Against The Odds

After Bart Pieciul is mauled by a bear in the Alaska wilderness, his friends have to use all of their outdoor knowledge to keep him alive. The three men are stranded in the mountains for hours, waiting for a Coast Guard helicopter to airlift Bart to the nearest hospital. As the temperature drops, they’re desperate to prevent their friend from succumbing to blood loss and hypothermia. And they have no idea if the bear that attacked him will return.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The residents of Haines, Alaska are used to living alongside bears. The region surrounding their small town has one of the densest bear populations in the world. But as climate change curtails the bears’ natural food sources, encounters between bears and humans are becoming more common, putting everyone on edge. Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Outdoor writer Pete Takeda discusses his investigation into a covert CIA operation in the Himalayas. Topics include a daring mission to install a spy device on a peak, the challenges faced by climbers, contrasting expeditions, decision-making in mountaineering, and the search for a lost spy device.

Two years have passed since the team of Indian and American elite climbers lost a nuclear-powered spying device in the Himalayas. Now, as China continues to test its nuclear weapons, the climbing team is given one last chance to complete their mission. This time they have to bring a new spying device up a different mountain. But as they summit the 22,000 foot peak called Nanda Kot, they’ll face avalanches, severe weather, and a shocking last-minute setback.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Winter storms arrived early on the Himalayan peak Nanda Devi, forcing the team of American and Indian climbers to retreat down the mountain and abandon the nuclear-powered spying device. Now in the spring of 1966, the team has to go back up to retrieve it. But they are unprepared for what they will discover when they get there.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1965, with Cold War tensions escalating, the CIA and India’s Intelligence Bureau joined forces to spy on China’s budding nuclear program. Satellites and spy planes at the time were unreliable, so the agencies hatched an unusual plan: place a nuclear-powered spying device atop Nanda Devi, the tallest mountain located entirely within India. The world’s best climbers from both America and India must scale the treacherous peak while carrying the dangerous device up to over 23,000 feet.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anthropologist Mike Heckenberger joins host Cassie De Pecol to discuss his three-decade-long exploration of the Amazon and the uncovering of ancient cities. Topics include tracing Amazonian history through archaeology, the discovery of pre-Columbian cities, friendship with indigenous communities, cultural biases, and the importance of giving indigenous people a voice in preserving the Amazon.

Theodore Roosevelt's Amazon expedition is on the verge of collapse, but hope emerges when clues of Brazilian frontiersmen nearby are found. Drastic measures are taken to fight infection in Roosevelt's leg. The men must race to return him to civilization before illness claims his life.

Challenges mount as the expedition travels farther down the river. With the end of their journey nowhere in sight, hunger and disease take their toll on the men. Colonel Rondon wonders if members of an indigenous tribe are following them … and waiting to attack. Tensions between the men simmer, until they explode in violence. In the midst of this turmoil, Theodore Roosevelt suffers an injury that initially seems small, but could bring him to the brink of death.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition sets off down the River of Doubt, it doesn’t take long for the going to get rough. Their canoes are no match for the boiling rapids, forcing them to trek through an unforgiving jungle rife with insects, predators and disease. As their movement slows, their food supplies dwindle. Roosevelt’s son Kermit takes a bold risk to speed their progress . . . but the turbulent waters deliver more peril than he bargained for.Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.Support us by supporting our sponser!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.