This Is Actually Happening

399: What if a hormonal disorder rewrote your identity?

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After decades of stability, a woman’s experience of menopause brings back a lifetime of buried symptoms and reveals an unexpected truth about her id...

398: What if you witnessed the best and the worst of humanity?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After years working as a humanitarian aid worker in war zones and disaster areas around the world, a man is forced to confront the psychological toll ...

397: What if you survived a terrorist attack in Paris?

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After surviving the 2015 ISIS terrorist attacks at a Paris café, a woman begins the painful work of confronting buried childhood trauma and reclaimin...

396: What if you were held captive by child soldiers?

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When a family sailing journey ends in capture by child soldiers during Mozambique’s civil war, a man must protect his children while confronting the...

401: What if your son murdered your daughter?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After overcoming addiction and rebuilding her life around motherhood, a woman's world is shattered when her son kills her daughter, forcing her to gri...

400: What if you found yourself naked, starving and surrounded by cops?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After the sudden death of his father leaves him drowning in guilt, a man unknowingly spirals into a manic break that strips him of his freedom, his re...

399: What if your doctors weren’t allowed to help you?

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After a lifetime of striving for control, a woman is thrust into unimaginable loss when a potentially catastrophic twin pregnancy collides with restri...

398: What if you were a whistleblower against your own father?

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When a son discovers that the man who raised him is capable of unimaginable harm, he is forced to become a whistleblower against his own father, riski...

397: What if you forgave the neo-Nazi who killed your father?

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After a white supremecist killed his father at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, Pardeep Singh Kaleka pairs up with a former neo-Nazi to teach stude...

396: What if your unresolved grief led to a fatal decision?

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After killing a cyclist while driving drunk, a woman confronts the consequences of her actions and begins the long, painful work of rebuilding a life ...

395: What if you were pushed into the path of an oncoming train?

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After surviving a stranger’s shove into the path of a subway train, a man confronts his mortality and viral fame, and finds himself transformed by c...

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

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up Black and queer in the South, a man finds an identity for himself through the arts and establishes a wonderful marriage with children, unti...

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

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From an idyllic childhood in communist Yugoslavia, as a teenager, Mirsad’s world becomes a living nightmare as the Bosnian War brings shelling, tort...

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

01 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A mother struggles to raise her child through a series of chaotic relationships, when one day, as her daughter’s mental illness spirals out of contr...

391: What if you committed a seemingly unforgivable act?

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a traumatic childhood, a young woman spirals into mental illness and in her darkest moment makes an unthinkable decision that will change her fa...

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

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up Muslim in the Middle East, a woman juggles the chaotic expectations of a severely abusive mother with her desire for self-expression; but w...

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

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Struggling to prove himself and find his identity growing up, a man eventually builds a career and begins occasionally helping out a friend with his g...

388: What if you woke up in a tsunami?

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After narrowly surviving the devastating tsunami of 2004, a woman begins an unexpected journey through trauma, illness, and profound spiritual transfo...

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

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a man is falsely accused of attempted murder by the woman he’s spent years trying to save, he’s forced to confront the lifelong patterns of s...

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

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The life of a promising actor takes a devastating turn when she is attacked in her home, sending her into an 18-year fight to reclaim her sense of saf...

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

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a woman is brought to her knees by unimaginable grief, she finds her way forward by transforming her pain into a sanctuary for forgotten dogs.&nb...

384: What if you were run over three times?

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After being run over three times and left pinned beneath a car, a woman emerges into a world she no longer recognizes and must piece together a new id...

383: What if you survived Jeffrey Epstein?

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a young model finally escapes Jeffrey Epstein’s world of coercion, gaslighting and abuse, her battle to reclaim her self-worth becomes a testam...

Listen Now: Against The Odds | Tsunami In Thailand

05 Nov 2025

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...

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

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A humanitarian aid doctor enters Gaza at the height of the conflict, and emerges with a sobering reality that shatters everything he believed about me...

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

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a woman begins waking up to a supernatural entity crawling behind her, she realizes the door she opened as a child was never closed.Today’s epi...

380: What if you had a spontaneous awakening?

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in the notorious commune of Rajneeshpuram, and haunted by abandonment and addiction, a woman’s spontaneous awakening reveals that every w...

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

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A man shaped by cruelty devotes his life to defending the condemned, discovering that real courage lies not in victory, but in standing beside the mos...

378: What if your private nightmare was also theirs?

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A woman, who ignores her instincts, enters a marriage that soon spirals into betrayal and control. When the truth finally comes to light, she must cho...

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

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After losing himself to meth and a double life as a federal informant, a man’s world collapses after one of his buyer’s overdoses, and recovery be...

376: What if a car crash shattered your world?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When a sudden car crash shatters her world, a woman’s grief and struggle to keep living leads her to an unexpected rebirth of love.Today’s episode...

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

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a prominent life filled with passion and adventure ends with the death of her brilliant but volatile husband, a woman journeys to Guatemala to h...

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

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While hunting in the Canadian wilderness, a man accidentally comes between a grizzly bear cub and its mother, and a terrifying fight for his life ensu...

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

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman hungry to explore the world goes on a trip to Tanzania and unexpectedly finds herself caught in an endless cycle of impending doom.Today...

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

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Always feeling she had failed the ideals of her strict Muslim, South Asian family and community, a woman struggles to navigate trauma, shame and self-...

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

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a woman’s Mormon family falls apart following the death of her father, her mother brings her to a Scientology Center where she leaves everythi...

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

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After growing up queer with a complicated father in the 1960s, a man forges his own path, identity and career in the arts, but suddenly, after a routi...

What if you went missing? [Rebroadcast #196]

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A woman who seeks awakening through myriad healing practices finds her ultimate challenge when she goes missing in a Maui forest.Today we bring you th...

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

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Decades after her brother disappeared in the early 1980s, a woman becomes deeply involved in the search for a missing friend.  Today we brin...

What if you ran through the pain? [Rebroadcast #208]

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A man searches for healing after his father, a disgruntled post office worker, falls into a violent downward spiral.Today we bring you the second epis...

What if you entered the belly of the NARCO beast? [Rebroadcast #281]

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Escaping the tumult and abuses of his childhood through music, a young man lands a dream gig at a premiere nightclub in Mexico, but when the party’s...

374: What if a brutal assault saved your life?

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After being violently attacked outside a bar, a man who spent his life motivated by loneliness and rage, begins forging a new path to peace and healin...

373: What if your boyfriend ghosted you for his wedding?

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Still reeling from an abusive relationship and the loss of her mother, a single woman travels to Mexico, plunging into a whirlwind situationship where...

372: What if you were lost on the Pacific Crest Trail?

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman grows up in chaos and instability but finds strength through education and a deep connection to the outdoors—until a harrowing solo tr...

371: What if you survived a catastrophic hurricane?

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Born and raised on a remote Bahamian island, a woman who has weathered countless storms must fight to keep herself and her family alive as the unprece...

370: What if a bullet took your sight but not your vision?

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young father who rose up from the streets to achieve his musical dream is gunned down by a stranger during a trivial altercation, but as he rebuilds...

369: What if you lit yourself on fire?

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Suffering a life of struggle and addiction in the wake of early childhood abuse, a woman desperate for a dramatic change dowses herself in gasoline an...

368: What if you were the only one left to grieve?

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young girl's world shatters when one night, her mother’s stalker, who has threatened to annihilate her family, walks into her home with a loaded g...

367: What if you were imprisoned in the Federal Supermax?

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Witnessing widespread disenfranchisement ignites a young man's radicalization, ultimately landing him in the Federal Supermax prison, where he's confr...

366: What if you infiltrated a doomsday hate militia?

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young man channels his early struggles with anger into a dangerous undercover law enforcement career, facing the shadows of a double life and ultima...

365: What if they believed you staged your own kidnapping? Part 2: Denise

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman is kidnapped, assaulted and released by perpetrators, but a far greater trauma lurks as the powers meant to protect her do not believe a...

364: What if they believed you staged your own kidnapping? Part 1: Aaron

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A privileged young man, on the cusp of reconciling with his true love, is tied up in a home invasion and his girlfriend is kidnapped with her whereabo...

363: What if you dedicated your life to ending human trafficking?

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dedicated to eradicating human trafficking, a purpose-driven young man's world is shattered by a politician's unwarranted lawsuit, destroying his repu...

362: What if you wrote your way out of prison?

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cultivating rage as a solution to inherited trauma, a young man commits murder over a five-dollar dispute, but once in prison, he devotes his life to ...

361: What if your sister’s death was an unsolved mystery?

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Driven by her sister's mysterious death, a woman's life transforms into a struggle for understanding and justice, as the truth remains elusive.Today’...

360: What if you were lost in an Arctic blizzard?

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A man’s elective amputation sets him free to be the adventurer he’s always wanted to be, but the trip of a lifetime to the Canadian Arctic profoun...

359: What if you nearly froze to death?

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A police cadet takes a risky shortcut home one evening, only to find herself trapped and helpless as night falls in a brutal Canadian winter. Tod...

358: What if you were recruited to fight an invisible war?

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young actor, who seeks a greater purpose, is recruited into a clandestine war for humanity's soul, and is forced to confront his desire for belongin...

357: What if you were the girl locked upstairs?

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A vulnerable girl, having already endured abuse from her schizophrenic mother, loses her freedom and innocence when a trusted adult lures her into an ...

356: What if they stole a year of your life?

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Abandoned after his parents’ devastating divorce, a neglected teenage son is committed to a psychiatric facility, whose barbaric practices reveal a ...

355: A World Beyond Revenge: What if you identified the wrong man?

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a brutal assault in the 1980s, a young woman identifies the wrong man as her attacker, but once DNA evidence proves his innocence, they form an ...

354: A World Beyond Revenge: What if your son was killed by a distracted driver?

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A turbulent father-son relationship shatters completely when the son is killed by a distracted driver, and the father is left to confront his own prof...

353: A World Beyond Revenge: What if you were the common denominator?

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After committing acts of extreme violence as a teenager, a man is unable to shed his rage and find healing, until he’s able to face the roots of the...

Restorative Justice in the UK vs the US: A Conversation with Keeva Baxter

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As part of our series, “A World Beyond Revenge” on Restorative Justice, today’s episode features Keeva Baxter. She is the Communications and Cam...

352: A World Beyond Revenge: What if they got the wrong guy?

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After an unsuspecting man is brutally beaten in a surprise attack, he faces crippling anxiety, rage and homelessness for decades until he is able to m...

The Framework of Restorative Justice: A Conversation with Yoana Tchoukleva

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As part of our series, “A World Beyond Revenge” on Restorative Justice, today’s episode features Yoana Tchoukleva. She is an attorney, community...

351: A World Beyond Revenge: What if your brother was murdered in a hate crime?

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A woman’s brother, David, is murdered in a hate crime, and she spirals into a cycle of revenge, resentment, and anger until she meets with the ...

350: What if nothing could tear us apart? Part 2: Daniel

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young man searching for acceptance and purpose falls into a life of crippling addiction and loses his son to CPS and the love of his life to a viole...

349: What if nothing could tear us apart? Part 1: Donna

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman swept up in a whirlwind romance spirals into drug addiction, which takes everything from her, but when a “friend” comes to help her ...

348: What if you survived the Burundian genocide?

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the 1993 mass killing of Tutsis in Burundi, a young man raised in a tight-knit community becomes a target of ethnic cleansing, but as he faces ...

347: What if you were held captive in plain sight?

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A mental health professional in a turbulent marriage makes a fresh start in Hawaii, but after befriending a charming older man she finds herself trapp...

346: What if you risked your freedom to liberate the animals?

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A bullied boy finds companionship in his animal friends, but as he grows up and finds himself trapped in a soulless career, he discovers a new purpose...

345: What if you were a political hostage in Iran?

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After accidentally crossing the border into Iran on a hike with her friend and her partner, a woman is detained and held for over a year in solitary c...

What if you survived a serial killer? [Rebroadcast #259]

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While pregnant and navigating a rocky relationship, a woman coming home from a local fair stops for a soda one night and suddenly faces the brutal ter...

What if you ran the ER five blocks away? [Rebroadcast #202]

31 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On September 11th, 2001 an ER Doctor finds himself in charge of the closest emergency room to the Twin Towers.Today's episode featured Tony Dajer. Ton...

What if nine bullets shattered your dreams? [Rebroadcast #240]

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up with a single mother and a father in jail, a dancer’s life is forever changed when one night, while doing a favor for a friend, two unkno...

344: What if you spent 7 years in a Thai prison?

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After developing a severe heroin addiction as a teenager, a woman winds up incarcerated in Thailand, facing unimaginable conditions.  Today’...

343: What if you were caught in a spiral of violence?

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A young woman, haunted by anxiety, cycles through toxic relationships, culminating in a harrowing witness to a lover's final act. Today’s episo...

342: What if you suffered decades of excessive punishment?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After robbing an undercover police officer, a bright, ambitious kid faces a life sentence in prison, and after enduring 31 years of confinement, uses ...

341: What if you had an unquenchable thirst for danger?

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A man, who grew up seeking danger and adventure, pursues greater and greater risks despite many losses and his own brushes with death.  Toda...

340: What if you kept knocking at death’s door?

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A man, scarred by a troubled childhood, finds comfort in alcoholism, but when he faces a terrifying, violent encounter with two strangers, his addicti...

339: What if someone gave up everything to save you?

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Haunted by the chaos of her family and teenage years, a young woman finally finds refuge and belonging in a solid new group of friends, but after a ca...

338: What if you thought you got away with it?

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up a lonely latchkey kid, a young boy numbs himself with drugs and alcohol, but after one night of binging, a surge of violent rage changes hi...

337: What if they delighted in your misery?

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A self-described geek finds his voice as a sci-fi author and amasses an audience on social media, but after he posts a seemingly innocuous tweet, a ho...

336: What if you escaped a polygamous cult?

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A woman born into the notorious Mormon cult, Church of the Firstborn, grows up in constant fear of their fatal practice of “blood atonement”, but ...

335: What if you were left for dead?

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After rising as a teenage drug dealer in Oklahoma, a man joins a larger operation after meeting his soulmate and shadowy chemist, but as his power gro...

334: What if your parachute didn’t open?

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After coming out and finding self-acceptance, a man faces his greatest physical and emotional struggle yet when a celebratory skydive takes a terrifyi...

333: What if you saw the black mass of death?

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After facing years of abuse, a determined woman dedicates her life to the pursuit of success, becoming a renowned broadcaster, fundraiser and cyclist;...

332: What if the worst was yet to come?

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After healing from a major trauma as a teenager, featured in Episode 111 of this show, our storyteller returns to share a dramatic follow up. In this ...

What if you had to relearn who you are?? [Rebroadcast #111]

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A teenage boy comes of age through an eclectic mentor, but ends up in the arms of a predator.Producer: Whit MissildineSocial Media: Instagra...

331: What if you killed the wrong person?

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in poverty with an absent father, a boy finds family in a gang, but after his best friend is murdered, he unravels into a spiral of rage, v...

330: What if your son was murdered at Sandy Hook?

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An ambitious mother settles with her two sons into the quiet, idyllic life of her dreams, but after losing her son in a massacre that shakes the natio...

What if you were on the 68th floor? [Rebroadcast #203]

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Port Authority employee narrowly escapes from the 68th floor after a plane hits the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, but the most devasta...

What if a horrifying loss led to a grand adventure? [Rebroadcast #179]

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A horrific accident leaves a man severely disabled, but after hitting rock bottom in his recovery a new life opens he could never have imagined T...

What if your cry for help led to an unthinkable tragedy? [Rebroadcast #173]

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A mother faces the ultimate tragedy at the hands of those who are supposed to protect and serve.  Today’s episode featured Taun Hall. To f...

What if you couldn't stop shining? [Rebroadcast #189]

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in a home of abandonment and neglect, a teenager finds a grand, new reality in the rabbit hole of addiction until they can no longer find t...

What if you faced the monster in the mirror? [Rebroadcast #215]

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in the projects and a broken home, a man learns survive on the streets through dealing drugs and brutal violence, when a desperate moment l...

The 82 Percent: Podcast Live Event at Mannys

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is a recording of a live event held at Manny’s in San Francisco on July 24th, 2024. In this live recording of the event, Whit Missildin...

What if they died in your hands? [Rebroadcast #220]

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An obstetrician must find healing and forgiveness after an unexpected tragedy opens old wounds. Producers: Whit Missildine, Jason Blalock&nb...

The 82 Percent: Bonus Conversation with Alex Chen

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special bonus episode, Whit Missildine interviews Alex Chen. Alex Chen is the Founding Director of the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clin...