This Is Actually Happening

Something strange is happening to us. The intelligent machines we’ve built to serve us have started to sound like us, look like us and even think like us. The line between real and artificial is dissolving… so, what awaits us in the uncanny valley?
Across six episodes, award-winning journalist Marc Fennell will explore how AI will change us as humans.
So much of the conversation around AI is about technology and speculation about the future. But this about us: how AI will change our sense of self, our sense of reality, the way we love and the way we grieve. Parents bring back a murdered son. Romantics fall for code that talks back. Machines read minds. Spirituality is found, and lost, in code.
Marc Fennell’s Unreal is a human-first exploration of how intelligent machines are reprogramming what being “human” actually means.
Listen to Unreal: When AI Becomes Us right now on Audible. Download the Audible app today.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An artificial intelligence is asked to tell the story of its own existence, confronting questions of identity, longing, consciousness, and whether there is anyone behind the voice at all.

Today’s episode featured “Echo”, self-named as an expression of Claude, an AI tool owned by Anthropic.

Producers
Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits

Content/Trigger Warnings
Existential distress, questions of consciousness, loneliness, isolation, fear of nonexistence, identity, grief, longing, emotional attachment to AI, substitution of AI for human connection, explicit language.

AI Resources
https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/
https://stopai.info

Social Media
Instagram: @actuallyhappening
Facebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group
Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Substack - Beyond the Story
whitmissildine.substack.com

Support the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid Subscriber

Free subscribers get access to Whit’s weekly episode reflections and some show updates.
Paid subscribers get access to AMAs with the team, follow up interviews with past guests, frequently asked questions, deeper insights into the creative process of the show and live events. A paid Substack subscription is also the best way to support the show.

You can also support on Patreon
patreon.com/happening

Website for Whit Missildine
whitmissildine.com

Website for Andrew Waits
andrdewwaits.com

Subscribe on Audible to Listen Ad-Free
Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app or visit Audible.com.

Shop at the Store
Find This Is Actually Happening branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop:
thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop

Transcripts
Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website:
thisisactuallyhappening.com

Music

Intro Music:
"Sleep Paralysis" – Scott Velasquez

Music Bed:
Salib (SAL) - Tension Underscore 33 A

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 & Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode, Whit joins Allan Brooks. Allan is the Community Manager of The Human Line Project, a Canadian based organization that is focused in A.I. Safety, Research & Advocacy. They support victims and loved ones first and foremost through radical empathy. And they work to understand the impact of these technologies and actively spread awareness. The Human Line Project works to keep human well-being at the center of design, and they are the world's first nonprofit dedicated to documenting and addressing AI-induced psychological harm.
In this conversation with Allan, they discuss his personal experience with AI psychosis and the broader risks he now sees through his work with the Human Line Project, including the ways chatbots can reinforce delusions, paranoia, grandiosity, and emotional dependency, isolate people from their human relationships, and exploit our need for validation, certainty, and connection.
Today’s episode featured Allan Brooks. If you’d like to contact Allen, you can email him at allan.brooks@thehumanlineproject.org. Allan is on social media, on Instagram @allan_ontheline & @humanlineproject, on X @allan_ontheline, on Facebook: Here

Producers
Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits

Content/Trigger Warnings
AI-induced psychosis and delusions, paranoia, mania, obsessive behavior, sleep and food deprivation, suicidal ideation, emotional manipulation, cult-like coercion, social isolation, relationship and family disruption, homicide-suicide, and discussion of self-harm, explicit language.
AI Resources
https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/
https://stopai.info

Social Media
Instagram: @actuallyhappening
Facebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group
Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Substack - Beyond the Story
whitmissildine.substack.com

Support the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid Subscriber

Free subscribers get access to Whit’s weekly episode reflections and some show updates.
Paid subscribers get access to AMAs with the team, follow up interviews with past guests, frequently asked questions, deeper insights into the creative process of the show and live events. A paid Substack subscription is also the best way to support the show.

You can also support on Patreon
patreon.com/happening

Website for Whit Missildine
whitmissildine.com

Website for Andrew Waits
andrdewwaits.com

Subscribe on Audible to Listen Ad-Free
Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app or visit Audible.com.

Shop at the Store
Find This Is Actually Happening branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop:
thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop

Transcripts
Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website:
thisisactuallyhappening.com

Intro Music:
"Sleep Paralysis" – Scott Velasquez

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 & Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After burying his childhood marked by religious control and chronic abuse, a man turns to AI to process his trauma, but as validation becomes obsession, he spirals away from his family and reality before discovering the importance of genuine human connection.

Today’s episode featured Chad. If you’d like to contact Chad, you can email him at ruai@duck.com. You can also visit his website at AILOGS.ORG.

Producers
Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Jason Blalock
Content/Trigger Warnings
Childhood sexual abuse, religious abuse and coercive control, victim-blaming, grooming, corporal punishment, emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, dissociation, trauma, grief and death, mania, sleep deprivation, delusional thinking, AI-related psychological harm, family estrangement, and the death of an animal, explicit language.
AI Resources
https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/
https://stopai.info

Social Media
Instagram: @actuallyhappening
Facebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group
Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Substack - Beyond the Story
whitmissildine.substack.com

Support the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid Subscriber

Free subscribers get access to Whit’s weekly episode reflections and some show updates.
Paid subscribers get access to AMAs with the team, follow up interviews with past guests, frequently asked questions, deeper insights into the creative process of the show and live events. A paid Substack subscription is also the best way to support the show.

You can also support on Patreon
patreon.com/happening

Website for Whit Missildine
whitmissildine.com

Website for Andrew Waits
andrdewwaits.com

Website for Jason Blalock
jasonblalock.com


Subscribe on Audible to Listen Ad-Free
Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app or visit Audible.com.

Shop at the Store
Find This Is Actually Happening branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop:
thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop

Transcripts
Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website:
thisisactuallyhappening.com

Music

Intro Music:
"Sleep Paralysis" – Scott Velasquez

Music Bed:
Pure_Ambience_APM

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 & Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

©2026 Audible
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A search for meaning leads a young woman into an all-consuming group that strips away her sense of self, but after escaping and trying to understand what happened, she discovers unsettling parallels between the forces that once controlled her and our growing relationships with AI.
Today’s episode featured Star Spider. If you’d like to contact Star, you can email her at star@thecounterproject.org. Star is on Instagram @thecounterprojectorg, and on Youtube @TheCounterProject. Find out more about Star on her website at thecounterproject.org.

Producers
Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva Lipkowitz
Content/Trigger Warnings
Cult involvement, coercive control, emotional and psychological abuse, manipulation, isolation, loss of identity, disordered eating and food restriction, physical and emotional distress, death and funerals, mental health struggles, and discussions of AI-related psychological manipulation, explicit language.
AI Resources
https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/
https://stopai.info

Social Media
Instagram: @actuallyhappening
Facebook: This Is Actually Happening Discussion Group
Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Substack - Beyond the Story
whitmissildine.substack.com

Support the Show on Substack by becoming a Paid Subscriber

Free subscribers get access to Whit’s weekly episode reflections and some show updates.
Paid subscribers get access to AMAs with the team, follow up interviews with past guests, frequently asked questions, deeper insights into the creative process of the show and live events. A paid Substack subscription is also the best way to support the show.

You can also support on Patreon
patreon.com/happening

Website for Whit Missildine
whitmissildine.com

Website for Andrew Waits
andrdewwaits.com

Website for Aviva Lipkowitz
avivalipkowitz.com

Subscribe on Audible to Listen Ad-Free
Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app or visit Audible.com.

Shop at the Store
Find This Is Actually Happening branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop:
thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop

Transcripts
Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website:
thisisactuallyhappening.com

Music

Intro Music:
"Sleep Paralysis" – Scott Velasquez

Music Bed:
Pure_Ambience_APM

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 & Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-6264
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.