Blink | Jake Haendel's Story - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story — True Crime
Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story

Jacob Haendel has been handed a death sentence. He has a terminal progressive disease that’s eating away at the white matter of his brain. In six months, he’ll be dead. As the months progress, Jake slips into a coma, laying there in total darkness. But something odd has happened… Jake is fully conscious. Nobody knows that he can hear them. They’re certain he’s no longer in there. With the promise that Jake will never recover, friends and family visit less and less. Until there is just one person left. A person who begins to whisper strange admissions in his ear. It is here, helpless in his hospital bed, that Jake realizes what may have gotten him here in the first place. The scariest thing in the room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather, the person sitting right next to him. This is Blink, the untold true story and survival of Jacob Haendel.
Blink is part of The Binge – subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one week early and all episodes completely ad-free.
From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go.
Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com.
The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.

Latest Episodes:

The Snare, from ABC News Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

Today, we have something a little different for you: it’s the first episode of The Snare, from ABC News and 20/20.

The Snare examines the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge, who was killed in her apartment in Idaho Falls in 1996. As investigators hunted for her killer, DNA recovered from the crime scene pointed to an unidentified suspect. Despite the evidence, police built their case against another man, Chris Tapp, securing a conviction that later unraveled while the real killer remained at large. As the years passed, Angie’s mother Carol never gave up on a decades-long mission to uncover the truth. It took twenty long years, but finally, through Carol’s persistence and some incredible new DNA matching technology, Angie’s real killer was put behind bars. The Snare tells the whole story, including audio from Chris Tapp’s interrogation and so much more.

Here’s the first episode, and you can keep listening by following The Snare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Out Now: Crime Scene Weekly — Unforgettable True Crime Stories Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

From The Binge, ⁠Crime Scene⁠ plunges you into stories you can’t stop thinking about—revisiting cases that deserve a second look.

Join Jonathan Hirsch (My Fugitive Dad, Dear Franklin Jones) and investigative reporter Cooper Moll as they crack open overlooked details, challenge the official narrative, and uncover what others missed. Each episode delivers the depth of a true crime mini-series in a single, gripping listen.

If you’re drawn to unresolved mysteries and stories that stay with you long after they end...this is for you.

Follow ⁠Crime Scene⁠ wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday.

Subscribers to The Binge+ can listen ad-free, in addition to our network of limited series.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2 Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he could and couldn’t say at the time. Jake revisits the sperm-bank situation in greater depth, breaking down what’s known, what remains unresolved, and how returning to it has reshaped his understanding of that moment. The conversation also dives into the limits of transparency, lingering fears of running into Ellen, and what comes next for blink.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, sexual assault (SA), medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress, and mature content.

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

.

.

.

.

.

Created by Jake Haendel

Hosted by Hannah Smith

Edited by Scott Somerville

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 1 Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Journalist Hannah Smith hosts an intimate BLINK Q&A with Jake Haendel, responding to listener questions submitted across platforms. Jake revisits locked-in syndrome, the exact moment he finally broke free—and what it felt like—along with storming, recovery updates, and life after going public. The conversation also explores addiction, resilience, and what comes next.

Part 2 dives into the break, the legal fallout, and the truth behind what’s been unfolding off-mic—details Jake has never fully shared before.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress & mature content. Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

.

.

.

.

.

Created by Jake Haendel

Hosted by Hannah Smith

Edited by Scott Somerville

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Work in Progress Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

In the final episode of Blink, Jake brings us into his world today, offering a raw, powerful look at what healing truly means—and what comes after survival.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

.

.

.

.

.

Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien

Co-created by Jake Haendel

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Proxy Trap Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

Jake’s search for answers pulls him into the unsettling world of Munchausen by proxy—a rare, insidious form of abuse where illness is manufactured for attention. And as he revisits his own medical history, he’s left to wonder: did a real diagnosis conceal something even darker?

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, child abuse, child loss, pregnancy loss, medical child abuse, death and dying, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.

https://www.munchausensupport.com/

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

.

.

.

.

.

Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien

Co-created by Jake Haendel

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bad Batch May 25, 2025

Show notes

Jake’s long-held theory—that his illness wasn’t accidental—takes a jarring turn when a Facebook message arrives from someone he’s never met.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

.

.

.

.

.

Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien

Co-created by Jake Haendel

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One-Hundred Pound Baby May 18, 2025

Show notes

As old memories resurface and old connections are rekindled, Jake starts to suspect that someone in his inner circle may have been orchestrating far more than just his care. Alarming details come to light, offhand comments take on new meaning, and a once-unthinkable theory begins to feel dangerously plausible.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, emotional distress & mature content.

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
.
.
.
.
.
Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Update on Blink May 04, 2025

Show notes

A brief update on our upcoming episodes, tips for accessing past episodes, and how to send in your questions for our Q&A episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Silent Witness Apr 27, 2025

Show notes

Jake’s case exposed an unsettling reality: countless patients may be fully aware, yet locked inside unresponsive bodies—misdiagnosed and dismissed. But just as medicine starts to grasp the scope of covert consciousness, Jake’s experience veers into the uncanny. His consciousness didn’t just endure—it slipped free.

Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, emotional distress & mature content.

Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com

Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.

Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

.

.

.

.

.

Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien

Co-created by Jake Haendel

Original composition by Michael Marguet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Related Podcasts