In 1988, Phil had just moved to Los Angeles. And he was in a tough spot.

At the time he had no job and very little money. So he was trying to come up with some kind of plan that could save him from being homeless. Since he had pretty vast knowledge in lots of different subject areas, he decided that he would try his hand at going on the TV game show, Jeopardy!

He had to pass an initial test, which he did, then he went to the contestant interview, and he passed that as well. And he actually got on the show. It didn’t solve his money problems though – even though he did well, he lost to a 5-time champion – by two dollars. Rather than earning any actual money, his parting gift was a bedroom set which forever became known as the Jeopardy! bed.

But twelve years later, he decided to try again, on a different show. In the year 2000, he was able to get on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which at the time was hosted by Regis Philbin. This game show experience was very different.

Phil’s appearances on Who Wants to be a Millionaire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEPMGv0S9Hc&t=2257s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLq2Hq8_Dk

Phil’s wrote a detailed account of his experience:

https://www.ranker.com/list/behind-the-scenes-who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire/philgibbons?ref=profile_pub

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/197

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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.

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Sponsor deals:

Follow “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories” on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

To get 15% off your next gift, go to UNCOMMONGOODS.com/WHATWAS

Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

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Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every 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:

When you were a child, what did you get the most excited about?

Links for this episode:

The Five Love Languages:

https://5lovelanguages.com/

Meredith’s episode 247 – Is your food causing your depression?

https://www.meredithforreal.com/podcast-episodes/episode/7ca413c4/ep-247-or-is-your-food-causing-your-depression-nutritional-psychiatry

Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor deals:

Follow “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories” on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

To get 15% off your next gift, go to UNCOMMONGOODS.com/WHATWAS

Sign up today at butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code WHATWAS to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code WHAT before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code WHATWAS at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here in America, we’re gaining weight.

In 1990, the average weight of a US citizen was 161 pounds. By 2020, just 30 years later, the AVERAGE weight went up to 181 – a 20 pound increase.

The rate of obesity varies by state. The state with the most obesity has almost 41% of residents falling into that category – and that is Mississippi. The state with the lowest obesity rate, around 24%, is Colorado.

Today you’ll hear from Ray. At one point in his life, Ray was way above average in a category that no one wants to be above average in. He weighed over 500 pounds. He knew his weight was way up there, but it was when they weighed him at the doctor’s office that he realized how high it was. So he made the decision to do something about it, and his turnaround has been amazing. He now runs ultramarathons – these are footraces from around 30 miles to even 100 miles.

This is a Flashback episode. Ray came on the podcast and told his story about 5 years ago, so I wanted to bring him back on and ask the question that everyone wants to know – has he kept the weight off? You’ll hear the answer to that, right after our conversation.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/196

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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:

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelpc.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

To get 15% off your next gift, go to UNCOMMONGOODS.com/WHATWAS

Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having your first baby is exciting.

Your life is changing because you’re gonna be bringing this new little human into your home and into your family. The whole dynamic will change. Your focus will change.

But having that first baby can also be a little scary. You’ve never done this before. You don’t really know what to expect exactly. You might even wonder if you’re doing it right.

Today you’re going to hear from Jessica. She and Cody were looking forward to the birth of their first child, their little girl named Hayden. But things didn’t happen as they expected.

Content warning – this episode includes discussion of stillbirth.

If you’d like to contact Jessica, you can do that through her Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/j3ssbb/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/195

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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:

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com/WHATWAS

Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every 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 that most people have done, but you’ve never done?

Links for this episode:

You Probably Think This Story’s About You podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-probably-think-this-storys-about-you/id1747985859

The movie I was trying to think of starting Paul Newman and Kevin Costner (that was filmed in Maine) is Message in a Bottle:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_in_a_Bottle_(film)

Mountain Dew Mouth:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/09/12/221845853/mountain-dew-mouth-is-destroying-appalachias-teeth

Ep 251Meredith’s Food Addiction episode: 

https://www.meredithforreal.com/podcast-episodes/episode/7901922f/ep-251-or-food-addiction-character-flaw-or-real-dependence-remastered

Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor deals:

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

To get 15% off your next gift, go to UNCOMMONGOODS.com/WHATWAS

Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many people, being at home should be where you feel the safest from the outside world.

I mean, we have doors with locks, sometimes multiple locks. Our windows can have locks. We have alarm systems that not only notify us if someone is trying to break it, but also makes loud noises to scare them away. The alarm can even call the police for you, if you’re not able to.

We have a roof to protect from the weather, we have a heater or air conditioning to control the indoor temperature, and we can even control the temperature of our bed.

So when we’re in our home, we shouldn’t have to worry about bad things happening.

That’s what Chris thought too. But then a stranger came into his home with a gun. And toward the end of our conversation, you’ll hear where that stranger had been just 10 days earlier.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/194

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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:

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WHATWAS and get on your way to being your best self.

Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every 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 that people do, that’s normal, that grosses you out?

Links for this episode:

Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans:

https://www.amazon.com/Bite-Incisive-History-Hagfish-Humans/dp/1643751786

Meredith’s episode with Dr Bill Schutt – Teeth: the Ultimate Status Symbol?

https://www.meredithforreal.com/podcast-episodes/episode/7b6556d1/ep-252-or-teeth-the-ultimate-status-symbol

Accidental Swingers? Part 1:

https://www.meredithforreal.com/podcast-episodes/episode/4bbfc127/ep-86-or-accidental-swingers-part-1

Dr Bukk fake teeth:

https://www.drbukk.com/p/bukk-teeth/

Abby and Brittany Hensel, conjoined twins –

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

Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor deals:

Sign up today at https://butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the years, I’ve come to realize – the way I navigate the world day to day, as a man, is very different from what a woman has to think about.

I mean, when I go out somewhere, like to the grocery store, or the bank, or whatever, the thought that someone might be secretly watching me never even enters my mind. If I happen to have an encounter with someone I don’t know, I don’t immediately get suspicious. In fact, I often actually look forward to having a meaningful conversation with a stranger.

But for women, it’s very different. If a man holds a door open for you, and you smile at him, that guy could suddenly think you could be his new girlfriend. Or, it might not even be an actual encounter – someone could be watching you and even following you without you even knowing it.

When Jami was 18 years old, she had an encounter like that. But this incident ended up with the creepy man inside her house.

This is a Flashback episode. Jami told this story on the podcast more than four years ago. So after you hear it today, we’ll have a brief update chat to see what she’s up to now. And we’ll find out that the most recent excitement in her life has nothing to do with podcasting or true crime.

If you’d like to contact Jami:

Instagram: @JamiOnAir

TikTok: @JamiOnAir

YouTube: @JamiOnAir

Jami’s website: Murderish.com

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/193

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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:

Sign up today at https://butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you’re early in life, growing up, whatever you experience is what you consider to be normal.

For example, when I was a kid, our family would go to church every Sunday. We knew everyone there, I had lots of friends there, and there was always a big crowd of people. So naturally, I just kind of assumed that everyone, on Sunday mornings, would be in a church somewhere.

But it was kind of a disconnect when we’d be in the car on Sunday, and we might drive past a park or a boat marina, and I’d see people getting their boat ready to go out on the water. And I’d think, how does that work? Maybe they go to a different church that meets later, or something? I couldn’t put those pieces together, because what I thought was the norm wasn’t the norm for everyone.

My guest today, Mayson, also had a childhood that was different from many other kids. From the time she was a baby, she and her mother would go and visit her dad on weekends – in prison. And since that was all she had ever know, she assumed that’s what everyone did.

Her eyes were opened on her 12th birthday, and you’re about to hear that story.

And toward the end of our conversation, Mayson revealed something that she only just discovered as a result of coming on this podcast.

If you’d like to ask Mayson a question, or leave her a comment about her story, she’s in the WWTL podcast Facebook group (along with about 8000 other listeners, and many of the previous guests of the show) - WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/192

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

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:

Sign up today at https://butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every 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 best find at a yard sale or thrift store?

Links for this episode:

eBay: https://ebay.com

Meredith’s podcast is Meredith For Real – the Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor deals:

Sign up today at https://butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, it’s an off week for the podcast, but here I am anyway.

This is Scott Johnson, and you’re listening to What Was That Like. Usually I have a guest on to talk about something really unusual that they experienced – like having their arm torn off, or being buried in an avalanche, or witnessing a murder. The guest comes on and tells the details of what happened. And there are more than 190 episode to binge with those amazing stories.

But today is a different kind of amazing story! Today’s a bonus episode. As you might know, the last three Fridays have been personal stories of people who survived the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Those are really important stories to share, to make sure we never forget what happened on that day.

But after three weeks of tragedy and trauma, I thought it would be nice to have a FUN episode. And this one fits that bill perfectly.

Today you’re going to hear from a mother, Kiona, and her oldest daughter, Kavina.

Kiona is a birth worker, and she’s been involved with or witnessed more than 140 births. She has a podcast called Birth As We Know It, where guests come on and tell their stories about birth.

Well – in one of her episodes, Kiona interviewed her daughter Kavina, who was just 9 years old at the time of their conversation. When she was 4, Kavina was present for the birth of her younger brother, Kairo. And when she was 8, Kavina actually caught her little sister, Katana, as she was born.

So today, you’ll hear Kiona’s podcast episode where she talked with little Kavina about what it was like for each of those experiences. I can tell you up front, this conversation will make you smile. In the show notes I’ll have pictures of Kiona with her husband Kumar and all their children (yes, everyone in their family has a name that starts with K – including their dogs Kobe and Koko).

So I hope you enjoy this adorable mother-daughter conversation. And afterward, I spoke with each of them briefly because you know I always have some questions.

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/191

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well).

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:

Sign up today at https://butcherbox.com/whatwas and use code whatwas to get chicken breast, salmon or ground beef FREE in every order for a year, plus $20 off your first order.

To get your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/WHAT

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

Go to cookunity.com/What or enter code What before checkout for 50% off your first week.

Go to Seed.com/what and use code 25WHAT to get 25% off your first month.

Go to storyworth.com/what to save $10 on your first purchase!

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code [WHATWAS] at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/whatwas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices