Against The Odds

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.

In 1921, an expedition set out from Alaska for a remote island high in the Arctic Circle. With them was a 23-year-old Inuit woman named Ada Blackjack, who had been hired by four white explorers to cook and sew. For Blackjack, it was her last chance to earn enough money to pay for her young son’s medical treatment. But she had never spent any time in the wilderness, and the harsh Arctic surroundings would push her to her limits.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.

Sara Vladic was 13 when she first heard about USS Indianapolis while watching a World War II documentary with her dad. In just one sentence, the film described how the ship delivered the bomb that ended the war and then sank. For Sara, that moment would spark a decades-long journey to discover the untold story of Indy and its crew.Sara spent years interviewing the survivors for her own documentary Indianapolis: The Legacy, and the book Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man. Today, she joins host Mike Corey to discuss Captain McVay’s trial, the ship’s recovery and the role Jaws played in reviving interest in Indy’s story.This is the story of the greatest sea disaster in U.S. naval history, and the courageous men who survived 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.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.

By sheer chance, an American bomber pilot on a routine test flight has spotted the survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis, who have been floating in the middle of the Philippine Sea for over three days. But rescuing them will be easier said than done. The survivors are hundreds of miles from the nearest land, and the ocean waters are getting rough. To get the men out of the water as quickly as possible, some of the rescuers will have to put their own lives on the line.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.

It’s been two days since U.S.S. Indianapolis sank, and the number of survivors is dwindling. They’re being picked off by sharks, and driven insane by sleep deprivation, dehydration, and saltwater poisoning. As they hope and pray for a rescue, they will encounter a new enemy that none of them could have imagined, even in their worst nightmares.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.