

What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.
Scott Johnson & Glassbox Media.
A storytelling podcast, with first-hand amazing stories presented by Scott Johnson and Meredith Hackwith Edwards. Each storyteller tells their own personal true story, with all the details of what happened. Animal attacks, plane crashes, mass shootings, and more – you'll hear what happened directly from the person who experienced it, and the inspirational outcome of how they came out on the other side.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 13, 2023 • 8min
“48 Hours” Presents: My Life of Crime | Twisted Twins: Who Killed Heather DeWild?
“48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty takes you inside true-crime investigations like no one else, in her podcast “My Life of Crime”. In the new season, Erin delves into the labyrinth of crime within families and the secrets that kept them together or tore them apart.Here’s a preview of the “My Life of Crime” season premiere, “Twisted Twins: Who Killed Heather DeWild?” Erin examines the case of 30-year-old Heather DeWild, who vanished after visiting her soon-to-be ex-husband Daniel DeWild's home. Investigators soon focused not only on Daniel, but also his identical twin brother, David.While Daniel was not forthcoming, investigators were convinced David had something to say, but could police break through their tight twin bond? What could cause a person, or persons, to destroy their family?You can hear the rest of the episode on “My Life of Crime”, from CBS News. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Prime Members, you can listen to “My Life of Crime” exclusively on Amazon Music.Download the Amazon Music app today: Wondery.fm/MLOC_WWTL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 10, 2023 • 1h 51min
156: Jen accidentally caused a death
October 4, 2016. For Jennifer and her husband Chris, and their 4 children, it was just a regular Tuesday. Up until around 8 pm that evening. Jen was driving home and she had their two young daughters in the car.Jen stopped at a stop sign, and then proceeded into the intersection without seeing the motorcycle that was approaching on her left. The motorcycle hit her car, and with that collision, the lives of two families were forever changed. David, the driver of the motorcycle, was taken to the hospital, where he died two days later.With a story like this, there are a lot of different aspects to talk about. The feelings of guilt, her overwhelming sadness, her fear of possible criminal charges, and what happened when she had a chance encounter with one of David’s friends. She also talked about what she’s doing now to help others who have found themselves in similar situations.This is a Flashback episode. Jen came on and told this story over 5 years ago, on the very first episode of this podcast. In a minute you’ll hear that, and afterward I’ll play a conversation I just had with Jen recently, to catch up on what’s going on with her lately. It’s a lot!One of the takeaways from this conversation is that it’s good to see things from a different perspective. You know we hear about accidents like this almost every day, and it’s really easy to assume that the person is just some selfish jerk who was talking on their phone, or texting, or just not paying attention, even though we really don’t know what actually happened. Sometimes those assumptions are true, but not always. Today we get to hear the other side of that story.The Safe 2 Save app that Jen mentioned:https://www.safe2save.org/Jen’s appearance on Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith –https://www.facebook.com/redtabletalk/videos/481244670021721/Jen’s podcast, Accidental Hope:https://accidentalhope.com/Jen’s book, Left Turn, life unimagined:https://www.amazon.com/Left-Turn-life-unimagined-Eikenhorst/dp/B09Y9G9MS3/ref=mp_s_a_1_1Jennifer is in the podcast Facebook group – come on over and say hi, or post a question for her that I didn’t ask – WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:https://WhatWasThatLike.com/156Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Sponsor deals:To get 15% off your next gift, go to UNCOMMONGOODS.com/WHATWAS.Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 3, 2023 • 1h 19min
155: Stephanie was date raped
Have you ever heard of Rohypnol?In the US, Rohypnol is classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance. It functions as a depressant to the central nervous system. It’s not manufactured or approved for sale in the US, but it is shipped here from other countries and used illegally. It’s similar to Valium, but ten times more powerful.A common name for it on the street is the “forget-me drug”. A more generic term is “roofie” and it’s often referred to as the “date rape drug”. In many cases, Rohypnol is secretly put into the drink of an unsuspecting victim. The effects, including drowsiness and loss of memory, are felt within 15 to 20 minutes, and may continue for up to 12 hours.When it’s put into a clear drink, it will change the color of the liquid to blue. The color is often masked by serving tropical drinks that are already blue, or by serving the drink in a dark or opaque container.My guest today, Stephanie, was a victim of having her food or a drink spiked with Rohypnol or something similar. But this didn’t happen in a bar or a nightclub – it happened in her own home. And the perpetrator was someone she thought she knew.Content warning: this episode contains graphic language, and includes discussion about sexual violence and abortion.If you or someone you know has been the victim of any type of sexual assault, help is available 24/7. Just call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.Graphics for this episode were created by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Sponsor deals:Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2023 • 1h 7min
154: Daughters
This is a special episode. Most of the time here on What Was That Like, I talk to a regular person who has been through some type of extremely unusual situation. If you’ve just discovered this podcast, you can just scroll through the episode titles and see that we’ve heard a lot of REALLY big and unusual stories – and all of them are told first-hand, by the person who went through it.But a lot of times a listener will contact me and say, “Scott – I’ve just binged ALL of your past episodes and I need more! What’s another podcast where I can hear more stories like this?”. And my recommendation is this: The Secret Room.The tag line for The Secret Room is “a podcast about the stories no one ever tells”. If you like really interesting and unusual stories – and I know you do, because you’re listening to this show – you’ll definitely want to check out The Secret Room. The host is my friend Ben, and I think he and I have a lot in common. He has a lot of empathy for his guests, and he has a knack for finding stories that just make you sit back and think. And then you go and binge all the past episodes.So today, I’m playing for you one of my favorite episodes of The Secret Room. It’s called Daughters. I really liked this story for a bunch of different reasons, and I think you’ll enjoy it too. And this episode is ad-free for everyone. And of course at the end we’ll have a new Listener Story like we do on every episode here.You can find The Secret Room on the podcast app you’re using right now, or you can learn more about the show at the website – TheSecretRoomPodcast.com.Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:https://WhatWasThatLike.com/154Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2023 • 9min
Listen Now: New Podcast “Ghost Story”
Tristan Redman is a journalist who doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom – weirder than normal. When, years later, he discovers subsequent occupants of his family home say they have been visited by the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s curious.It just so happens that the house Tristan grew up in is right next door to the house where his wife’s great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was murdered – killed by two gunshots to the face. Could there be a connection?Tristan decides to investigate and soon finds himself where no son-in-law should ever be: delving deep into his wife’s family history asking questions no-one wants answered.Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios present Ghost Story — a seven-part podcast series about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things that come back to haunt us.Follow Ghost Story on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Ghost Story ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.Listen now: Wondery.fm/GS_WWTL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 20, 2023 • 1h 5min
153: Karen gave birth in a Subaru
Most of the time, childbirth happens in a hospital. But not always.Consider the pregnant woman in Payson, Utah, who went in to Walmart early on a Sunday morning just to pick up a few things. This was her third pregnancy, so she was familiar with what to expect.But by the time she finished shopping and was at the register, she was on her knees and holding her stomach in serious distress. The baby was not going to wait. The manager and other employees were trying to help her, to get her to a more comfortable place with a little bit of privacy. But they were surprised when the woman insisted on paying for her items first.The manager said, “She paid, and then she had the baby. You can’t make that up.” The employees have since named Register number 11 the “baby register”. Mother and baby were eventually brought to the hospital and were doing fine.But that’s the way it is sometimes with babies – when the time comes, they are going to make their appearance into the world. No matter when or where that might be.Karen knows all about that. And so does Alfred, her father in law.Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:https://WhatWasThatLike.com/153Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Sponsor deals:Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 13, 2023 • 1h
152: Kami ran from a mass shooting
On the night of October 1, 2017, 64 year old Stephen Paddock opened fire from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.He was able to fire over 1100 rounds in just 10 minutes time, from 10:05 pm to 10:15 pm. His target was the crowd of 22,000 people in the open field below his room. These people were attending the final night of the 3-day Route 91 Harvest Music festival. Country singer Jason Aldean was performing when the shooting began.In the end, 851 people were injured, and 58 people died. This incident is the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the history of the country. The shooter also shot and killed himself, so the motive for the killing will probably never be known.But this story isn’t about the cowardly killer. It’s about a young lady named Kami. Kami lives in California, about 4 hours away from Las Vegas, and she was at the Harvest Festival with her parents, and her husband Eli. She was there when the shooting began. She saw the terror on people’s faces as they ran for safety, and she saw the unfortunate ones that didn’t make it.And here’s another critical fact that will be an important part of Kami’s story. She was at the festival for all three days. Day 3 is when the shooting took place. On day 1, she learned that she was pregnant.This episode is the first one in a new series called Flashback episodes. Kami first came on the podcast and told this story 5 years ago. And I get requests from listeners sometimes to follow up with the past guests and see how they’re doing now. So today you’ll hear Kami’s story about escaping from the Las Vegas shooting, and after that, a brief conversation I had with her just recently about what’s new in her life and her family.My goal is to always bring you the content and stories you tell me you want to hear, and the Flashback episodes are a part of that. We’ll probably do one of these each month, in between the regular new episodes, so please, let me know what you think.Full show notes and pictures (including a recent picture of Kami and family) for this episode are here:https://WhatWasThatLike.com/152Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Sponsor deals:Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 6, 2023 • 1h 23min
151: Laura's pain became her purpose
If you’re a parent, you know – there is nothing more precious to you than your child. You would do anything for them, to keep them healthy, and happy, and safe.But sometimes, even the best parents with the best of intentions can have a brief lack of focus, and the results can be devastating.The subject we’re talking about today is hot car deaths. Outside of crashes, heatstroke is the leading cause of death in vehicles for children 14 and under. It happened 36 times in 2022, and so far in 2023 the total stands at 26. And that’s just in the US. For more than half of these, the person responsible unknowingly left the child in the vehicle. This is something that happens to loving, caring and protective parents.As you hear Laura talk about what happened, you’ll hear the pain in her voice. It’s a heartache that will never go away. But before this conversation is over, you’ll hear something else: determination. Because Laura is on a mission to make sure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to other parents.Content warning: this episode includes discussion of child death, and suicide.Laura’s website:https://AndersonsAlert.orgLaura’s podcast:Beck’s Backseat to Change - http://becksbackseat.com/Lots of information about car safety for children is at Kids and Cars:KidsAndCars.orgThe children’s book, Wherever You Go, by Pat Zietlow Miller –If you would like a signed copy, or you prefer to support an indie bookstore (and you should!), you can contact Mystery To Me Books in Madison Wisconsin:· Email – info@mysterytomebooks.com· Phone – 608-283-9332And they will ship a signed copy of the book directly to you.Or, you can order the book on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316400025/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_imageThe Amazon Wishlist we discussed:https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/17KQCVHDU4Y0E?ref_=wl_shareFull show notes and pictures for this episode are here:https://WhatWasThatLike.com/151Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 22, 2023 • 1h 26min
150: Tara's only option was the attic
Have you ever been in a situation and had the thought, “I actually might die here today”?We recently observed the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and I learned about a woman named Linda Gronlund, from New York. She was an attorney, an accomplished sailor and scuba diver, a certified EMT, and she held a brown belt in karate.On September 11, 2001, Linda was on United flight 93. The plane had been hijacked, and the passengers knew that two other planes had already been flown into the twin towers in New York. Before the plane went down, she called her younger sister, Elsa and left a message. Linda acknowledged that she was probably not going to live to see another day, and her primary message was to say “I love you” one last time.Sadly, none of the people on that flight survived when it crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.The average person alive today has probably not been in a situation like that, where death could happen at any moment. But in this episode, you’ll hear from someone who has.Tara was at home with her wife, Catherine, and their 6 year old daughter, Hazel. They also had 5 dogs. They all survived, including the dogs, but as it was happening they didn’t know what the outcome would be. What they feared was drowning. Because a category 5 hurricane was coming, and their home was on an island in the Bahamas.Tara’s website: TaraPyfrom.comTara on Instagram: @TarapyfromTara on LinkedIn: Tara PyfromFull show notes and pictures for this episode are here:WhatWasThatLike.com/150Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)Deals:Head to factormeals.com/wwtl50 and use code wwtl50 to get 50% off!What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/whatHead to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 15, 2023 • 12min
Introducing: Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University
Dr. Robert Hadden was a trusted OB-GYN at Columbia University. Friendly, caring, unassuming... and behind the closed door of exam rooms, one of the most prolific sexual predators in New York City.During his 25-year career, he assaulted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of patients, under the guise of medical exams. Those who tried to warn Columbia were ignored or not believed. When it appeared that no one — not Hadden, not Columbia — would be held to account, it was the survivors who undertook a decade-long fight for justice.From Wondery, Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University is a story about power: who has it, who loses it, and what it takes to get it back.Follow Exposed on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.Listen to Exposed: Wondery.fm/WWTL_EXPOSED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices