In this week's episode, Katie is bewitched by the incredible survival story of Jose Salvador Alvarenga. In November 2012, Alvarenga headed out on a fishing trip despite warnings of a storm brewing. The routine trip soon turned life-threatening when engine failure and rough seas dragged Alvarenga and his mate, 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba, deep into the Pacific Ocean. For 438 days, Alvarenga survived at sea before washing ashore on the Marshall Islands. Alvarenga's survival is a story of incredible skill, intelligence, and sheer luck. In this episode we examine the psychological and physical obstacles Alvarenga overcame to become the first man to survive for over a year alone in the Pacific Ocean. 

Recommended books (all can be found in our bookshop):

 We are Not Free by Traci Chee 

Healthier Together by Liz Moody

 At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin

 Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by John Krakauer

 Into the Wild by John Krakauer

 In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson 

SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere by John “Lofty” Williams 

The Martian by Andy Weir 

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell 

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