A man grows up waiting for his sexuality to bloom, but after that moment never comes, he feels a longing for intimacy that leads him to transform the meaning of partnership, family and fatherhood for himself and for society. Today’s episode featured David Jay. David is the founder of asexuality.org. David’s new book, titled “Relationality: How moving from transactional to transformational relationships can reshape our lonely world” is available for preorder on Amazon, and wherever books are sold...
Jun 18, 2024•52 min•Season 13Ep. 324
A woman growing up in worn torn Colombia comes to the US and builds a new life, but when she suffers a freak accident and loses her sense of self, a new beginning transforms the scars of her past. Today’s episode featured Ingrid Rojas-Contreras. If you’d like to learn more about Ingrid you can find her on Instagram @i__rojascontreras, on Twitter @ingrid_rojas_c and on her website: ingridrojascontreras.com. Ingrid’s memoir The Man Who Could Move Clouds was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Natio...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 13Ep. 323
After a childhood feeling unworthy of love and belonging, a man finds his path to the Coast Guard and a solid marriage, but after a minor back injury, he’s prescribed painkillers that send him on a tragic spiral of addiction. Today’s episode featured Jamie. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at japo081@gmail.com. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting won...
Jun 04, 2024•51 min•Season 13Ep. 322
Growing up in the remote Ozark mountains with a mother who believed she was God and a father with deeper abuses, a man paves his own rocky healing path to become a healer for others. Today’s episode featured Merle Yost. You can find out more about Merle on his website, merleyost.com , and about his workshop, Unspoken Boundaries, at unspokenboundaries.com . If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email him at merle@merleyost.com , and you can find him on Instagram @loveyost . Merle is a writer...
May 28, 2024•48 min•Season 13Ep. 321
Growing up with a mother who used practiced an abusive form of spiritual voodoo, a man seeks to numb his pain, but after tragedy and a descent into crack addiction, he finally finds the cure he’d been looking for. Today’s episode featured Will Taylor. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now. Producers: Whit Missildine, A...
May 21, 2024•50 min•Season 13Ep. 320
Escaping her troubled past, a suburban mother finds stability in marriage and family, but when her reality suddenly begins to fall apart, she descends into an underworld of chaos. Today’s episode featured Billy Macy. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at bmacy78@gmail.com . This episode is the second of a two-part series featuring Billy and her sister, Misty Watterson. Misty’s story aired last week, as episode 318: What if your daughter went missing? Listen to exclusive episodes of...
May 14, 2024•58 min•Season 13Ep. 319
A woman spirals into drug use, coping with an abusive childhood, a failing marriage and post-partum depression, but on the road to recovery, her daughter goes missing and a new realm of horror opens. Today’s episode featured Misty Watterson and the story of her daughter Allyson Watterson. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at mwatterson34@gmail.com . You can also find her on Instagram @wattersonmisty. This episode is the first of a two-part series featuring Misty and her sister Bil...
May 07, 2024•57 min•Season 13Ep. 318
A Thai-Filipino-American man fulfills his life-long dream of escaping his chaotic past and joining the Army, but after lingering scars from multiple deployments to Iraq threaten to destroy him, he finds an unexpected awakening. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now. Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Content/Trig...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr•Season 13Ep. 317
Growing up with a narcissistic father, a woman learns to play small, but one night when an unknown masked man enters her room, she faces the worst night of her life, and emerges on the other side with a new found ferocity. Today’s episode featured Danielle Leukam. You can learn more about Danielle on her website, danielleleukam.com . And you can find her on Instagram @danielleukam, as well as Twitter and Facebook. You can also learn more about her story in her two memoirs, Four Pounds of Pressur...
Apr 23, 2024•57 min•Season 13Ep. 316
After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the camera on the inside of his family, a new world opens he never thought possible. Today’s episode featured GJ Echternkamp. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at GJActuallyHappening@gmail.com . You can find GJ’s documentary, “frank and Cindy” from 2007, as well as his feature film, also titled “Frank and Cindy” f...
Apr 16, 2024•54 min•Season 13Ep. 315
After losing her entire family at ten years old, a woman’s grief evolves into a self-destructive rage, and as systems of care, punishment and rehabilitation keep failing her, she’s forced to create her own path to healing. Today’s episode featured Amy Ronhaar. You can find out more about Amy on her website, www.amyronhaar.com , and you can read more details of her story in her memoir Raising Amy: A Daughter’s Memoir on Book Baby https://store.bookbaby.com/book/raising-amy1 If you’d like to conta...
Apr 09, 2024•54 min•Season 13Ep. 314
Growing up queer, bullied and abused in a heavily religious community, a man tries and to change his sexual orientation through prayer, but as he pieces his life together and heals past harms, tragedy and misfortune raise more questions than answers. Today’s episode featured Ransom. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at Ransomnotes24@gmail.com Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start ...
Apr 02, 2024•52 min•Season 13Ep. 313
Finally finding love and marriage after feeling unworthy of romance, a woman develops symptoms of a mysterious and debilitating illness, but in the roller coaster of recovery, her husband’s mental illness creates a new level of chaos. Today’s episode featured Marabai Rose. To find out more about Marabai, you can find her on Instagram @marabai.rose, and on her website marabairose.com . There you can find links to her podcast, Badass: Tales of Resilience @badass_tales_of_resilience, which showcase...
Mar 26, 2024•57 min•Season 13Ep. 312
An Indigenous woman from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation whose grandparents suffered the horrific abuses of the Canadian Indian residential schools finds her own path to healing amidst the ravages of generational trauma on her family and community. Today’s episode featured Erin Goodpipe. To learn more about Erin and her work, you can find her on Instagram @e_goodpipe. Erin is multidisciplinary artist, educator and researcher involved in a number of media projects, including as a co-host of Tr...
Mar 19, 2024•50 min•Season 13Ep. 311
After being kidnapped by her mother in a custody battle, a woman finds herself cut off and under the thumb of an abusive stepmother, but after years of chaos and yearning, she finally learns the devastating truth. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at cracklinghearth1@gmail.com Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by...
Mar 12, 2024•45 min•Season 13Ep. 310
Endowed with a strong drive from a young age, a woman becomes a workaholic and marries a wonderful man with similar ambitions, but when he faces a failing project, life-long toxic work patterns come to a tragic conclusion. Today’s episode featured Trina Colpitts. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at 500milesformentalhealth@gmail.com , and you can learn more about her foundation at 500milesformentalhealth.com and join their 2024 challenge. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Ac...
Mar 05, 2024•50 min•Season 13Ep. 309
Soon after returning from a long trip abroad, Whit Missildine, our creator and host of the show, suddenly blacked out and entered a non-responsive seizure state, but as he woke up to a new reality, struggling to put himself back together again, the gifts from the show itself offered exactly the medicine he needed. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/link...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 13Ep. 308
An impromptu hiking trip turns suddenly to disaster. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now. Producer: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon: patreon.com/happening Shop at the Stor...
Feb 20, 2024•46 min
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. Today's episode featured Neil Woods. You can find out more about Neil by going to neilwoods.net, where you can also find links to his two books: Good Cop, Bad War and Drug Wars, with more about his own experience and about the War on Drugs in Britain. To find out more about his organization, LEAP, or Law Enforcement Action Partnership, go to la...
Feb 13, 2024•56 min
A woman growing up in poverty in Jamaica is abandoned by her mother at an early age, and as her story of unworthiness deepens, she falls prey to a cruel world. Today’s episode featured Donna Hayes. Donna has written a memoir that includes further details about her incredible journey called These Broken Roads, which you can find on Amazon. You can also find out more about her on her website, donna-hayes.com and learn about her coaching practice at distinguishedcoaching.com . You can find her on s...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 13Ep. 307
After learning to endure a toxic relationship with his father, a man crafts a ‘good life’ filled with the privileges of success, but only when he finds himself on the other side of death’s door does he find out what it really means to be alive. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now. Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew W...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 13Ep. 306
Growing up in a family full of secrets, a woman experiences a complex trauma and buries a secret of her own, but after finding her passion in medicine, she is faced with dilemma that brings everything to the surface. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous. But if you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at v2174359@gmail.com. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by vis...
Jan 23, 2024•49 min•Season 13Ep. 305
A young woman on a backpacking trip in Bali faces a series of misfortunes, but just as she’s leaving for the next chapter of her journey, her future is thrown into darkness. Today’s episode featured Ashley King. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at ashleyjenniferk@gmail.com , or find her on Instagram @ashkng. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wonder...
Jan 16, 2024•54 min•Season 13Ep. 304
A young man looking for a quick way to get rid of student loan debt gambles with his life and nearly pays the ultimate price. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/ now. Producer: Whit Missildine Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcast Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support ...
Jan 09, 2024•47 min
A woman with severe harm OCD encounters the many faces of death and dying but finds renewal in caring for others and ultimately herself. Today's episode featured Rachel. You can find out more about her on Facebook at fb.com/RachelHillestad . Content/Trigger Warnings: homicidal thoughts, harm OCD, death, sexual assault, mention of suicide, suicidal thoughts, explicit language Producers: Whit Missildine Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Wondery Pl...
Jan 02, 2024•52 min
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 and his current work at www.quanxhuynh.com and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @quanxhuynh Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actua...
Dec 26, 2023•53 min
Growing up in a broken home with a loving mother, a woman faces disturbing and routine abuse from her brother, but after it escalates, and the unthinkable happens, the terror never ends. Today's episode featured Amy Chesler. To find out more about her and her story, you can find her book on Working for Justice on Amazon. Amy also has her own podcast, What Came Next, which chronicles in greater depth her experiences with the criminal justice system and the media, as well as other firsthand accoun...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr•Season 13Ep. 303
A woman experiences a childhood trauma, facing silence and betrayal in the aftermath, but a when unexpected tragedy comes, the answers begin slipping out of reach. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out, you can email her at dotisallin@gmail.com Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Sara Marinelli Content/Trigger Warnings: sexual assault of a minor, alcohol and drug abuse, addition, suicide, explicit language Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Tw...
Dec 12, 2023•52 min•Season 13Ep. 302
Growing up with a solid Midwestern childhood, and man discovers the wonders of the Hawaiian ocean, when one day a terrifying encounter changes everything. Today’s episode featured Harvey Miller. You can find out more about Harvey on Instagram @mrsharkb8, on TikTok @harveymiller26, or you can contact him over email at mr.sharkb8@gmail.com Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason Blalock Content/Trigger Warnings: death, car accident, near-death, shark attack, explicit language Social Media:...
Dec 05, 2023•49 min•Season 13Ep. 301
After falling into a co-dependent relationship, a woman’s boyfriend begins a bewildering decline, but after losing his battle, she awakens to a deeper understanding of grief, death and generational patterns of trauma and silence. Today’s episode featured Amanda Coggin. If you’d like to reach out, you can email her at spiritualinthebay@gmail.com . Amanda has also compiled a list of resources for mental wellness, adverse childhood experiences, and trauma and resilience. This episode is an updated ...
Nov 28, 2023•52 min•Season 13Ep. 300
