Imagine you are on the edge of death. You're summiting Everest, surviving on a space station, lost in the woods or losing consciousness after a car accident. Suddenly, a mysterious presence appears: "Keep going," it says, "take my hand. Stick around just a bit longer, and I will lead you home." This experience exists across cultures and time -- in the past, humans deemed it the intervention of the divine. Today, it's often called the "Third Man Factor." In the first chapter of this week's special two-part series, Ben, Matt and Noel explore the concept of a benevolent stranger appearing just in time to save your life -- then, once the danger has passed, disappearing without a trace.

CLASSIC: India's Massive Farm Protests, Chapter One
52:14

Strange News: El Niño, Robots in the Ring, Library Books, Shatner, Toys'R'Us, Germany, and Inconvenience Stores
1:06:25

Natural Causes, an Interview with Dr. James Stout
1:12:37