Mother Nature Will Kill You

Jillian's mom managed to find herself in the only bit of quicksand in Virginia (don't worry she's fine) and Haley and Jillian discuss the best ways to free oneself from that predicament.  Then Haley takes us into another Floridian tale discussing the disappearance of Ben McDaniel from Vortex Spring.   Sources Disappearance of Ben McDaniel , Wikipedia 

Jillian and Haley discuss Jillian's forays into the swamps and streets of New Orleans, where she met a man who got bitten in the neck by an 18 foot gator and lived to tell the tale.  Then Jillian delves into the story of the Plura Cave tragedy and recovery.  Sources The cavers who went back for their friends , William Kremer, BBC News Diving Into the Unknown , Amazon Prime

In this one year anniversary hallmark episode, Haley and Jillian talk about the big news of the week -- Shackleton's Endurance has been found!  Then Jillian gets into two lighthouse related story, the very creepy story of the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy and the heroic deeds of Ida Lewis of Lime Rock Lighthouse.  Sources: Endurance: Shackleton's lost ship found in Antarctic , Jonathan Amos,...

Plunging into the next week of unprecedented events, Haley and Jillian try to distract themselves by talking about a recent mudslide in Brazil, as well as delve into the story of Douglas Mawson, a man who found himself alone, with barely any supplies, 300 miles into the untouched wilderness of Antarctica.  Sources:  Brazil mudslides kill more than 90, with dozens still missing , NPR&nbsp...

Haley regales Jillian with her trip to Dry Tortugas and how she was almost stranded there, as well as a news story about 18 people trapped on an ice floe.  Jillian tells the story of Juliane Koepcke, a seventeen year old girl who survived both a plane crash and a 10 day long stint in the Amazon.  Sources:  Coast Guard: 18 rescued after being trapped on ice sheet in Lake Erie , Chris...

Jillian gives some updates on the Tonga Tsunami of 2022 and a recent news story about a dog that gets saved by a sausage on a drone.  Then Jillian and Haley discuss the fascinating mystery of the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine on Mount Everest.  Did they summit Everest first?  Listen to find out.  Three Tiny Islands Have Borne the Brunt of Tonga's Tsunami , Na...

Haley and Jillian are bringing a multi-story episode this week with two news stories, including a fight for survival for thousands on Virginia's 1-95 corridor during a snow storm, and the very recent Tonga volcano eruption and resulting tsunami.  Haley then tells us about the Florida Keys Legend, Lily Bow, and her experiences homesteading in one of the most isolated parts of the country. &nbs...

Haley and Jillian meet in person in Haymarket for the first time on air for a special holiday edition of the podcast to discuss the arctic tale of Ada Blackjack, a badass woman in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The podcast also hosts it's first guest, Jillian's own dad, Phil, who talks a bit more about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald from Episode 20 (If It Fitz, It Sitz), and his expe...

Haley and Jillian discuss a gnarly listener tale involving agave spines in the Grand Canyon, and Haley talks about the tragic and controversial story of Chris McCandless, aka "Into the Wild."  Sources Into the Wild (film),   Chris McCandless , Wikipedia  Chris McCandless Went Into the Alaskan Wilderness in 1992 and Never Came Out , Katie Serena, All That Is Interesting  The Int...

We start of the podcast this week with news on the natural disaster level storms in British Columbia while Haley tells us about some local activisim in the keys.  Then Jillian regales us with the story of Mauro Prosperi a man who got lost in the Sahara Desert with barely any resources.  Sources:  British Columbia and the Pacific north-west storm wreaks havoc , Leyland Cecco, The Gua...

Haley and Jillian experience their first movie based episode in which they discuss a touching story about a man seeking revenge for his son...oh whoops I mean gun.  This episode is the true story of Hugh Glass, the man behind The Revenant. Happy Thanksgiving.  Sources:  Hugh Glass: American Frontiersman ; Arikara People ; Grizzly Bear , Encyclopedia Britannica   An Unforgettabl...

Haley and Jillian discuss the perils of entering the water with an in-the-news story about a man getting eaten alive by a school of piranhas and the tragic Great Lakes tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Gitchi-Gumi never gives up her dead.  Sources:  Man Eaten By Piranhas After Jumping Into Lake to Flee From Bees , Fatma Khaled, Newsweek The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald , Song by Gor...

Haley and Jillian round out spooky season with an update on the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie and a dive into the mystery that surrounds Dyatlov Pass.  Which may or may not involve a yeti.  Sources:  The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident , Marcia Wendorf, Interesting Engineering The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass: Death Mountain , Lucy Ash, BBC News Russia’s ‘Dyatolov Pass’ conspiracy t...

Haley and Jillian return to spooky season to finish out the mysterious tale of Franklin's Lost Northwest Passage Expedition of 1845, and Haley fills us in on the updates from the recent, tragic case of Gabbi Petito*.  Apologies from Jillian for forgetting to cite her sources - they are all present below the description. *update, cause of death has been released as strangulation  Sources:...

Haley and Jillian start off the episode with a look at a sinkhole growing in Mexico and discuss the ongoing Gabbi Petito Case.  Then Jillian delves right into spooky season with one of the most fascinating, mysterious, and downright creepy stories of polar exploration, Sir John Franklin's lost expedition through the Northwest Passage.  Sources:  Experts: Erosion caused Mexico sinkho...

Haley regales Jillian with her adventures in Alaska (featuring the dreaded bear encounter) and then they dive straight into hurricane season with Jillian recapping the recent Hurricane Ida and Haley delving into Hurricane Irma and the aftermath in the Florida Keys.  Sources: Lafitte Man Survives 13 Hours on Capsized Boat During Hurricane Ida , Erica Fernando, 4WWL (Local CBS Affiliate) ...

We enter hurricane season with a bang in the week following Hurricane Ida and the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a storm story that beats all. Jillian delves into the story of the Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston, Texas (also a few days before this storm’s anniversary…early September is not a good time to be down on the Gulf Coast) and explains how this massive event led to modern day natur...

After a in-the-news story about a man who got trapped in his cabin by an overly aggressive grizzly bear, Haley gets into the knarly tale that is the Uruguayan Rugby Team plane crash survival of 1972.  Make sure to pack your chocolate and wine.  Sources:  Repeatedly Confronted by a Bear, a Man is Rescued After He Writes "SOS" On A Shack - Dalia Faheid, NPR Grizzly-Sized Tale Intrigue...

Haley regales us with her experiences at ICAST and Jillian digs into a tale of cold misery with Helen Klaben and Ralph Flores's survival story in the Canadian Yukon.  Don't forget your travel snacks. Sources:  Helen Klaben Kahn, Survivor of a 49-Day Yukon Ordeal, Dies at 76 , Richard Sandomir, New York Times Helen Klaben, U.S. woman who survived plane crash and spent 49 days stranded in...

Haley and Jillian go over Jillian's vacation mishaps in Maui before getting into the incredible story of the Apollo 13 disaster and the survival of the crew.  Space is nature, right?  Sources:  Apollo 13: The True Story , Discovery Channel  Apollo 13 , Wikipedia 

Jillian talks about one of the most incredible Coast Guard rescues ever, the rescue of the S.S. Pendleton and updates Haley on the Florida Sewer Woman (now the Multistate Sewer Woman).  Several American accents were attempted in this episode.  Sources:  Woman Rescued Naked From Storm Drain Pipe in Florida Saved Again From Texas Sewer , Louise Hall, UK Independent.  The Finest H...

Haley takes over in her first ever full story episode with the amazing and unbelievable story of the Wild Boar Soccer Team rescue from Thailand's Tham Luang Cave.  As a bonus, Jillian talks about a man who gets eaten by a whale and lives to tell the tale.  Sources:  "I Was Completely Inside": Lobster Diver Swallowed by Humpback Whale off Province Town , Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Times&n...

Haley and Jillian wax on about the joys of shared millennial childhood experiences and then immediately bring the mood down with the story of the Mossdale Cavern Tragedy (Jillian is good at that).  Featuring a collection of tales from a listener about working in the Great White North! Sources:  What lies beneath: Mossdale Caving Disaster , Ray Kershaw, The Independent Remembering Mossdal...

Our first listener story, whoo hoo! Haley regales us with the time her friend got in a "hairy" situation while repelling 50 feet above the ground, and Jillian talks about the real-life inspiration story behind Melville's Moby Dick--and it's about 100x worse than the fictionalized version.   Sources:  The True-Life Horror that Inspired Moby-Dick , Gilbert King, Smithsonian Magazine ...

Haley talks about the biological mysteries of volcano sharks while Jillian introduces the unbelievable story of the survivors of the Galeras Eruption of 1993.  Proof that even scientists can make some major mistakes. No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz - Victoria Bruce