This Is Actually Happening

“The hardest part about the whole thing is just not knowing; for a few hours that night I wasn’t me and that’s terrifying.” Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman answers a Craigslist ad for a job and ends up on a harrowing night that doesn’t add upSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: mental illness, racism, violence, murder, police brutality, explicit languageIntro Music: "Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: “Re-Entry” – Lee Rosevere ServicesIf you or someone you know is struggling with t

“You just think this is a nightmare, and then you realize nope this is my life, this is real.”Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew WaitsEpisode Summary: A mother faces the ultimate tragedy at the hands of those who are supposed to protect and serve.  Today’s episode featured Taun Hall. To find out more about Taun and Miles and the Miles Hall Foundation, go to justiceformileshall.org. There you can see the video mentioned in the episode, donate to the campaign, learn more about the case or get involved. You can also join the community on Instagram @justiceformileshall or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/justiceformileshallSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comAndrew Waits: http://andrdewwaits.com/Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This I

“I did have a hard time ever really feeling safe anywhere, and the problem was just that inside of me it wasn’t safe so it didn’t matter where I was.”Producers: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After a brutal rape at age 11, a woman keeps her secret, only to be haunted decades later by events that compel her to confront her deepest fearsSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link https://www.teepublic.com/stores/this-is-actually-happening-store?ref_id=9467 to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: rape, sexual violence, psychosis, mental illness, suicidal ideation, homicidal

“Looking down the barrel of a gun is devastating….Although I was a kid it was very clear that there was lots of hate, and I was kind of frozen.”Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew WaitsEpisode Summary: Growing up surrounded by racism and police brutality, a man tries to understand and heal his past by seeing what’s really inside the belly of the beast.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comAndrew Waits: http://andrdewwaits.com/Today’s episode featured scholar and novelist Dr. Michael Datcher. Michael is author of the critically-acclaimed  New York Times Bestseller Raising Fences, the novel AMERICUS and the book of literary theory ANIMATING BLACK AND BROWN LIBERATION: A Theory of American Literatures. You can find out more about Michael and his work at www.michaeldatcher.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on

“It felt like the earth had stopped rotating like I was trapped in this moment of just complete all-encompassing fear.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A young woman hungry to explore the world goes on a trip to Tanzania and unexpectedly finds herself caught in an endless cycle of impending doom.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comToday’s episode featured Emily Caldwell. You can find out more about her on Instagram @emilycaldwell589Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link https://www.teepublic.com/stores/this-is-actually-happening-store?ref_id=9467 to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: anxiety, panic

“I would do everything I could that had to happen to engage with this object that I needed to do and then I would bury it….And I had to realize at a certain point that it was just not going to work.”Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew WaitsEpisode Summary: At a young age, a man develops a fetish for diapers that ends up reshaping the course of his adult life. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comAndrew Waits: andrdewwaits.comToday’s episode featured Maz. His story and came to us by way of Dixie De La Tour of Bawdy Storytelling.Maz is a regular volunteer, educator, and leader in the kink community in Omaha Nebraska. He and his kink family, House St. James, have run the Sex-positive adult education organization, Omaha Dinner and Demos, for the last 3 years. If you would like more information about Maz, House St.James, or Omaha Dinner and Demos, you can find them all on FetLife at House_St_James.House St.James: https://fetlife.com/users/8

“It’s like you’ve lost yourself completely, and you’re basically left in a million different pieces.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman self-medicating for anxiety and depression spirals into an alternate reality after an other-worldly encounterSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: psychosis, drug use, demonic themes, explicit languageIntro Music: "Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: Ambient Themes by Nigel Coutinho ServicesIf you or someone you know is struggl

“Once I was able to be in control of what I decide is disgusting instead of having that placed on me, that’s what helped me become friends with the feeling.”Producer: Whit Missildine , Andrew WaitsEpisode Summary: After growing up in a rigid Christian community, a woman finds beauty in revolting behaviors.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comToday’s Guest: GwenInstagram @bidaily_Email: bookingoffthecuffs@gmail.comGwen was originally interviewed on the podcast Off the Cuffs, hosted by Dick Wound and minimus maximus. She is also the booking manager for Off the Cuffs.Off the Cuffs PodcastTwitter @DickWoundInstragram @DWPodHost or @OCPKinkWebsite: offthecuffs.orgSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online

“The mind almost has to find a way to prove that it’s not real. This cannot be happening.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After visiting a psychiatrist for mild anxiety, a young man embarks on a wild spree that will alter the course of his life forever.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comIf you would like to be in direct contact with today’s storyteller for questions or comments, you can email him at aliveandwell11@gmail.com.Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: mania, violent crime, robbery, explicit langua

“In these spaces I, as a vulnerable person, am suddenly given the gift of somebody else’s vulnerability.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Growing up blind and isolated from her peers in a strict upbringing, a woman finds empowerment in a kinky world where the power balance is reversed.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comToday’s Guest: Mistress Blind. Twitter and Instagram @mistressblind. Email: mistressblind@protonmail.comMistress Blind was originally interviewed on the podcast Off the Cuffs, hosted by Dick Wound and minimus maximus.Off the Cuffs Podcast: Twitter @DickWound. Instragram @DWPodHost or @OCPKink. Website: offthecuffs.orgSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now of

“It’s truly such an indescribable feeling…kind of like the walls are closing in on you, like reality is just collapsing.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After a teenage girl begins dating her mom’s student, a shocking accusation leaves a small-town family in ruins.Today’s episode featured Catherine Cole. You can find out more about her on Instagram @catcole20Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: charges of statutory rape and sexual molestation, domestic abuse, explicit lan

The uncanny, extraordinary, true stories of events that have dramatically altered the lives of ordinary people; a son is shot by his own father, a woman's sister develops multiple personalities, a man wakes up in the morgue. These are riveting, moving and often haunting stories that will stick with you long after you listen.All episodes of the show prior to episode #130 are available ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ to access the full This is Actually Happening catalog, along with exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/happeningSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Any sense of identity no matter how fake was better than no sense of identity, yet if I don’t have a sense of identity, then who am I as a person?”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After tragedy strikes a Vietnamese refugee family, a young man finds his new home in a violent gang, forever marking his life path through acts of destruction and redemption.Today’s episode featured Quan Huynh. You can read more about Quan’s story in his memoir, Sparrow in the Razorwire - www.sparrowintherazorwire.com. You can also find out more about Quan andhis current work at www.quanxhuynh.com and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @quanxhuynhSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually

“I didn’t know what normal was, so everything looked so scary….Everything I was doing I was learning for the time it was like my birth into the world.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman puts the pieces of her life back together after a childhood spent inside an insidious religious cult in Los Angeles.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: child abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, death, drug use, mental illness, explicit languageIntro Music: "Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed:

“That feeling…honestly I will never forget it, just your heart dropping into your stomach…it’s unreal.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After growing up in an abusive household, a man confronts a startling, ambiguous lossToday's episode featured Evan Pestona. If you have any information or resources you feel could help bring justice for Evan and his mother, you can email him at justiceforsteph@gmail.comSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: domestic violence, death, mur

Today we launch a new series of bonus content called “Happenings” with three stories of people facing their deepest fears in the unforgiving wilderness of the natural world.Part 1: What if the desert dried your sorrow?Part 2: What if the ocean tested your faith?Part 3: What if a boulder crushed your dreams?Producers: Andrew Waits, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Stranded in a Mexican desert, the ocean waves of Guam, and the sandstone boulders of Utah, three people face their deepest fears in the unforgiving wilderness of the natural world.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningShow Website: thisisactuallyhappening.comAndrew Waits Website: andrewwaits.comContent/Trigger Warnings: near-death experiences, explicit languageToday’s episode features: Tiki Mashy, Greg Barnes, and Shaina MaytumTiki Mashy is an owner and operator at Cowboy Up Hanggliding in Wharton, Texas. You can find out more about it at cuhanggliding.comGreg Barnes currently lives in Guam and works at Castle Zion Church (괌 시온성교회) as the yo

“Right in the center of your body there’s this lead heavy ball, and inside of it is an immediate understanding of evil.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman walking to work in the early morning hours faces the ultimate terror.Today’s episode features Kira Knight. You can reach Kira at violentcrimesurvivors@gmail.comSocial Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, explicit languageIntro Music: "Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: Ambient The

“I could live with the nightmares. I could live with the panic attacks. But the thing that was tearing me apart was questioning if everything I know in my life was real at all.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A lifelong friendship filled with care, love and personal growth takes a shocking turn in the aftermath of a brutal act of violence.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: childhood trauma, parental abuse, graphic violence, murder, explicit languageIntro Music: "Il

“You try to take off your skin to try to get rid of this voice, and it goes all the way down to the bone.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A man suffering the deep generational traumas of poverty, racism, abuse and mental illness finds transformative power in an ancient plant medicine.Today’s episode featured Dexter L. Booth. Dexter is the author of the poetry collection, Scratchingthe Ghost from Graywolf Press, which won the 2012 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, as well as the chapbook Rhapsody from Etchings Press. Booth’s poems have been included in the anthologies The Best American Poetry 2015, The Burden of Light: Poems on Illness and Loss, The Golden Shovel Anthology honoring Gwendolyn Brooks, and Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry. He is a professor in the Ashland University MFA program and a residential faculty member at Paradise Valley Community College where he teaches poetry and English composition. You can find out more about Dexter, hi

“The idea that they had plucked me from this terrible life…and it was all going to be sunflowers and rainbows and shit…I just view that as a fantasy.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A young black girl born to a drug-addicted mother is adopted by white, middle-class parents, only to face more sinister taboos as she becomes a stranger within her own family.Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappeningWebsite: www.thisisactuallyhappening.comSupport the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happeningEngage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201783687561039/Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: www.actuallyhappeningstore.com to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop. Content/Trigger Warnings: parental abuse, sexual abuse, explicit languageIntro Music: "Illabye" – Tippe