Alive Again

Our episode title is a lyric by ​​Scott McCaughey, the beloved singer-songwriter behind bands like Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. McCaughey was also a member of R.E.M.’s touring band and contributed to their albums. He had spent his life living and breathing music—until a massive stroke in 2017 shattered his ability to speak, play, and understand the world around him. He describe...

At 20 years old, Amanda Kloehr was a quirky, irreverent Air Force airman trying to find her way in the world. But everything changed in an instant when her car collided with the back of an 18-wheeler. She was nearly decapitated, lost her right eye, suffered major facial trauma, and spent months in the hospital enduring over 20 surgeries. Against all odds, Amanda lived—and began a long and of...

The deepest wounds aren’t always physical.  Cliff Bauman was stationed near the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and was among those who raced into the smoke and fire to help in the aftermath of the attacks. But while the country began to rebuild, Cliff’s inner world began to unravel. Haunted by what he’d seen—and what he couldn’t forget—he carried trauma si...

What if death isn’t an ending—but a sacred transition? In this deeply moving episode of Alive Again , we sit down with Dr. Sarah Kerr, a death doula, ritual healing practitioner, and founder of The Centre for Sacred Deathcare. With a PhD in Transformative Learning and decades immersed in cross-cultural and Indigenous traditions, Sarah helps individuals and families navigate dying and g...

On August 3rd, 2008, U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Nick Bradley’s life changed forever when a 20-pound IED detonated under his Land Cruiser during a mission in Afghanistan. Thrown from the vehicle and blinded by the blast, Nick awoke in a ditch, unable to move. “I was helpless,” he recalls. “I didn’t know what was going on—or if I was going to make it out of the...

What happens when the journey to giving life nearly ends your own? For years, Dorie Nolt faced the quiet heartbreak of unexplained infertility, finally celebrating a miraculous pregnancy after a long, arduous wait. But the joy of childbirth quickly transformed into a terrifying fight for survival when, after a routine C-section, Dorie's body began to unravel. Faced with escalating pain, a worsenin...

Rune Kolbeck found his truest self in the quiet expanse of nature, spending an idyllic youth roaming the Midwest's cornfields and timbers. But when he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, seeking a new home in the wilderness, he found himself in an unexpected nightmare. Within weeks of settling into the "big city," a casual run in a public park turned terrifying as he stared down the barrel of a gun. He re...

What prepares someone to survive the unthinkable? For renowned polar explorer Eric Larsen, it wasn’t hope or heroism—it was hardship. From the punishing silence of the Arctic to the staggering indifference of a cancer diagnosis, Eric’s life has been shaped by brutal extremes. In this profound episode of Alive Again , Eric shares how the mindset forged in the most hostile places o...

His miraculous survival story became the subject of Danny Boyle’s film 127 Hours —but what happened inside Aron’s mind and spirit during that ordeal is even more profound.  In 2003, Aron Ralston was trapped alone in a remote Utah canyon for nearly six days with his right arm pinned beneath an 800-pound boulder. In this episode of Alive Again, the man who cut off his own arm...

When Delaney Tarr survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, her life split in two. One part became instantly visible: the fiery, articulate youth activist who co-founded March for Our Lives and stood on national stages demanding change. The other part—quieter, more complicated—was still inside the girl who had to hide in a closet and text her parents goodby...

“I didn’t feel the van hit me. But I remember the voice. And then I was somewhere else.” When Anne Bayford was struck by a van while crossing a London street, her body was left broken—but her spirit was transported into a realm of profound peace, radiant light, and unconditional love. In this episode of Alive Again , Anne shares the extraordinary story of her near-death exp...

He flatlined twice. What came back was a different man—and a different artist. In 2008, artist and musician Rodney White survived a catastrophic car accident that left him in a coma, fighting for his life. He flatlined twice and underwent emergency surgery to piece his body back together. But what followed was an even deeper reconstruction of identity, purpose, and spirit. In this intimate c...

He was pulled beneath a speeding train… and awakened to something beyond this world. David Ditchfield was saying goodbye to a friend when his coat became trapped in the closing doors of a train. He was dragged under the moving cars, suffering massive trauma and blood loss. As surgeons fought to save his life, David left his body—and entered another realm entirely. In his near-death ex...

Before the fall, he was chasing a dream. After the fall, he found his sound. Musician Blair Crimmins was spiraling—caught between fading dreams, destructive habits, and an unshakable feeling that something needed to change. Then one night, after a day of drinking and being dragged behind his dog on a skateboard, he cracked his skull on the pavement outside his apartment in Atlanta. He nearly...

Perhaps the tools to face death— heal from trauma— and transform life—have been within us all along. In this special episode of Alive Again , host Dan Bush sits down with Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and one of the most influential voices in psychedelic research today. Together, they explore how psychedelic-assisted ther...

He was electrocuted—and came back with a blueprint for existence. In February 2018, Adam Tapp was doing some woodworking in his front yard when a freak accident electrocuted him. Paramedics revived him—but not before he crossed into another realm. What he experienced during those moments mirrored earlier psychedelic journeys, yet went even deeper. In his near-death state, Adam gained a...

Kathy Preston was just a joyous little girl when the Holocaust tore through her golden childhood in Transylvania. In this unforgettable episode of Alive Again , Kathy recounts—in stunning detail—the moment her innocence ended, hiding in a barn as bayonets stabbed the straw just inches from her face. Miraculously, she survived. But this is more than a story of hiding and escape. Kathy&r...

First, they prepared for a missile. Years later, it was fire that came. Annelise Cochran was working aboard a whale research vessel off the coast of Lahaina, Hawaii, when the state's missile alert system issued a terrifying false warning: a ballistic missile from North Korea was inbound. Everyone on board braced for the end. It didn’t come—but in many ways, it was a dark premonition. F...

In June 2020, Manuel Bayo Gisbert was kidnapped by armed men and teenagers tortured, and held captive until his family paid his ransom. His story, unfortunately, is a familiar one in Mexico — where more than 116,000 people (as the official number goes) have been disappeared and possibly murdered. But unlike so many, Manuel survived. Unable to shake the ghosts of that night, he set out to pho...

  In our inaugural episode, brought to us by producer Kate Sweeney, Peter Panagore shares not only the harrowing details of the ice climb that nearly took his life, but the profound spiritual journey that began when he flatlined. He describes his near-death experience with vivid clarity—from the moment he left his body, to the overwhelming presence of divine love, to a soul-shifting lif...

In this preliminary episode, host Dan Bush introduces Alive Again and the deeper questions at the heart of the series. Dan is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and storyteller whose work has long explored the human condition—what it means to be alive in a world where impermanence is our only guarantee. He’s drawn to the quiet, powerful truth that every person we know, everyone living...

ALIVE AGAIN is a weekly podcast that showcases first-hand accounts of Near Death Experiences. Our mission is to find, explore and share these stories to remind us all of our shared human condition. Coming May 13th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.