What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

The Army claims LaVena Johnson took her own life. The evidence suggests otherwise.

Sponsor deals:

Visit www.functionhealth.com/WHATWAS or use gift code WHATWAS25 for a $25

credit toward your membership.

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your fi...

Today’s episode is a little different.

If you’re a regular listener to the show, you know that usually we hear a story from a regular person about something they’ve experienced that was extremely unusual. We have over 250 episodes like that – plane crashes, mass shootings, animal attacks, and lots more. And it’s not all trauma stories – we have some happy ones too.

But sometimes we change it up, and I have a guest on who has a really unusual job. I’ve talked to Spence, who’s a lighthouse k...

Every other 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:

What's something you and your spouse/partner will NEVER agree on?

Links for this episode:

Curious Introvert episode about dating in midlife:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-318-dating-in-midlife-where-have-all-the-good-men/id1483941440?i=1000737048315

Curious Introvert episode about hoarders:
https://podcasts...

Technology is making it more and more difficult to get lost.

Right now, I’m here in my home in Florida. I could pull out my phone, type in any random address in, say, Washington state – the other end of the country. Roughly 3,000 miles away. And within a few seconds, I would have turn by turn audio directions that would enable me to drive directly to that address. I know, GPS isn’t always perfect, but it’s really an amazing example of technology. And usually it works so smoothly that we just take it for g...

There’s a funny thing about being an American.

I’ve seen this with some people I know, as well as some of the guests here on the podcast. Living in the United States, it’s easy to have the mindset that the way we do things is the way the rest of the world does things. Unless you travel to other countries regularly, and get exposed to other cultures, that’s kind of the default thought for a lot of people.

An example...

Every other 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:

What is the worst second hand embarrassment you've ever felt?

Links for this episode:

DC video in CVS - https://youtube.com/shorts/okIKTmzebVo

Meredith’s nail polish:

https://www.essie.com/nail-polish/longwear

Scott’s Drip Dry recommendation:

Chelsea Perkins created a bizarre plan for murder. But it wasn’t foolproof.

Sponsor deals:

Visit www.functionhealth.com/WHATWAS or use gift code WHATWAS25 for a $25

credit toward your membership.

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get...

If your brain changes, are you still the same person? That was the question behind a 1991 movie titled Regarding Henry. In that film, Harrison Ford played the part of Henry Turner. Henry was a wealthy New York City lawyer. He was also narcissistic, uncaring, and even a little unethical sometimes. He got what he wanted and he didn’t care who was in the way. One night he stops into a convenience store and accidentally interrupts an armed robbery. Henry gets shot in the head, but somehow survives. But he has damage to his brain. As he recovers, he slowly em...

Every other 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:

What’s the most annoying thing people do in public?

Links for this episode:

Meredith hates Axe cologne:
https://www.amazon.com/AXE-Fragrance-Collection-Premium-Deodorant/dp/B0CTB125V1/ref=sr_1_6

Life Kit podcast episode about nail care:
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/12/nx-s1-5711411/dont-mess-with-your-cuticles-and-other-nail-advice

Ne...

Today’s episode has a content warning for discussion of suicide.

Have you ever seen pictures or video of a hoarder house, and just wondered, what is going on?

I mean, everyone has a different tolerance level for clutter. But hoarding is not just an issue of having a messy living environment. It’s actually classified as a distinct mental illness. The American Psychiatric Association says hoarding is characterized by a persistent, intense inability to discard possessions – leading to significant clutter, distress, and impairment in daily living.

For a lot of people, flying is a really scary thing.

And that fear can come from a few different factors. You’ve heard stories about planes that have crashed (even though it’s rare). You’re gonna be in this metal tube a few miles above the ground. And you’re putting your life in the hands of people you don’t even know.

Part of flight attendant training is learning how to handle a passenger who has anxiety about flying. If someone steps on to the plane and tells...

Every other 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:

What's your irrational fear?

Links for this episode:

Ear Hustle podcast:

https://www.earhustlesq.com/

Inside True Crime Podcast with Matt Cox:

https://insidetruecrime.com/

Dan prepares people for prison:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/51 <...

The MS Estonia sank, and many people died. But what really happened that night?

Sponsor deals:

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.

Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free sh...

Sometimes, technology can almost seem like magic. That’s how I think sometimes about cell phones.

I mean, you can just pull a little device out of your pocket, tap a couple of things on the screen, and suddenly you’re talking in real time to some other person, who can be anywhere in the world? I know we take this for granted now, but it’s pretty amazing.

There was a little trick I used to do sometimes, with Skype. Remember Skype? Back in the day, it was pretty...

Every other 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:

What's one of the stupidest things you've ever done?

Links for this episode:

Meredith’s plant identification app – Picture This -
https://picturethisai.com

Scott’s recommendation for installing software quickly and safely:
https://Ninite.com

Meredith’s podcas...

If you’re in the Austin, Texas area – let’s meet up. I’ll be in Austin the second week of March – and this is 2026, for you listeners of the future – we’ll have another in-person Listener Meetup on March 11. This is where you can come and hang out with me and other podcast listeners, have a drink, ask a question, whatever. I’d love to get to know you! All of the details can be found in the What Was That Like Facebook group, at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

And now, on with today’s episode, which n...

As parents, you want your child to be healthy and happy. And you’ll do anything to make that happen.

But that’s not always easy when your child is autistic.

Science and medicine has learned a lot about autism, but there’s still a lot of mystery around it as well. What causes it (if anything), how to treat it… there are lots of questions that are still unanswered. And a successful treatment protocol for one person might not work as well for another one.

My...

Every other 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:

What did your boss do that made him/her the worst boss ever?

Links for this episode:

Meredith webcam privacy screen:
https://a.co/d/0hMs0zQF

Scott’s recommended app called Pizza Compass:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pizza-compass/id...

The case of William Moldt shows us that sometimes a mystery has to wait for technology to catch up.

Sponsor deals:

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.

Go to Qu...

Here on the podcast we’ve several episodes with guests who have told the story of being attacked by an animal.

These include a grizzly bear, a monkey, a shark, a rattlesnake, a tiger, a pair of dogs, an alligator, and a swarm of yellow jackets. But we haven’t yet had a story about a hippo attack.

Until today.

My guest today is Honor. She was traveling throughout Africa and she learned about the list of animals in Africa that cause the most fata...

Every other 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:

What are you starting to hate as you get older?

Links for this episode:

Planes, Trains and Automobiles airplane scene -

https://youtu.be/Kw-f9B7FAdQ?si=3V9qMhG1KqQ4cDPj

Children International -
https://children.org

<...

Sometimes, there comes a moment in your life when everything changes.

You might have a little warning ahead of time, or it might come as a complete surprise. It might be a surprise that makes your whole life better, or it could be news that’s devastating. We never know – that’s just how life works.

Justin had a moment like that. He was adopted the day after he was born, so he never knew his birth mother. He had a wonderful childhood, and he loves his family, but he alw...

I wonder if this ever happens to you.

Maybe you’re visiting someone and you’re staying overnight. Or you’re on a trip and you’re staying in a hotel or an Airbnb. And that first time you wake up, you have a brief few seconds where you’re a little disoriented. Like, “Hey, where am I? This is not my bedroom. This is not my bed”. But then it comes back to you – oh yeah, I’m away from home right now.

I would think it would be even worse if y...

Every other 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:

What’s the craziest thing you have put your body through?

Links for this episode:

Bruce the cow causing disruption:

https://youtube.com/shorts/WNM0cV7bViM?si=cKREAXmSXdeqHxaX

Krav Maga – Israeli hand to hand combat fighting:

https://en.wikipedia.org...

Tom and Eileen trusted others for their safety, but that trust was misplaced.

Sponsor deals:

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.

Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on...

Have you ever had a feeling of impending doom? Like you just knew something bad was about to happen?

Quite a few years ago, I was in New York City. I went with a friend to a late comedy show, and when it was over we got on the subway to get back to the hotel. This was pretty late, like 2 am or maybe even later. We were on the train, waiting for the doors to close. Personally, I was feeling fine. But my friend, Teri, was more aware of our surroundings. There were...

Every other 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:

What caused you to end a friendship?

Links for this episode:

Details for the WWTL in-person meetup in Orlando are in the Facebook group:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook

Spotify playlist from Meredith’s show with episodes relating to making friends as an ad...

Not everyone likes surprises.

Personally, I love being surprised – as long as it’s a GOOD surprise. And even more than that, I love surprising people and just seeing their reaction.

About 3-4 years ago, I got what I think is the biggest surprise of my life. At that time, my dad had been gone for about 6 or 7 years. And one night my mom invited all the family over for a game night at her place. This happens all the time, so nothing unusual. But while we were all ther...

Well here we are at the end of 2025. It’s been a crazy year in a lot of different ways.

And it’s a tradition here for the What Was That Like podcast for the last episode of the year to be a collection of all of this year’s Listener Stories.

For every main episode of the podcast, we end it with a story sent in by a listener. It can be something happy, sad, funny – just about anything – as long as it’s something interesting that happened to you. We l...

Every other 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:

What's the most NSFW thing you've witnessed in public?

Links for this episode:

Mirrors for sale subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mirrorsforsale/

the Charcuterie board with the lid https://a.co/d/17amSKV

Meredith’s podcast is M...

Jennifer Strange entered a bizarre radio station contest.

Sponsor deals:

Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off.

If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://inda.shop/[WHATWAS]! #indacloudpod

Go to ThriveMarket.com/WHATWAS to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift just for signing up.

Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WH...

Mountain climbing is safer when you do it with a climbing partner.

If you want to see something really crazy, something that might even bring up some anxiety as you watch it, check out the documentary called Free Solo. This is a National Geographic documentary about a young rock climber named Alex Honnold. His dream was to climb this 3000 foot rock called El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park.

Just climbing it is a great achievement for most rock climbers. But Alex Honnold is not like most rock climbers. He...

Every other 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:

What was the most traumatizing thing to happen at your school?

Links for this episode:

Shattered Dreams -

https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2015-04-29-shattered-dreams-program-aims-reduce-underage-drinking-injuries-texas

Content warnings for all types of content:

https://DoesTheDogDie.com

<...

Monica was divorced, and now a single mom with two little kids. She wasn’t looking for a relationship.

Kevin was a nice guy, and he’d never been married.

When they first met, there was a chemistry between them, but Monica was reluctant. Fortunately, Kevin was persistent.

This is their story, and it’s a good reminder for all of us – when you have someone you love, be sure to appreciate the time you have with them now. Because sometimes the unexpected can change e...

There’s really something pretty amazing about giving birth.

I mean, you are actually using your body to grow a whole new human, and then this new person comes into the world, and your whole life changes. For many people, being pregnant is a time filled with happy anticipation. You’ve probably heard people talk about this thing called the “pregnancy glow”, and it’s a real thing.

In spite of the discomfort, and nausea, and unusual food cravings and everything else that sometimes comes with having a baby inside you, the thought...

Every other 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:

What song always brings back a particular memory?

Links for this episode:

Meredith’s song: The Bare Necessities

https://youtu.be/6BH-Rxd-NBo?si=tmwDOPkc1f5s7w_T

Scott’s song: Free Fallin’

https://youtu.be/1lWJXDG2i0A?si=NoOtl0...

Scott reads A Piece of Steak, by Jack London

Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS.

Try What Was That Like PLUS free:

iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free”

Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app

Sponsor deals:

If you’re 21 or o...

Sometimes it can be pretty amazing how one small decision can have a huge impact.

Mike Jaffe knows about that.

Mike was usually on his way to work in the morning when his wife, Sabrina, woke up their one year old daughter. He was also on his way home from work when Sabrina was putting her to bed.

But one Monday morning, he decided that the next day, Tuesday, he would go in to work late so that they could all have breakfast together.

On...

Every other 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:

What’s your favorite smell?

Links for this episode:

Lucid dreaming:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

REAL phone numbers for any major company:

https://GetHuman.com

Jill Comes Clean:

...

A lot of weird things can happen when you work in a retail store.

You can ask anyone who’s worked retail for a while, and they will have some stories. My daughter worked at a popular clothing store for a while here in Florida. She worked mostly around the fitting rooms. And she was constantly amazed – and annoyed – at the things people would do in those little rooms where you try on clothes. Oh yeah, some people would just leave the place a big mess. But there were other customers who took it a step fu...