As a hellish storm batters the Oceanos off the South African coast, senior crew members flee aboard a lifeboat, leaving passengers behind. With no leadership in sight, the entertainers step up, guiding women and children into the last remaining lifeboats as the ship begins to list dangerously in the churning sea. Out on the water, mothers clutch their infants as waves batter the tiny boats, tossing them mercilessly through the darkness.

Order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too. Learn more at SurvivalGuidebook.com.

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On the night of August 3, 1991, the cruise ship Oceanos sets sail from South Africa’s eastern cape with 571 people aboard—despite a massive storm barreling up the coast. Soon, a breach in the hull knocks out power, and the ship begins taking on water. As senior officers abandon ship, the fate of everyone on board falls to the ship’s entertainers, who must lead a mass evacuation before the Oceanos vanishes beneath the waves.

Order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too. Learn more at SurvivalGuidebook.com.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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We’ve got a new book! How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters is out today from Wondery and HarperCollins. Go inside life-or-death situations where everyday people survived nature’s most extreme scenarios—and learn how you can, too, with expert insights and survival tips.

In this episode, we’re sharing an exclusive sample chapter from the audiobook. How to Survive Against the Odds is available now in digital, print and audiobook editions from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your books. Learn more at SurvivalGuidebook.com.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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Inspired by Wondery’s hit podcast Against the Odds—learn how to survive whatever nature can throw at you through gut-twisting true stories of survival on the brink

How to Survive Against the Odds places you at the center of fifteen real life-or-death scenarios. Each story explores the physiological responses of the human body under unbearable conditions, how to counteract them, and strategies for survival from doctors and psychologists. Through these tales, we see the grit, willpower, and know-how needed to navigate out of a host of merciless situations.

This invaluable survival guide includes tips on how to endure being:

• ADRIFT AT SEA: Learn how to cure turtle meat, procure potable water, and survive on a life raft.
• MAULED BY A BEAR: Black bears? Fight back. Grizzly bears? Play dead. Polar bears? Start praying. You’ll learn how to triage wounds using the MARCH method and how to spot the difference between a bear’s bluff charge and an actual attack.
• BURIED BY AN EARTHQUAKE: Find out how to survive the initial crush, maintain your sanity if trapped under the rubble, and “think away your hunger.”
• And so much more!

This might just be the most important book you’ll ever read. Armed with the information in How to Survive Against the Odds and when faced with similar threats, you may also find that you have what it takes to defy death and live to tell your story.

Order your copy of HOW TO SURVIVE AGAINST THE ODDS now at 

Wondery.fm/survivalguidebook 

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Rescue helicopters finally reach the campers, Sue and Bruce, as well as other stranded survivors like TV reporter David Crockett and logger Jim Scymanky. But with nightfall approaching, Sue worries that rescuers won’t be able to find her injured friends, Dan Balch and Brian Thomas, in time. With the roads onto the mountain impassible, blocked by trees and debris, rescuers' only chance of reaching survivors quickly is by helicopter. But the thick ash blanketing the landscape makes landing the copters a major challenge — if ash gets caught in the rotors, they risk crashing. Meanwhile, the logging team and the campers who suffered severe burns are in desperate need of medical attention. As their chance of surviving dwindles, camper Sue Ruff faces the repercussions of deciding to leave her friends behind. 

Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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The survivors of the Mount St. Helens eruption find themselves in an alien world, with toppled trees, mudslides, and thick, hot ash covering everything. Unsure when or if rescue is coming, campers Sue Ruff and Bruce Nelson must make a difficult decision: whether to stay with their injured friends, or leave them behind, in order to get help faster.  

Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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When Mount St. Helens erupts, Sue Ruff and her boyfriend Bruce Nelson are camping with four friends about 14 miles north of the volcano. They were told this was well out of range of any eruption, but soon they find themselves caught in a searing-hot cloud of ash and debris, fighting for their lives. 

Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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In March 1980, after 120 years of dormancy, the volcano Mount St. Helens in Washington State begins showing signs of life. Scientists warn that a major eruption is coming, but they’re unable to completely block off access to the mountain. Some locals, like lodge owner Harry Truman, refuse to leave. And on May 18, when the volcano finally explodes, 150 people are caught in the deadly path of destruction. Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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It's March 10, 1979—24 days since their sailboat sank and 15 days since Elmo and Randy arrived at a remote cabin, trapped, powerless to save Cindy and Jena, and consumed by guilt and grief. Once they regain their strength and the snow begins to melt, they discover an old skiff on the beach. At last, Elmo and Randy set out to find the girls, and their way to safety.

Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

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Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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Elmo and his son Randy leave the girls behind, paddling ahead in their Sport-Yak to find help—but trouble continues to follow. Though they eventually reach the cabin, the CB radio doesn’t work, and as their frostbitten feet thaw, they can barely stand. Helpless, they spend days struggling to recover while miles away, Cindy and Jena remain alone on the freezing beach, without food or fire.

Pre-order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting http://wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

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