Against The Odds

Latest Episodes:

Nome Serum Run: Race Against Death | Togo’s Descendants | 4 Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

In honor of the 100-year anniversary of the Nome Serum Run, Maine musher Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes is recreating the run. And he’s doing it with a team descended directly from Leonhard Seppala’s original dogs. Today, Hayes joins host Mike Corey to talk about the inspiration and preparations to travel hundreds of frozen miles across Alaska. Hayes is the author of The True Tails of Togo the Sled Dog!

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Nome Serum Run: Race Against Death | The Final Miles | 3 Feb 11, 2025

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With a blizzard gaining force, the Mayor of Nome decides the safest choice is to halt the relay, rather than risk losing lives and the serum itself. But the storm makes it hard to spread the news of the Mayor’s order. Musher Gunnar Kaasen and his unlikely lead dog Balto decide to push ahead, battling whiteout conditions and 80-mile-an-hour gusts in their quest to make it to Nome.

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Nome Serum Run: Race Against Death | The Ice Factory | 2 Feb 04, 2025

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The diphtheria outbreak in Nome is spreading fast as a relay of dogsled teams races across Alaska, carrying the only available medicine. Leonard Seppala knows that if he and his lead dog Togo take a shortcut across the frozen Norton Sound, they can shave off precious time and make it to Nome faster. But Seppala also knows he risks getting blown out to sea or falling through a crack in the ice, losing his team and the precious medicine he’s carrying.

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Nome Serum Run: Race Against Death | Outbreak | 1 Jan 28, 2025

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It’s the winter of 1925 and in the remote town of Nome, Alaska, children are dying from a diphtheria outbreak that’s spreading fast. But in the dead of winter, the town is nearly impossible to reach and its supply of medicine is dwindling. The only option is to send the medicine by dogsled, in a relay led by one of Alaska’s best mushers, Leonhard Seppala. The teams will have to cross nearly 700 snow-covered miles at breakneck speed, but an epic blizzard is on its way.

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Crashed in the Canadian Wilderness | The Bonds Forged by Wapiti 402 | 4 Jan 21, 2025

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In 1984, Carol Shaben was just 22-years-old when her father, politician Larry Shaben, narrowly survived the Wapiti 402 crash. Nearly 30 years later, she chronicled the crash and the unlikely friendships it forged in her book, Into the Abyss. Today, Carol joins host Cassie De Pecol to discuss how the experience shaped the lives of the four survivors, especially her father.

Follow Against the Odds wherever you get your podcasts, and dive deeper into thrilling stories of resilience and survival with curated book recommendations from the Amazon Books Editors at www.amazon.com/ATObooks

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Crashed in the Canadian Wilderness | Search and Rescue | 3 Jan 14, 2025

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As the freezing night drags on, the four survivors of a plane crash in the remote Canadian wilderness are running out of things to burn. As hypothermia sets in and their injuries worsen, their spirits begin to falter. Meanwhile, rescuers battle brutal weather conditions in a desperate race to find them before it’s too late.

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Crashed in the Canadian Wilderness | Stranded | 2 Jan 07, 2025

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The survivors of a plane crash in the remote Canadian wilderness free themselves from the wreckage and must rely on the only uninjured passenger among them—a prisoner who was being escorted to face charges—to survive the frigid conditions. Meanwhile, rescue teams scramble to locate the downed plane, but their search is hampered by the dense cloud cover.

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Crashed in the Canadian Wilderness | Ice | 1 Dec 31, 2024

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On an icy October night in 1984, a young, overworked pilot took off from Edmonton, Alberta, in a small commuter plane with nine passengers aboard, including a politician, a cop and his prisoner. Battling thick cloud cover and the accumulation of ice on the aircraft, the pilot misjudged his descent. Moments later, the plane collided with a hillside in the remote Canadian wilderness.

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Nine Days in the Desert | Return to the Marabout | 4 Dec 24, 2024

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In his Netflix sports docuseries Losers, director Mickey Duzyj explores how people respond to failure in a culture where “winning is everything” – and how failure can sometimes lead to greater success. It’s not surprising then that Duzyj tackles Mauro Prosperi’s survival story, and the ripple effects his journey had on Mauro and his loved ones. Today, Duzyj joins host Mike Corey to discuss the series, and his journey with Mauro back to the Sahara to find the marabout that was crucial to Mauro’s survival.

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Nine Days in the Desert I The Finish Line | 3 Dec 17, 2024

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Mauro Prosperi has lost count of how many days he’s been lost. In despair, he attempts to take his own life. But when he wakes up still alive, he decides he has to keep going – even if that means climbing over a mountain range — and praying that on the other side, he’ll finally find help.

In this episode, we discuss suicide and depression. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is available at 1-800-950-6264.

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