No One Is Coming

Another ship was close enough to see the Titanic as it sank. So why didn't it come to the rescue?

In this short bonus deep dive, Titanic historian Tim Maltin reveals how extraordinary atmospheric conditions may have contributed to a catastrophic series of misunderstandings. From misjudged distances and misread distress signals to the remarkable stroke of luck that helped the Carpathia find survivors, it's a fascinating look at how perception, communication, and chance shaped one of history's most famous disasters.

And amid the tragedy, one small act of kindness offers a moving reminder of what people can do for one another when everything goes wrong.

Want the whole story? Listen to Season 1, Episode 4: Ship Happens | Cruises, Crime, and Contagion at Sea for our complete conversation with Tim and a deep dive into the dangers, disasters, and extraordinary stories of life at sea.

About our featured expert
Tim Maltin is a British historian, author, and broadcaster who has spent more than 25 years researching the Titanic. His work explores the role of atmospheric conditions and optical illusions in the disaster. He is the author of Titanic: A Very Deceiving Night and presented the documentary Titanic: Case Closed for National Geographic.

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Why do we pay to be terrified by horror movies and haunted houses, yet struggle to think clearly when fear becomes real? And what if some of our most deeply held beliefs about panic, courage, and survival are wrong?
In the Season One finale of No One Is Coming, Lance Still explores the psychology and neuroscience of fear: why our brains evolved to detect danger, what happens during the fight, flight, or freeze response, and how stress changes our ability to make decisions. From the strange pleasures of scary movies to the science of fear conditioning and survival instincts, we discover why fear isn't necessarily the enemy. It's a biological system designed to keep us alive, even when it occasionally gets things spectacularly wrong.
But the biggest surprise may be what happens when disaster strikes. Contrary to the familiar Hollywood image of mass panic, research shows that people are remarkably likely to cooperate, help strangers, and respond to the behavior of those around them. We examine the psychology of crowds, the bystander effect, and the dangerous tendency to wait for more information when time is running out. Along the way, experts explain how mental rehearsal, situational awareness, and a few decisions made in advance can help ordinary people act more effectively under pressure.
Finally, we explore the science of hope, courage, and resilience. What makes someone willing to take a worthwhile risk? Why does psychological flexibility matter more than perfect preparation? And how can hope become something more substantial than simply wishing for a good outcome? After a season exploring disasters, uncertainty, and survival, we return to the idea at the heart of the show: you don't have to be fearless to become someone who can help

Featuring:
Rosie Knight: Award-winning journalist, author, and podcast host who writes extensively about film, horror, comics, and pop culture. She co-hosts iHeart's X-Ray Vision and has written for The Hollywood Reporter, Esquire, IGN, and Nerdist. Rosie Knight
Dr. Michael Fanselow: Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UCLA and a leading researcher on the neuroscience of fear. His work examines how fear is learned, stored in the brain, and translated into defensive behavior. UCLA Psychology
Meghan Fitzgerald, PhD, LMHC: Licensed mental health counselor specializing in trauma and PTSD who also holds a PhD in integrative biology. Her earlier research on spider behavior informs her perspective on how protective and survival behaviors develop across species. Life Works Therapy
Dr. Chris Hicks: Emergency physician and trauma team leader at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto who studies human performance under pressure. His work examines stress, situational awareness, decision-making, mental rehearsal, and training in high-stakes emergencies. Advanced Performance
Bjørn Sætrevik: Professor of psychology at the University of Bergen who studies risk, situation awareness, and decision-making in safety-critical environments, including how people interpret incomplete information and act under pressure. University of Bergen
Dr. Kayley Estes: Psychological scientist who studies risk, uncertainty, disaster communication, and responses to threatening information. Her research examines how perception, trust, and social context shape behavior during crises. Research
Dr. Cynthia Pury: Professor of psychology at Clemson University who studies courage, fear, and what allows people to take worthwhile risks. Her research explores anxiety, threat appraisal, and the psychology of courageous action. Clemson University
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No One Is Coming is survival for the non-camo crowd: a documentary podcast about disasters, uncertainty, and what ordinary people can do before the plan falls apart.
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Why do we picture a tsunami as a giant, cinematic wave, when the reality is far more deceptive—and far more dangerous?
In this episode of No One Is Coming, Lance Still explores the terrifying physics of tsunamis and the hidden history buried right beneath our feet. From the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to the 2011 Tōhoku disaster in Japan, we look at what happens when the sea stops behaving like the sea and becomes a fast-moving, destructive flood.
The episode also uncovers how a catastrophe can disappear from living memory while its evidence remains behind—in coastal soil, ghost forests, geological records, and Indigenous oral histories. Scientists can read those traces centuries later, reconstructing disasters that entire communities once knew firsthand.
From there, we turn to the human side of survival. Why do people sometimes hesitate when every minute matters? What happens when we wait for confirmation instead of trusting the warning signs in front of us? You’ll hear how a little bit of knowledge helped save an entire beach in Thailand, how a 12-year-old girl helped evacuate a Chilean village in the middle of the night, and why preparedness is less about predicting every contingency than knowing enough to recognize when something has changed.

Featuring:
Dr. Vasily Titov: Tsunami scientist with NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and a member of the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research. He has spent decades developing and improving operational tsunami forecasting tools and translating tsunami science into faster, more accurate warnings intended to save lives.
Dr. Carrie Garrison-Laney: Coastal Hazards Specialist & PMEL Liaison, Washington Sea Grant — A skilled science communicator and trained scientist, Dr. Carrie Garrison-Laney contributes to tsunami hazard research through studies of evidence for past tsunamis and earthquakes in Washington. Her work has improved understanding of past tsunami sources and the timing of tsunami flooding, helping strengthen hazard assessments for coastal residents. She also conducts tsunami hazard outreach and works with emergency managers, maritime groups, and other stakeholders on education and preparedness.
Dr. Anawat Suppasri: Associate Professor at Tohoku University’s International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) and its Tsunami Engineering Laboratory. His research includes tsunami numerical modeling, tsunami generation, damage surveys, vulnerability, hazard and risk assessment, disaster-prevention education, and cascading disasters.
Dr. Tina Dura: Associate Professor of Natural Hazards at Virginia Tech. Her research uses coastal geology, sedimentology, microfossils, paleoseismology, modeling, and sea-level evidence to reconstruct the history of major subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunami inundation.
Elyssa Tappero: Tsunami Program Manager for Washington Emergency Management Division. She works with coastal communities and partners on tsunami preparedness, public education, warning, mitigation, and response planning.

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No One Is Coming is survival for the non-camo crowd: a documentary podcast about disasters, uncertainty, and what ordinary people can do before the plan falls apart.
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Everyday Disasters | What Are the Odds

Why can we picture a plane crash so clearly, but barely notice the warning signs in our cars, our homes, or the people beside us?
In this episode of No One Is Coming, Lance Still looks at the risks that come with ordinary life—and why familiarity makes them easy to miss.
From drowsy driving and roadside breakdowns to water stains, dryer vents, smoke alarms, and DIY repairs, the episode asks how small problems announce themselves before they become emergencies. It also examines the harder warnings to read: a person who may be following you, a driver whose anger is escalating, or a medical symptom that might be nothing—or might need help now.
From there, the episode turns to the first move. When should you call 911? What should you do when someone collapses? How can Poison Control help with a possible medication mistake? You’ll hear about CPR, opioid overdose, naloxone, and a few practical ways to prepare while there’s still time to think clearly.
Featuring:
William E. Van Tassel, PhD: Manager of Driver Training Programs at AAA’s national office, with a doctorate in driving safety and decades of experience as a sports-car racer. He explains what attentive driving looks like and how drivers can give themselves more room to respond.
Leah Bolden: Carpenter, contractor, former building-trades instructor, and creator of See Jane Drill. For more than 25 years, she has helped people understand, maintain, and repair their homes.
Arly Streed: Co-host of How to Handyma’am and Field Services Manager at MyHandyma’am. She teaches practical home repair and helps people judge when a project calls for a professional.
Adam O’Neill: Retired LAPD sergeant whose career included patrol, training, undercover narcotics, and gang assignments. He discusses situational awareness and the small decisions that can create distance and options when something feels wrong.
Ricardo Martinez II: Former 911 dispatcher, host of the Within the Trenches podcast, and founder of the #IAM911 movement. He explains what dispatchers need to know when a caller feels threatened or uncertain.
Jared L. Ross, MD: Board-certified emergency physician with a background as a paramedic and firefighter. He discusses heart attacks, strokes, CPR, and the care an ambulance can provide before a patient reaches the hospital.
Shannon Markus, MD: Board-certified emergency physician and public-health professional. She discusses bystander CPR, abnormal breathing, opioid overdose, and how ordinary people can help before emergency responders arrive.
Michael Chary, MD, PhD: Emergency physician, medical toxicologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, and co-director of webPOISONCONTROL. He explains how Poison Control assesses medication mistakes and possible exposures.
Learn more about the episode and find transcripts, expert information, and preparedness resources at nooneiscomingpodcast.com.
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No One Is Coming is survival for the non-camo crowd: a documentary podcast about disasters, uncertainty, and what ordinary people can do before the plan falls apart.
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What actually happens when someone goes missing — and how do investigators decide whether a person is lost, hiding, in danger, or simply somewhere they chose to be?

In this episode of No One Is Coming, Lance Still looks past the milk cartons, missing-child headlines, true-crime mythology, and television detectives to examine how missing-person investigations really work. From the disappearance of Etan Patz and the fear that shaped a generation of parents and children, to the enduring myth that you have to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing, the episode explores what “missing” actually means — and why very different situations can end up carrying the same label.

You’ll hear how law enforcement and private investigators assess risk, why circumstances matter more than an arbitrary clock, what investigators need to know in the first hours, and how search-and-rescue teams use lost-person behavior, terrain, probability models, and tools like FIND to decide where limited search resources should go.

The episode also looks at wellness checks, long-term missing-person cases, the role of ordinary people who notice when something is wrong, and an uncomfortable reality: finding a competent adult does not necessarily mean returning them to the people who were looking for them.

Then the perspective flips. What happens when you are the missing person? We examine why hikers miss decision points, how confirmation bias and sunk-cost thinking can keep people moving in the wrong direction, what search experts mean by “bending the map,” and why the STOP framework — Stop, Think, Observe, Plan — can help when you realize you are lost.

Finally, the episode turns practical: what to do if someone you know goes missing, what police and search teams need to know in the first hours, why honesty matters even when the facts are embarrassing, how location-sharing and trip plans can make someone easier to find, and what you can do now to give the people looking for you a better place to start.

Featuring:
Robert J. Koester, PhD, FRGS, FInSTR: Internationally recognized search-and-rescue researcher and practitioner; CEO of dbS Productions LLC; Co-Editor of the Journal of Search & Rescue; Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth; and Search Mission Coordinator with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. His work on lost-person behavior examines how different categories of missing people move, make decisions, and respond once they realize they are lost.
John Ferriso: Former NYPD officer who served from 1993 to 2013 and spent part of his 20-year career assigned to the Missing Persons Squad, where he supervised and investigated missing-person cases. He now runs Ferris Investigations and works as a police-procedural technical advisor.
Meaghan Good: Founder of The Charley Project, an extensive online database profiling missing-person cases. She founded the project in 2004 and has maintained it as her vocation ever since.
Jay J. Armes III: Second-generation international private investigator and Founder, President & Chief Investigator of Armes International Investigative Services LLC. Licensed as a private investigator at 18, Armes has spent four decades investigating missing persons, kidnappings, homicides, threats, fraud, and other complex cases in the United States and internationally.

Learn more about the episode and find transcripts, expert information, and preparedness resources at nooneiscomingpodcast.com.
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No One Is Coming is survival for the non-camo crowd: a documentary podcast about disasters, uncertainty, and what ordinary people can do before the plan falls apart.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.