Episodes
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: When you were a child, did you ever have a same-age friend die? How did you handle it? Links for this episode:   Meredith For Real ep 165 – Grieving during the...
Published 04/23/24
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of human endurance. What are we actually capable of doing? It’s almost always a lot more than we think. At some point, I want to do a long distance bike ride. So far, the longest I’ve biked in a day is about 50 or 60 miles. And that was right here in this area, so afterward I went home and slept in my own bed. But I’d really like to bike from here in the Tampa Bay area, across to the other side of Florida, the east coast. It would probably take me...
Published 04/19/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: Is there a specific person in your life who you consider to be your enemy? How did that come to be? WWTL episode 166 – Suzanne was stuck on the boat Tim Ferriss has a fascinating conversation with Barbara Corcoran To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at...
Published 04/16/24
Enjoy this special presentation of RISK!, a podcast where people tell jaw-dropping true stories they never thought they'd dare to share in public.   In this episode, Cory Byrom and Chris Lundy share stories about the best and worst times with their friends from childhood.   For more episodes of RISK!, be sure to check them out wherever you get your podcasts. Also: This is the video from the TODAY Show that you’ll hear about in this week’s Listener...
Published 04/12/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: Have you ever gone back to visit your childhood home? How would you describe that experience? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code WHATWAS at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Cancel your...
Published 04/09/24
There are few forces in the world stronger than a mother protecting her baby. If you’re outdoors and you happen to come across a mama bear, everyone knows you better not get between her and her cubs. Actually, it’s a bad idea to be anywhere near them. If you appear as any kind of a threat, it’s not gonna turn out well. But I would say that’s just as true for human mothers. They will do anything to make sure their baby is safe – and that includes risking their own life to save their...
Published 04/05/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: You earn a million dollars (tax free) for every full year you spend in a maximum security prison. How long would you stay? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code WHATWAS at...
Published 04/02/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group and post some of your answers. The question for this episode: You get to have lunch with any living celebrity. Who do you choose? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code WHATWAS at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas. This episode is sponsored...
Published 03/26/24
When I was a kid, I don’t think I knew anyone who had an actual security system in their home. It just wasn’t heard of. I’m sure they existed, but really, for most typical middle-class families, you just didn’t think a lot about someone breaking into your home. And we certainly never had the concept of a home invasion – you know, someone coming right through the front door, while you’re home and awake, with plans of theft or even violence. But these days, if there’s a knock on the door,...
Published 03/22/24
Every Tuesday, Scott and Meredith grab a past Tuesday Question from the Facebook group and answer it, and also talk about some answers submitted by listeners. The question for this episode: If you could make yourself twice as attractive, OR twice as intelligent, what would you choose? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas. This episode...
Published 03/19/24
Have you ever had one of those moments in your life where your life just changed dramatically? Like, your life is suddenly divided into two chapters – before that moment, and after that moment. Well, that’s the kind of moment Justin had. Justin was adopted the day after he was born. So he never knew his birth mother. He was adopted immediately into a loving family who gave him a wonderful childhood and a great start in life. He always wondered about his birth mother, and he searched and...
Published 03/15/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: You just made a donation to your favorite cause (money or volunteer time) - what is that cause? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas. This episode is...
Published 03/12/24
Do you know how you would react, in an emergency situation? The first time I remember being put to the test with something like this is when I was 18 years old. I was just driving, by myself, on a sort of rural road here in Florida one morning. And as I drove down this road, I could see something odd up in the distance. It was a car, off the road – and it was upside down. Probably most of us have approached accident scenes like this. You’ll see one or two cars that have obviously crashed into...
Published 03/08/24
Every Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then Meredith and I answer it and read some of the answers given by other listeners. The question for this episode: If you had one “do-over” what past event would you spend it on? To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook. Sponsor deals: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online...
Published 03/05/24
This is a quick episode to let you know that starting Tuesday, March 5, 2024 – we’ll be doing the weekly Tuesday Question episodes. Every week in the Facebook group, we have a new thought-provoking question. These questions always generate a lot of great discussion, and this weekly post has become very popular. Now, every Tuesday Scott Johnson (host of What Was That Like) and Meredith Hackwith Edwards (host of Meredith For Real: The Curious Introvert) will pick a question from the archives...
Published 02/27/24
This episode is a little different from the norm. Usually we talk to someone who has experienced something really unusual. But every once in a while, I like to have a guest on who has an unusual job – a job that I find really interesting and have lots of questions about. So that’s what we’re doing here today. My guest is Julie – she works as a hospice nurse. She’s been doing this for many years, so she has lots of information, and lots of stories. Every one of us is unique as an individual,...
Published 02/23/24
You ever watch a video on YouTube, or TikTok, and it shows someone walking right on the edge at the top of a very tall building? Or maybe they’re right at the edge of a cliff with a steep drop off, and they’re doing flips or some stupid thing, just to get views and show how fearless they are. Every time I see one of those, I get this weird feeling in my gut because I think about the risk that they’re taking, and the horrifying outcome if they make just one little mistake. I wasn’t always...
Published 02/16/24
There are some people whose dream is to live on a boat and just spend their life sailing around the world. In fact, there’s a company called Villa Vie that’s hoping a LOT of people want to do that. They have a cruise ship that holds 924 passengers, and they’re offering a never-ending cruise that goes around the world every 3 ½ years. You can actually buy one of the cabins – starting for as little as $100k. And you own that cabin! Kind of like a floating time share I guess. But you also have...
Published 02/09/24
James had a childhood that would have indicated future success. He grew up in southern California, and his father is a scientist. His mother is a registered nurse. They lived in an affluent neighborhood in San Diego. But by the time he was in middle school, James began to display some mental health issues. He tried to take his own life at age 11. But he did graduate from high school, and also completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of California Riverside. He then decided to move to...
Published 01/26/24
What would YOU do in this situation? Imagine you just got off an international flight, and you’re in a Subway restaurant, in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. You feel terribly sick. In fact, you have reason to believe that your condition could be fatal if you don’t get medical help quickly. Do you call 911? That’s the situation Luke was in, on a January day back in 2016. But he was hesitant to call for help, because he knew why he was sick. That terrible feeling he had in his stomach was from a little...
Published 01/19/24
The second season of PROOF: Murder at the Warehouse takes Susan Simpson and Jacinda Davis to Manteca, CA where they reinvestigate the murder of 18-year-old Renee Ramos. On June 5, 2000, Ramos’ body was found buried under a pile of debris inside the shell of a new Home Depot building. Despite tips hinting at alternate suspects - tips that were ignored until now - Renee’s boyfriend, 18-year-old skateboarder Jake Silva, and Ty Lopes, the 33-year-old uncle of one of Jake's close friends were...
Published 01/17/24
It’s amazing how quickly things can change. Michael lives with his wife, Mu, in New York City. He works for HP, and his job is to visit various locations around the city and do equipment repair. So he often finds himself on public transportation. One afternoon he was on the city bus, headed to his next job. He expected it to be a routine trip. But without any warning, he found himself trying desperately to get away from a man with a knife. And here’s something you need to know as you listen...
Published 01/12/24
You’re listening to What Was That Like, and this is the last episode for 2023 – which means it’s our year-end Listener Stories episode. For each episode of the show, we have a guest come on and tell their story. It might be someone who survived an alligator attack, or a person who was shot multiple times, or maybe someone who went on The Price is Right and won the showcase – those are just a few examples of the over 160 past episodes. And then, at the very end of each episode, we have a...
Published 12/29/23
Very few people have seen someone get hit by a car. There’s a movie from 1998 called Meet Joe Black. Kind of a weird film that combines romance and fantasy. I don’t remember being particularly impressed by the movie itself, but there’s one scene that’s stuck in my head forever. If you’ve seen it, you probably know the scene I’m talking about. Two young people, played by Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani, meet by chance at a coffee shop and there seems to be a rare connection between them. They...
Published 12/15/23