At 10:52pm, Piper Alpha is hit by the biggest explosion yet. Soon, the rig begins to break apart and tumble into the ocean, dooming the men still trapped inside. Meanwhile, rescuers like Z-boat commander James McNeill risk their lives to pull men from the debris-strewn water beneath the burning rig.
Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherev ... Show More
Sep 2024
Encore: USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea I Abandon Ship | 1
<p>In the final weeks of World War II, the Navy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the middle of the Philippine Sea. The nine hundred survivors found themselves stranded in the middle of the open ocean, many without rafts or life vests, w ... Show More
43m 54s
Sep 2024
Encore: USS Indianapolis: Disaster at Sea I Troubled Waters | 2
<p>The nine hundred men who survived the torpedo attack on the U.S.S. Indianapolis are either drifting in the sea, fighting strong currents and swells, or clinging to rafts. They’re at the mercy of the ocean, hundreds of miles from land, with dwindling supplies and no drinking wa ... Show More
43m 18s
Nov 5
Listen Now: Against The Odds | Tsunami In Thailand
<p>Humans are resilient. In our toughest moments, we will fight, we will struggle, and we will triumph...often against the odds. </p><p>In this immersive series from Wondery, host-adventurers Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol will share thrilling stories of survival. From the d ... Show More
4m 59s
Feb 2025
Genghis Khan | Survival of the Fittest | 1
As a young boy on the Mongolian steppes, Temujin (not yet Genghis Khan) shows promise. He’s a wily hunter, a skilled rider and a keen falconer. He needs all those skills when his father’s death casts his family into the wilderness. In his fight for survival, he begins to attract ... Show More
47m 52s
Jan 2025
Station Nightclub Fire | No Exit | 2
<p>On the night of February 20, 2003, excitement fills the Station as the crowd eagerly awaits a performance by Jack Russell and Great White. But seconds into the show, sparks from a pyrotechnic display ignite the walls, unleashing a fire that spreads with terrifying speed.</p><p ... Show More
34m 8s
Apr 2025
The Whole Foods Rebellion | Tiny Acorns, Mighty Oaks | 2
<p>CEO John Mackey is on a mission to take Whole Foods national. But he is about to run into major opposition. And to succeed in his quest, he must face down rebellious employees, ambitious rivals, animal rights activists and his own father.</p><p>Be the first to know about Wonde ... Show More
45m 1s
Sep 29
A Killing Exposes the Dirty Side of Clean Energy
<p>In the aftermath of a right-wing coup in 2009, Honduras invested in several new clean energy projects, including a hydroelectric dam on a river sacred to the local indigenous population. When activist Berta Cáceras opposed the project, she had no idea how powerful the forces b ... Show More
47m 23s
Jan 2025
Challenger Disaster | Revisiting the Tragedy | 5
<p>Like most people who were alive in 1986, filmmaker Steven Leckart remembers the Challenger disaster. He was a kid in elementary school at the time. But as an adult, Leckart set out to explore the aftermath of what happened through interviews with astronauts’ family members, en ... Show More
36m 41s
Sep 11
Alexander's Successors and the Danube Frontier
<p>While Alexander the Great's successors were fighting over control of his empire, Celtic-speaking migrants were moving east along the Danube River, mostly unseen and unnoticed by the Greeks to their south. The Macedonian kings should've been paying more attention, because soon, ... Show More
41m 9s
Aug 18
The Activist Who Defied Nigeria’s Oil Dictatorship
<p>For decades, oil companies like Shell operated with impunity in the Niger River Delta, supported by a string of dictators. Then, an Ogoni activist named Ken Saro-Wiwa became the David to Shell’s Goliath – until Nigerian authorities framed him for murder. </p><p>Special th ... Show More
47m 22s
Jan 2025
Station Nightclub Fire | Pyrotechnics | 1
<p>In February 2003, a small nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island called the Station gets set to host a performance by ‘80s rock band Great White. But unbeknownst to the club’s patrons, owners Michael and Jeffrey Derderian and their staff have cut corners on safety. And when G ... Show More
32m 47s