374 episodes
This Is Actually Happening Wondery
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- True Crime
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4.5 • 401 Ratings
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What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do? This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next.
New episodes come out every Tuesday for free. Listen 1-week early and to exclusive past episodes - all ad-free - with Wondery+ or Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.
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What if a masked man appeared at the foot of your bed?
Growing up with a narcissistic father, a woman learns to play small, but one night when an unknown masked man enters her room, she faces the worst night of her life, and emerges on the other side with a new found ferocity.
Today’s episode featured Danielle Leukam. You can learn more about Danielle on her website, danielleleukam.com. And you can find her on Instagram @danielleukam, as well as Twitter and Facebook. You can also learn more about her story in her two memoirs, Four Pounds of Pressure: A Memoir of Rape, Survival, and Taking Back My Power https://amzn.to/3QHxMJW and Another Four Pounds of Pressure: Case Files, Statements, & a Survivor's Redemption https://amzn.to/49I0umr, and lastly, you can check out her novella The First Sister: A Dangerous Bloodline, https://amzn.to/3TjLaXq, as well as the two children’s books she’s authored. Danielle now works full-time at the Mayo Clinic. She is passionate about public speaking, writing, and advocating against sexual violence. And she also the president and founder of a non-profit organization called WISH: We Inspire Survivor Healing. Learn more about WISH on their website WeInspireSurvivorHealing.com
Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva Lipkowitz
Content/Trigger Warnings: rape, violent assault, child endangerment, gun violence, alcoholism, explicit language
Social Media:
Instagram: @actuallyhappening
Twitter: @TIAHPodcast
Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com
Website for Andrew Waits: andrdewwaits.com
Website for Aviva Lipkowitz: avivalipkowitz.com
Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon: patreon.com/happening
Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop.
Transcripts: Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website, thisisactuallyhappening.com
Intro Music: "Illabye" – Tipper
Music Bed: “Re-Entry” – Lee Rosevere
Services
If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) -
Listen Now: The Price of Paradise
When ex-Bunny girl Jayne Gaskin spots the desert island of her dreams for sale online, she decides to risk it all. Trading in their English village home, Jayne and her family relocate to their own private paradise, just off the coast of Nicaragua. And a reality TV crew follows them to film a new show, No Going Back. But soon they all discover that paradise has its secrets. The locals claim the island belongs to them, and it’s been sold illegally. Jayne’s not leaving without a fight. A fight that will soon turn deadly.
Hosted by Alice Levine.
Listen to The Price of Paradise on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/the-price-of-paradise/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. -
What if your life became a movie?
After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the camera on the inside of his family, a new world opens he never thought possible.
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What if you harbored an unrelenting fury?
After losing her entire family at ten years old, a woman’s grief evolves into a self-destructive rage, and as systems of care, punishment and rehabilitation keep failing her, she’s forced to create her own path to healing.
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What if you had to find your own salvation?
Growing up queer, bullied and abused in a heavily religious community, a man tries and to change his sexual orientation through prayer, but as he pieces his life together and heals past harms, tragedy and misfortune raise more questions than answers.
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What if you believed your love could cure him?
Finally finding love and marriage after feeling unworthy of romance, a woman develops symptoms of a mysterious and debilitating illness, but in the roller coaster of recovery, her husband’s mental illness creates a new level of chaos.
Customer Reviews
One of my favourite podcasts
I absolutely love this podcast. The stories are so absorbing and interesting and some have made me cry. Brilliant content, please keep doing what you do!
so depressing
I used to love this podcast because it was a real variety of stories- grizzly bears, drug smuggling etc but now I just feel like it’s SO depressing. Mostly always about abuse and/or death, really have to gear myself up to listen so then it slips down the list of podcasts I actually want to listen to. I totally get that that’s kinda what it’s about but a little bit of variety to break up the sad stuff would be welcome.
Outstanding
The anonymous ex marine.
Wow. Compelling beyond belief, hung on his every word, the longer it went on, the better it got. Articulated in simple raw terms with, in this case, a litany of necessary profanities keeping it real. What a guy. What a podcast. Take 5 stars. If it were possible to award more, I would.
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