What are the odds? A rhetorical question many of us pose when contemplating the likelihood of

something occurring rather than not. We throw the phrase around in casual conversations,

and unless you're armed with some freakishly accurate statistical knowledge, chances are you

probably don't know the exact answer. When stories of people beating the odds make the headlines,

we pay attention. Juliane Coppki, who fell nearly two miles out of a plane and lived.

Hugh Glass, who survived a horrific grizzly mulling and was left for dead,

or Steve Callahan, who, after his boat was damaged by a whale, survived for 76 days a drift at sea

on a leaking inflatable raft. In circumstances like these, beating the odds is often due to

calculated moves made by the survivor. Knowledge that, in one way or another,

aided in their ultimate success. Mixed in, though, are little shimmers of luck.

Strokes of good fortune that are seemingly brought on by pure chance, rather than measures

purposefully acted upon. We play the odds all the time, in our day-to-day lives,

in big and small ways, whether we are aware of it or not. We've all felt lucky for one reason or

another, and maybe went out on a limb in some way as a result of it, such as buying a lottery ticket

with our favorite numbers, asking a crush out on a date, or taking a leap off a cliffside,

relying on a bungee cord to keep us alive. Taking a gamble from time to time is tantalizing,

but tempting the gods is not advised long-term, because it's only a matter of time,

until that luck runs out. Welcome to National Park After Dark.

I'm very excited for this episode, because I already kind of briefly know this story that you're

telling today, but I want to know all the details. It was very highly requested, like a long time,

I feel. Like, for a long time, but a long time ago, it kind of came in a wave. There was like a ton

of people who asked for it, and then I haven't heard a peep since. Because everyone gave up,

...