
Global News What Happened To...?
You've heard the stories. You’ve felt for the people involved. But what happens after the cameras shut off and the reporters walk away? Just because a story disappears from the news doesn’t mean it’s gone. So what happened to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima? or the trapped Chilean Miners? And did anything actually come out of the Ice Bucket Challenge? Join Global News reporter, Erica Vella on this unique history podcast as she takes you inside these stories and talks to the people at the heart of each one to find out exactly what’s happened since.
Latest episodes

Nov 11, 2023 • 31min
Introducing... Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry | The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash | 1
The old days of air travel were quite risky…compared to today, the chances of your flight going down were far greater …every airport had kiosks and coin-operating vending machines where you could buy life insurance before you headed to the gate—you know, just in case you thought you weren’t going to make it to your final destination…1977 was one of the worst years for accidents in aviation history…in addition to several violent hijackings every month—sometimes with fatal results—There were also passenger plane crashes with great loss of life…including the worst aviation disaster of all time when two 747s planes collided on a runway in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people.Frank Sinatra’s mother, the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, and all but one member of the University of Evansville basketball team died in crashes…But then there were the events of October 20, 1977, when a rickety chartered plane went down in a swamp in Mississippi…on board were members of Lynyrd Skynyrd…six of the 24 passengers died, including singer Ronnie Van Zandt, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines, and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick…both pilots also died…What happened?Have I got a story for you...Like what you hear? You can find and follow Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry on your favourite podcast app or by clicking here: https://link.chtbl.com/uncharted-rssdrop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 9, 2023 • 26min
TikTok text-to-speech voice | 5
Host Erica Vella speaks to Bev Standing and Kat Callaghan about TikTok's text-to-speech feature. They discuss the adoption and evolution of the feature, its impact on TikTok videos, and the success it brought to the guests in terms of voice work and interviews. The chapter also touches upon privacy concerns and the importance of contracts in protecting voices on TikTok.

Oct 26, 2023 • 46min
Ukrainian Airlines FLIGHT PS752 | 4
Kourosh Doustshenas met Forough Khadem in 2010 but a relationship between the couple wouldn't blossom until years later.The couple planned to get married, but before that could happen, Khadem traveled to see her family in Iran. Her return ticket to Canada was scheduled for Dec. 21, 2019, but the flight changed and she was now scheduled to depart on Jan. 8, 2020.By the beginning of January 2020, tensions between the U.S. and Iran began to escalate following the death of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a U.S. airstrike as he and others travelled from Baghdad’s international airport on Jan. 3, 2020.As the couple watched the news unfold Forough Khadem boarded Flight PS 752 on Jan. 8 and was one of the 176 people killed after the two surface-to-air missiles struck the plane.On this episode of What happened to…? Erica Vella speaks with Dousteshenas about his experience and the work he does with the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims. She also learns more about what the international community has done to seek accountability from Iran.Find out more at https://globalnews.ca/news/9899880/what-happened-to-ukraine-international-airlines-flight-ps752/Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 12, 2023 • 31min
Google Glass | 3
On this episode of What happened to…?, Erica Vella revisits Google Glass — the product that sparked curiosity, protests and internet memes around the world. She speaks with one of Wired’s gadget reporters, Mat Honan, about the controversial pair of smart glasses.Find out more at https://globalnews.ca/news/9873033/what-happened-to-google-glass/Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 28, 2023 • 41min
The Thai Cave Rescue Part 2 | 2
The 2018 Thai cave rescue quickly became an international spectacle that captured the attention of people all around the world.Twelve boys and their soccer coach were exploring the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai when the cave suddenly flooded, trapping the team. Monsoon season came early that year, and the cave became blocked by heavy rainwater.On this episode of What happened to…? Erica Vella revisits the incredible Thai Cave rescue mission. She speaks with diver Rick Stanton about the life-saving dive and how a team of people was able to successfully rescue the Wild Boar soccer team from the Tham Luang cave.Find out more at https://globalnews.ca/news/9733852/what-happened-to-thai-cave-rescue-part-2/Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 14, 2023 • 27min
The Thai Cave Rescue Part 1 | 1
The 2018 Thai cave rescue quickly became an international spectacle that captured the attention of people all around the world.Twelve boys and their soccer coach were exploring the Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai when the cave suddenly flooded, trapping the team. Monsoon season came early that year, and the cave became blocked by heavy rainwater.On this episode of What happened to…? Erica Vella revisits the incredible Thai Cave rescue mission. She speaks with diver Rick Stanton about the wins, the challenges and ultimately, how it was pulled off. She also speaks to water management expert Thanet Natisri to find out how the cave was made safe enough for divers to enter.Find out more at https://globalnews.ca/news/9733417/what-happened-to-thai-cave-rescue-part-1/Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 31, 2023 • 2min
Season 3 Trailer
There are stories…..that grab the world’s attention…But what happens when the cameras turn off and new stories take over the headlines?On this season of Global News “What Happened to”, Erica Vella brings you some of the most gripping stories from the past and talks to the people at the heart of them to find out what's happened since.Starting Sept 14 we'll share stories on The Thai Cave Rescue, The Downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, The 2011 Vancouver Riots, TikTok, Google Glass, and The Toronto Bathhouse Raids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15, 2022 • 20min
A look back at season 2 | 22
In this season wrap we give you a sneak peek at the complete season on Global News What Happened To…? as journalist Erica Vella brought you incredible stories and spoke to the people at the heart of each one to find out what’s happened since the news cycle turned and the cameras walked away.Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 1, 2022 • 25min
Zebra Mussels | 21
Brook Schryer recalled his first interaction with zebra mussels in the early 1990s. He was living with his family on Lake Scugog in Ontario and one fall, Schryer and his brothers pulled the family boat out of the water and noticed that it was double its normal weight. This was because of the sheer number of tiny mollusks that clung to the bottom of the boat.The brothers scraped the mussels off the boat but at just five years old, Brook didn’t understand just how big of a problem the pesky mollusks would become.Zebra mussels are native to the Black and Caspian seas region in southeastern Europe and in the 1980s they established themselves in the Great Lakes through ballast water from ships.According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as of 2020, the mussels have been found in Lake St. Clair, the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, the Mississippi River watershed and most recently in Lake Winnipeg, the Red River and the Nelson River.Zebra mussels have created huge changes in the ecosystems they have established in; they have also caused significant economic impacts. In the 1990s and early 2000s, attempts were made to prevent other invasive species from causing the same havoc.On this episode of What happened to…? Erica Vella speaks with experts about the damage caused by zebra mussels and finds out what has been done to stop the spread of the invasive species and how can we prevent it from happening again.Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.caResource for reporting invasive species in North America www.EDDMapS.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 18, 2022 • 46min
Napalm Girl | 20
Fifty years ago, Kim Phuc Phan Thi's life seemed simple; she lived with her family in the village of Trảng Bàng in Vietnam. The country was in the middle of a war, but as a nine-year-old child, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything changed in June 1972 when several napalm bombs fell on her once peaceful village. Suddenly there was fire everywhere around her and her clothes burned off. In excruciating pain, Phuc ran down the main highway in her village and at that time, Associated Press photographer Nick Ut snapped a picture and the rest is history. On this episode Erica Vella takes a closer look at the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, The Terror of War, which is commonly referred to as 'Napalm Girl'. She speaks with Kim Phuc, the young girl in the photo and learns about her miraculous survival.Contact:Email: erica.vella@globalnews.caKim Foundation http://www.kimfoundation.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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