In this episode, Kaycee McIntosh narrates the harrowing true survival story of Eric Murda, a 43-year-old irrigation contractor from Florida. On July 17, 2022, Eric decides to clean up litter near Lake Manatee, inadvertently finds himself lost in the swamp, and makes a fatal mistake by swimming across the lake at night. An alligator attacks him, tearing off his forearm. The story chronicles his three-day fight to stay alive in the hostile wetland environment, battling pain, disorientation, and various threats like venomous snakes and disease-carrying mosquitoes. Eric's will to live leads to his eventual rescue, transforming him into a motivational speaker who shares his experience to inspire others. The podcast episode also delves into survival strategies, critiquing both Eric’s critical mistakes and his incredible mental toughness.

Tony Peniche shares how his casual backyard BBQ idea accidentally went viral and became the Pacific Northwest Survival Games - a survival competition that now attracts TV celebrities and has a reality show in development. As a serial entrepreneur turned survival event organizer, Tony discusses creating competitions that use pressure and anxiety to simulate real emergencies, where surprisingly amateurs often outperform seasoned survivalists. The episode covers event logistics, survival skills training, and Tony's journey from marketing consultant to survival community leader.

This episode tells the story of a 67-year-old woman who was attacked by a bear on an Anchorage hiking trail and dragged into the wilderness. After she managed to call 911, rescuers used advanced drone technology to locate and save her. The podcast explores the rescue operation, how drones are transforming wilderness search and rescue, and provides practical survival tips including bear safety and preparedness advice.

During this episode of The Crux, Julie Henningsen tells us the remarkable true story of six Tongan teenagers who survived 15 months stranded on a deserted island in 1965. Unlike the fictional chaos depicted in "Lord of the Flies," these real boys created a cooperative and well-organized community that demonstrated humanity's capacity for collaboration under extreme circumstances. The episode covers their survival challenges, resourcefulness, and ultimate rescue by an Australian sea captain, highlighting themes of friendship, ingenuity, and resilience in the face of adversity.

In this episode of The Crux True Survival Story Podcast, hosts tell the story of Stairwell A - the only escape route left intact in the South Tower after Flight 175 struck on 9/11. When faced with conflicting information about whether to go up or down, 18 people made the critical decision that saved their lives. The episode follows Brian Clark's heroic rescue of Stanley Praimnath and explores how split-second choices and trusting your instincts can mean the difference between life and death.

On July 26, 2003, a lightning strike on Grand Teton's Exum Ridge killed one climber and left 12 others injured at 13,000 feet, triggering what became known as the most spectacular rescue in American mountaineering history. Jenny Lake Rangers executed a dangerous helicopter rescue operation using short-haul techniques to evacuate climbers scattered across the cliff face, including one man hanging upside down for over four hours. This Crux True Survival Stories episode analyzes the critical decisions that led to the tragedy and the extraordinary technical skills required to save lives in extreme mountain conditions. The rescue operation influenced modern mountain rescue protocols and remains a landmark case study in wilderness survival and emergency response.

In March 2012, former Marines and best friends Ken Henderson and Ed Cohen watched their boat sink beneath them in minutes, leaving them stranded 50 miles offshore in the frigid Gulf of Mexico with only life jackets and their unbreakable bond. After 30 hours battling hypothermia, hallucinations, and treacherous currents, Ken faced an impossible choice: stay together and both die, or leave his dying friend to swim for help. Ed's final words—"Kiss my babies for me"—became both a heartbreaking goodbye and a sacred promise that would define Ken's survival and forever change both families.

This podcast tells the tragic story of the Steiner family from France who visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico during August 2015, starting a challenging desert hike at noon in 101-degree heat with only two small water bottles despite park warnings recommending a gallon per person. Both parents died of heat stroke after splitting up on the trail, but their decision to ration their limited water by giving their 9-year-old son double portions of every sip ultimately saved his life, making him the sole survivor of what was meant to be their dream American vacation.

Hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen explore the dramatic 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, where Captain Richard Phillips was held hostage by Somali pirates for five harrowing days. They uncover the controversial truth behind the Hollywood hero story, the Navy SEAL rescue operation, and why modern piracy poses a greater threat than ever before.

This episode tells the incredible true story of 19-year-old Jean Hilliard, who in December 1980 crashed her car in rural Minnesota during a blizzard and walked two miles through -22°F weather to reach help, only to collapse just 15 feet from safety. She lay frozen solid in the snow for six hours and was found stiff as a board, yet miraculously survived with no permanent damage or amputations, baffling medical professionals who still can't fully explain how she lived through what should have been certain death.

In 2002, 23-year-old French snowboarder Marco Siffredi vanished while attempting to snowboard down Mount Everest's deadly Hornbein Couloir. This episode explores the tragic story of an elite extreme athlete whose obsession with conquering Everest's most dangerous descent led to one of mountaineering's most haunting mysteries.

A Georgia dialysis tech goes on a work trip and ends up trapped in the Sierra Nevada for 24 days. What happens next involves medical MacGyvering, multiple blizzards, and one woman refusing to let the mountains win.

This episode explores the harrowing 2000 kidnapping of four young American climbers - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, Jason Singer Smith, and John Dickey - while they were attempting first ascents on granite walls in Kyrgyzstan's remote mountains. The world-class athletes were taken hostage by Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan militants and held for six terrifying days before escaping when Tommy Caldwell pushed their lone guard off a cliff. The hosts discuss how this traumatic experience shaped each climber's life differently, with Tommy channeling it into becoming one of the world's greatest climbers despite later losing a finger, while Beth struggled with PTSD that affected her marriage and climbing career.

Get ready for a jaw-dropping tale that sounds like Hollywood fiction but is 100% real. On June 10th, 1990, British Airways Flight 5390's cockpit windscreen explosively blew out just 13 minutes after takeoff, literally sucking Captain Tim Lancaster halfway out of the aircraft at 17,000 feet. For 22 agonizing minutes, he was pinned against the fuselage—outside a commercial airliner traveling at 400 mph—while his heroic crew desperately held onto his legs and fought to land the plane. Hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen break down this incredible true story minute-by-minute, revealing how tiny maintenance errors cascaded into a life-or-death emergency, the extraordinary physics that should have killed the captain in minutes, and the split-second decisions that saved 81 lives. Warning: You'll never look at airplane windows the same way again.

On October 1st, 2015, the cargo ship El Faro sailed into Hurricane Joaquin and sank near The Bahamas, killing all 33 aboard in the worst U.S. maritime disaster in decades. The recovered voyage data recorder revealed how outdated weather information, rigid hierarchy, and a captain's decision to push through the storm led to tragedy, exposing critical flaws in maritime safety that resulted in 63 new safety recommendations.

In this gripping episode of The Crux True Survival Story Podcast, hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen recount the harrowing tale of the Karluk shipwreck during the 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition. After becoming trapped in ice, the ship's sinking led to a desperate 80-mile journey across treacherous ice to Wrangel Island, while Captain Bartlett's subsequent 700-mile trek through Siberia ultimately secured rescue for the survivors after eight months of isolation.

In this episode of The Crux, hosts Kaycee McIntosh and Julie Henningsen explore Mount Fuji's beauty and dangers. They discuss the sensational case of a student rescued twice in four days, examine the risks of altitude sickness, and share both tragic accidents and heroic rescues on Japan's iconic peak. Through expert analysis and storytelling, they reveal the delicate balance between natural wonder and mortal danger that Mount Fuji represents to the 200,000 climbers who attempt it annually.

This chilling episode of Disaster Strikes examines the deadly threat of carbon monoxide poisoning, often called "the silent killer." Host Kaycee McIntosh explores tragic cases from hotels, homes, and camping sites where this invisible, odorless gas claimed lives, while sharing the science behind how it attacks the body. The episode provides critical safety information about prevention, detection, and symptoms, with a powerful call to action for listeners to protect themselves and their loved ones through simple precautions like installing carbon monoxide detectors at home and carrying portable ones when traveling.

In this episode, Julie Henningsen and Kaycee McIntosh explore the astonishing story of Dr. Alain Bombard, a French physician who deliberately drifted across the Atlantic in 1952 in a small inflatable dinghy without provisions. Surviving for 65 days on raw fish, plankton, and minimal seawater, Bombard's experiment was designed to prove that shipwreck victims could survive using only ocean resources—a journey that revolutionized maritime survival techniques despite facing significant criticism and controversy. His remarkable story stands as a testament to human endurance and scientific determination, forever changing how we understand survival at sea.

This episode of The Crux True Survival Story Podcast covers the remarkable story of 2-year-old Bodin Allen, who survived a seven-mile journey through the Arizona desert before being found by a ranch dog named Buford. Kaycee discusses Bodin's incredible resilience, the protective instincts of Great Pyrenees dogs like Buford, and compare his story to other child survival cases.