In 1860, Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills set out to lead the first expedition across the Australian continent — from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Backed by public funding and national attention, their journey was supposed to be historic.

Instead, it became a slow-motion disaster.

This episode tells the true story of how miscommunication, bad decisions, and cruel timing turned a moment of promise into one of the most tragic chapters in exploration history. From missed rescue by just hours to buried journals no one found in time, this is the heartbreaking fate of the Burke and Wills expedition — and the one man who made it out alive.

New episodes every week. Subscribe to hear more stories of survival, history, and mystery.

In 1913, the Karluk set sail on a bold Arctic expedition. Within months, the ship was locked in ice and abandoned — left to drift helplessly across the Chukchi Sea. This is the true story of survival, leadership, and betrayal in one of the coldest and most brutal environments on Earth.Led by Captain Robert Bartlett, the crew fought to survive frostbite, starvation, and the madness of isolation, while their expedition leader, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, walked away — not once, but twice.From the freezing deck of a ship crushed by ice to the desolate shore of Wrangel Island, this is a survival story few have heard… and one history nearly forgot.

This special compilation brings together four of the darkest and most intense shipwreck stories we’ve ever covered — curated and remastered for our podcast audience.

From the eerie disappearance of the Mary Celeste, to the mutiny and murder aboard the Batavia, to the whale attack that inspired Moby-Dick, and finally the horror of the Méduse raft — each story reveals what happens when survival pushes people beyond the limits of humanity.

These aren’t just shipwrecks. They’re what happens when help never comes.

🎧 Follow for more gripping true stories.

In 1881, Lieutenant Adolphus Greely led a team of 25 men on a scientific mission to the Arctic's unforgiving terrain. Facing extreme cold, dwindling supplies, and isolation, their expedition turned into a desperate fight for survival. Discover the true story of the Greely Expedition—an account of resilience, sacrifice, and the human spirit's endurance against nature's harshest elements.

What do ancient crystal skulls, Mayan prophecies, and a mysterious pre-Columbian manuscript have in common?

In this episode, we explore one of the most enduring legends in archaeology and fringe science: the mysterious crystal skulls. Linked to the ancient Maya, these eerie artifacts have sparked stories of healing powers, doomsday prophecies, and even extraterrestrial origins. But the truth may lie in something far older—the Dresden Codex, one of the last surviving Mayan books.

Was the Codex warning us? Were the skulls part of something larger? Or is this all an elaborate myth fueled by modern imagination?

Join us as we unravel the origins, theories, and controversies behind two of the strangest objects in the ancient world.

👉 If you love ancient mysteries, lost civilizations, and the unexplained, follow the show for more.

In 1897, Swedish explorer S.A. Andrée set out on a daring mission to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon—a bold plan doomed from the start. What began as an ambitious flight into the Arctic skies turned into a horrifying struggle for survival against the brutal forces of nature. When Andrée and his crew vanished, they left behind one of the greatest polar mysteries in history. It wasn’t until decades later that their chilling fate was uncovered.

In this episode, we unravel the expedition’s fatal mistakes, the eerie clues left behind, and the desperate fight for life in one of Earth’s most unforgiving landscapes. Was Andrée’s obsession with glory his downfall? And what really happened in those final days?

🔹 The ill-fated launch and immediate disaster
🔹 The harsh realities of Arctic survival
🔹 The haunting discovery of Andrée’s frozen remains

Prepare for a gripping story of hubris, endurance, and the deadly grip of the ice.

In 1993, seven experienced hikers set off into the remote Khamar-Daban mountains. Days later, six of them were found dead—collapsed in agony, eyes bleeding, foam at their mouths.

Only one survivor, Valentina Utochenko, made it out alive. But even decades later, she refuses to talk about what really happened.

🔹 What caused this horrifying disaster?
🔹 Did nature turn against them, or was something else lurking in the wilderness?
🔹 And why does this case remain unsolved even after years of investigation?

Join us as we unravel the chilling mystery of the Korovina Group Incident—a case often compared to the infamous Dyatlov Pass tragedy.

Follow for more eerie, true survival stories and unexplained mysteries.

Chapters :

00:00 Introduction

01:42 The Korovina Group

03:15 Entering the Khamar-Daban Mountains

05:02 A Routine Hike Turns Deadly

07:34 The Sole Survivor’s Escape

10:21 The Investigation Begins

12:45 Strange Autopsy Findings

14:28 Theories on What Happened

15:01 Poison or Contaminated Water?

16:14 Chemical Exposure or Nerve Agents?

17:09 Infrasound

Survival challenges are fun… unless you’re on an island where the prize for losing is never being seen again. This isn’t MrBeast’s Last to Leave—this is real history, and it gets much darker.

In 1629, the Batavia, a Dutch East India Company ship, wrecked off the coast of Australia. Hundreds of survivors reached a barren island, believing their greatest challenge was the open sea. They were wrong. The real danger was one of their own.

Stranded without food or water, the survivors fell under the rule of Jeronimus Cornelisz, a man whose hunger for power led to one of the most terrifying mutinies in history. Those who refused to obey didn’t just vanish—they were executed in cold blood.

What happened next became one of the darkest stories of shipwreck survival, betrayal, and justice ever recorded.

🚢 Listen now to uncover the chilling true story of the Batavia.

Chapters:

(00:00) A Chilling Discovery Beneath the Waves

(00:22) The Batavia’s Doomed Voyage Begins

(01:00) The Shipwreck That Changed Everything

(03:06) Stranded in the Middle of Nowhere

(05:16) A Ruthless Leader Takes Control

(07:46) The Survivors' Nightmare Begins

(09:45) The Island Becomes a Battleground

(11:30) The Fight for Survival

(13:26) Rescue… But at What Cost?

(15:10) The Legacy of the Batavia Shipwreck

In 1872, the Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean—completely intact, fully stocked, but without a single soul aboard. The crew had vanished without a trace. No signs of struggle. No distress calls. Just an empty ship sailing on.

Was it a sudden disaster? A mutiny? A terrifying mistake? Or something far stranger?

In this episode, we unravel one of the greatest maritime mysteries of all time, diving into the Mary Celeste’s troubled history, eerie discoveries, and the most compelling theories—including the possibility of a supernatural curse.

Chapters:

[00:00:00] Introduction: The Mystery of the Mary Celeste
[00:01:30] The Discovery: A Ghost Ship Adrift
[00:04:00] The Investigation: A Case with No Answers
[00:06:30] Theories: Alcohol Explosion, Rogue Waves & More
[00:09:45] Mutiny or Foul Play?
[00:11:00] Supernatural Explanations & The Ship’s Cursed Past
[00:12:30] Closing Thoughts: The Mystery That Endures