Real Survival Stories

Brendan Cook, his partner Mel and two of their friends take a trip along the legendary Birdsville Track - one of Australia’s most notorious outback roads. But an unusual series of events results in their vehicle getting stuck in silt and mud, sinking further with every attempt to extract it. As the sun beats down, Brendan and his companions must free their car before their dwindling food and water supplies run out entirely. But as the hours and days pass without success, their only remaining options appear drastic and dangerous…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Interview by Joe Viner | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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On a remote mountain, the sun glints brilliantly off the snow. Two specks are visible on the slope - two men. One stationary, the other moving at speed. The second man is Dan Wenker. He’s sliding down the mountain, over the pristine white powder. But in mere moments he’ll be 60 feet under the ice, staring up at just a slither of daylight. How did he get here, and how on earth will he get out?…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Rhys Bevan | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound design by Matt Peaty | Assembly edit by Carla Flores, Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cian Ryan-Morgan.

For more on this story read Dan’s book Staying on Guard.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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It’s August 1981. On a lazy Sunday, an impromptu sailboat trip around the coastal waters of Volusia County, Florida seems the perfect way to enjoy the sunshine. But then things start to unravel. One small setback becomes a series of disasters, leaving Tami Ennis and her friends stranded miles offshore, clinging to the underside of their sinking boat. Now they face a momentous choice. Stay where they are and risk drifting further out to sea? Or swim for land, through a stretch of water known as the shark bite capital of the world… 

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer, Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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In 2008, James Osborne sets out on his first winter hike, guided by his friend and colleague, Fred. But a combination of bad luck and bad judgement means a simple day trip in New Hampshire’s White Mountains snowballs into a desperate battle against the fury of nature. Caught in the middle of a blistering storm with no tent, meagre provisions and no chance of quick rescue, their only hope is to try to descend back down the mountain. As the cold bites, it isn’t long before things spiral out of control…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Additional script editing: Joe Viner | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer, Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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A perfect spring morning in the English countryside becomes something else entirely. High above the patchwork quilt of green and golden-brown fields a balloon glides through the air. Safely ensconced inside its basket, little does Rebecca Hay know that in mere minutes a disaster will unfold. It will feature lethal high voltage, an outbreak of fire and a stomach-churning descent back to earth…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Additional script editing: Joe Viner | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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Les Morlang is a mechanic at a gold mine in the mountains of Colorado. In November 1985, he’s racing to complete some essential construction work before a blizzard rolls in. But he and his colleague Jack will be caught off guard. As a devastating natural disaster descends, they’ll become separated… leaving Les entombed beneath fifty feet of compacted snow and ice…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Carla Flores, Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May 2025, a hardworking Dutch couple book an extended holiday to Canada. Désirée and Marko Kruithof hope to reconnect and take some time to plan the next phase of their lives, now their children have left home. But all plans are thrown out the window when, just days into their holiday, the seaplane they’ve booked for a sightseeing trip crashes off the coast of British Columbia. Trapped upside down inside the flooded cabin, the clock is ticking. And even if they can free themselves, a final sting in the tail awaits…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Heléna Lewis | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Additional script editing: Joe Viner | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A young park ranger wakes up late, skips his chores, and heads out for an invigorating hike instead. It will prove a monumentally fateful decision. On the forested slopes of Carpenter’s Peak, Andy Peterson is stalked then attacked by a nimble and lightning-quick apex predator intent on ending his life. It seems certain he’ll become the beast’s next meal. Unless he can somehow scramble free…

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Rhys Bevan | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

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Winter 2011 in New Hampshire. David Dwyer is at home in his study when he notices that his wife Kelly hasn’t come back from her walk in the woods. Strapping on his snowshoes, he heads out to look for her. The situation will prove far worse than David’s fears. Kelly isn’t merely lost or injured; she’s unconscious, clinging to life, submerged up to her neck in freezing water. Can she, quite literally, come back from the dead?

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May 2021, keen yachtsman Glenn Anderson is sailing up the coast of Western Australia with his 11-year-old daughter, Ruby. As they near the halfway point of their adventure, conditions turn brutally rough. And when their yacht is struck by a huge wave, father and daughter will be sent tumbling into the seething, danger-filled waters of the Indian Ocean. But falling overboard is just the beginning. With their vessel disappearing in the storm, Glenn will find himself in a terrible position as a captain... and an even worse one as a father...

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Joe Viner | Produced by Ed Baranski | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound Supervisor: Matt Peaty | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Assembly edit by Rob Plummer | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Ralph Tittley.

For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices