8: The Luckiest Unluckiest Man

A Croatian man named Frane Selak has got to be either the luckiest man alive or the unluckiest. Whether you’re someone who sees the glass as being half full or half empty, Frane’s glass has definitely been filled with deadly misadventures. Writing and Research: Stephanie Moore

As 11-year-old Norm Ollestad was dangling upside down in his plane seat, he couldn't help but wonder how his Father would manage to get them out of this one. Although they'd never experienced crashing into the side of a mountain in the middle of a blizzard, no less, Norm had experienced more in his 11 short years of life on earth, than most people have in a lifetime. Writing and Research: Stephanie Moore

Stranded at the bottom of the ocean, Harrison Okene had nothing but a mattress a bottle of coke and a flashlight to keep him alive. Trapped in a tiny pocket of air in an upturned ship, Harrison was at the mercy of the Atlantic’s waters. Writing and Research: Joe Turner

As Juliane Koepcke collapsed against a tree somewhere in the middle of the rainforest she began to pray she’d live to see her mother again. Up until now, she hadn’t found any other survivors, or any wreckage of the plane crash that had brought her to the jungle.   Writing and Research: Joe Turner

Lying on the forest floor on his hands and knees, Yossi Ghinsberg heard the sounds of an airplane passing overhead. Lost in the Amazon depths for three weeks, Yossi no longer had the strength to lift himself to his feet.  Writing and Research: Joe Turner

Joseph Rangel found himself stranded on a deserted island with his lifelong childhood friend Lorenzo Madrid and a young untrained fishing guide half their age. Rangel and his best friend were on their last day of a 5 day sports fishing trip in the Sea of Cortez. Writing and Research: Stephanie Moore

For many explorers, it was a race to see which expedition would be the first to chart and reach the Earth’s Magnetic South Pole. A conquest finally accomplished by the Nimrod Expedition in 1909. A member of that team, 26-year-old Sir Douglas Mawson also held that honor and place in history. A few short years later Mawson would lead his own expedition team back to that icy coastline, hoping to conduct scientific research and chart new areas. Writing and Research: Stephanie Moore SOURCES: Alone on the Ice https://www.amazon.com/Alone-Ice-Greatest-Survival-Exploration/dp/0393347788/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=douglas+mawson&qid=1575514242&sr=8-2 Flaws in the Ice https://www.amazon.com/Flaws-Ice-Search-Douglas-Mawson-ebook/dp/B00PV650D0/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=douglas+mawson&qid=1575514288&sr=8-3 In Search of the South Pole - Huw Lewis-Jones  https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/business/leadership-lessons-from-the-shackleton-expedition.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crevasse http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/people/douglas-mawson http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/people/douglas-mawson https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25682462 https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/Douglas-Mawson.php https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-most-terrible-polar-exploration-ever-douglas-mawsons-antarctic-journey-82192685/

Deborah Scaling Kiley sat in a rubber dingy in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, reciting the Lord’s Prayer in a desperate attempt to convince herself she hadn’t gone mad. The water surrounding the boat had turned a sickly shade of red, as the blood of her devoured crew mate rose to the surface. Writing and Research: Joe Turner SOURCES: Albatross by Deborah Scaling Kiley & Meg Noonan (Book) Shipwreck by Tim O’ Shei (Book) https://player.themoth.org/#/?actionType=ADD_AND_PLAY&storyId=1777 (Podcast) http://www.dockwalk.com/Essentials/Docktalk.aspx?g=posts&t=25288 https://news.wttw.com/2012/09/26/author-laurence-gonzales-surviving-survival https://keepinitrealevanston.wordpress.com/category/surviving-survival/ https://www.mamamia.com.au/shark-attack-stories/ http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/09/08/survive/index.html https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/the-sharks-got-him-then-killed-the-others-shipwreck-survivor-recounts-five-days-stranded-at-sea/news-story/c60f679af78d537be9e1e09114c26a92 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50mzg2

Hosted by Justin from Generation Why and Tyler from The Minds of Madness. The podcast series raises the question on whether our choices control our destiny or if it all comes down to luck? A roll of the dice. At the end of each episode, it will be up to you to decide.