In 1981, an Israeli backpacker named Yossi Ghinsberg met a man in Bolivia who told him about a lost city of riches buried in the jungle. Four of them went into the Amazon to search for the city. Two came out. Yossi tells us how he survived and what he learned about the darkness within.

Hire Yossi to speak at your next event here

Read his incredible memoir, Jungle, here

Find us on TikTok: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Find us on Youtube: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Follow us on Instagram: whatitwaslikepodcast

This is a Superreal production

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

On the eve of his 38th birthday in 1998, a lawyer named Stanley Alpert was plucked off the street by three armed men. For the next 25 hours he sat blindfolded in a corner of their Brooklyn apartment, listening to their strange lives play out around him, and carefully absorbing their stories so he could have them jailed, should he ever escape.

For more, check out Stan’s book The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival

Find us on TikTok: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Find us on Youtube: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Follow us on Instagram: whatitwaslikepodcast

This is a Superreal production

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

In May 1999, police found eight bodies decaying in barrels in a disused bank vault in Snowtown. Four men were eventually jailed for 12 murders. Former senior constable Gordon Drage was the first to discover the vault and tells us what he saw.. We're re-running this 2023 interview because the youngest of the four, James Vlassakis, has just been approved for parole. It’s a decision that’s being fought out in the South Australian Supreme Court.

If you’re a subscriber, please contribute your episode ideas and questions here.

Find us on TikTok: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Find us on Youtube: @whatitwaslikepodcast

Follow us on Instagram: whatitwaslikepodcast

This is a Superreal production

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