Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he could and couldn’t say at the time. Jake revisits the sperm-bank situation in greater depth, breaking down what’s known, what remains unresolved, and how returning to it has reshaped his understanding of that moment. The conversation also dives into the limits of transparency, lingering fears of running into Ellen, and what comes next for blink.
 
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, sexual assault (SA), medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress, and mature content.
 
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
.
.
.
.
.
Created by Jake Haendel
Hosted by Hannah Smith
Edited by Scott Somerville
Original composition by Michael Marguet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he could and couldn’t say at the time. Jake revisits the sperm-bank situation in greater depth, breaking down what’s known, what remains unresolved, and how returning to it has reshaped his understanding of that moment. The conversation also dives into the limits of transparency, lingering fears of running into Ellen, and what comes next for blink. Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, sexual assault (SA), medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress, and mature content. Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com . . . . . Created by Jake Haendel Hosted by Hannah Smith Edited by Scott Somerville Original composition by Michael Marguet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he could and couldn’t say at the time. Jake revisits the sperm-bank situation in greater depth, breaking down what’s known, what remains unresolved, and how returning to it has reshaped his understanding of that moment. The conversation also dives into the limits of transparency, lingering fears of running into Ellen, and what comes next for blink.
 
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, sexual assault (SA), medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death &amp; dying, emotional distress, and mature content.
 
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
.
.
.
.
.
Created by Jake Haendel
Hosted by Hannah Smith
Edited by Scott Somerville
Original composition by Michael Marguet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2

Jacob Haendel has been handed a death sentence. He has a terminal progressive disease that's eating away at the white matter of his brain. In six months, he'll be dead. As the months progress, Jake slips into a coma, laying there in total darkness. But something odd has happened... Jake is fully conscious. Nobody knows that he can hear them. They’re certain he's no longer in there. With the promise that Jake will never recover, friends and family visit less and less. Until there is just one person left. A person who begins to whisper strange admissions in his ear. It is here, helpless in his hospital bed, that Jake realizes what may have gotten him here in the first place. The scariest thing in the room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather, the person sitting right next to him. This is Blink, the untold true story and survival of Jacob Haendel.
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one week early and all episodes completely ad-free.
From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go.
Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com.
The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.

True Crime

Jacob Haendel has been handed a death sentence. He has a terminal progressive disease that's eating away at the white matter of his brain. In six months, he'll be dead. As the months progress, Jake slips into a coma, laying there in total darkness. But something odd has happened... Jake is fully conscious. Nobody knows that he can hear them. They’re certain he's no longer in there. With the promise that Jake will never recover, friends and family visit less and less. Until there is just one person left. A person who begins to whisper strange admissions in his ear. It is here, helpless in his hospital bed, that Jake realizes what may have gotten him here in the first place. The scariest thing in the room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather, the person sitting right next to him. This is Blink, the untold true story and survival of Jacob Haendel. Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one week early and all episodes completely ad-free. From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go. Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.

Share BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2

Sign up to save your podcasts

BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2

BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2

More shows like Blink | Jake Haendel's Story

20/20

48 Hours

The Expert Witness from Uncover

Happy Face

Dateline NBC

Deep Cover

The Binge Cases: U R NEXT

Death on the Lot

The Binge Crimes: The Poet

Defining Diego

What Happened in Nashville

Betrayal Weekly

Fake Priest

I Am Rama

Crooked City: Dixon, IL

Wild Boys

Bone Valley

Crooked City: Youngstown, OH

Infamous

The Maxwells

Just Say You're Sorry

Devil in the Ditch

Deadly Cure

Dateline Originals

THREE

Body Brokers

Infamous: Dubai's Missing Princesses

My Fugitive Dad

Fringe Network: Alien State

The Greatest Scam Ever Written

Murder in the Moonlight

What Happened to Holly Bobo?

Finding Mom's Killer

19 Days

Baby Broker