Now contending with multiple damaged reactors, engineers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan hatch a series of increasingly desperate plans to prevent a total meltdown. But several explosions and the loss of vital cooling pumps bring the entire plant to the brink of chaos. As the crisis worsens, it becomes clear that the very future of Japan is at stake.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Crippled by a tsunami of unprecedented scale, one of the reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is in danger of melting down. To save it, workers must do the unthinkable: Vent radioactive steam into the atmosphere, to avoid a larger catastrophe as explosive gasses build up inside the reactor core. And they must risk exposing themselves to dangerous levels of radiation to do it.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.Please Support our Sponsors!The Jordan Harbinger Show - Find wherever you listen to podcasts!Credit Karma - visit Creditkarma.com/loanoffers to find the loan for you!Shopify - Get a 14 day free trial by going to shopify.com/theoddsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In March 2011, one of the largest earthquakes in history struck eastern Japan, followed by a massive tsunami. This one-two punch then caused a third disaster—a total loss of power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Employees at the plant found themselves scrambling to cool down the reactors, and avoid a deadly meltdown.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When New York Times reporter John Branch first heard reports of an avalanche in Washington State, he didn’t think much about it. But when his editor asked him to poke around, John discovered the human story of a community of skiers and the passion that brought them face to face with powerful forces of nature. John’s article, Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2013. He joins host Mike Corey to discuss the events of that fateful morning in February of 2012, the science of avalanches, and what drives extreme athletes to push themselves to the limit.Check out Snow Fall and John’s other work in his latest book, Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life From the Back Roads of Sports.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lured by the promise of fresh powder, more and more skiers and snowboarders are heading onto backcountry slopes. But in the wrong conditions, these areas can turn from playgrounds to death traps in an instant. That's what happened to one group of elite athletes in the Tunnel Creek backcountry section near Stevens Pass Ski Resort in Washington State. There, without warning, five skiers found themselves caught in one of nature’s deadliest forces – an avalanche.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After months in captivity, Jessica Buchanan is battling a kidney infection, and her body’s on the verge of collapse. The negotiations for her release aren’t going anywhere and the Crisis Management Team overseeing Jessica’s case has run out of options. It’s time for Seal Team Six to execute a daring rescue plan to bring Jessica home.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As days and then weeks go by, Jessica tries to adjust to life as a hostage in the Somali desert, but she’s sick and her body is failing. Back in Nairobi, her husband works with her NGO on a plan to get Jessica medicine she needs, but her kidnappers trust no one, not even the negotiators. Jessica’s family meets with an FBI agent who explains to them the possible outcomes of the situation. None of them make it easy to stay hopeful.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the fall of 2011, humanitarian aid worker Jessica Buchanan is traveling through the Somali desert when she and a colleague are kidnapped by land pirates. Her organization quickly springs into action and brings in negotiators who wait for a ransom call. Meanwhile, three hundred miles away, Jessica’s husband Erik does whatever he can to bring her home, while Jessica fights to stay alive one day at a time.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lorne Knight has died, and Ada Blackjack finds herself completely alone on Wrangel Island. She’s losing hope she’ll ever see her son Bennett again. But she’s determined to do whatever it takes to survive until the other members of her team return with a supply ship, even if it means confronting her biggest fear: polar bears.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.Please Support our Sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After one year on Wrangel Island, the five members of the expedition are alarmed to realize that the supply ship that was scheduled to relieve them won’t be coming. Winter has arrived early, the ocean is freezing over, and the ship won’t be able to make it through the ice. With dwindling food supplies, the team has to make a last-ditch effort to go in search of help. Now, Ada Blackjack finds herself alone with the expedition’s dying leader, Lorne Knight – and she must learn new survival skills if she has any hope of keeping him alive.This is the story of how Ada Blackjack became the sole survivor of the Wrangel Island expedition.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.