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Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds. In this immersive series from Wondery, host-adventurers Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol will share thrilling stories of survival. From the daring rescue of a soccer team trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand, to a woman taken hostage by Somali pirates, these stories made headlines around the world. AGAINST THE ODDS will make you feel as though you’re living these e ...
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After an explosion rocks the Piper Alpha oil rig, a huge, smoky fire begins to spread, taking down the rig’s power supply and communications equipment. Workers hurry to their evacuation stations, and a state-of-the-art rescue ship, the Tharos, moves into position to battle the blaze and get men off the platform. But soon, it becomes clear that this…
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Join NFL Insider and social media breakout star, Annie Agar, as she tackles the world of fantasy football, odds, props and parlays in “The Offensive Line.” Each week, Annie will break down the NFL’s juiciest and trendiest matchups and drama in her signature quick hitting style, while roasting players and teams (sorry in advance Cowboys fans), dishi…
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On July 6th, 1988, workers clock in to a typical night shift aboard Piper Alpha, the world’s largest offshore oil rig, in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. Then, around 10 p.m., a series of mistakes leads to a gas leak and explosion. Soon, 226 men find themselves trapped on the burning platform, in what will become one of the deadliest man-m…
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On a warm day in April 2017, Outside Magazine writer Kyle Dickman was hiking near Yosemite National Park with his family and infant son. But in an instant, the idyllic day turned south. Kyle felt a quick whap above his ankle, looked down and saw a diamond pattern in the grass. He'd been bitten by a rattlesnake. On this special episode of Against th…
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When Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Mount Everest in 1953, high-altitude climbing was only done by the most elite mountaineers. But that changed in the early 1990s, when veteran climbers began leading amateur clients up the world’s tallest mountain for a hefty fee. Today, journalist Will Cockrell joins Host Cassie De Pecol to talk about…
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Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass…
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After a severe blizzard engulfs Mount Everest on May 10th, fifteen people are left stranded on the mountain, unable to find their way back to camp, or too weak to even try. In the early hours of May 11th, rescue efforts are launched to save people before they succumb to altitude sickness or hypothermia. Climbers, and friends down below, must face t…
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As the climbers descend from the summit, it becomes a race against time to get back to camp before dark. But a severe blizzard slows their progress to a crawl, and altitude sickness starts to take hold. Some climbers get stuck in the upper reaches of the mountain, while others get lost not far from camp. As darkness falls, the stranded face the ter…
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As the climbers make their final push for the summit, time is of the essence. They must make it to the top before 2 p.m. to ensure they get back to camp before dark. But due to delays, most of them don’t reach the summit until late in the afternoon, and by then, everyone is exhausted and oxygen is running low. Worst of all, a severe storm is moving…
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In May 1996, two expert mountaineers and their clients set off to climb the world’s tallest peak — Mount Everest. Many of the clients have no high altitude experience and have paid upwards of $65,000 to be guided up the mountain by competing companies: Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness. As the two expeditions prepare to make their summit a…
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When author and historian Hampton Sides was deep into researching another polar expedition, he stumbled upon the tragic journey of USS Jeannette. He couldn’t believe Captain De Long’s voyage wasn’t common knowledge. The 33-man crew endured extreme hardship, and only 13 survived what Sides calls “the American Shackleton story.” Hampton Sides joins h…
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After months of trekking across the polar ice, the crew of USS Jeannette finally reach open water. Now, they must endure a harrowing ocean crossing in three small, leaky boats to reach Siberia, where they hope to make contact with the native residents, and beg for food and shelter. But finding help in the frozen, maze-like swamps of Siberia’s Lena …
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It’s June 1881, and USS Jeannette has been crushed between ice floes and sunk to the bottom of the Arctic Sea. The crew now find themselves stranded on the ice, a thousand miles from Siberia, the nearest inhabited land. If they’re ever going to reach it, they’ll have to endure a brutal march over an inhospitable icescape. Listen to Against The Odds…
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Trapped in polar pack ice, the crew of USS Jeannette settle in for a long, dark winter. As the temperature drops and the ice floes press against her sides, the ship risks suffering grave damage. Morale drops, as the sailors begin to wonder if they’ll ever return safely from the endless expanse of ice. Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App o…
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It’s September 1879 and the crew of USS Jeannette encounters pack ice that’s thicker than they expected, due to unseasonably cold weather. Captain George De Long is at a loss for how to push through it until the ship’s engineer George Melville proposes an ingenuous solution. But as the arctic winter looms, De Long isn’t sure how long Melville’s pla…
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In July 1879, 33 men set sail aboard USS Jeannette on a two-year mission to become the first humans to reach the North Pole. Though many other expeditions have failed, Captain George De Long is confident that a warm northbound current will give them enough momentum to escape getting stuck in the treacherous arctic pack ice. But not long after the j…
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After a week of unrelenting disasters—and with Tokyo itself now under threat—the managers of the Fukushima nuclear power plant are forced to evacuate all but the most essential staff. But with the help of an elite firefighting force called the Hyper Rescue Squad, the remaining few rally for one last battle to avert a catastrophic meltdown. Listen t…
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Now contending with multiple damaged reactors, engineers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant hatch a series of increasingly desperate plans to prevent a total meltdown. But several explosions and the loss of vital cooling pumps bring the entire plant to the brink of chaos. As the crisis worsens, it becomes clear that the very future of Japan is at…
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Crippled by a tsunami of unprecedented scale, one of the reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is in danger of melting down. To save it, workers must do the unthinkable: Vent radioactive steam into the atmosphere, to avoid a larger catastrophe as explosive gasses build up inside the reactor core. And they must risk exposing them…
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In March 2011, one of the largest earthquakes in history struck eastern Japan, followed by a massive tsunami. This one-two punch then caused a third disaster—a total loss of power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Employees at the plant found themselves scrambling to cool down the reactors, and avoid a deadly meltdown. Listen to Against…
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On this special episode of Against the Odds, wildlife biologist and host of the podcast Tooth & Claw: True Stories of Animal Attacks, Wes Larson, joins Mike Corey to share some of the wildest animal encounters he’s come across, and give tips on what to do if you come across these creatures in the wild. From grizzly bears to great whites, rattlers, …
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Atlanta-based journalist Steve Fennessy began researching Gary Steven Krist’s past for an article he was writing for Atlanta Magazine back in 2006. The assignment took him on a deep dive into Krist’s life, from his upbringing through the aftermath of one of the most notorious crimes of the 1960s: kidnapping and burying Barbara Jane Mackle alive. To…
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It’s been days since Barbara Mackle has been buried alive in the cold Georgia clay. She has no idea how long the battery that keeps fresh air circulating into her wooden capsule will last. She's beginning to despair that she'll ever be rescued. Meanwhile, in Florida, after the first ransom drop is bungled, kidnapper Gary Steven Krist makes one last…
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Barbara’s father, Robert Mackle, has gathered $500,000 in 20-dollar bills into a suitcase. Then, following the kidnappers’ instructions, he goes by himself to the drop site – an abandoned causeway in Miami. But when he gets lost on the way to the site, he begins to worry that the kidnappers will flee before he can deliver the money, leaving his dau…
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Drugged and sick with flu, Barbara Mackle begs her kidnappers not to bury her underground. But soon she’s sealed inside a cramped wooden box, and can hear dirt being shoveled onto the lid. Meanwhile, a mysterious caller to her family’s home outside Miami directs them to a note buried beneath a rock in their front yard. The note confirms their worst…
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