In 2003, seven astronauts are killed instantly when their space shuttle, Columbia, disintegrates on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.  The NASA shuttle program is grounded with immediate effect. On the International Space Station, three men - two astronauts and a cosmonaut - had not just lost seven colleagues, they'd also lost their ride home.  With no other option, a daring mission is launched that involved a much smaller Russian built shuttle based on a design from the 1960s. If the...

Summiting Everest takes years of preparation and a mindset that lets nothing get in the way. In 2006, Myles Osborne is hoping to become one of the youngest British climbers to reach the top. In just the week before his push for the summit, three climbers die. One, Lincoln Hall, is thought to have died only 12 hours before. Nothing can prepare Myles for what he encounters in the terrifying 'death zone' of the Himalayas' greatest mountain, and the life-and-death decisions he and his team are...

It’s 2008 and Columbian presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt and three US nationals have been held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) for over five years. They are considered “VIP hostages" by the militant organisation. With numerous rescue attempts of other hostages ending in disaster, the Columbia and US governments are reluctant to make a move. But then one young intelligence analyst has a radical idea. What if they devised a plan that relied not on guns and...

Sean Irion has dedicated his life to rescuing animals.  From caring for his pets to nursing injured birds back to health as a kid, today he volunteers for Big Dog Ranch Rescue - saving dogs from natural disaster zones. Back in 2019 when a catastrophic category 5 hurricane pummeled the Bahamas for two days straight, he knew only two things: One, that thousands of pets and strays would be left fighting for their lives as a result, and two, that he had to get there as soon as possible to...

About sixty miles off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, four men continue to cling desperately for life. Together, they are tossed about in the churning icy waters as 100 ft high waves pummel into them.  So far, due to the 100mph winds, giant ocean swells and a relentless roaring blizzard, two helicopter crews have already tried and failed to rescue the men.  Sitka's US Coast Guard Station has only one helicopter left at its disposal. It is now, or never.  A Sony Music Entertainment...

It's shaping up to be a quiet Friday night at the US Coast Guard's remote rescue station in Sitka, Alaska. With a violent storm due to sweep across the region at any moment, chances are no one would be crazy enough to be out in that kind of weather. But then a mayday call comes in.  An unknown vessel is in distress, somewhere in the frigid waters of the Gulf of Alaska.  Within an hour, windspeeds out there are hitting 150mph while waves are cresting at well over 100ft.  What ensues has...

The Esvagt Cantana is a safety-standby ship providing emergency support to oil-company workers based in the North Sea. Its crew are trained to attend all manner of disasters, from rescuing people who’ve fallen into the sea to evacuating personnel from burning oil rigs. Rarely do they expect the emergency to come from within… A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To bring your...

In 1941, the German army invades Eastern Poland and thousands of Jews are forced into ghettos as part of a plan to persecute, and then ultimately eradicate, all Jews in Europe.   To evade capture, four Jewish brothers - Tuvia, Alexander, Asael and Aron Bielski - flee into the forest. But it is too late for most.  When many of their family are murdered, the brothers vow never to be captured. But their survival is not enough.  While hiding out in the forest, the brothers establish a secret...

In February 2010, Hector Gomez is partying with family and friends on a small river island just outside of Constitucion in Chile, when a devastating earthquake occurs just off the coast. Erupting with the force of 200 million atomic bombs, the quake triggers a tsunami that heads straight for Hector and his friends. With only a small boat at his disposal, Hector risks his life to rescue as many of them as he can before it's too late.  A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more...

It's December 1989. By order of Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega, American Kurt Muse is locked up in the Carcel Modelo – a notorious prison nicknamed 'the Cemetery For The Living'. But unknown to Kurt, help is on the way. A team of elite soldiers is being assembled to break him out. Their mission – Operation Acid Gambit – marks the beginning of a bold US military assault that will not only impact Kurt’s life, but millions of Panamanians for years to come. A Sony Music...

After the chaos of the 2011 Arab Spring, eruptions of violence saw millions become refugees overnight. Since then many have taken to the seas in a desperate bid to reach the relative safety of Europe. Thousands have died trying. Since 2021, Nejma Banks has worked as a cultural mediator for Medecin Sans Frontier onboard their vessel Geo Barents, rescuing refugees who get into trouble in the Mediterranean Sea. There is one rescue in particular that left a deep impression on her. This is...

Late one night, a mayday message is received at the headquarters of Canada’s national search and rescue operations in Trenton, Ontario. The message is coming from a GPS tracking device registered to David Aqqiaruq, from Igloolik – an island located on the fringes of the Arctic Circle, 1700 miles away. Earlier that day, David and his son Lester had set off in a small boat to catch walrus. The pair had not been seen since. With a violent snowstorm now raging, their situation grows more dire...

In Nairobi, Kenya, Paramedic Stella Zakina is preparing for the start of her shift when she is alerted to an attack taking place at the city's popular Westgate shopping mall. Local businessman Abdul Haji is in a meeting when he receives a text from his brother saying he is trapped inside the mall where a terrorist attack is taking place. So begins the incredible story of how civilians and emergency workers alike rushed to the scene of one of the worst terrorist atrocities in recent times,...

18-month-old Jessica is playing with her friends in the backyard. One moment she is there, the next she has disappeared. Her mother, Reba, realises with horror what has happened. Baby Jessica has fallen 22ft down the dry-water well at the back of the property, and there is no way to get her out. It’s a rescue that gripped America and saw experts and community come together like never before to save her. Down the well, Baby Jessica hymns to herself and cries for her mommy. Will they get to...

Over half a million people commute to London every day. They travel at the same time, on the same train, with the same familiar faces in the carriage. Rarely does anyone think for a moment that they might not arrive at their destination. Tony Jasper was no different. Until, on one fateful morning in October 1999, Tony is onboard a train bound for Paddington Station when it collides head on with another train. In an extraordinary act of bravery, Tony is spurred into action, risking his life...

A man goes missing for two days in the Rockies. With the temperature plummeting, it falls to a team of local search and rescue volunteers to try and find him. PhD student Jen Lois is one of those volunteers and, for the past five years, has been studying the group to learn more about the sociology of search and rescue.   This mission would prove to be just about the strangest she ever took part in.  A Sony Music Entertainment production.  Find more great podcasts from Sony Music...

Malcolm Roberts is suffering from a gastric bleed and is in danger of bleeding to death. The big problem: He’s stationed on the British Antarctic Survey’s research base in the Antarctic wilderness, with no blood for a transfusion, and the nearest doctor available to treat him is 9000 miles away… A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast,...

In 2002, climbing partners Charlie Sassara and Jack Tackle set out to achieve a first ascent of the north face of Mt. Augusta - a remote 14,500ft peak on the border of Canada and the United States. Things did not go to plan...  A Sony Music Entertainment production.  Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts  To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad...

It’s been 12 hours since the miners have last been heard from.  With time fast running out to reach them the rescue drill snaps. Can Joe and his team beat the odds and make it to the mine in time? Will anyone still be alive down there to tell the tale? A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more...

Nine miners are trapped 260 ft underground when their mine is accidentally flooded with millions of gallons of water.  Even when it was almost inconceivable that the men were still alive, a community dares to hope. So begins one of the most incredible and daring rescue missions the US mining industry has ever known. A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To bring your brand to...

The world’s most astonishing rescue stories; told by the people who were there. Join host Donny Dust, Marine Corps veteran and world-renowned survival expert, as we marvel at the magnitude of the human spirit and those who refuse to surrender in the face of impossible odds. From seasoned search and rescuers to everyday heroes, we go on their journey as they brave treacherous arctic waters, tsunamis, mountains, collapsed mines and even space, to preserve the most sacred of all – life. A...