This Is Actually Happening

“I had to go through having taken everything away from me to come to the conclusion that … you’ll come back a person that’s wiser and a more full, satisfied human.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A young man looking for a quick way to get rid of student loan debt gambles with his life and nearly pays the ultimate priceSocial 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: drugs, near death, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed:   Ambient Themes by

“When somebody hurts you and then they’re like, ‘now you have to take care of him, you’re responsible for him…’ I didn’t know how to feel.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A young woman is forced to make a decision about the fate of a father she never knew.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: death, mental illness, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed:  “Cylinder Four/Cylinder Five” – Chris ZabriskieOutro Music: "The Moon is Down"

“I had total grief and sadness and fear and also just disbelief that it happened. But it’s different when you lose somebody who hurt you.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After surviving a family broken by drug addiction and mental illness, a woman finds out her mother’s death was tied to one of the most notorious crimes in American history.Today’s episode featured Nova Reeves. To find out more about Nova, you can Google her article on the death penalty in the Tacoma Tribune. You can hear her reading poetry on YouTube by searching for Quiet Lightning. You can also get a copy of her zine by emailing her directly at novareeves@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 Actu

Today, I'm introducing the podcast What Was That Like, by Scott Johnson. Featuring real people in unreal situations, What Was That Like covers similar, jaw-dropping stories to This Is Actually Happening, but with its own uniquely fascinating format and style. Today's show will feature a full episode from What Was That Like titled, "Tyson was abducted," about a man who, walking through a parking lot one night, was jumped by two strangers and thrown into a car with no idea where he was being taken. You can find the rest of What Was That Like, by Scott Johnson, on all podcast platforms, or check out the website, at whatwasthatlike.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“I had this secret inside me that I felt was my one and only friend and companion that took me away from all the pain and anxiety that I had moving through my life.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A young girl’s world is turned upside-down by the early death of her father, but starving herself to cope with the pain becomes a sinister companionSocial 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: eating disorder, death, domestic abuse, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – Tipper

“This fake face I was putting on for everybody was my only sense of normality when my whole life is already changed. I didn’t want to admit that stuff was wrong, and I did it in such a convincing way that the majority of people believed me.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A man becomes a hero during a horrific act of war only to face the worst of it after he survives.Today's episode featured Will Hoover. To find out more about Will, he’s on Twitter and Instagram @WillHooverTV, or you can check his own recently launched podcast about film and technology called Uncovered Cinema.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 op

“I was sure that this was his mental illness and not something wrong with me until I started hearing it in my head. And that was when I started to think, 'maybe I’m actually going crazy'.”Producers: Sara Marinelli, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman finds respite from childhood anxieties in relationships only to enter a spiral of mental illness and unexplained phenomena. 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: emotional abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, drug use, expli

“My earliest memories as a child were fear and anxiety…I was never able to control the situation and that unknown just haunted me.”Producer/Editor: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A girl straddles many worlds growing up biracial with a single white mother whose new boyfriend brings chaos into a peaceful home.Today’s episode featured Arielle Hermanson. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @arijbligeSocial 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: abuse, domestic violence, explicit language

 “I misused my position of power to get my needs met…How is it that if we’re called by God to this ministry we could possibly do such a destructive thing?”Producers/Editors: Nigel Coutinho, Stephanie Lepp, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A priest struggles to transform his life after facing the consequences of his most shameful secret. Today's episode featured Gil Gustafson. This episode was originally produced by Stephanie Lepp at Reckonings, and adapted for This Is Actually Happening. You can find Reckonings wherever you listen, and at: www.reckonings.showSocial 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 lin

“We have so much less control than we think we do….Death is really close at hand and we do not do ourselves often any favors by forgetting that.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Firmly established in adulthood with a great career behind her and a wonderful life, a woman suddenly finds herself to be an unlikely perpetrator of the most horrible transgression. 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: death, car crash, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – Tipp

“It’s much better to try to move forward with your life and accept that things are nebulous, and there are no clear answers.”Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Sara Marinelli, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After finally being accepted to an elite college sorority, a woman makes a new best friend whose terminal illness leaves her consumed by uncertainty. 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: explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: “Re-entry” –

“I completely lost touch with reality. You can’t rely on those around you, and you can’t rely on what’s within you. That’s the most terrifying thing in the world.”Producer: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Struggling to find his identity after college, a man suddenly suffers from panic attack that leads to a terrifying downward spiral. 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: drug use, mental breakdown, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – TipperMusic Bed: Ambi

“I’m the kind of person where I like to know answers. I don’t like secrets I don’t like surprises…I really want to know what brought him to that. I really want to know why.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Nigel Coutinho, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: After his best friend contracts a rare disease, a man’s friendship deepens as they grow into adulthood together, only to end with a sudden, shocking turn of events.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: mental illness, exp

“All those thoughts were going through my head like you’re worthless, you’re a loser, you’re a failure, you can’t be happy, you can’t feel love…just this feeling of profound failure.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Sara Marinelli, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman sinks into a psychological black hole following what was supposed to be the greatest moment of her life.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: mental illness, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye"

“Am I at fault? Am I not a victim? Should I not be able to say that because I let it happen? I don’t know if in the human heart there will ever be black and white answers to something like that.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditor: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Leaving her sheltered but complicated evangelical Christian past, a woman explores a kinky relationship that leads her to some of the darkest corners of the world.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: sexual violence

“I didn’t really realize that it was a thing that was happening to me. I don’t really know how to describe that feeling, but it was just so hard to understand.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Nigel Coutinho, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman finally establishes herself in a job she loves when a customer commits an act that will change her life forever.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: violent assault, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – TipperMusic

“I just felt something inside of me that was so sickening. It’s just like this point of realization, almost like your biggest fear in that moment had come true.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditor: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Growing up in a small Midwest town, a teenage girl forms a close friendship with a boy from a nearby town, when things unexpectedly take a very dark turn.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: suicide, explicit languageIntro Music: ""Illabye" – T

“It’s just confusing thinking about even today what I’m supposed to feel about the whole thing…humans aren’t really built to fully understand that kind of relationship.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditor: Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: Struggling with depression and gender dysphoria, a person finds solace in an online community, but relationships become shockingly complicated by the disruptive actions of one notorious member.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: bullying, e

“The worst thing that anxiety does is make you think that you have control to change something, like if I can constantly be in control of everything then nothing bad will happen.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Nigel Coutinho, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A family who for years struggled to cope with the aftermath of a traumatic injury now faces a far more terrifying unknown: the disappearance of their father.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: missing person, trau

“It’s like this weird tunnel of reality collapsing and you want to hold on to where you just were at where none of this happened, but now you have this thing that you have to absorb somehow.” Producer: Whit MissildineEditors: Nigel Coutinho, Whit MissildineEpisode Summary: A woman is three months pregnant when her husband’s pursuit of a fugitive turns their world upside down.Today's episode features Shideh Etaat. If you'd like to donate to the GoFundMe page for her husband's recovery, follow the link below. http://bit.ly/shidehgofundmeSocial 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