<p>What if your mother left to follow a cult… or you woke up in a morgue… or if your boat got caught in a storm and began to sink -- what would you do?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is Actually Happening brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them.&nbsp;From a man who finds out a celebrity crush isn’t who she seems 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.</p><p>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.</p>

This Is Actually Happening

While hunting in the Canadian wilderness, a man accidentally comes between a grizzly bear cub and its mother and a terrifying a fight for his life ensues that will change him forever.

262: What if you were mauled by a grizzly bear?

Hosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid.

When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that’s the end of his story. But, really, it’s just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen and brought back to life in the future. And that belief will pull multiple generations of the Pilgeram family into a cryonics soap opera filled with dead pets, gold coins, grenades, fist fights, mysterious packages, family feuds, Hall of Fame baseball legends, and frozen heads — lots of frozen heads. From Wondery, comes a story about life, death, and what comes next.

Follow Frozen Head on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. 

Listen to Frozen Head: Wondery.fm/FH_TIAH

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Wondery Presents: Frozen Head

A woman learns shocking truths about what happened to her mom when she was young, while caretaking her mentally ill father and grappling with revelations that haunt the family forever.

261: What if your mother was a victim of a secret government experiment?

After a chaotic upbringing ending with her parents’ divorce, a woman falls into the hands of a man whose promises are too good to be true.

260: What if your husband claimed you were dead?

A Seattle-based celebrity photographer and hairstylist accused of criminal abuse is the focus of the latest season of top-rated Iris Award-Winning true-crime podcast Something Was Wrong from Tiffany Reese.

Season 14 of Something Was Wrong features first-hand accounts of alleged abuse from eleven survivors who share their in-depth stories for the first time. They detail the physical, verbal, and emotional abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of this photographer which dates back as far as 2007, in hopes of seeking justice for his victims.

Reese created the program in 2018 to validate abuse victims and educate the public about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, coercive control, and gaslighting.

Wondery.fm/SWW_TIAH

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Introducing: Something Was Wrong

After devoting his life to a singular passion, a man develops a rare condition that threatens to crush his dreams forever.

What if your singular dream fell to pieces? - [Rebroadcast - #134]

A teenage Russian immigrant in Iran is jailed and tortured during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but when a prison guard falls in love with her, she’s forced to weigh the price of her freedom.

What if you were tortured in an Iranian prison? - [Rebroadcast - #238]

A man searches to find love for himself and his family after facing the dark consequences of being disfellowshipped by the Jehovah’s Witness.

What if everyone pretended you were dead? - [Rebroadcast - #212]

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 terror of a notorious serial killer.

259: What if you survived a serial killer?

After suffering the horrific abuses of his Southern grandmother, father and mother, a teenage boy discovers his own queer identity through a fantasy world, but when it becomes all too real, everything he believes is called into question.

258: What if you fell in love with a vampire?

After leaving the Jehovah’s Witness faith of her childhood, a woman redefines her life with her husband and child and becomes a loving foster parent for many, but as one of her foster children comes of age, the chaos threatens to unravel the entire family.

257: What if you didn't know who to believe?

After losing her father at a young age, a woman begins apprenticing as a funeral director, but when tragedy strikes again, the loss takes an exponential toll.

256: What if you prepared your boyfriend's body?

A man growing up in the closet joins the military under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and numbs his identity with alcohol, but after becoming a nurse and after COVID wreaks havoc, his downward spiral hits a new rock bottom that will decide his life or death.

255: What if they didn't ask and you couldn't tell?

A woman grows up in a home chronically terrified by her father’s abuse, but when her parents split and he starts another family, she learns of the true, horrifying danger she was in her entire life.

254: What if your father annihilated the family?

As a teenager struggling with severe depression and anxiety, a woman finds dance as her only outlet, but on a night that is lost to memory, a horrific accident transforms her body, her brain and her identity.

253: What if you couldn't even remember the crash?

A man tries to put the pieces of his life back together after growing up with a mother who suffered from severe OCD and anorexia.

252: What if you watched your mother disappear?

A woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder experiences a roller coaster of destroyed relationships and mental storm, but after stabilizing through therapy and medication her mentally compromised mother makes an accusation that cannot be revoked.

251: What if a false allegation stole what you valued most?

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, until one day, when his husband is late coming home, there’s a ring at the door and his entire life unravels.

250: What if a devastating truth only deepened the mystery?

Coming from a charmed, conservative, Catholic upbringing, a woman must confront her deepest beliefs as she struggles with the reality and implications of the most devastating news a mother can receive.

249: What if you knew your baby was going to die?

After surviving a chaotic and abusive upbringing, a woman develops an undiagnosable autoimmune disorder that threatens to take her vision and her livelihood, but when a friend brings a blow-up doll to play a practical joke one night, everything changes.

248: What if an invisible disease blew up your life?

Bill Mitchell built a successful career, marriage and family, but just as his bright and loving daughter graduates from college with big dreams, an unthinkable event irreversibly changes everything.

247: What if you didn't see the signs?

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-expression, when unexpected news forces her into a powerful reckoning.

246: What if you could never be what they wanted?

A woman struggling to find herself finally discovers a place where she belongs and forms a deep friendship, but when she experiments with a powerful psychedelic the experience reveals more than she bargained for.

245: What if you were taken to the dark side?

A man struggles to free himself from his father’s iron grip on the family, but when an unsettling truth about his past is revealed, his entire life comes into focus.

244: What if you could never make him proud?

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 everything behind.

243: What if you signed a billion-year contract?

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 routine surgery, he wakes up unable to move.

242: What if you woke up and couldn't move?

A woman falls deeply in love with a married man in her close friend’s circle, when suddenly an unthinkable event throws everything into question.

241: What if you were the other woman?

Growing up in a household full of both love and violence in Mississippi, Kiese Laymon struggles with generational trauma, career success, and addiction before finally facing the silences of his past.

What if you were the one to break the silence? - [Rebroadcast #137]

Following a tumultuous upbringing, a woman begins confronting the complexities of her identity and self-destructive tendencies, when all of a sudden, devastating bouts of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder begin to consume her life.

What if you suddenly felt like a werewolf? - [Rebroadcast - #119]

Struggling to find his identity after college, a man suddenly suffers from a panic attack that leads to a terrifying downward spiral.

What if you thought your mother was a robot? - [Rebroadcast #146]

After self-medicating for years to cope with the emotional aftermath of an abusive, religious upbringing, a woman goes in for a minor surgery, and when she emerges, everything has changed.

What if a minor procedure left you permanently altered? - [Rebroadcast #135]

Following a heart attack, a man finds relief and healing through unusual sexual fetishes.

What if your deepest fear was your greatest pleasure? [Rebroadcast - #105]

Growing up Jehovah’s Witness and then setting out to form an identity of her own, a woman reconciles the silences of her loving and devoted family with an unthinkable act that throws everything into question.

What if your family was consumed by an unthinkable act? [Rebroadcast - #126]

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 unknown shooters open fire.

240: What if nine bullets shattered your dreams?

A boy grows up in a household devastated by AIDS, opening a downward spiral of loss and a path of resilience.

239: What if a single decision led to a spiral of loss?

238: What if you were tortured in an Iranian prison?

A woman struggles to find herself among her mother’s multiplying crises that always seem to find a new rock bottom.

237: What if your mom hoarded 90 cats?

A woman always seeking a sanctuary from a chaotic upbringing has her home and her life upended when a bizarre new roommate threatens to ruin everything she’s built.

236: What if you had the worst roommate ever?

After growing up with a patriarchal Christian home, a woman grapples with her father losing touch with reality when his delusions begin to dramatically unravel the family narratives.

235: What if delusion consumed your family?

Growing up Jewish and surviving the twin traumas of domestic abuse and antisemitic bullying, a man finally establishes a new life for himself, when devastating loss threatens to keep him locked in a cycle he can seemingly never escape.

234: What if your joy came with a tragic price?

Growing up in a loving Mexican immigrant family in the US, everything changes in a young girl’s life when a home invasion, abandonment and unprocessed losses mount, leading to a dramatic wake up call.

233: What if they invaded your home?

A man suffers a serious injury after a drunken fight, but in its wake, a deeper unhealed wound festers that leads to an act of hate.

232: What if you committed a hate crime?

Just before coming into adolescence, a young girl experiences an unspeakable trauma, but a bigger horror begins once she reveals her secret.

231: What if they all betrayed you?

Growing up with a sense of heroic duty, a man becomes a cop fighting the drug war, when the sobering realities of his job lead him to profound awakening.

230: What if you discovered you were the enemy?

Growing up evangelical in the Purity movement of the 1990s, a woman constructs the ideal life, when piece by piece, her image of family, marriage and her identity begin to be dismantled.

229: What if your life unraveled thread by thread?

A woman struggles to break out of her role caretaking a father who was haunted by his experiences in Vietnam, but when both of their worlds unravel, she must find a new source of strength.

228: What if you grew up with the ghosts of war?

A newly married man traveling the world with the love of his life faces unimaginable horror on a hiking trail in Romania.

227: What if you faced a terrifying beast?

Soon after coming into adolescence, a woman develops flu-like symptoms of an unknown illness that continue to progress until it alters her forever.

226: What if you had three different faces?

At the peak of his life, having built a successful marriage, family and career, a man faces a series of compound losses that put him through a dark night of the soul.

225: What if you stared into the abyss?

After a girl is saved from her abusive father, she finds solace in her mother’s protection, but when her mother meets a new man, an even greater menace threatens to take everything.

224: What if they stole your childhood?

A woman who always felt different is compelled to hold a shocking secret that could shatter the family illusion.

223: What if you were the dirty little secret?

A man who always felt like he didn’t belong in his own house wakes up one morning to a surreal tragedy.

222: What if you were a stranger in your own home?

A woman struggles to free herself from the catastrophic consequences of an obsession with a man she cannot leave

221: What if you were addicted to each other?

An obstetrician must find healing and forgiveness after an unexpected tragedy opens old wounds.

220: What if they died in your hands?

A man goes on a duck hunt with his friends, when a freak accident changes everything.

219: What if you bled to death?

Growing up in a strict, sheltered household, a woman must confront a new reality when her older sister, who was the glue of her family and her identity, begins to fall apart.

218: What if the family glue came undone?

From the ashes of her own descent into severe mental illness, a nurse finds resilience to face her job’s gravest challenges.

217: What if you saw the face of death?

A man attempts to reconcile the sudden onset of psychotic symptoms with his Catholic identity.

What if the Devil was battling for your mind? [Rebroadcast - #116] 

A woman fights for survival during an infamous mass shooting in Las Vegas.

What if everything turned to mayhem? [Rebroadcast - #110] 

Still reeling from an estrangement from her own mother, a woman digs into her past and unravels secrets that shake the family foundation.

What if you uncovered the family secret? [Rebroadcast - #118] 

After her first marriage falls apart, a woman has a second chance at a dream family, but growing suspicions lead her to unimaginable revelations.

216: What if you opened Pandora's Box?

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 leaves him with a choice that changes everything.

215: What if you faced the monster in the mirror?

Breaking away from her childhood, a teenager buries a traumatic encounter in self harm, pushing her to the limits of life and death.

214: What if you woke up in oblivion?

Growing up in an abusive household, a woman struggles to find meaning in her life, when one night, a sudden, unexpected, violent attack changes her life forever.

213: What if they were murdered trying to protect you?

212: What if everyone pretended you were dead?

A woman’s happy childhood with her single mother unexpectedly takes a bewildering, dark turn, leading to a moment that will change everything.

211: What if you had to let her go to save yourself?

A woman growing up in a sheltered life with conservative parents is taken from her driveway one night and led into a darkness she never could have fathomed.

210: What if you didn't know where they were taking you?

A man searches for healing after his father, a disgruntled post office worker, falls into a violent downward spiral.

208: What if you ran through the pain?

Growing up in the Mormon church, a woman follows a structured path to love and marriage, but what hides underneath threatens to unravel everything she’s built.

207: What if you faced the ultimate betrayal?

After her parents’ divorce a girl’s relationship with her mother tailspins until a shocking accusation throws everything into chaos.

206: What if no one believed you?

Whit Missildine, host of This Is Actually Happening and The Long Shadow, and Dan Taberski, host of Missing Richard Simmons and Nine Twelve discuss 9/11 their approaches to their respective series honoring the tragedy.

The Long Shadow: Bonus - Interview with Whit Missildine and Dan Taberski

In the aftermath of September 11th, 2001 a cardiologist volunteers to help process the body parts from those who lost their lives in a temporary morgue inside a Brooks Brothers department store.

205: The Long Shadow: What if you processed the remains?

On September 11th, 2001, the first female firefighter in the New York City Fire Department confronts the impossible tasks of that day and the skewed narratives that followed.

204: The Long Shadow: What if you fought the fire?

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 devastating impact comes from the psychological wounds that haunt her life for decades after.

203: The Long Shadow: What if you were on the 68th floor?

On September 11th, 2001 an ER Doctor finds himself in charge of the closest emergency room to the Twin Towers.

202: The Long Shadow: What if you ran the ER five blocks away?

A woman who finally finds her sense of purpose after a tumultuous upbringing realizes a mother’s ultimate horror.

201: What if you believed it was all your fault?

“All the reality that I had been putting off, and all of the denial, it all crashed in on me.”

 

Producers: Whit Missildine, Jason Blalock




Episode Summary: Growing up in the closet with a mentally ill mother, a man finds his true love, but as their past continues to weigh in, the only remedy he knows threatens to consume everything he’s built.




Today's episode featured Gabriel. Gabriel is now a psychiatric social worker and licensed therapist in Orange County, California. You can find out more about Gabriel on Instagram @gabriel.emmm.

 

Website for Jason Blalock: www.jasonblalock.com

 

Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening

Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com




Wondery Plus: All episodes of the show prior to episode #130 are now part of the Wondery Plus premium service. To access the full catalog of episodes, and get all episodes ad free, sign up for Wondery Plus at https://wondery.com/plus

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Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening

 

Engage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/

 

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Content/Trigger Warnings: drug abuse, drug addiction, opioids, overdose, death, suicide, explicit language

 

Intro Music: "Illabye" – Tipper

Music Bed: Ambient Themes by Nigel Coutinho

 

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 Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 

National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line: Within the US, text HOME to 741741

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

200: What if you were consumed by your only cure?

Following early experiences of isolation and bullying, a man assigned female at birth finds a beautiful friendship, that soon descends into a bewildering cycle of gaslighting and obsession.

199: What if your deepest friendship was your darkest fate?

A woman with severe harm OCD encounters the many faces of death and dying but finds renewal in caring for others and ultimately herself.

198: What if you rescued everyone to save yourself?

After surviving a brutal upbringing in the South Bronx, a man finds himself on the other side of death following a minor accident and returns with a profound awakening.

197: What if you died?

A refugee recounts her experience of the horror and devastation of the Rwandan genocide.

What if you survived a genocide? [Rebroadcast - #113]

A musician is sideswiped by a sudden break into a nightmarish world that will not let him go

What if you had a ten-year nightmare? [Rebroadcast - #103]

After a chaotic upbringing, a man assigned female at birth finds a new community with caring mentors, when their mental illness threatens to unravel his entire reality.

What if you transitioned into an alternate reality? [Rebroadcast - #124]

A woman recounts her childhood dealing with a mentally ill father obsessed with Disneyland.

What if the happiest place on earth was your worst nightmare? [Rebroadcast - #79]

A man is relentlessly stalked by his girlfriend's ex.

What if her ex-boyfriend tried to kill you? [Rebroadcast - #114]

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

196: What if you went missing?

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

195: What if you never stopped searching?

A woman is haunted by a relentless threat of danger when her pursuit of safety turns into obsession.

194: What if you ran but couldn't hide?

A man haunted by an early childhood trauma finally establishes his own identity only to be sideswiped by another unwanted, shocking exposure.

193: What if your deepest secret was shared with the world?

A lifelong traveler heads out for a quick bike ride in the Swiss Alps and finds herself lost in a dark, icy unknown.

192: What if one wrong turn meant life or death?

Growing up with a close, religious family a young woman’s aspiration for perfect beauty turns her into the very image of herself she was afraid of.

191: What if you suffered from trichotillomania?

Following an early childhood trauma, a woman seeks to fill the void with a series of unhealthy relationships, until a fairytale romance promises to be everything she ever wanted

190: What if your fairytale was finally within reach?

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 their way back.

189: What if you couldn't stop shining?

A woman grows up with an idyllic childhood in Scotland, when a phobia of mysterious origin begins consuming her thoughts and eventually her future

188: What if you spent four years inside?

A young man growing up in an abusive home falls into a whirlwind romance that throws him into another cycle of chaos

187: What if you were trapped all over again?

Growing up with an unreliable mother, a woman develops severe OCD with multiple phobias, until she must confront the most improbable scenario

186: What if you were consumed by a preposterous phobia?

Grappling with her identity and disruptive health anxiety, a woman reaches in adulthood with a dream job and strong community, when suddenly her worst-case scenario becomes a reality.

185: What if you kept shaking hands with death?

Growing up in an environment of constant change, a woman vows to find a different path to stability, only to have a shocking revelation turn her world upside down

184: What if you didn't know who he was?

After making a successful career and surviving several tumultuous relationships, a woman descends into the darkest depths of severe mental illness

183: What if everyone was watching you?

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 control, an unthinkable decision will change their lives forever

This Is Actually Happening

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Latest episode: Tue Jan 24 2023