“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 Missildine Episode 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, Scratching the Ghost from Graywolf Press, which won the 2012 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, as well as the chapbook Rh...
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 10Ep. 158
“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 Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon...
Jun 16, 2020•51 min•Season 9Ep. 157
“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 Missildine Episode 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 price Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening En...
Jun 02, 2020•45 min•Season 9Ep. 156
“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 Missildine Episode Summary: A young woman is forced to make a decision about the fate of a father she never knew. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happening Engage with the Community: Join the This Is Actually Happening Dis...
May 19, 2020•48 min•Season 9Ep. 155
“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 Missildine Episode 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...
May 05, 2020•46 min•Season 9Ep. 154
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...
Apr 28, 2020•1 hr 14 min
“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 Missildine Episode 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 companion Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www...
Apr 21, 2020•49 min•Season 9Ep. 153
“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 Missildine Episode 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 yo...
Apr 07, 2020•53 min•Season 9Ep. 152
“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 Missildine Episode Summary: A woman finds respite from childhood anxieties in relationships only to enter a spiral of mental illness and unexplained phenomena. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show...
Mar 24, 2020•48 min•Season 9Ep. 151
“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 Missildine Episode 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 @arijblige Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Supp...
Mar 10, 2020•52 min•Season 9Ep. 150
“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 Missildine Episode 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 ca...
Feb 25, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 9Ep. 149
“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 Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreo...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 148
“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 Missildine Editors : Sara Marinelli, Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://...
Jan 28, 2020•48 min•Season 9Ep. 147
“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 Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/happen...
Jan 14, 2020•47 min•Season 9Ep. 146
“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 Missildine Editors: Nigel Coutinho, Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappen...
Dec 17, 2019•41 min•Season 9Ep. 145
“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 Missildine Editors : Sara Marinelli, Whit Missildine Episode Summary: A woman sinks into a psychological black hole following what was supposed to be the greatest moment of her life. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Sho...
Dec 03, 2019•52 min•Season 9Ep. 144
“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 Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyh...
Nov 19, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Season 9Ep. 143
“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 Missildine Editors : Nigel Coutinho, Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon ht...
Nov 05, 2019•48 min•Season 9Ep. 142
“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 Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The ...
Oct 22, 2019•32 min•Season 9Ep. 141
“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 Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactua...
Oct 08, 2019•43 min•Season 9Ep. 140
“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 Missildine Editors : Nigel Coutinho, Whit Missildine Episode 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: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappen...
Sep 24, 2019•50 min•Season 9Ep. 139
“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 Missildine Editors : Nigel Coutinho, Whit Missildine Episode 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...
Sep 10, 2019•42 min•Season 9Ep. 138
“I don’t know what I was thinking but I just kept feeling like the waves of shame because of the shame I made them feel.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode Summary: Growing up in a household full of both love and violence in Mississippi, Kiese Laymon struggles with generational trauma, career success, and addiction before finally facing the silences of his past. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support...
Aug 27, 2019•44 min•Season 9Ep. 137
“I did have the feeling that someone was gonna come back and do something horrible again after that.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editors : Nigel Coutinho, Whit Missildine Episode Summary: Terra Newell is thrown a nightmare scenario as her mother’s new love life spins out of control, while the ordeal takes on a new life as the centerpiece of the famous Dirty John podcast and TV series. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support Th...
Aug 20, 2019•40 min•Season 9Ep. 136
“My personhood had been shattered into a thousand pieces that I and my family were left to pick up one at a time.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode Summary: After self-medicating for years to cope with the emotional aftermath of an abusive, religious upbringing, a woman goes in for a minor surgery, and when she emerges, everything has changed. Today's episode features Olivia Wilder. You can find out more about Olivia in Instagram @oliviaamputeefitness Social Media: Inst...
Aug 13, 2019•44 min•Season 9Ep. 135
Announcements for Season 9 of This Is Actually Happening. Includes updates on the release schedule, the new This is Actually Happening store, and more. If you'd like to submit a design for a This Is Actually Happening t-shirt or poster, send your artwork to actuallyhappeningpodcast@gmail.com 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 fr...
Aug 06, 2019•3 min
“How could I allow myself to mourn what I had lost? Because if I mourned it, then it was like a death, and I couldn’t accept that the me that I knew had died.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Whit Missildine Episode Summary: After devoting his life to a singular passion, a man develops a rare condition that threatens to crush his dreams forever. Today’s episode featured Stefan Weiner. As a musician, he goes by Stefan Alexander and you can hear more about his music on his website at www.stefan...
Jun 11, 2019•40 min•Season 8Ep. 134
“All that traumatized people are really looking for is not a fix-it but more like a validation or acknowledgement that it matters.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Nigel Coutinho Episode Summary: A woman finally establishes a life for herself after years of caring for her mother’s illness, only to watch her entire life be consumed before her eyes. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon https://www.patr...
May 28, 2019•40 min•Season 8Ep. 133
“It’s interesting always having this void, knowing that you have something so wonderful that could love you so much and you could love so much that exists out there.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Nigel Coutinho Episode Summary: A young man falls deeply in love after meeting the girl of his dreams, leading to an unexpected event that leaves him with an irreparable void. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support the Show: Support The Show on...
May 14, 2019•30 min•Season 8Ep. 132
“I have a fear every single day am I going crazy and I don’t even know it? I didn’t know the things that I was doing and the things that I was saying were so extreme.” Producer: Whit Missildine Editor : Nigel Coutinho Episode Summary: After surviving a father whose mental illness consumed the family, a woman spirals down into psychosis and compulsive behaviors, finally leading her on the path to healing. Social Media: Instagram: @actuallyhappening Website: www.thisisactuallyhappening.com Support...
Apr 30, 2019•32 min•Season 8Ep. 131
