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What I survived

Jack Laurence

What I Survived is a true survival podcast featuring extraordinary first-hand stories from people who survived kidnapping, hostage situations, disasters, accidents and other extreme life-or-death ordeals.


Each story takes you back to who these people were before everything changed, then inside the moment their lives were pushed to the edge — shipwrecked at sea for weeks, held captive by terrorists, falling 15,000 feet from a plane after a parachute failure, and other extraordinary fights for survival.


Through intimate first-hand accounts, we follow the ordeal as it happened, the decisions made under unimaginable pressure, and the resilience and will it took to survive.

Then we explore what came after — the physical and psychological recovery, the impact of trauma, and the process of rebuilding a life forever altered.


What I Survived is hosted by Australian podcaster Jack Laurence, creator of the award-winning podcasts One Minute Remaining, Wanted and more.


Follow What I Survived for remarkable true stories of survival, resilience and the human instinct to stay alive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 34 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 30 min
  • English

Episodes 34

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  • S3 · E12
    October 29 · 30 min

    Introducing One Minute Remaining

    While you wait for the next episode of What I Survived I want to introduce you to one of my other shows. One Minute Remaiming - Stories form the inmates Welcome to episode one of 'One minute remaining' - Today we start the story of Dorice Moore and Abraham Lee Shakespeare, a story that has layer after layer but that is nothing short of mind blowing. I first contacted Dorice more than four years ago after reading about her story and we've been chatting on and off ever since. Dorice was charged and convicted for the murder of Abraham Lee Shakespear more than twelve years ago, a crime that she has always maintained she is innocent of. Dorice has done a number of interviews over the years with different journalists and programs but from what I've seen and heard she's never really been given the opportunity to tell her side of the story without prejudice from the interviewer. I am not here to prove her innocent or guilty I am simply here to allow her to tell her side of the story, a story that has fascinated and confused me the more I have delved into it. This is the first of many chats I will have with Dorice during this season as we not only hear the story from her side but also follow her journey as she fights to clear her name, For more on her story and to fins out how you can help her you can visit www.doricemoore.com check out the show here SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S3 · E11
    October 27 · 37 min

    Zoya Phan: Refugee Camps, Exile and a Hit List (Part 2)

    Zoya Phan escaped Burma's army at 14, only to find it could still reach the Karen refugee camps in Thailand. On What I Survived, Zoya Phan tells how she fled the Burmese military a second time, and how the regime put her name on a hit list. We look inside the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, the cross-border attacks on refugees, and how Zoya became one of the leading voices for Burma's freedom. Settle in, get comfortable, and let us tell you the story of Zoya Phan. SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S3 · E10
    October 20 · 30 min

    Zoya Phan: Surviving Ethnic Cleansing in Burma (Part 1)

    Zoya Phan was 14 when the Burmese army attacked her Karen village in Burma (Myanmar) and her family fled through the jungle towards Thailand. On What I Survived, Zoya Phan tells her story of surviving ethnic cleansing by Burma's military. We trace the roots of the Karen conflict, one of the longest-running civil wars in the world, from British rule to the military coup, and follow Zoya's family from Manerplaw to a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. Settle in, get comfortable, and let us tell you the story of Zoya Phan. SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • August 13 · 2 min

    Season 3

    Season 3 is almost here! This season, we have an incredible line-up of guests, from an FBI agent who went undercover inside one of New Jersey’s most notorious Mafia crime families, a British explorer who found himself hopelessly lost in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, the Amazon, and a lady who was kidnapped by pirates and told she would die unless her ransom was paid. Plus many more incredibel stories. Our guests have all survived experiences unlike anything most of us will ever have to face. They’ve been pushed to their limits, endured the unimaginable and somehow made it through to the other side. But surviving is only part of the story. How do you come back from experiences like these? How do you rebuild, move forward and even thrive after everything you’ve been through? What does it really take to survive? What I Survived — Season 3 launches August 26th. SIGNAL AWARDS 2026 VOTE HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Showing 1–20 of 34 episodes