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 3 of 6

  1. Alaska Bear Attack | In Defense of Life and Property | 1

    · 47 min · S24 E1 · Explicit

    The residents of Haines, Alaska are used to living alongside bears. The region surrounding their small town has one of the densest bear populations in the world. But as climate change curtails the bears’ natural food…

  2. Alaska Bear Attack | Three Long Hours | 2

    · 48 min · S24 E2 · Explicit

    After Bart Pieciul is mauled by a bear in the Alaska wilderness, his friends have to use all of their outdoor knowledge to keep him alive. The three men are stranded in the mountains for hours, waiting for a Coast…

  3. Alaska Bear Attack | Into The Wilds with Caroline Van Hemert | 3

    · 36 min · S24 E3 · Explicit

    Bear. Running. Toward me. Writer and wildlife biologist Caroline Van Hemert encountered only one dangerous bear on her four-thousand-mile trip from Washington to Alaska. She survived to write about it in The Sun is A…

  4. Amelia Earhart: Across the Atlantic | The Race | 1

    · 46 min · S25 E1

    In April 1928, a social worker named Amelia Earhart received a phone call that would alter the course of her life. She was offered the chance to become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Charles Lindbergh had…

  5. Amelia Earhart: Across the Atlantic | Solo | 2

    · 46 min · S25 E2

    By 1929, Amelia Earhart was famous for her groundbreaking flight across the Atlantic, with pilot Bill Stultz and mechanic Slim Gordon. Now, she seemed to be living the perfect life: she was a rich and famous celebrity…

  6. Amelia Earhart: Across the Atlantic | 100th Episode, Amelia’s Final Flight | 3

    · 39 min · S25 E3

    It’s officially Against the Odds’ 100th episode! To celebrate the milestone, hosts Cassie De Pecol and Mike Corey sit down to reminisce about their favorite seasons, swap stories of their own adventures, and discuss…

  7. Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | The Blaze | 1

    · 42 min · S26 E1

    In October of 1980, the luxury cruise ship Prinsendam set sail from Vancouver with more than 300 passengers aboard, many of whom were elderly. But just after midnight on the cruise’s fourth day, in the Gulf of Alaska,…

  8. Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | Dead in the Water | 2

    · 39 min · S26 E2

    As crew members aboard Prinsendam work to contain the fire, passengers shiver on the decks in the cold night air. The mood is mostly festive; everyone expects that the fire will be extinguished soon. But when the blaze…

  9. Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | Adrift | 3

    · 43 min · S26 E3

    With the fire aboard Prinsendam now burning out of control, the captain gives the order to abandon ship. Passengers, some dressed only in pajamas and nightgowns, scramble into wooden lifeboats, which are lowered into…

  10. Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | The Last Lifeboat | 4

    · 43 min · S26 E4 · Explicit

    Rescue workers begin the painstakingly slow process of airlifting cruise ship evacuees one by one from their lifeboats. But a typhoon has turned the Gulf of Alaska into a raging sea, and as they await rescue, many of…

  11. Fire at Sea: Cruise Ship Rescue | "When the Going Gets Tough..." | 5

    · 38 min · S26 E5

    Of the more than 500 Prinsendam passengers and crew, every one of them was eventually rescued and brought to safety. Today, two of those survivors, John and Malory Graham, join host Mike Corey to share their experience…

  12. Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Crash | 1

    · 47 min · S27 E1 · Explicit

    In October 1972, an Uruguayan rugby team traveling to their next match in Santiago, Chile, crashes into the Andes Mountains after their plane strikes a glacier. Stranded on the snow-covered side of a mountain, they…

  13. Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Cutting | 2

    · 46 min · S27 E2 · Explicit

    The remaining survivors of the Fairchild crash are starting to lose hope that rescuers will arrive after ten days of inactivity. Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa understand their only chance at survival is to send a…

  14. Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Choice | 3

    · 48 min · S27 E3 · Explicit

    After escaping an avalanche that killed eight more passengers, the survivors of the Fairchild are starting to lose all hope. Many in the group are on death’s door. Time is running out. They can’t wait any longer for…

  15. Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Climb | 4

    · 46 min · S27 E4 · Explicit

    In a final attempt to escape the Andes, Nando and Roberto have headed east to pursue safety. The men face a difficult journey as the weather takes a turn for the worst, and their food supply dwindles. Back at the…

  16. In Their Own Words: Stranded in Joshua Tree | 1

    · 45 min · S28 E1 · Explicit

    On May 22, 2018, Claire Nelson set out on what she thought would be a four-hour hike in Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park. An experienced hiker, Claire packed plenty of water and followed an established…

  17. Apollo 13 | "Houston, We’ve Had a Problem." | 1

    · 49 min · S29 E1

    On April 11th, 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13, its third manned mission to the Moon. But two days into its journey, an explosion wiped out a major source of oxygen, limiting the ship’s water and power supplies. The…

  18. Apollo 13 | Slingshot | 2

    · 47 min · S29 E2 · Explicit

    After an explosion cripples the Apollo 13 spacecraft, NASA’s Mission Control in Houston scrambles to come up with a plan to save the crew. Step one involves stabilizing Apollo 13 to preserve as much precious air,…

  19. Apollo 13 | Tiger Team | 3

    · 46 min · S29 E3 · Explicit

    The three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft have retreated into the cramped lunar module, the only part of the spacecraft that’s still fully functioning. Back on Earth, NASA’s Mission Control sets up an elite…

  20. Apollo 13 | 43 Amps | 4

    · 45 min · S29 E4 · Explicit

    The three astronauts on the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft round the Moon and finally begin the return leg of their journey toward Earth. But their troubles are far from over. They still have to strictly ration the…

  21. Apollo 13 | Splashdown | 5

    · 44 min · S29 E5 · Explicit

    Six days into their mission, the Apollo 13 astronauts have been working under immense pressure and on very little sleep. Tempers grow short as they battle with Mission Control in Houston over what steps to take for…

  22. Apollo 13 | A Flight Director Remembers | 6

    · 34 min · S29 E6 · Explicit

    Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert went through the ordeal of their lives on the Apollo 13 Mission. But the people manning Houston’s Mission Control faced their own challenges as they figured out how to bring the…

  23. Hurricane Katrina | Code Gray | 1

    · 46 min · S30 E1 · Explicit

    It’s late August 2005, and the city of New Orleans makes preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. But after decades of hurricanes missing the city, many residents are confident they can ride out the storm. By…

  24. Hurricane Katrina | Stranded | 2

    · 44 min · S30 E2 · Explicit

    Officials learn that the storm surge from Katrina has breached New Orleans’s levees, allowing water to pour into the city. Soon, 80 percent of New Orleans is underwater. Many residents become trapped in their homes,…

  25. Hurricane Katrina | Beyond Critical | 3

    · 43 min · S30 E3 · Explicit

    Days after Hurricane Katrina floods their city, residents of New Orleans become increasingly desperate, as the government bungles the rescue effort. Using doors and other items to make improvised rafts, people make…

  26. Hurricane Katrina | We Were Here | 4

    · 44 min · S30 E4 · Explicit

    At long last, the government’s rescue effort kicks into high gear and buses arrive to evacuate people from New Orleans. But it’s too late for many residents, who died in their homes waiting to be rescued. Thousands of…

  27. Hurricane Katrina | Katrina Babies with Filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr. | 5

    · 36 min · S30 E5

    As Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans, 13-year-old Edward Buckles, Jr. piled into a car with his family and evacuated. They drove for hours on clogged roads, and slept on a shelter floor that night. When Edward…

  28. Granite Mountain Hotshots Disaster | The Spark | 1

    · 48 min · S31 E1

    On June 28th, 2013, lightning sparks a wildfire near the town of Yarnell in central Arizona. Fueled by dry conditions, the fire quickly spreads. To contain the blaze, local officials call in elite crews of firefighters…

  29. Granite Mountain Hotshots Disaster | Into the Breach | 2

    · 45 min · S31 E2

    The Granite Mountain Hotshots arrive in Yarnell to help fight what is now the number-one fire priority in all of Arizona. But crew chief Eric Marsh is frustrated when his guys are assigned to create fire breaks at the…

  30. Granite Mountain Hotshots Disaster | Shifting Winds | 3

    · 45 min · S31 E3

    When the Yarnell Hill Fire abruptly changes direction, hotshot Brendan McDonough has to abandon his lookout post and run for his life. Meanwhile, the rest of his crew, the Granite Mountain Hotshots, are safe on a…

  31. Granite Mountain Hotshots Disaster | Radio Silence | 4

    · 50 min · S31 E4

    Fueled by 50-mile-an-hour winds, the Yarnell Hill Fire rages out of control. Fire officials have no choice but to evacuate all residents and firefighting crews in its path. But there’s still one crew out there: the…

  32. Granite Mountain Hotshots Disaster | One Foot in the Black | 5

    · 36 min · S31 E5

    Kyle Dickman remembers the exact moment he learned about the fate of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. As a former firefighter and hotshot himself, the news hit him hard. He reported on the tragedy for Outside magazine,…

  33. Lost in the Rainforest | Into the Jungle | 1

    · 43 min · S32 E1

    It’s 1981 and 22-year-old Yossi Ghinsberg is wrapping up a backpacking trip through South America. In La Paz, Bolivia, he and two friends meet an older Austrian expat, who entices them to join him on a trek into an…

  34. Lost in the Rainforest | Swept Away | 2

    · 44 min · S32 E2

    After splitting off from their group, Yossi Ghinsberg and Kevin Gale hope to complete their journey through the Bolivian rainforest by rafting down the Tuichi River. But they quickly discover they're no match for the…

  35. Lost in the Rainforest | Man of Action | 3

    · 43 min · S32 E3

    Kevin Gale desperately tries to organize a search party for Yossi Ghinsberg, who is still lost in the Bolivian rainforest. As days turn to weeks, Kevin worries he'll never see his friend alive again. Meanwhile,…

  36. Lost in the Rainforest | A Conversation with Yossi Ghinsberg | 4

    · 38 min · S32 E4

    Today, Yossi Ghinsberg joins host Cassie De Pecol to discuss how he survived for three weeks alone in the Bolivian Amazon. Yossi reflects on the lessons he learned from the experience, and shares the story of his…

  37. Alone in the Alaska Wilderness | Survival Mode | 1

    · 42 min · S33 E1

    It’s December 1943 and First Lieutenant Leon Crane and his crewmates board the Iceberg Inez, a B-24 bomber, for a test run. But when the plane runs into trouble and crashes, Crane finds himself alone in a remote…

  38. Alone in the Alaska Wilderness | Cabin Fever | 2

    · 42 min · S33 E2

    Pilot Leon Crane has spent a week stranded in the Alaska backcountry after his plane crashed, and is in desperate need of food. He’s now considered “missing in action” by the army, with no rescue coming. His only…

  39. Alone in the Alaska Wilderness | The Long Walk | 3

    · 42 min · S33 E3

    Leon Crane abandons the safety of an old hunter’s cabin to make a final push towards what he hopes is a small village. But the ice in the river he’s following has begun to crack, making for a perilous journey. And the…

  40. Alone in the Alaska Wilderness | Lone Survivor | 4

    · 34 min · S33 E4

    Journalist Brian Murphy first discovered Leon Crane’s story buried in a press release about a fellow airman, who had died when their B-24 bomber crashed in Alaska in 1943. At the end of the release, he found mention of…

  41. Encore: Donner Party | The Shortcut | 1

    · 48 min · S34 E1

    In the 1840s, thousands of Americans journeyed west to California to pursue better lives. One group of settlers became infamous: the Donner Party. After taking an unproven shortcut, their wagon train fell dangerously…

  42. Encore: Donner Party | Snow and Blood | 2

    · 47 min · S34 E2

    In November of 1846, an early snowstorm left the Donner Party’s 87 men, women and children trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Freezing and running out of food, they decided to send out a team of men and women on a…

  43. Encore: Donner Party | Consumed | 3

    · 51 min · S34 E3

    In the winter of 1847, a series of rescue parties fought their way through record snowfall to try to reach the stranded Donner Party. But when they finally arrived at the snowbound camps, they were unprepared for the…

  44. Encore: Donner Party | In Their Footsteps | 4

    · 34 min · S34 E4

    In December of 1846, a small group split off from the Donner Party in a desperate attempt to find help. The party, known as the Forlorn Hope, endured the bitter Sierra Nevada winter, trekking roughly 100 miles in 33…

  45. Adrift in the Pacific | The Sinking | 1

    · 42 min · S35 E1

    In the summer of 1972, Marilyn and Maurice Bailey decide to leave their quiet lives in suburban England behind, to sail across the world and start a new life in New Zealand. But when their 30-foot yacht is struck by a…

  46. Adrift in the Pacific | Distress Signals | 2

    · 46 min · S35 E2

    It’s March 1973, and Maurice and Maralyn Bailey are floating on a small life raft in the middle of the world’s largest ocean. Before their yacht sank into the Pacific, they managed to grab some food and supplies, but…

  47. Adrift in the Pacific | Creatures of the Sea | 3

    · 44 min · S35 E3

    Over 100 days have passed since the Baileys’ yacht sank, leaving them adrift on a life raft in the Pacific ocean. They’ve managed to survive on turtle meat and fish they catch with a makeshift fishing hook, but they…

  48. Johnstown Flood | The Dam | 1

    · 47 min · S36 E1

    It’s May, 30th 1889, and the South Fork Dam in Western Pennsylvania is in danger. After nearly a month of hard rain, eight inches have fallen in one day, filling the lake behind the dam to capacity. And the dam’s…

  49. Johnstown Flood | Overflow | 2

    · 41 min · S36 E2

    Engineer John Parke and a team of workers furiously shovel dirt, trying to shore up the South Fork Dam as it threatens to overflow, amid torrential rains. Parke knows these efforts are their only chance of preventing a…

  50. Johnstown Flood | Cascade | 3

    · 40 min · S36 E3

    Despite the efforts of engineer John Parke, the South Fork Dam does break. The ensuing flash flood sweeps up a vast, moving wall of debris: mud, rocks, trees, fragments of bridges and smashed-up houses. Residents in…

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