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PODCAST · society

This Is Actually Happening

by This Is Actually Happening

First-person stories that explore what happens when everything changes.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 11, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. What if you were kidnapped by a police officer?

    "I look at that girl now and I really don't even feel like she was me." Intro Music: "Snow Capture" - Nasienie; "Illabye" - Tipper Music: "Cylinder Five" - Chris Zabriskie

  2. What if you faced a series of unfortunate events?

    "I had such a 'Leave It To Beaver' childhood and then you're kind of flung into all this chaos and you realize 'wow, I didn't live in the real world.'" Music: "Lumien" - Jari Pitkanen

  3. What if your father was lost in a shipwreck?

    "It was like a nightmare that could not be our own...It's crazy to think that this actually happened to the people that we know." Music: "Cylinder Four" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  4. What if you survived a shipwreck?

    "We were all having so much fun and then just 'bam' like that everybody's gone." Music: "Union Flow" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  5. What if your mother tried to cut her heart out?

    “You always feel like if your parent ever leaves you on Earth, it’s never going to be by their own hand.” Music: "Re-entry" - Lee Rosevere Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  6. What if you had a mind-blowing affair?

    "I felt like a celestial axe had come down and split my skull in half." Music: "Re-Entry" - Lee Rosevere Intro Music 1: "Brethren Arise" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music 2: "Illabye" - Tipper

  7. What if the worst case scenario came true?

    "It's pretty devastating to find out that what you thought you knew was completely wrong." Music: "Cylinder Five" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  8. What if your sister had five personalities?

    "I walked on eggshells every day....the only way I could survive was to be able to detect which one of these personalities I would be dealing with that day." Pam Franklin, the storyteller in this episode, has written a book "My Five Sisters" that provides more in depth, vivid detail of her life....

  9. What if you woke up in the morgue?

    "Only thing I knew was blackness, that's all I saw. Cuz everything went dark and I was in a whole new world." Music: "Wake Up" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  10. What if your father went missing?

    "I'm just thinking 'oh, okay...I'll just sit there and be confused.'" Music: "Union Flow" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  11. What if you were irreversibly violated?

    "Imagine in your mind when you can't stand to be around you. That's like unimaginable, but I got through that." Music: "Cylinder Four" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  12. What if you were a fake priest in Japan?

    "I'm like 'oh man...what am I doing here?'" Music: "Re-Entry" - Lee Rosevere Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  13. What if another realm moved through you?

    "I was completely lost in, I don't even know what the realm is called, this other spiritual realm, and I was grasping to be grounded." Music: "The Dark Glow of the Mountains" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  14. What if you went on the strangest trip?

    "I had no idea what had just occurred and why....So I just hid there and waited and waited for what felt like an eternity." Music: "Lumien" - Jari Pitkanen Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  15. What if oral sex triggered a near death experience?: Part Two

    "I still don't know what I want it to mean or if I want it to mean anything." Music: "The Dark Glow of the Mountains" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  16. What if oral sex triggered a near death experience?: Part One

    "Anytime I felt off or bad or anything, I would immediately freak out....it would just spiral out of control every single time." Music: "The Dark Glow of the Mountains" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  17. What if you couldn't control your thoughts?

    "Like a record player, stuck in a loop all day, every day." Music: "Wake Up" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  18. What if you were pronounced dead at age 12?

    "You're not supposed to recover from being dead...this is as ultimate as it gets, right?" Music: "Union Flow" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  19. What if your husband had a death wish?

    "I feel like I'm a survivor on this Earth and everybody's got everything and I have to fight so hard to get it." Music: "Cylinder Four" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  20. What if you touched the spirit world?

    "There's so much more the bigger picture...and we'll never understand it until we cross over." Music: "Ambient Theme #1" - Steve O'Brien Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  21. What if reality suddenly fell apart?

    "It's like when your computer reboots...that's sort of what happened to my brain, and then everything on the hard drive gets wiped." Music: "Re-entry" - Lee Rosevere Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  22. What if you lost a high speed chase?

    "This is not just a fantasy. This is not just a joke, like the rest of my life had become. This is real." Music: "Lumien" - Jari Pitkanen Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  23. What if September 11th changed everything?

    "I have no connection with who I was in 2001...don't know him." Music: "Cylinder Four" - Chris Zabriskie Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  24. What if you found yourself in a dark, strange land?

    "Mother nature tells us what to do, not the other way around." Music: "Wake Up" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  25. What if your roommate had a deep dark secret?

    "His face was everything that I was angry about." Music: "Union Flow" - Spuntic Intro Music: "Illabye" - Tipper

  26. What if you were not supposed to see this?

    I'm not supposed to be seeing this. Like, there's a crack somewhere. There's something wrong. Music: Water - Johannes Welsch

  27. What if you were shot by your father?

    I remember blanking out, dazed...I felt like I was in a tunnel. Music: Wake Up - Spuntic

  28. What if you went from riches to rags?

    I didn't even understand what had happened, how I lost everything. Music: Cylinder Four - Chris Zabriskie

  29. What if your wife hung herself in the garage?

    It was just this sense of like an emotional atomic bomb go off in your head. Music: Water - Johannes Welsch

  30. What if your wife ran you over?

    You can never really tell what a woman's been through if you don't ask the right questions. Music: Lumien - Jari Pitkanen

  31. What if your husband led a secret life?

    The man that I loved is no more. It's almost like, this person died, but is still living. Union Flow - Spuntic

  32. What if you delivered seven thousand babies?

    Its pretty hard to have a down day when you touch the beginnings of life. Music: Re-entry - Lee Rosevere

  33. What if you witnessed a thousand deaths?

    All of the ways we define ourselves are going to be stripped away by illness or the dying process...now who am I? Music: Tibetan Ohm Chant

  34. What if you gave up everything for love?

    Everything is temporary if you give it enough time. Music: Wake Up - Spuntic Intro Music by Robey Clark

  35. What if you were supposed to be on that plane?

    It was literally an out of body experience. Like, it wasn't me who was looking at the screen. Music: Chop it Up - Squirm Orchestra

  36. What if you came out to your wife at age 37?

    I have begun the process for some years of decolonizing the mind, but I have a long way to go. Music: Slumberia - unbeknown Intro Music by Robey Clark

  37. What if you married someone you knew only 10 days?

    We screw up, and that's how we find our way. Music: Phylotaxis - Squirm Orchestra Intro Music by Robey Clark

  38. What if you were delivered by the Holy Ghost?

    When things don't make sense to me, I don't like it. So, to have something like this obviously not make sense to me...But it happened. Music: Union Flow - Spuntic Intro music by Robey Clark

  39. What if your dad started dressing as a woman?

    It was one of the first times I realized, okay, there's a whole other world of things that are possible now because of this. Music: Cat Wearing Glasses - Lee Rosevere Intro Music by Robey Clark

  40. What if you lost a fiance and lover to a wave?

    I could not look at the ocean, because when I look at it, it just seemed like an enemy to me. Music: Rain Makes Rain - Tardiss Intro Music by Robey Clark

  41. What if you didn't go outside until 6th grade?

    They were saying, you're too American for us to deport you...But you're not American enough for us to give you a passport. Music: Wake Up - Spuntic Intro Music by Robey Clark

  42. What if you were falsely accused of pedophilia?

    Yeah I struggle with that question...Why? Water - Johannes Welsch

  43. What if you left Wall Street to find true purpose?

    And that was essentially the crowbar that kind of flipped the whole world view on its head. Music: Rain Makes Rain - Tardiss

  44. What if you lived through the Sri Lankan civil war?

    Statistically, you're going to survive this...but it's the terror of not knowing. Music: Cat Wearing Glasses - Lee Rosevere

  45. What if your newborn baby never stopped crying?

    It's hard to fall in love with somebody that you can't get to know. Music: Snow Capture - Nasienie

  46. What if your boat was raided by pirates?

    I can imagine now, as a father...I can imagine what he feels like. Music: To Speak of Solitude - Brambles

  47. What if you had sex with over 900 people?

    I've come to a place where I don't believe in a God that's less compassionate than I am. Music: Phylotaxis - Squirm Orchestra

  48. What if you were lost in the jungle?

    That is the cutting edge. That is the true cutting edge - that moment. Music: Bliss Out - Nasienie

  49. What if you rose from the ashes of addiction?

    And the why question...I suppose there is an answer to the why, and it has no interest to me any more. Music: Rain Makes Rain - Tardiss

  50. What if you were a nurse for hardened criminals?

    When you're looking for a sign, you reach a point, and when you're ready you'll take anything as a sign. And I reached that point. Music: Irsen's Tale - Kai Engel

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

First-person stories that explore what happens when everything changes.

HOSTED BY

This Is Actually Happening

Produced by Audioboom

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does This Is Actually Happening have?

This Is Actually Happening currently has 75 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is This Is Actually Happening about?

First-person stories that explore what happens when everything changes.

How often does This Is Actually Happening release new episodes?

This Is Actually Happening has 75 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to This Is Actually Happening?

You can listen to This Is Actually Happening on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts This Is Actually Happening?

This Is Actually Happening is created and hosted by This Is Actually Happening.
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