What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

Scott reads A Piece of Steak, by Jack London     Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sp...

Sometimes it can be pretty amazing how one small decision can have a huge impact.   Mike Jaffe knows about that.   Mike was usually on his way to work in the morning when his wife, Sabrina, woke up their one year old daughter. He was also on his way home from work when Sabrina was putting her to bed.   But one Monday morning, he decided that the next day, Tuesday, he would go in to work late so th...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: What’s your favorite smell? Links for this episode: Lucid dreaming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream REAL phone numbers for any major company: https://GetHuman.com Jill Comes Clean: https://jillcomescl...

A lot of weird things can happen when you work in a retail store.   You can ask anyone who’s worked retail for a while, and they will have some stories. My daughter worked at a popular clothing store for a while here in Florida. She worked mostly around the fitting rooms. And she was constantly amazed – and annoyed – at the things people would do in those little rooms where you try on clothes. Oh...

Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds.  In this immersive series from Wondery, host-adventurers Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol will share thrilling stories of survival. From the daring rescue of a soccer team trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand, to a woman taken hostage by Somali pirates, these stories mad...

When you meet someone for the first time, do you trust them by default?   I like to think that I just assume the best of a stranger, until they prove they aren’t worthy of my trust. But that can be dangerous in some cases.   There were a couple of people who were partners in a business and they were looking for office space to rent. They searched online and found an ad for what looked like the per...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: When you just want to be left alone, where is your favorite place to be?   Links for this episode: Merlin bird identification app: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/   Meredith’s Foot fetish episode  https://o...

STAS 8: Tanya Skelton   Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.   Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21...

You never really know someone…especially online. In today’s world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world’s most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey. On Wondery’s new weekly series, join co-hosts Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi as they unpack epic stories of deception from the worlds of social media, f...

Sometimes you find yourself in a situation that you didn’t ever expect, and you are faced with a decision that you never thought you’d have to make.   Joe was an EMT in New York. He had just finished his evening shift, and he did what he always did after leaving work. He stopped by the local Dunkin’ Donuts for his regular nightly coffee. But this time was a little different – he happened to be car...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What's something you tried once but would never do again?   Links for this episode:   Joe Rogan and Theo Von try smelling salts: https://youtu.be/xq9h2FSNIYM?si=RoEJGLTtmHYBj0qx   Bitwarden password manager:...

You and I make decisions, all day every day. But have you ever thought about being able to have a choice about how you die?   I mean, most people would probably prefer a method that’s quick and painless, so I guess we might want to have some say in the matter. But being put in that position of having to actually choose – in the moment – is not something that happens very often.   But that’s the si...

Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night because something terrible was happening?   It’s definitely not a pleasant way to wake up. This happened to a 27 year old man named Nick, and he wrote about it on social media –   I was sleeping at my girlfriend’s house last night. Usually we pass out around midnight, but last night we didn’t get to sleep until around 1:30 or so. It was around...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What's your favorite memory of your father?   Links for this episode:   Could AI Blackmail You? Meredith For Real episode https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DQJmHWDjtHqwMledP8BVd?si=Dn9t9Us3TuKzasu1t1FFdA   Sh...

When I started this podcast more than seven years ago, the primary factor was based on just one fundamental concept: the impact of a good story.   For each What Was That Like main episode, you hear a story. The guest is telling the story of what happened. Many of the stories are traumatic, many include loss and grief, and there are those that are happy as well. Even the heavy stories often end on...

How scary would it be, if you suddenly lost your ability to speak?   There was a story in the news about a man named Peter. When Peter was 73 years old, he had a stroke. He survived the stroke, but he found that he could no longer speak. And it looked like that condition was permanent, because after 4 years, he still had no voice.   But then, Peter was on vacation with his wife Carol, and their so...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What past job did you hate the most?     Links for this episode:   No-tie shoelaces: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTF79TGF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title   Travel French Press mug: https://www.amazon.com/In...

I was traveling recently, and I got in this Uber and started talking to the driver, and when I heard his voice I said, “Kevin, you need to have a podcast!” I don’t know if he’ll do that, but he did graciously agree to record that quick opener for me, just before I got out of his car.   438 – keep  that number in your head and I’ll come back to it in a minute.   By now you have probably figured out...

Do you know, with certainty, how you would react in a time of extreme stress or crisis?   As a 22 year old woman in San Francisco, Betty had not yet decided on a career path. So, while she was figuring out what she wanted to do, she worked at the factory owned by her parents. The factory produced beef jerky. It wasn’t really her dream job, but it kept her busy at the time, and she also felt good a...

Every other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: What under-$100 item has been the best thing you've bought?   Links for this episode:   Chris Moneymaker wins the 2003 World Series of Poker – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkUImEGrMU   Meredith’s beach cr...

Geraldine was alone on a 6-month Appalachian Trail hike, with a poor sense of direction.   Sponsor deals: If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod   Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.   Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipp...

Quite a few of the episodes here on What Was That Like involve emergencies. Today we’re talking about a different kind of emergency.   If you’re new to the podcast, this is definitely not a typical episode. You might want to look through some of the past episode titles and pick one out that looks interesting.   But today is a little different. I’m in Dallas this week, hanging out with a bunch of m...

Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners.   The question for this episode: Who was your celebrity crush when you were young?   Links for this episode:   How Deep Will You Go card game: https://howdeepwillyougo.com/   Jonathan Taylor Thomas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Taylor_Tho...

Sometimes, you see a phone call coming in and you just know that something bad has happened.   I remember back several years ago, when my dad was still alive. He was in pretty poor health. He could still walk around, sort of, but it was with a walker, and it was very slowly. I’m the oldest of three sons, and of the three, I live the closest. It’s only about a 5 or 6 minute drive for me to get to m...

My favorite author is Jack London. His style of writing paints a very vivid picture in my mind. As I read his stories, it feels like I’m right there in the middle of it. One of his most well-known works is titled To Build A Fire. This is the opening paragraph of that story.   Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail. He climbed the high earth-bank where a li...