Against The Odds
Episodes
Encore: Kidnapped in the Desert | Beyond the Green Line | 1
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the fall of 2011, humanitarian aid worker Jessica Buchanan is traveling through the Somali desert when she and a colleague are kidnapped by land pi...
Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | The Female Robinson Crusoe | 3
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lorne Knight has died, and Ada Blackjack finds herself completely alone on Wrangel Island. She’s losing hope she’ll ever see her son Bennett again...
Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | Marooned | 2
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After one year on Wrangel Island, the five members of the expedition are alarmed to realize that the supply ship that was scheduled to relieve them wo...
Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | A Desolate Land | 1
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1921, an expedition set out from Alaska for a remote island high in the Arctic Circle. With them was a 23-year-old Inuit woman named Ada Blackjack,...
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Rediscovering Indy with Filmmaker Sara Vladic | 5
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sara Vladic was 13 when she first heard about USS Indianapolis while watching a World War II documentary with her dad. In just one sentence, the film ...
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Rescued | 4
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By sheer chance, an American bomber pilot on a routine test flight has spotted the survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis, who have been floating in the mid...
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Holding On | 3
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been two days since U.S.S. Indianapolis sank, and the number of survivors is dwindling. They’re being picked off by sharks, and driven insane...
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Troubled Waters | 2
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The nine hundred men who survived the torpedo attack on the U.S.S. Indianapolis are either drifting in the sea, fighting strong currents and swells, o...
USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Abandon Ship | 1
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final weeks of World War II, the Navy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the middle of the Philippine...
Rock Climbers Abducted | Over the Edge with Climber and Author Greg Child | 5
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After being taken hostage by members of the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the lives of four American climbers were never the same. A...
Rock Climbers Abducted | Breaking Free | 4
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the Americans finally act out and decide to fight for their lives, they’re left alone in an inhospitable mountain rage full of rebel militants ...
Rock Climbers Abducted | Fight or Flight | 3
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Days without food or water start to weaken the young climbers as their captors push them further into the mountains and further from civilization. But...
Rock Climbers Abducted | Hostage Situation | 2
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After being kidnapped by rebel militants in a remote region of Kyrgyzstan, four American rock climbers are forced at gunpoint toward the Uzbekistan bo...
Rock Climbers Abducted | Welcome to Paradise | 1
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In August of the year 2000, four American rock climbers set out to explore the majesty of the Pamir Alai Mountain range in Kyrgyzstan. But only a week...
Chilean Mine Collapse | Into the Dark with Héctor Tobar | 5
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the 33 miners emerged to surface after 69 days in the depths of the San José mine, they set the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent...
Chilean Mine Collapse | The Phoenix | 4
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After sixty-nine days trapped underground, finally the drilling operations team has created a bore hole large enough to extract the 33 miners. But thi...
Chilean Mine Collapse | The Breakthrough | 3
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two weeks after the collapse of the San Jose mine in Chile, 33 trapped miners find themselves starving to death, doubting they’ll ever be rescued. T...
Chilean Mine Collapse | No Escape | 2
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After exploring possible escape routes and finding them all blocked, the 33 miners must face the truth: They really are trapped, more than 2,000 feet ...
Chilean Mine Collapse | The Mountain Weeps | 1
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010, the San Jose copper mine in Chile suffers a catastrophic collapse, leaving 33 miners trapped over 2,000 feet underground. As they desperately...
Plane Crash in the Andes | Returning to the Andes with Mountaineer Ricardo Peña | 5
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa braved 36 miles of brutal mountain terrain to escape the Andes and save their teammates. But this isn’t where the ...
Plane Crash in the Andes | The Climb | 4
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a final attempt to escape the Andes, Nando and Roberto have headed east to pursue safety. The men face a difficult journey as the weather takes a t...
Plane Crash in the Andes | The Choice | 3
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After escaping an avalanche that killed eight more passengers, the survivors of the Fairchild are starting to lose all hope. Many in the group are on ...
Plane Crash in the Andes | The Cutting | 2
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The remaining survivors of the Fairchild crash are starting to lose hope that rescuers will arrive after ten days of inactivity. Nando Parrado and Rob...
Plane Crash in the Andes | The Crash | 1
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In October 1972, an Uruguayan rugby team traveling to their next match in Santiago, Chile, crashes into the Andes Mountains after their plane strikes ...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Interview with Chris Turney | 6
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Turney is an Earth scientist studying the causes and impacts of environmental and climate change with a focus on the Antarctic. Turney shares ta...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Hope | 5
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a final attempt to get his men home, Ernest Shackleton and his crew have to get through the Drake Passage, the most dangerous stretch of ocean in t...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Perseverance | 4
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ernest Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men were finally able to set sail for Elephant Island, but now the boats have been separated. They’ll...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Determination | 3
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ernest Shackleton and his men are trapped on an ice floe off the coast of Antarctica. Tensions are running high, and rations are dwindling quickly. Sh...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Patience | 2
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men witness their ship, the Endurance, take a devastating blow against the unforgiving ice off the ...
Endurance: Surviving Antarctica | Obsession | 1
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In March 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton works to put together a crew of twenty-eight men to sail from England to Antarctica. It was a new continent untou...
Shipwreck on the Sahara | Interview with Dean King | 5
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Dean King traveled across the world to retrace Captain Riley’s footsteps through the Sahara Desert. His book, Skeletons on the Zahara: A True...
Shipwreck on the Sahara | The Letter | 4
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sidi Hamet’s family is hundreds of miles away, far across the Sahara. Hamet yearns for his wife but must pay off his debts to his father-in-law befo...
Shipwreck on the Sahara | Honor Among Thieves | 3
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Captain Riley and his crew are divided amongst warring nomadic tribes, Riley needs to devise a plan to find all of his men. Only then can he conv...
Shipwreck on the Sahara | Thirst | 2
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Captain James Riley’s ship is marooned off the coast of Northwest Africa, where the Sahara meets the sea. The vessel is useless, and his crew’s on...
Shipwreck on the Sahara | The Storm | 1
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In August 1815, a ship called The Commerce runs aground off the coast of Northwest Africa. Onboard are eleven crew members who are merchant traders wh...
K2: The Savage Mountain | Fredrik Sträng, Pt. 2: On Surviving K2 | 5
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On August 1, 2008 Mountaineer Fredrik Sträng was on K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. He’d reached Camp 4 at 26,000 feet and was ready for ...
K2: The Savage Mountain |Fredrik Sträng, Pt. 1: On Climbing the World’s Highest Peaks | 4
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mountaineer Fredrik Sträng survived the deadly turn of events on K2 in 2008. In part 1 of this 2-part interview, Sträng talks about the challenges o...
K2: The Savage Mountain | The Final Descent | 3
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Unforeseen conditions have put the world's strongest climbers to the test as they battle their way down the mountain. Before it’s over, the savage m...
K2: The Savage Mountain | The Death Zone | 2
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
An international group of climbers are close to summiting one of the world’s tallest, and most dangerous, mountains. Their goal was to reach th...
K2: The Savage Mountain | Summit Fever | 1
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 2008, mountaineers from eight different countries gather at the foot of the world’s second tallest mountain, K2. All of them h...
John McCain: Prisoner of War | Greater than Himself | 4
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After five years in captivity, John McCain and his fellow POWs try to keep their spirits up by finding new ways to hold on. When news comes that ...
John McCain: Prisoner of War | Interview with Doug McCain and Everett Alvarez | 5
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
John McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years. John's son, Doug McCain, and the longest-held prisoner of war in Hanoi H...
John McCain: Prisoner of War | Regrets | 3
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
John McCain’s body and mind are starting to deteriorate after months of imprisonment. To survive, he’ll need to make a tough choice. Mea...
John McCain: Prisoner of War | The Crown Prince | 2
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lieutenant Commander John McCain’s plane was shot down on a bombing mission and he survived the crash. He was taken in as a prisoner of war and hous...
John McCain: Prisoner of War | When Your Luck Runs Out | 1
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's 1967, and American Naval Pilot John McCain is on a bombing mission in the midst of the Vietnam War when he’s shot down by the enemy. After...
Kidnapped in the Desert | Interview with Jessica Buchanan | 4
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped by Somali land pirates, and spent 93 days in captivity before her daring rescue by SEAL team six. Jessica talks to Agai...
Kidnapped in the Desert | Zero Hour | 3
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After months in captivity, Jessica Buchanan is battling a kidney infection, and her body’s on the verge of collapse. The negotiations for her releas...
Kidnapped in the Desert | Big Money | 2
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As days and then weeks go by, Jessica tries to adjust to life as a hostage in the Somali desert, but she’s sick and her body is failing. Back in Nai...
Kidnapped in the Desert | Beyond the Green Line | 1
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the fall of 2011, humanitarian aid worker Jessica Buchanan is traveling through the Somali desert when she and a colleague are kidnapped by land pi...
Thai Cave Rescue | Meet the Hosts | 6
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The two hosts of Against the Odds, Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol, interview each other on their lives as adventurers in this special episode. They di...
Thai Cave Rescue | Interview with Rick Stanton | 5
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Stanton was one of the lead divers on the mission to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from an underwater cave in Thailand. Rick talks t...
Thai Cave Rescue | Chamber Nine | 4
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been fourteen days since 12 boys and their coach went missing inside the Tham Luang. The Thai government gives the greenlight to a highly compl...
Thai Cave Rescue | Risk | 3
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rescuers locate the 12 boys and their soccer coach deep inside the Tham Luang, but now they have another problem. How will they get them all out?...
Thai Cave Rescue | Chaos | 2
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The boys on the soccer team struggle to stay alive inside the cave. Expert divers from around the world arrive in Thailand to find a media circus and ...
Thai Cave Rescue | Lost | 1
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, twelve young soccer players and their coach are exploring a six-mile caving system in Thailand when they are trapped inside by heavy rains. L...
Introducing Against The Odds
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds. In this immersive s...