What I survived

On the evening of November 26, 2008, British freelance filmmaker Will Pike and his girlfriend checked into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai for a one-night stopover on their way to Goa. It was meant to be a treat. A single night in one of the world's most famous hotels. By midnight, terrorists were moving through the corridors executing guests. Will and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in their room as the siege unfolded around them. They could hear the gunfire, they heard people being executed in the hallway outside their door. When smoke began filling the room they had no choice b

On the evening of November 26, 2008, British freelance filmmaker Will Pike and his girlfriend checked into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai for a one-night stopover on their way to Goa. It was meant to be a treat. A single night in one of the world's most famous hotels. By midnight, terrorists were moving through the corridors executing guests. Will and his girlfriend barricaded themselves in their room as the siege unfolded around them. They could hear the gunfire, they heard people being executed in the hallway outside their door. When smoke began filling the room they had no choice b

Jim Latrache grew up poor in Denmark, joined the French Foreign Legion as a young man, and spent years as a high-end cocaine dealer to Copenhagen's wealthy elite before a prison sentence gave him five and a half years to reconsider his life choices. What came next nobody could have predicted. When Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger needed someone to pose as a shady arms dealer willing to negotiate illegal weapons and drug deals with North Korean regime officials, he needed someone who could be utterly convincing in the role. Someone with the background, the nerve, and the complete absence of fear

Jim Latrache grew up poor in Denmark, joined the French Foreign Legion as a young man, and spent years as a high-end cocaine dealer to Copenhagen's wealthy elite before a prison sentence gave him five and a half years to reconsider his life choices. What came next nobody could have predicted. When Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger needed someone to pose as a shady arms dealer willing to negotiate illegal weapons and drug deals with North Korean regime officials, he needed someone who could be utterly convincing in the role. Someone with the background, the nerve, and the complete absence of fear

On the 19th of August 2007, British Army reservist and SAS trooper Jamie Hull was days away from completing his private pilot's licence when his aircraft engine caught fire during a solo training flight over Florida. He had 45 seconds to decide how to survive. With the cockpit engulfed in flames and the plane descending rapidly, Jamie did something that should have been impossible. He climbed out of the burning cockpit, stood on the wing of a plummeting aircraft, and jumped. The plane exploded sixty feet behind him. What followed was six months in intensive care, six months in a coma, third

On the 19th of August 2007, British Army reservist and SAS trooper Jamie Hull was days away from completing his private pilot's licence when his aircraft engine caught fire during a solo training flight over Florida, he had 45 seconds to decide how to save his life. With the cockpit engulfed in flames and the plane descending rapidly, Jamie did something that should have been impossible. He climbed out of the burning cockpit, stood on the wing of a plummeting aircraft, and jumped. The plane exploded sixty feet behind him. What followed was six months in intensive care, six months in a coma,

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

In August 2008, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan travelled to Somalia on assignment. It would be the last decision he made as a free man for nearly a year and a half. Within days of arriving, Nigel and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout were ambushed on the outskirts of Mogadishu and taken captive by members of a militant group. What followed was 462 days of unimaginable physical and psychological torment, starvation, isolation, beatings, and a desperate will to survive in conditions that would break most people within weeks. But this is not just a story about captivity. It is a sto

Season 2 is coming. 382,000 of you found What I Survived in its first 46 days. We are just getting started. What I Survived Season 2. May 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in 1968, the daughter of a former pilot who became a Gurnsey newspaper editor, Annie won a scholarship to a private school and would go on to study at Britain's elite Cambridge University. In 1990, Annie sat a Foreign Office examination in hopes of becoming a diplomat but instead would receive a rather obscure letter suggesting there might be other careers that would suit her better and that was the start of her recruitment into the infamous MI5, Britain's secret service. She was posted to their counter-subversion department, officially known as 'F2' and almost from day 1 found herself u

Born in 1968, the daughter of a former pilot who became a Gurnsey newspaper editor, Annie won a scholarship to a private school and would go on to study at Britain's elite Cambridge University. In 1990, Annie sat a Foreign Office examination in hopes of becoming a diplomat but instead would receive a rather obscure letter suggesting there might be other careers that would suit her better and that was the start of her recruitment into the infamous MI5, Britain's secret service. She was posted to their counter-subversion department, officially known as 'F2' and almost from day 1 found herself u

David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller. Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne. David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come? At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to in

David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller. Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne. David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come? At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to in

David McMillan has lead a life that is almost unbelievable, its like something out of a Hollywood crime thriller. Born in the UK to Australian parents David would travel back and forth between the two countries a few times until at the age of 10 his parents divorced and he, his sister and mother made the permanent move to Melbourne. David was always different as a kid, he was expelled from school for trying to make a batch of LSD, a sign of things to come? At eighteen David got a job at the city cinema and by chance would meet some retired safe crackers, safe crackers who were looking to in

Christopher Douglas Emms is wanted for allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Specifically, conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) by working with an American citizen to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DP, Its quite the mouthful. Chris is a British citizen who, due to his status of being Wanted, now calls Moscow home. He and I spoke via Zoom about the charges brough against and just how on earth he came to be accused of help

Christopher Douglas Emms is wanted for allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Specifically, conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) by working with an American citizen to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DP, Its quite the mouthful. Chris is a British citizen who, due to his status of being Wanted, now calls Moscow home. He and I spoke via Zoom about the charges brough against and just how on earth he came to be accused of help

Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010. Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals. Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on

Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010. Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals. Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on

Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010. Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals. Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on

Once one of America's most wanted men, Wild Bill, as he's been called by authorities, was arrested as he attempted to make his way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010. Bill was accused of the murders of 5 people, murders that he would later confess to. Bill says he worked in Panama as a gun for hire, a hitman, for a cartel of sorts. He says he was driven by greed and a severe lack of any morals. Bill says he's not the man he once was, he does not speak of the murders that he has committed or even so much as mention their names, he says he is haunted by his crimes and he focuses on

This is part three of the TikTok fugitive. I was alerted to Chad's story when I was tagged in his TikTok, the TikTok fugitive. I was intrigued by his story and just had to know more, so after getting InTouch we arranged to sit down for an interview. Chad is a former high level Microsoft employee and a WANTED man, wanted by the FBI for apparent international kidnapping. He's accused of kidnapping his son and taking him overseas, this was a custody battle like no other. Chad and his former wife separated in early 2000's and so began a lengthy and strained legal battle that would go on for year

This is part two of the TikTok fugitive. I was alerted to Chad's story when I was tagged in his TikTok, the TikTok fugitive. I was intrigued by his story and just had to know more, so after getting InTouch we arranged to sit down for an interview. Chad is a former high level Microsoft employee and a WANTED man, wanted by the FBI for apparent international kidnapping. He's accused of kidnapping his son and taking him overseas, this was a custody battle like no other. Chad and his former wife separated in early 2000's and so began a lengthy and strained legal battle that would go on for years,

First of all, thank you so much for the incredible support of the new series What I Survived. I'm currently working hard on Season 2 with some incredible survival stories on the way. For those of you who are new to my work, I thought I'd introduce you to another series I created a few years ago. 'Wanted' tells the stories of men and women who are, or who have been, wanted by authorities. From international kidnapping and FBI and Interpol watch lists, to cartel hitmen, MI5 and even a prison escape. Welcome to wanted! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." After 12 weeks in Taliban captivity, Sean Langan had learned to manage hope. Ransom negotiations were happening—somewhere, with someone—but he had no control over them. Every day brought the possibility of release. Every day also brought the possibility of execution. This is the final chapter of Sean Langan's survival story: the chaotic last weeks of captivity when negotiations intensified, the psychological toll of not knowing how or when it would end, and the moment he was finally released after three months as a hostage of the Haqq

”Sean were dead!” Sean Langan and his fixer are no longer documentary subjects gathering footage. They're captives. Accused of espionage. Held by the Haqqani Network in Pakistan's tribal regions with no guarantee they'll make it out alive. This is where survival becomes psychological warfare. How do you prove you're not a spy when your captors are already convinced you are? How do you stay sane when every day could be your last? How do you create routine, find humanity, and hold onto hope in a situation designed to break you? In this episode, Sean describes what captivity does to the brain—

He Went Back to Meet the Taliban. This Time, He Wouldn't Leave. It's 2008. The War on Terror is in full swing. Pakistan's tribal regions—the lawless frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan—have become one of the most dangerous places on earth for Westerners. And Sean Langan is heading straight into them. He'd met the Taliban before, years earlier, and walked away. But this time was different. Post-9/11, the stakes were higher. The risks were greater. And the Haqqani Network—one of the most sophisticated and deadly terrorist organizations in the region—was operating with impunity in the ver

Kidnapped by the Taliban: How Documentary Filmmaker Sean Langan Was Taken Hostage in Pakistan British documentary filmmaker Sean Langan had covered war zones for years—Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria. He was no stranger to danger. But in 2008, when he set out to make contact with the Haqqani Network in Pakistan's tribal regions, he was walking into something far more dangerous than he realized. This is the story of how Sean Langan was kidnapped by Taliban militants while trying to film a documentary about one of the world's most feared terrorist organizations. We explore his journey into Pakistan's

Barry Hulse was living an ordinary life as a factory worker and father in Salford, Manchester, with one extraordinary passion—his love for Goa, India. He visited the coastal paradise so often that he and his mother pooled their money to buy an apartment there. It was his slice of heaven, thousands of miles from home. But in 2006, during what should have been a routine trip with a friend, Barry's life was destroyed. That friend—someone he trusted—secretly smuggled over 75,000 diazepam tablets into packages Barry was mailing back to the UK, putting Barry's name on every single parcel. Barry had

On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured. Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that w

On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured. Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that w

On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured. Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that

On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization. What followed was a 16-hour ordeal of terror that would end with 20 passengers dead and more than 100 injured. Michael Thexton was on that flight, heading home after the devastating loss of his brother Peter, who had died weeks earlier on a Broad Peak climbing expedition in the Karakoram. Held at gunpoint, pulled to the front of the plane, and facing what he believed were his final moments, Michael made one desperate plea to his captor—a plea that

What are the odds of surviving a fall from 15,000 feet in the air? It's the equivalent of plummeting from half the height of Mount Everest. The answer should be zero and yet, somehow, Brad lived to tell the story. At 22 years old, Brad was the kind of person who lit up every room, outgoing, gregarious, full of life. So when his family gave him a belated birthday present of a tandem skydive, it seemed like the perfect thrill for someone who embraced adventure. But what happened next was every skydiver's nightmare. The main parachute would fail to open properly, then the reserve chute tangled

In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue. What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. W

In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue. What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. W

In June 1972, the Robertson family set sail on what should have been the adventure of a lifetime aboard their schooner, Lucette. But when killer whales attacked and sank their vessel in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal Robertson, his wife Lyn, their three sons, and a family friend found themselves adrift in a tiny life raft hundreds of miles from land, with minimal supplies and no hope of rescue. What followed was 38 harrowing days lost at sea, battling dehydration, starvation, and the psychological breaking point that comes with complete isolation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. W

What I Survived explores extraordinary true stories of people who lived through the unthinkable. Each episode begins with who these people were before everything changed, then takes listeners inside the moment their lives were pushed to the edge: shipwrecked at sea for weeks, held captive by terrorists, falling 15,000 feet after a parachute failure, held in Indian prison for 10 years and other extreme, life-or-death situations. Through first-hand accounts, we follow the ordeal as it unfolded, the split-second decisions made under unimaginable pressure, and the sheer will it took to survive. T