Podcasts · Society & Culture · History

Against The Odds

Audible

296 episodes · in order

Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds.

More about the show

In this immersive series, 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 experiences with our heroes as they push themselves to their limits.

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Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Rescued | 4

    · 43 min · S10 E4 · Explicit

    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 middle of the Philippine Sea for over three days. But rescuing them…

  2. USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea | Rediscovering Indy with Filmmaker Sara Vladic | 5

    · 40 min · S10 E5 · Explicit

    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 described how the ship delivered the bomb that ended the war and…

  3. Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | A Desolate Land | 1

    · 45 min · S11 E1 · Explicit

    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, who had been hired by four white explorers to cook and sew. For…

  4. Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | Marooned | 2

    · 45 min · S11 E2 · Explicit

    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 won’t be coming. Winter has arrived early, the ocean is freezing over,…

  5. Ada Blackjack: Stranded in the Arctic | The Female Robinson Crusoe | 3

    · 45 min · S11 E3 · Explicit

    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. But she’s determined to do whatever it takes to survive until the…

  6. Encore: Kidnapped in the Desert | Beyond the Green Line | 1

    · 46 min · S12 E1 · Explicit

    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 pirates. Her organization quickly springs into action and brings in…

  7. Encore: Kidnapped in the Desert | Big Money | 2

    · 46 min · S12 E2 · Explicit

    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 Nairobi, her husband works with her NGO on a plan to get Jessica medicine…

  8. Encore: Kidnapped in the Desert | Zero Hour | 3

    · 44 min · S12 E3 · Explicit

    After months in captivity, Jessica Buchanan is battling a kidney infection, and her body’s on the verge of collapse. The negotiations for her release aren’t going anywhere and the Crisis Management Team overseeing…

  9. Avalanche at Tunnel Creek | Into the Backcountry | 1

    · 45 min · S13 E1 · Explicit

    Lured by the promise of fresh powder, more and more skiers and snowboarders are heading onto backcountry slopes. But in the wrong conditions, these areas can turn from playgrounds to death traps in an instant. That's…

  10. Avalanche at Tunnel Creek | ‘Snow Fall’ with Adventure Journalist John Branch | 2

    · 42 min · S13 E2 · Explicit

    When New York Times reporter John Branch first heard reports of an avalanche in Washington State, he didn’t think much about it. But when his editor asked him to poke around, John discovered the human story of a…

  11. Meltdown at Fukushima | Triple Disaster | 1

    · 47 min · S14 E1 · Explicit

    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…

  12. Meltdown at Fukushima | Pressure | 2

    · 46 min · S14 E2 · Explicit

    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…

  13. Meltdown at Fukushima | Collapse | 3

    · 45 min · S14 E3 · Explicit

    Now contending with multiple damaged reactors, engineers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan hatch a series of increasingly desperate plans to prevent a total meltdown. But several explosions and the…

  14. Meltdown at Fukushima | The Devil's Chain Reaction | 4

    · 44 min · S14 E4 · Explicit

    After a week of unrelenting disasters—and with Tokyo itself now under threat—the managers of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are forced to evacuate all but the most essential staff. But the remaining few…

  15. Meltdown at Fukushima | Ghost Towns with NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf | 5

    · 38 min · S14 E5 · Explicit

    It’s been more than decade since the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. But the region is still grappling with the environmental, economic and emotional legacy of the disaster. Evacuations have…

  16. Trapped on Mount Hood | Whiteout | 1

    · 48 min · S15 E1 · Explicit

    In May 1986, a group of high school students and faculty embarked on a journey to the top of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain. The climb was part of an annual wilderness program, and was usually uneventful. But…

  17. Trapped on Mount Hood | Considered Lost | 2

    · 37 min · S15 E2 · Explicit

    With night falling, the student climbers and their adult chaperones must take refuge in a cramped, frigid, and hastily dug snow cave. Their leader, Father Tom Goman, begins to succumb to hypothermia. Meanwhile, search…

  18. Trapped on Mount Hood | Search and Rescue | 3

    · 44 min · S15 E3 · Explicit

    Morning provides no relief for the Oregon Episcopal School climbers trapped without food or water high on Mount Hood. The storm that forced them to take shelter in a snow cave shows no signs of letting up. Two of the…

  19. Trapped on Mount Hood | Discovery | 4

    · 44 min · S15 E4 · Explicit

    As the search for the missing climbers enters its second day, rescuers redouble their efforts to find the lost students and their adult guides. But the vastness of the search area presents major challenges. Rescue…

  20. Trapped on Mount Hood | Aftermath with Ric Conrad | 5

    · 36 min · S15 E5 · Explicit

    The Mount Hood tragedy remains the second deadliest mountaineering accident in North American history. Growing up in Oregon, Ric Conrad remembers following the developments on the six o’clock news when he was just a…

  21. Trapped on Mount Hood | Close Calls and Epic Adventures with Peter Stark | 6

    · 46 min · S15 E6 · Explicit

    On this special episode, survival writer Peter Stark joins host Mike Corey for a wide-spanning conversation about adventure – why we’re drawn to it and how it can push us to the edge. They’ll discuss Stark’s Outside…

  22. Encore: Thai Cave Rescue | Lost | 1

    · 44 min · S16 E1 · Explicit

    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. Local authorities attempt to rescue them. But it’s going to take an…

  23. Encore: Thai Cave Rescue | Chaos | 2

    · 42 min · S16 E2 · Explicit

    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 a slow-moving bureaucracy. All of them must work against harrowing…

  24. Encore: Thai Cave Rescue | Risk | 3

    · 42 min · S16 E3 · Explicit

    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? An international team frantically looks for solutions, but no one can…

  25. Encore: Thai Cave Rescue | Chamber Nine | 4

    · 46 min · S16 E4 · Explicit

    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? An international team frantically looks for solutions, but no one can…

  26. Encore: Thai Cave Rescue | On the Set of Thirteen Lives with Rick Stanton | 5

    · 35 min · S16 E5 · Explicit

    The story of the Thai cave rescue captivated the world – spawning numerous books, documentaries, and most recently, the Hollywood film, Thirteen Lives, directed by Ron Howard. On today’s episode, British rescue diver…

  27. Crash in a Volcano | Into the Crater | 1

    · 46 min · S17 E1 · Explicit

    In November 1992, a Hollywood camera crew soars above Hawaii’s Kīlauea, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, to capture footage for a major feature film. But suddenly their helicopter’s engine cuts out, and…

  28. Crash in a Volcano | Climbing Out | 2

    · 42 min · S17 E2 · Explicit

    Rescue workers search for the camera crew trapped inside Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o crater, but they’re forced to abandon their efforts when an incoming storm makes conditions too hazardous. Cameramen Chris Duddy and Mike…

  29. Crash in a Volcano | Thank You, Madam Pele with Chris Duddy | 3

    · 36 min · S17 E3 · Explicit

    In 1992, Christopher Duddy was a young Hollywood cameraman assigned to shoot footage of an active volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. Then his helicopter crashed inside the volcano near a pool of molten lava, and his life…

  30. Wildfire in Paradise | Ignition | 1

    · 45 min · S18 E1 · Explicit

    In the early morning of November 8, 2018, a faulty electrical line sparked a fire in the woods of Butte County, California. Spurred on by high winds and dry brush from extreme drought, the fire spread faster than…

  31. Wildfire in Paradise | Bottleneck | 2

    · 39 min · S18 E2 · Explicit

    As a fast-moving wildfire closes in on their town, Paradise residents move to evacuate as quickly as possible. But not everyone knows about the seriousness of the fire. Electronic evacuation alerts from Cal Fire aren’t…

  32. Wildfire in Paradise | Engulfed | 3

    · 44 min · S18 E3 · Explicit

    As the fire rages and traffic on the main roads out of Paradise comes to a standstill, firefighters realize evacuation is no longer a viable option. First responders race to locate places of refuge within the town,…

  33. Wildfire in Paradise | Containment | 4

    · 41 min · S18 E4 · Explicit

    By mid-afternoon of November 8, 2018, the Camp Fire has largely moved through Paradise. Families separated by the fire are desperate to find each other and know who survived — and if they’ll be able to return to their…

  34. Wildfire in Paradise | Paradise Lost with Lizzie Johnson | 5

    · 35 min · S18 E5 · Explicit

    By the time it was contained in late November 2018, the Camp Fire had become the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Journalist Lizzie Johnson spent two years reporting on the fire and its…

  35. Wildfire in Paradise | Evacuating Paradise with Beth Bowersox and Daniel Swain | 6

    · 36 min · S18 E6 · Explicit

    CalFire dispatcher Beth Bowersox was on duty the morning the Camp Fire ignited. She joins Host Cassie De Pecol to share what it was like behind the scenes as a first responder, and her decision to evacuate all of her…

  36. Submarine Rescue: The Race to Save Squalus | Into the Deep | 1

    · 47 min · S19 E1 · Explicit

    On the morning of May 23, 1939, a state-of-the-art U.S. Navy’s submarine, the USS Squalus, was doing a routine test dive when something went terribly wrong. The sub began flooding, and plunged 240 feet down to the…

  37. Submarine Rescue: The Race to Save Squalus | Trapped | 2

    · 46 min · S19 E2 · Explicit

    With the USS Squalus trapped at the bottom of the ocean, the Navy mounted an all-out rescue effort to save its crew before they ran out of breathable air. They called upon Charles “Swede” Momsen, an engineer who’d been…

  38. Submarine Rescue: The Race to Save Squalus | The Final Dive | 3

    · 47 min · S19 E3 · Explicit

    Swede Momsen’s diving bell finally makes contact with the sailors trapped inside the USS Squalus. But bad weather makes for a harrowing mission. And just when rescuers are about to bring the last of the crew to safety,…

  39. Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping | Vanished | 1

    · 42 min · S20 E1 · Explicit

    In the summer of 1976, three masked gunmen hijack a school bus full of children in rural Chowchilla, California. The twenty-six kids and their bus driver are driven to a quarry and buried alive. Back in town, no one…

  40. Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping | Buried Alive | 2

    · 41 min · S20 E2 · Explicit

    The kidnapped children and their bus driver are trapped underground in the back of a moving truck, and they’re running out of food and water. They decide the only way out is to dig their way to the surface. Meanwhile,…

  41. Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping | One Survivor’s Story | 3

    · 41 min · S20 E3 · Explicit

    On the afternoon of July 15, 1976, nine-year-old Jennifer Brown Hyde and her older brother Jeff were returning home from a summer school trip to a local pool. On their way home, masked men with guns boarded their…

  42. Uncharted: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | Headwaters | 1

    · 45 min · S22 E1 · Explicit

    In 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a perilous expedition to explore one of the last unmapped rivers in the Amazon. Roosevelt was joined by his son Kermit, famed Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon,…

  43. Uncharted: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | River of Doubt | 2

    · 44 min · S22 E2 · Explicit

    As Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition sets off down the River of Doubt, it doesn’t take long for the going to get rough. Their canoes are no match for the boiling rapids, forcing them to trek through an unforgiving jungle…

  44. Uncharted: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | A Killer In Their Midst | 3

    · 45 min · S22 E3 · Explicit

    Challenges mount as the expedition travels farther down the river. With the end of their journey nowhere in sight, hunger and disease take their toll on the men. Colonel Rondon wonders if members of an indigenous tribe…

  45. Uncharted: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | River's End | 4

    · 48 min · S22 E4 · Explicit

    After weeks on the River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition is on the verge of collapse. But hope emerges when they find clues that Brazilian frontiersmen may be living and working in the wilderness nearby. As…

  46. Uncharted: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | Lost Cities with Mike Heckenberger | 5

    · 36 min · S22 E5 · Explicit

    Searching for lost cities in the Amazon sounds like something out of a Hollywood script – unless you’re University of Florida anthropologist Mike Heckenberger. He’s been visiting the Amazon for three decades, working…

  47. Himalayan Spy Mission | The Device | 1

    · 47 min · S23 E1 · Explicit

    In 1965, with Cold War tensions escalating, the CIA and India’s Intelligence Bureau joined forces to spy on China’s budding nuclear program. Satellites and spy planes at the time were unreliable, so the agencies…

  48. Himalayan Spy Mission | Retrieval | 2

    · 38 min · S23 E2 · Explicit

    Winter storms arrived early on the Himalayan peak Nanda Devi, forcing the team of American and Indian climbers to retreat down the mountain and abandon the nuclear-powered spying device. Now in the spring of 1966, the…

  49. Himalayan Spy Mission | The Dome | 3

    · 44 min · S23 E3 · Explicit

    Two years have passed since the team of Indian and American elite climbers lost a nuclear-powered spying device in the Himalayas. Now, as China continues to test its nuclear weapons, the climbing team is given one last…

  50. Himalayan Spy Mission | Back to the Mountains with Pete Takeda | 4

    · 35 min · S23 E4 · Explicit

    When outdoor writer Pete Takeda first heard the story of a covert CIA operation in the Himalayas, he couldn’t believe it. So he decided to investigate. His curiosity led him on an adventure to the Himalayas in search…

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