Tell Me What Happened

It wasn’t the first time that Ryan Osmun had been hiking in a National Park, nor was it the first time he had hiked in the winter. Ryan knew what equipment to take and packed accordingly. As a photographer he enjoys hiking trails when they’re less populated. But he never expected to find himself or his girlfriend stuck on the trail, literally. A desperate phone call for help brought lifesaving assistance.

We also speak to Faris ‘Faz’ Ali, Deputy Station Officer of Bay Search & Rescue about how to look for signs of quicksand and what to do if you find yourself sinking on a beach or riverbed. As well as what to do if you get your vehicle or ATV stuck.

For more on this episode, or to learn how to keep your outdoor adventures safe, click here.

Learn more about the show here:

https://www.onstar.com/podcast

Tell Me What Happened — the award-winning podcast about people helping people — is returning this March!

We’re hard at work on Season 4 and have more incredible, heart-pounding stories to share with you about complete strangers stepping in to help someone in need. This series is produced by OnStar. They are committed to keeping you safe and so are we. Each episode features an expert with helpful tips for all sorts of situations. As always, every story has a happy ending and celebrates the power of a true human connection. Join us for this exciting and heartwarming journey.

Taylor Hash, a student pilot, had just taken off on her third solo flight when she got the shock of her life. Over the radio, she heard another pilot telling air traffic control that her front wheel fell off during takeoff. Taylor knew she’d have to land the plane with no front wheel, but she had no idea how or what to do next.

In a case of right place, right time, a veteran pilot named Chris Yates happened to be at the airport that day, getting ready to co-pilot a private flight. It was his voice Taylor heard tell air traffic control that her front wheel had fallen off. When he realized Taylor was still learning to fly, he stepped in to guide her down.

We also speak to psychotherapist Amy Morin for tips on coping with anxiety around flying and how to support others who are struggling with air travel.

Learn more about the show here:

https://www.onstar.com/podcast

In 1941, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the Bogancha family saved two young Jewish girls from Nazi soldiers, giving them fake identities and hiding them in an orphanage. That act of kindness would ripple across time and, amazingly, lead to the help their descendants needed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Connecting those dates begins with a book. In 2009, Greg Dawson published Hiding in the Spotlight, a book about his mother, Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson. She was a 14 year-old piano prodigy in 1941 when German soldiers rounded up her family along with the rest of the Jews in her Ukrainian town. Miraculously, Zhanna and her sister, Frina, escaped and found temporary shelter with the Boganchas. With new identities, they survived by playing concerts for German soldiers. After the war, they emigrated to the United States and started over.

In 2013, Marina Orlovetsky, also from Kharkiv, Ukraine, read Greg’s book. She was so moved by the story that she tracked down and befriended Zhanna, Greg and the descendants of the Boganchas.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2023, the Boganchas fled their home in Kharkiv.

Marina, who had never met the Boganchas in person, offered to help their 18-year-old son, Alex, get to the United States and go to college. Marina turns to Zhanna’s son, Greg, offering the Dawsons the opportunity to return a kindness to the Boganchas.

We also speak with Una Bilic, a deputy director with the International Rescue Committee, to discuss the process refugees go through to move to the U.S. and how we can support them.

Learn more about the show here:

https://www.onstar.com/podcast

Lani Williams and her mother, Sincerity, could smell smoke, but that wasn’t rare on Maui. Brush fires happen with some regularity. This fire, they quickly learned, was different.

Five hundred miles to the south, Hurricane Dora had kicked up unusually troublesome winds. In Lahaina, Hawaii, where Lani and Sincerity lived, those winds downed power lines and whipped sparks into a full-blown wildfire that was closing in on them. They tried to escape the blaze by car, but the main roads were either closed or blocked by a crush of panicked drivers trying to leave town. They were stuck between the fire on one side and the ocean on the other.

Benny Reinicke smelled smoke that morning too and found himself in the same logjam of frightened drivers desperately trying to flee Lahaina. Amidst smoke and flames and exploding cars, he spotted Lani struggling to help her mom climb the seawall and get to safety. He took it upon himself to make sure they made it.

We also speak with wildfire expert Michele Steinberg from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) about how you can identify hazards and strategies to help protect against wildfires.

If you’d like to help the residents of Lahaina and others impacted by natural disasters, you can donate to the American Red Cross at redcross.org/donate/cm/onstar-pub.html/

Learn more about the show here:

https://www.onstar.com/podcast