I live about 20 minutes from world-famous Clearwater Beach. I do bike around that area sometimes but that’s about the only time I go there, because I’m not much of a beach person. But people come from all over the world to sit in that sand, because that’s one of the things Clearwater is known for.

But there’s something else that makes this city famous. Clearwater, Florida is also the worldwide spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology.

Back in 1975, there was a Scientology-founded group that purchased the huge Ft Harrison Hotel in Clearwater for $2.3 million. On the paperwork, the tenant was listed as “United Churches of Florida”, so the City Council and the citizens of Clearwater didn’t realize that the new owners were actually the Church of Scientology – until after the purchase was finalized. Citizens groups and even the mayor of Clearwater at the time, protested against the church establishing a base there, and they repeatedly referred to the group as a cult. But the group stayed.

And now, the Scientologists own 185 properties in downtown Clearwater. If you drive around the city, you’ll see these people walking from one place to another, doing their work or taking courses.

My guest today is Kat, and she knows about the Church of Scientology from first-hand experience. When she was barely a teenager, Kat was given to the Scientologists – by her mother.

If you’d like to contact Kat, you can email her at [email protected]

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/148

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Fall asleep to the Calm History podcast – CalmHistory.com

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This weekend edition of What Was That Like highlights a top true crime podcast called LISK: Long Island Serial Killer. Since 2017, the show has covered a decade-long cold case set in Long Island. The podcast recently went viral after a suspect was arrested in connection to the case.

If you enjoyed this episode, listen to LISK: Long Island Serial Killer wherever you listen to podcasts or click here.

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There’s a phrase I find interesting. It’s often used to describe a person who seems to have an unusual power in different ways. The phrase I’m thinking of is “force of nature”.

When I hear “that man, or that woman, is a force of nature”, it makes me think of someone who comes in like a whirlwind, with a clear objective, and nothing is going to stand in their way. And that description makes sense, because that’s how nature is sometimes.

Here in Florida, we’re about to go into that magical time of year called Hurricane Season. A storm comes up out in the Atlantic, and they often make their way here. And they are literally a force of nature. Thankfully, we usually have lots of warning, so we have time to prepare. But if you’re in the path when a hurricane comes through, it’s loud, and scary, and terrifying. It doesn’t care about you. It’s just doing what nature does.

But sometimes nature can be just as scary, and just as deadly, in complete silence. That’s what Gregg found out, when he found himself alone and wondering if he would survive.

Gregg’s website:

https://TheCompulsiveStoryteller.com

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/147

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month. 

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

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There are a lot of things we have that are amazing, but we take them for granted.

Have you ever seen those videos online where the person being recorded is color blind? And their family gets them those specially-made sunglasses that actually allow a person to see colors, even though they have never been able to before. Of course, everyone in the family wants to see their reaction the first time they put on those glasses.

So they all go outside, and there are usually some brightly colored balloons nearby, and the birthday person opens up this package to find a pair of sunglasses. Nice, thanks for the sunglasses. And of course everyone encourages them to try them on. And what happens when they put those glasses on, and they are now actually seeing colors instead of everything being black and white or just having shades of difference – their reaction is always amazing. In many cases, they are just so overwhelmed by the colors and overcome by emotion, they start to cry because of what they’re seeing. In that moment, everything has changed for them. They see everything differently, and they notice every single color.

But for most of us, we walk around every day seeing all of these vibrant colors, and we never have a single thought about it. It’s just our normal. We often don’t understand or appreciate something until we are able to see the difference between having it, and not having it.

My guest today, Chris, can attest to that. Like most of us, he grew up having hands – a left hand and a right hand. They were right there with him for more than 40 years, always doing what he needed them to do.

But today, the hands that Chris uses are not the hands he was born with.

If you’d like to contact Chris, you can email him at [email protected].

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/146

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month.

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

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You know when people are asked about what their biggest fear is, a lot of the answers are what you’d expect – fear of heights, fear of spiders, and so forth. Humans are afraid of a lot of things.

But when people are asked what their single BIGGEST fear is – the big one that usually comes out as number one is fear of public speaking. For a lot of people it even ranks higher than their fear of death.

When Jerry Seinfeld heard about that, he correctly observed that that means if that person is at a funeral, they’d rather be the dead person in the casket than the one giving the eulogy.

But there are some situations where we have to speak in public – and one of those is in a courtroom.

For me, that would be the worst place to be nervous about speaking. When I’m in an uncomfortable situation, I’ll usually try to use humor to sort of ease the tension. But when you’re on the witness stand answering questions, with a judge and a whole room full of people watching you, that’s not really the time for a stand-up routine.

My guest today is Collier, and he knows all about that situation. He was only 12 years old when he had to testify at a murder trial, to talk about what happened at his house one night.

And the person he was testifying against was his own father.

Collier’s YouTube: https://YouTube.com/collierlandry

Collier’s links: https://CollierLandry.com/links

Collier’s website: https://CollierLandry.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@collierlandry

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collierlandry

Twitter: https://twitter.com/collierlandry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collierlandry

Collier’s TEDx Talk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/collier_landry_what_happens_when_the_answers_we_seek_are_not_what_we_find?language=en

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/145

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month. 

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

At the tender age of 19, Ron Adkins was sentenced to 500 years in prison. Listen to his unbelievable story at https://CompelledPodcast.com/ron

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Hey, this is Scott, and you’re listening to What Was That Like.

But this is not a regular episode of What Was That Like. I’ve got a really cool BONUS episode for you today. What you’re about to hear is the first episode in a new podcast series called Dark Valley.

This series is investigation-oriented, and it’s about as True-Crime as you can get. You’re gonna learn about America’s “unknown serial killer” – or by the name given to him by law enforcement and the media: The Connecticut River Valley Killer. And it’s all laid out from the perspective of that murderer’s only surviving victim, Jane Boroski.

Can you imagine being attacked by a serial killer? And this was not a routine attack. Jane was stabbed 27 times by this man, whom she had never met. Oh, and when it happened, Jane was 7 months pregnant.

In this first episode of the series, Jane talks about what happened. And I also had a conversation with Jane, and asked her a few questions of my own about this whole experience. You’ll hear that right after this episode plays, and of course we’ll have this week’s Listener Story as we do on every episode.

The Dark Valley podcast series is produced by Crawlspace Media, and if you like this first episode, you can go and listen to the next one on Apple, Spotify, or whatever app you’re listening on right now.

So I hope you enjoy this first episode of Dark Valley, followed by my conversation with Jane Boroski.

Links:

Dark Valley:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dark-valley/id1644915712

Invisible Tears:

https://invisible-tears.com/

Jane’s social media:

https://linktr.ee/invisibletearspodcast

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/144

Transcription was done by James Lai.

What Was That Like is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/whatwas for 10% off your first month. 

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL 

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you ever think about the children in your state who are currently in foster care?

Here in Florida, there are about 19,000 children living in foster care. That’s a lot of kids. And in that group, there are about 500 children who have no identified families. Can you imagine how scary and lonely that must be, to be a child with no family at all, and only the government to try to take care of you and keep you safe?

There are a lot of different situations that can lead to that. But whatever happened, it’s no fault of the child. They didn’t ask to be born into a family of addicts, or criminals, or abusers, or maybe just someone who didn’t want them. They’re already starting off life with a disadvantage. It’s not fair.

My guest today, Samantha, learned about the foster care system kind of by surprise. She and her husband, Jeremy, were living their lives and they had three young children of their own which kept them pretty busy. They were a happy family.

They didn’t plan to suddenly be dealing with the foster care system – or more specifically, a process called “Family Placement”.

And it all started with an unexpected phone call about a baby.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/143

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL 

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, this is Scott.

This is just a short episode in between the regular episodes – I guess you could call it an In-Between-isode.

What I have for you today is an announcement about the podcast, followed by a Listener Story – and the Listener Story is from someone you’ve heard from before.

But first, I want to give you an update on a new feature that’s now available in the What Was That Like podcast.

This is a new subscription program that allows you to get rid of the ads that get inserted into the podcast. Because who likes ads? Especially in a show like this, where we have guests who are telling really personal stories of something that may have been really traumatic or crazy. I mean, I try to make sure every episode is like that – something really unusual. So if you’re like me, you’re probably not a big fan of having the story interrupted by a few ads. The whole experience is just better without the interruptions. But it’s a catch-22 because the ads are part of what make the podcast possible.

But now, you can enjoy the podcast without those interruptions with this new subscription program called What Was That Like Plus. And here’s my favorite part – you can get all the regular ad-free episodes, AND all the exclusive bonus Raw Audio episodes, right here in the podcast app you’re already using. I’ll explain that in just a minute.

Okay, so what do you get when you sign up for What Was That Like Plus –

First, you get every What Was That Like episode without any ads. And that doesn’t just mean starting now – that means all the past episodes as well. At the moment there are over 140 episodes of bizarre stories (you know the kinds of stories we love here). And you can go back and binge all of them, without any ad interruptions.

And you also get all of the bonus episodes, called Raw Audio. I’ve put out more than 30 of these episodes now. These episodes are typically 3 different stories, and each one includes the actual 911 audio from a case, as well as the story that goes with that emergency call.

So with What Was That Like Plus, you get all the regular podcast episodes without any ads, and you get all of the exclusive Raw Audio episodes. And as I mentioned earlier – you don’t have to get a different podcast app in order to listen. You’re going to get ALL of those episodes right here, in the podcast app you’re already using!

These are the podcast apps that are supported – so if you listen to your podcasts on any of these, you’re already set up: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocketcasts, Podcast Addict (that’s the one I use), Castbox, BeyondPod, Downcast, PlayerFM, Breaker, and RadioPublic. If you heard me say the name of the app that you use, you’re golden. At the moment, there are a few apps that aren’t supported – Stitcher, Podbean, and NPR One. But for most people, you’re already set up with the app you’re using now.

And of course, I want you to be able to try this out for free so you can see what it’s like. So there are a couple of ways to try it out free, depending on whether you’re on Apple, like an iPhone, or if you use an Android.

And if you can’t subscribe to the PLUS subscription right now, no worries. I still love you! And of course you’ll continue to get all of the What Was That Like episodes for free, supported by ads. And anytime you decide to subscribe to the ad-free version, I’ll be waiting there to welcome you in with open arms! Unless you sign up at like 3 in the morning, then you’ll have to wait a bit for that virtual hug.

So that’s the announcement, I hope to see you over in the PLUS feed!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here on the podcast, I talk to people who have been through extremely unusual situations. Like witnessing a murder, or being attacked by a monkey, or winning the showcase on The Price Is Right. We get to hear those stories first hand, from the person who experienced it.

In this bonus episode, I want to introduce you to another podcast that has a very similar format, which means you’re gonna want to subscribe. This podcast is called The Only One in the Room, and the host is Laura Cathcart Robbins along with her boyfriend Scott Slaughter. I’ve known them for years. Truly wonderful people.

So today I’m bringing you an episode of The Only One in the Room, and in the opening Laura will explain where that title came from. In this particular episode, you’ll hear the guest, Traci, talking about her husband, Chris. Chris was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and get this – he spent 3 years in jail just awaiting his trial. In the meantime, Traci is on the outside fighting to prove his innocence, while still maintaining an income and taking care of their 3 children, basically as a single parent. So much to talk about with a story like this.

And keep in mind, this happened back in the early part of the Covid pandemic. Hang around after the conversation, and I’ll have an update about where the case is at today.

I just have to say, Laura is one of the most compassionate people I know. You’ll hear it in this story, as she talks with Traci about what happened. And if you like this story, there are lots more that you’ll love. Just go to whatever podcast app you’re using right now, and search for The Only One in the Room and click Subscribe.

I’d love to hear what you think about this story, and it will definitely generate some discussion in the Facebook group, so let’s hear your comments.

So please enjoy this conversation with Laura Cathcart Robbins from the Only One in the Room, talking with Traci, whose husband Christopher was arrested.

The Only One in the Room podcast:

https://theonlyonepod.com/

Traci Kearney on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/justiceforchristopherkearney/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/142

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL 

For a limited time, save $10 on your first StoryWorth purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Content warning – this episode includes discussion of sex trafficking, and graphic depiction of sexual attack. If you’re in the car with the kids, you might want to save this one for later.)

The situation that Jennifer found herself in is one that no one ever expects. She was away from home, and she didn’t really know anyone. On top of that, she was an American in Turkey and she didn’t speak much of the language.

And her attacker was strong, and determined.

But what came to her during this traumatic experience were things she had heard on a television show. Oprah Winfrey would sometimes have law enforcement specialists and self-defense experts on her show to give advice about what to do in certain situations. They said to always fight back – and NEVER let yourself be taken to a second location.

That advice, along with some other tips she remembered, may have helped save Jennifer’s life.

Because even though she was able to fight him off, he came back.

If you’d like to contact Jennifer, or get two weeks of her brain and nervous system training for free, visit the website RewireTrial.com.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/141

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Hear Virginia Prodan's full story about defending Christians in Communist Romania at CompelledPodcast.com/virginia

If you’re looking for a simpler and cost-effective supplement routine, Athletic Greens is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to athleticgreens.com/WWTL 

Save $10 on your first purchase when you go to StoryWorth.com/what 

Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code WHAT and receive UP TO 39% off or UP TO $300 off

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices