced to survive on rainwater, raw fish, and turtle blood while drifting through an area of ocean larger than most countries.

This is the true story of one family's fight for survival against impossible odds. How they caught food with their bare hands. How they rationed every drop of water. The unthinkable conversations they had about what they'd be willing to do if rescue never came. And the remarkable resilience that kept them alive when most would have perished.

From the moment the whales struck to their miraculous rescue over a month later, this is the complete account of the Robertson family shipwreck one of the most extraordinary survival stories in maritime history.

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What I Survived explores extraordinary true stories of people who lived through the unthinkable. Each episode begins with who these people were before everything changed, then takes listeners inside the moment their lives were pushed to the edge: shipwrecked at sea for weeks, held captive by terrorists, falling 15,000 feet after a parachute failure, held in Indian prison for 10 years and other extreme, life-or-death situations.

Through first-hand accounts, we follow the ordeal as it unfolded, the split-second decisions made under unimaginable pressure, and the sheer will it took to survive. Then comes what happens after: the physical and psychological recovery, and the long process of rebuilding a life forever altered.

From the creator of award-winning podcasts One Minute Remaining and Wanted comes... What I Survived

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