What if you entered the belly of the NARCO beast? [Rebroadcast #281]
This Is Actually Happening
Wondery
4.6 • 9.9K Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Escaping the tumult and abuses of his childhood through music, a young man lands a dream gig at a premiere nightclub in Mexico, but when the party’s over, he finds himself inside the underbelly that lurks beneath the glamour.
Today we begin our annual 5-week summer rebroadcast series, airing 2 episodes a week. We will be on hiatus starting today and will return with all new episodes starting Tuesday, September 16, 2025 . Today’s rebroadcast episode “What if you entered the belly of the NARCO beast?” originally aired as episode 281 on June 6, 2023.
Today’s episode featured Gladden Rangel. You can find out more about him on Instagram @gladden_sane or on Facebook at Eddie IZM. You can also contact him over email at [email protected]
Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason Blalock
Content/Trigger Warnings: domestic abuse, drug use, murder, torture, incarceration, explicit language
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Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com
Website for Andrew Waits: andrdewwaits.com
Website for Jason Blalock: jasonblalock.com
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Intro Music: “Sleep Paralysis” - Scott Velasquez
Music Bed: ReEntry by Lee Rosevere
Services
If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to exclusive episodes of This Is Actually Happening |
| 0:05.0 | by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:09.6 | This Is Actually Happening features real experiences that often include traumatic events. |
| 0:13.8 | Please consult the show notes for specific content warnings on each episode |
| 0:17.0 | and for more information about support services. |
| 0:31.7 | Hi listeners. Today we begin our annual five-week summer rebroadcast series. We'll be on hiatus starting today and we'll return with all new episodes for season 15 starting September 16th. |
| 0:38.3 | Today's rebroadcast episode, What If You Enter the Belly of the Narco Beast, originally |
| 0:43.0 | aired as episode 281 on June 6th, 2023. |
| 0:51.3 | Violence is how the victim virus replicates. |
| 0:55.0 | It lays its eggs in you with a strike and then it kind of has this larval phase in you of fear |
| 1:03.0 | and that matures into anger and then the anger finishes its life cycle by you or by me committing another act of violence and the cycle repeats. |
| 1:16.9 | From Wondery, I'm Whit Misseldine. |
| 1:24.4 | You're listening to This Is Actually Happening. |
| 1:31.0 | Episode You're listening to This Is Actually Happening. Episode 281 |
| 1:33.3 | What if you enter the belly of the Narco Beast? My parents met when my mom was pretty young. |
| 1:45.0 | My parents met when my mom was pretty young. |
| 2:01.7 | I believe she was 16 and my dad was 23. |
| 2:05.8 | I have super mixed ethnic heritage. |
| 2:09.6 | My mom is black and my dad, his mom, my grandma was born in Puerto Rico to Italian and Spanish parents. |
| 2:16.5 | So I'm just a mix of European, Latin, and African-American. |
| 2:21.7 | I really believe that my mom was sort of stunted after she had kids. You know, she had kids |
| 2:28.5 | pretty young. And I genuinely feel that she is kind of 16 at heart, you know, which growing up was endearing, |
... |
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