35 episodes

Conversations with people who have lived through extreme events. Some stories are dark and twisted, others are light and funny. In all cases, we get an intimate portrait of 'what it was like' to be there.
Hosted by Julian Morgans
A Superreal Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What It Was Like Superreal

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 37 Ratings

Conversations with people who have lived through extreme events. Some stories are dark and twisted, others are light and funny. In all cases, we get an intimate portrait of 'what it was like' to be there.
Hosted by Julian Morgans
A Superreal Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    I Was Sold Into Slavery to Run Scams (Part 1)

    I Was Sold Into Slavery to Run Scams (Part 1)

    When Miriam boarded a plane to Thailand, she thought she was starting her dream job. Instead, she was drugged upon arrival and woke up in a nightmare. This is her story of survival in a 'scammer farm,' a hidden compound where thousands are forced to run scams. Miriam describes how she endured and eventually escaped.
    TikTok
    Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 57 min
    I Caught Serial Killer Ivan Milat

    I Caught Serial Killer Ivan Milat

    Between 1992 and 1993, seven decomposing bodies were discovered in bushland south of Sydney. The ensuing media storm prompted the state to hastily assemble a police taskforce. Our guest, former-homicide detective Stuart Wilkins, explains how this task force sifted through hundreds of suspects to arrest a road worker named Ivan Milat.
    TikTok
    Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 58 min
    Rain Spencer Will Probably Be Extremely Famous

    Rain Spencer Will Probably Be Extremely Famous

    In 2022, we interviewed a Hollywood producer who predicted that unknown actress Rain Spencer would be the next big thing. Back then, Rain was in an indie film and had 100k followers. Now, she's on her third season of a streaming hit and has nearly a million followers. Today, we ask Rain what it's like slowly becoming a celebrity.
    TikTok Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 36 min
    The Hurricane That Swallowed a Cargo Ship

    The Hurricane That Swallowed a Cargo Ship

    In 2015, Hurricane Joaquin roared over the Bahamas and sank a cargo ship called the El Faro, drowning all 33 people onboard. It was a mystery how a modern US-flagged ship could sail into a hurricane until its black box was found. In this episode, Julian examines the black box transcript to discover a crew that ignored all their own instincts.
    Transcript from the El Faro's black box is here.
    The US Coast Guard's report is here.
    And here is an article and a book that was hugely helpful in researching this case:
    “The Clock Is Ticking”: Inside the Worst U.S. Maritime Disaster in Decades by William Langewiesche
    Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade
    TikTok Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 46 min
    Catching My Sister's Killer

    Catching My Sister's Killer

    In 1985, a 17-year-old girl named Shari Smith was abducted from her own driveway and the family's phone started to ring. It was the kidnapper, his voice electronically distorted. He called repeatedly and it fell on Shari's 21-year-old sister Dawn to answer. In this episode, Dawn Smith Jordan recalls what she learned that week about her parents, her sister and her own resilience.
    TikTok Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 58 min
    I Photograph Private Jets for Mega-Billionaires

    I Photograph Private Jets for Mega-Billionaires

    When someone in the Saudi royal family buys a private plane, they usually want someone to photograph their new toy. And that's where Nick Gleis comes in. For over 40 years he's been photographing private jets for the world's richest people. On today's ep, Nick shares some stories about his clients and talks about the time he accidentally flew into a tornado.
    Check out Nick's photos of obscene luxury on his site, here.
    TikTok Youtube
    Hosted by Julian Morgans
    A Superreal production

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 34 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
37 Ratings

37 Ratings

uspatriot880 ,

What It Was Like podcast is a winner!

Julian Morgans interviews are riveting.
Interesting subjects, people and interviews. Very well done. My favorite podcast.

musicalmagic! ,

A refreshing break from the usual

I love the fresh point of view this podcast takes. I find it amazing that we’ve not seen this style podcast before! We all wonder what it’s like to live through these wild lives/events and we finally get that with this podcast.

ReesieRoo!! ,

Excellent - Something for everyone!

This podcast is so well done! It’s a series of unrelated interviews, and the narrator is well versed and gives a great introduction, synopsis as needed, then asks really good questions of the interview subject. Julian has a great voice and the audio is crisp and clear.
Episodes don’t have to listened to in order, and the variety in subjects is so fascinating. There’s interviews with police, with the wife of a murderer, a woman who partook in s*x work, a blind man who manipulates the phone system, and so much more. Oh my gosh, the interviews they have are so neat!!
This podcast is really such a good listen about the human experience. It’s opened my eyes and I’m so thrilled to see new episodes as they come out.
There’s so many stories to tell, and hearing folks tell their story in their own words is incredibly powerful. Favorite podcast ❤️

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