Anxious and Afraid The Pod
A podcast hosted by Abby and Shawna, two gals from the Pacific Northwest who love to talk about true crime, the paranormal, conspiracies, and everything in-between. Listen in as the girls switch off each episode, telling each other a story that makes them feel especially anxious and afraid.
Episodes
It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later
Hey listeners! We just wanted to take a moment to catch up and let you know we'll be gone for a bit while we await the arrival of Michael and Abby's newest family member. Send all the good vibes for a safe delivery of baby Benjamin! We love…
Episode 118: F*ck It, It's Friday (Damascus Titan II Missile Disaster)
In this week's episode, Abby takes the gang on an exciting journey as she recounts the tale of the 1980 Damascus Titan II missile explosion. Join us as we explore the realm of nuclear disaster near-misses and examine the one simple mistake …
Episode 117: Get That Man His Tea (British Airways Flight 5390)
In this week's episode, Shawna revisits one of her most fascinating topics and shares a heart-stopping plane incident from 1990s Britain. Tune in as Shawna recounts the incredible story of a pilot who endured one of the worst experiences po…
Episode 116: Full Damsel Mode And A Solo Water Skiing Trip (Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle Part II)
In this week's episode, Abby returns with the conclusion of the two-part series on the kidnapping of heiress and college student Barbara Jane Mackle. Join the crew as they explore the identity of the kidnappers, their failed plan and captur…
Episode 115: Overly Complicated Ransom Notes and Strict Speed Limits (Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle, Part I)
In this week's episode, Abby returns with a gripping kidnapping story. In December of 1968, Barbara Jane Mackle was trying to complete her fall term exams at Emory College so she could go home for winter break. Unfortunately, her plans were…
Episode 114: Finger Ends? How Durst They! (Spring-Heeled Jack-Victorian Urban Legend)
In this week's episode, Abby takes the gang to the foggy London streets of the Victorian era to learn about one of the first urban legends- the story of Spring-Heeled Jack.For several decades in the 1800s, the elusive and infamous Spring-He…
Episode 113: The Volcano Was In On It (D.B. Cooper)
In this week's episode, Shawna brings the tale of one of the biggest mysteries to ever come out of the Pacific Northwest- The story of D.B. Cooper. Tune in to learn the details behind one brazen man's plans to hijack a plane, ask for and re…
Episode 112: Captain Calamity And A Whole Lot Of Titanic References (2012 Costa Concordia Disaster)
In this week's episode,  Abby brings the tragic and infuriating case of the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster. Please tune in to the unbelievable story of a negligent cruise ship captain whose decisions would lead to the demise of n…
Episode 111: Imaginary Female Troubles (Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, AKA Weston State Hospital)
In this week's episode, Shawna makes the crew feel downright terrible as she covers the notorious Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Also know as the Weston State Hospital, the sprawling property was once built with good intentions, but took a…
Episode 110: A Certified Double Doozy (Louis Zamperini-WWII Survivor, Part II)
In this week's episode, Abby concludes the two-part series on the incredible survival story of Louis Zamperini. He was an Olympic runner and a US Army Air Force bombardier. Louis faced a plane crash, weeks on a raft surrounded by sharks, ca…
Episode 109: The Constipated Lumberer And A Really Busy Guardian Angel (Louis Zamperini-WWII Survivor, Part I))
In this week's episode, Abby presents part one of a two-part series discussing the incredible survival story of Louis Zamperini.He was an Olympic runner who served in the United States Air Force during WWII and faced numerous challenges, in…
Episode 108: Ketchup Or Blood? Better Grab A French Fry (Daniel LaPlante-Murderer)
In this week's episode, Abby brings us back to the true crime of it all with the horrible story of Daniel LaPlante. Although this story is chock-full of disclaimers and content warnings, the gang forges ahead with the story about a disturbe…
Episode 107: The Ugly Tunes Saloons (Disappearance of Brian Shaffer)
In this week's episode, Shawna and Abby have a lot of catching up to do, especially after Shawna's return from Mexico. If you want to skip to the story, we understand that; the time stamp you're looking for is 20:40.After catching up, Shawn…
Episode 106: LANSA Se Lanza De Panza (Juliane Koepcke-Plane Crash Survivor)
In this week's episode, Abby shares the harrowing survival story of Juliane Koepcke. Juliane was a teenage girl who became the only survivor of LANSA flight 508 after the plane crashed in the Amazon rainforest in 1971. Tune in to hear about…
Episode 105: Moisture Abounds (1962 Escape From Alcatraz)
In this week's episode, Shawna tackles the thrilling and mysterious case of three prisoners who escaped from the notorious Alcatraz prison. Tune in as we delve into the meticulous planning and execution of the prisoner's escape plan, as wel…
Episode 104: Cold Tiddies Part ll- The Titanic, Revisited
In this week's episode, Abby brings us back to the story that started it all, The RMS Titanic.Tune in to hear the tragic first-hand accounts of the passengers who survived the sinking and vivid descriptions of what it was like to be on the …
Episode 103: I Would Instantly Be Peeing And Crying (Harrison Okene-Ship Wreck Survivor)
In this week's episode, Shawna kicks off the return of Anxious and Afraid by telling the incredible and harrowing survival tale of Harrison Okene, a man who sank to the bottom of the sea and lived to tell the tale. Tune in for this extraord…
Return Announcement!
HEY GUYS.Be sure to listen to this special announcement from those three weirdo's who missed you very much!Stick around to hear what Shawna and Abby have been up to for the past year or so while Michael sits silently in the background.Just …
Episode 102: Silent But Deadly (Lake Nyos Disaster)
In this week's episode, Abby tells the crew all about the natural disaster at Lake Nyos.In Cameroon, West Africa during the month of August in 1986, a crater lake called Lake Nyos abruptly erupted a large cloud of mysterious white gas which…
Episode 101: Johnny Bravo and A Sky Wiener (The Ghost Blimp)
In this week's episode, Abby regales the crew with the mystifying tale of the ghost blimp.Amid WWII, a fleet of blimps would be assigned the mission of patrolling the West Coast of California for Japanese submarines. These missions were lar…
Episode 100: Our Very Momentous 100th Episode Special (2011 TĹŤhoku Earthquake and Tsunami)
In this week's episode, the crew is excited to celebrate their 100th episode milestone!We want to say a big thank you to all of our listeners for sticking with us and joining us on this crazy ride of a podcast, we couldn't have done it with…
Episode 99: Topless Toilets And Circus Tiddies (The Hartford Circus Fire)
In this week's episode, Abby regales the crew with another disaster story detailing the horrific Hartford circus fire of 1944.It was a stiflingly hot day in Hartford, Connecticut on July 6th when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circu…
Episode 98: Ghost Me Would Also Be In The Kitchen (Eastern Airlines Flight 401 Part II)
In this week's episode, Abby starts off with a very important announcement and then jumps right into part II of our mini-series on the crash of Eastern Airlines flight 401.Part II will focus on all of the ghostly paranormal sightings report…
Episode 97: We're Not Supposed To Be Up There! (Eastern Airlines Flight 401 Part 1)
In this week's episode, Abby brings the crew part one of a real nail-biter of a two-part series on the demise of Eastern Airlines Flight 401.On December 29th, 1972, Eastern Airlines flight 401 departed from JFK airport on a regularly schedu…
Episode 96: If You Hate People, Make Them Damp (Don Decker-Rainman)
In this week's episode, Abby pulls another strange "rain" story out of her pocket, much to Shawna's delight.It was the year 1983 in Stroudsburg PA when a young man named Don Decker became seemingly possessed by a dark entity and began exhib…
Episode 95: Time For Some Trauma Bonding (Diane Downs-Murderer)
In this week's episode, Abby takes on a very infamous case in the state of Oregon and the horrible tragedy that occurred in the host's hometown of Springfield, Oregon.In 1983 a young woman named Diane Downs brought her grievously wounded ch…
Episode 94: You're Not Garbage, You're Trash! (Norman The Doll-Haunted Object)
In this week's episode, Abby takes the gang on a spooky adventure with the story of Norman the doll. Stephen Lancaster, a longtime paranormal investigator, would be thrust into the case of a lifetime after he purchased a Matty Mattel doll f…
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Anxious and Afraid is proud to partner with the lovely people over at Repod, a brand new social podcast app designed to bring listeners and creators together.Repod provides a space where you can stream and discuss recent episodes, ask burni…
Episode 93: We're Young. We're Fun. We're Hot. Let's Climb A Rock (Kidnap of Four American Rock Climbers In Kyrgyzstan)
In this week's episode, the gang returns from their break to bring you an action-packed story of adventure and tragedy in the country of Kyrgyzstan.In the year 2000, 4 young American rock climbers would depart on a trip of a lifetime to a r…
Episode 92: Boiling Ocean? Throw Some Pasta In There (1947 Texas City Industrial Disaster)
In this week's episode, Abby brings the crew an anxiety-inducing tale of devastation and destruction when she tells the story of the 1947 Texas City industrial disaster. April 16th, 1947 started out like any other normal day in the small po…
Episode 91: A Vacationing Plumber And An Alien Mai Tai (Disappearance of Frederick Valentich)
In this week's episode, Shawna shares the story of the disappearance of Frederick Valentich.In October of 1978, Valentich, a young pilot, was performing a training flight over the Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania whe…
Episode 90: Okay, First Of All, Blegh! (Death of Brittany Murphy-Part 2)
In this week's episode, Abby returns with part two of the two-part story on the tragic death of Brittany Murphy. After Brittany was pronounced dead just before Christmas in 2009, the public and the media went wild with theories of drug over…
Episode 89: The 2000s Were Like, Not Cute (Death of Brittany Murphy-Part 1)
In this week's episode, Abby introduces a two-part story on the life and tragic death of Brittany Murphy.In part one, the crew discusses the Hollywood culture of the 2000s and its damaging effects on the celebrities who experienced it, incl…
Episode 88: Uh Oh, We Made A Weird One (Rylann O'Bannion-Reincarnation case)
In this week's episode, Shawna revisits her favorite topic of reincarnation cases!This time she tells the tale of a little girl named Rylann O'Bannion from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Little Rylann was only two years old when she started saying…
Baby Bonus Episode (Chasing Ghosts-Book Review)
In this week's Baby Bonus episode, Abby brings the crew together to tell them all about a great book she recently read called Chasing Ghosts by Marc Hartzman.Listen in as Abby reads a couple of her favorite stories from the book about hungr…
Episode 87: What Is Everyone Smoking? (David Morehouse-Remote Viewer)
In this week’s episode, Abby takes us once again into the now declassified Government-funded program, Project Stargate. But this time the crew will be hearing a story about a man named David Morehouse, a decorated soldier who found himself …
Episode 86: Airplane And Cartwheel Should Not Be In The Same Sentence (Pan Am Flight 759-Plane Crash)
In this week's episode, Shawna renews everyone's travel phobias as she tells the devastating story of Pan Am Flight 759.On July 9th, 1982, the Boeing 727 took off from the New Orleans airport on a commercial flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. Sho…
Episode 85: Nah Why? Why Is It Nah?? (Project Stargate)
In this week's episode, Abby requests the crew keep an open mind as she tells the story of the now declassified, secret government program, Project Stargate.Also known as Project Grill Flame and Sun Streak, among other names, this governmen…
Episode 84: I Don't Like This Information, Here I Go (Silver Bridge Collapse)
In this week's episode, Shawna gives the crew a new thing to be scared of after she describes the tragic 1967 Silver Bridge collapse over the frigid Ohio river during rush-hour traffic.Tune in to learn the details of this devastating disast…
Episode 83: A Beautiful Spicy Planetary Pimple (The 1980 Mount Saint Helens Eruption)
In this week's episode, Abby is back to share another white-knuckle natural disaster tale and this time the crew visits the 1980 volcanic eruption of Mount St Helens.Located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States,…