Tell Me What Happened

Tell Me What Happened

Things don’t always go as planned: Sometimes a drive in the mountains, or a swim in the ocean, suddenly turns into a dangerous situation. Other times it might be a medical emergency, or a family lost in a foreign country. These are the true stories of people helping people during the most pivotal moments in their lives. Each episode also includes a conversation with an expert to provide added advice around crisis situations. Featured guests from the first two seasons include a psychologist, a search-and-rescue expert offering practical tips for surviving a blizzard when you are caught in a remote area, an emergency management expert and many more. Tell Me What Happened is brought to you by OnStar.

Episodes

March 25, 2024 25 mins

When Gabriel Otrin and Klever Freire stepped into their office elevator, they naturally assumed they’d be able to get out. It was August 2018, and a massive downpour was causing floods all over Toronto. Gabriel and Klever were working late and went to check on Klever’s car in the basement garage. Before they reached the bottom, however, the elevator stopped with a jerk and began to quickly fill with water. They couldn’t open the do...

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Nicole Rakowski arrived in Iceland looking for adventure. She left in a wheelchair. In February 2017, Nicole and two friends hiked to a natural hot spring just south of Reykjavík. When they arrived, Nicole took off her boots, changed into her bathing suit and stepped onto the riverbank beside the steaming water. She immediately began to sink into the mud and felt excruciating pain. She screamed for help. 

Lee Ricasa was taking a rel...

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Tell Me What Happened — the award-winning podcast about people helping people — is returning this March!

We’re hard at work on Season 4 and have more incredible, heart-pounding stories to share with you about complete strangers stepping in to help someone in need.  This series is produced by OnStar. They are committed to keeping you safe and so are we. Each episode features an expert with helpful tips for all sorts of situations. As...

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In 1941, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the Bogancha family saved two young Jewish girls from Nazi soldiers, giving them fake identities and hiding them in an orphanage. That act of kindness would ripple across time and, amazingly, lead to the help their descendants needed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Connecting those dates begins with a book. In 2009, Greg Dawson published Hiding in the Spotlight, a book about his mother, Zhanna Ars...

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July 31, 2023 24 mins

When her crowded New York City subway train screeched to an emergency stop, K.Page Stuart Valdes melted in fear. She’d recently had a stroke nobody could explain. Terrified it would happen again, right there surrounded by strangers, K.Page felt anxiety wash over her. Until one warm voice cut through the fog. 

That stranger, just another face on a train moments before, helped K.Page find her way out of the panic attack and get on wit...

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On the morning of Christmas Eve 2022, Joe White set out on the long walk to his job in the North Park neighborhood of Buffalo, New York. Joe has autism and he didn’t realize he was walking into the deadliest winter storm to hit the region in a century. Severely frostbitten and disoriented, Joe stumbled into snowdrifts and called out for help. A stranger heard his plea.

Sha’Kyra Aughtry bundled Joe into her home. She was able to call...

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July 3, 2023 27 mins

Taylor Hash, a student pilot, had just taken off on her third solo flight when she got the shock of her life. Over the radio, she heard another pilot telling air traffic control that her front wheel fell off during takeoff. Taylor knew she’d have to land the plane with no front wheel, but she had no idea how or what to do next. 

In a case of right place, right time, a veteran pilot named Chris Yates happened to be at the airport tha...

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Kristy Millar spent days preparing for Hurricane Ian, but when the storm hit, her family ended up trapped in their rapidly flooding home. They escaped, but the storm had turned their street into a river. To get to higher ground, Kristy and her 3-year-old son were going to have to swim. Enter Kevin Ott.

Ott was also out in the storm, determined to rescue his kids’ grandmother — who happened to be Kristy’s neighbor. Driving a borrowed...

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Phil Mummert was in the middle of a perfect day of surfing at Bunker Bay, one of his regular spots in western Australia, until he was suddenly knocked off his board. When he surfaced, his board was broken, his leg was bleeding, and there was a great white shark charging at him. 

Using only his bare hands, feet and what was left of his surfboard, Phil fought for his life. But he knew he wouldn’t last long against a 16-foot shark. Tha...

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May 22, 2023 26 mins

René Compeán had hiked in Angeles National Forest many times. So he didn’t think twice when he set out on one of his favorite trails for a quick hike. But to save time, he went off trail — and ended up lost and relying on a rapidly dying cell phone to call for help. René was unprepared to spend a cold night in the mountains with wildlife roaming around him, and his mental and physical health deteriorated quickly.

Rescue teams strugg...

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May 15, 2023 2 mins

Seven new, remarkable stories showcase how kind people can be, often putting themselves in danger to save someone they’ve never met. 

Season 3 features a lost hiker rescued by a stranger sitting miles away, a trio of surfers who take on a great white shark, and a man who braves Hurricane Ian to help a relative and ends up saving 12 people and their pets. 

As always, experts weigh in with practical tips to keep you and your loved ones...

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Suamhirs Piraino-Guzman was working at a job he loved, making enough money to provide for his family. At just 14, he was the father figure in his home in Honduras. One night after work he was abducted and smuggled into the United States. He was sold into sexual exploitation. For months he was tortured, beaten, drugged, starved and raped.

But he was rescued.

Sabrina Goosby took Suamhirs under her wing and taught him how to use his exp...

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Arapahoe Basin is a legendary ski resort in Colorado, and when it’s a powder day, skiers wake up at the crack of dawn to get up the hill for those fresh tracks. That’s exactly what Richard Dempsey did, except he only got a few runs in before everything changed. Richard is able to recount his story thanks to a slackliner named Mickey Wilson who risked his own life to save someone he met that morning.

We also speak to author and retir...

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Lindsay Bull has worked at Scales and Tails for years. She has hosted numerous demonstrations with the animals at the facility, but one wrong move can end in disaster. That’s what happened during a child’s birthday party. 

The main attraction, a nine foot long alligator named Darth Gator mistook her hand for food and the race was on to save Lindsay’s hand. Thanks to Donnie Wiseman who attended the birthday party with his niece, Lind...

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October 24, 2022 22 mins

Sixty-five horses live at Tamara Boole’s equestrian center. That is a lot of large animals to move to safety in a short period of time. But that’s what had to be done as the fires from the CZU Lightning Complex Fires bore down on Felton, California in August 2020.

Thanks to local ranchers, including another stable owner - Michelle Le Clair,  the horses at Tamara Boole’s Covered Bridge Equestrian Center were safely evacuated in the k...

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October 10, 2022 23 mins

Gabe Rosescu had driven on the highway numerous times and was used to driving in all types of weather. But the day Gabe took his then new partner of six months, Sheri Niemegeers, on an epic road trip to see his friends, he could never have planned for what was about to occur. It’s not every day you see a tree crossing the road in front of you. Thanks to four motorists who risked their own lives, Sheri and Gabe are here to tell thei...

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September 26, 2022 23 mins

A seizure can happen anywhere at any time. It just so happened that when Aidan Jackson suffered a seizure there was no one there to witness it or call for help. But there was someone 5,000 miles away — another gamer who he had been talking to online. Raven Wolvesbane realized Aidan was having a seizure and quickly set to work trying to figure out how to send First Responders to his home. The only problem: she was in Texas and he wa...

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September 12, 2022 25 mins

It wasn’t the first time that Ryan Osmun had been hiking in a National Park, nor was it the first time he had hiked in the winter. Ryan knew what equipment to take and packed accordingly. As a photographer he enjoys hiking trails when they’re less populated. But he never expected to find himself or his girlfriend stuck on the trail, literally. A desperate phone call for help brought lifesaving assistance.

We also speak to Faris ‘Faz...

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August 29, 2022 2 mins

Seven stories that will remind you just how kind strangers can be, and how you can help keep others safe, are on their way.

Tell Me What Happened - the award winning podcast about people helping people - is returning!

Look for stories about quicksand and ski hills; stories about horses and mudslides; and stories about human trafficking and video games.

As in season one, the series is produced by OnStar. They are committed to keeping y...

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February 28, 2022 25 mins

Driving through the Rocky Mountains usually means spectacular views and up-close encounters with wildlife. But on the wrong stretch of road at the wrong time of year, it can also mean coming face-to-face with deadly wildfires. Robert Craig found himself trapped by flames and didn’t think he would escape — until, suddenly, a stranger arrived.

We also speak to Tony Briggs, regional chief executive officer for the American Red Cross Ce...

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