Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story
- Episodes
- 20
- Format
- Series – listen from the start
- Latest episode
- Jul 7, 2026
About the podcast
Jacob Haendel has been handed a death sentence. He has a terminal progressive disease that's eating away at the white matter of his brain. In six months, he'll be dead. As the months progress, Jake slips into a coma, laying there in total darkness. But something odd has happened... Jake is fully conscious. Nobody knows that he can hear them. They’re certain he's no longer in there. With the promise that Jake will never recover, friends and family visit less and less. Until there is just one person left. A person who begins to whisper strange admissions in his ear. It is here, helpless in his hospital bed, that Jake realizes what may have gotten him here in the first place. The scariest thing in the room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather, the person sitting right next to him. This is Blink, the untold true story and survival of Jacob Haendel. Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one week early and all episodes completely ad-free. From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go. Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Episodes 20
The Snare, from ABC News
Today, we have something a little different for you: it’s the first episode of The Snare, from ABC News and 20/20. The Snare examines the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge, who was killed in her …
Show notes
Today, we have something a little different for you: it’s the first episode of The Snare, from ABC News and 20/20.
The Snare examines the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge, who was killed in her apartment in Idaho Falls in 1996. As investigators hunted for her killer, DNA recovered from the crime scene pointed to an unidentified suspect. Despite the evidence, police built their case against another man, Chris Tapp, securing a conviction that later unraveled while the real killer remained at large. As the years passed, Angie’s mother Carol never gave up on a decades-long mission to uncover the truth. It took twenty long years, but finally, through Carol’s persistence and some incredible new DNA matching technology, Angie’s real killer was put behind bars. The Snare tells the whole story, including audio from Chris Tapp’s interrogation and so much more.
Here’s the first episode, and you can keep listening by following The Snare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Out Now: Crime Scene Weekly — Unforgettable True Crime Stories
From The Binge, Crime Scene plunges you into stories you can’t stop thinking about—revisiting cases that deserve a second look. Join Jonathan Hirsch (My Fugitive Dad, Dear Franklin Jones) and investigative …
Show notes
From The Binge, Crime Scene plunges you into stories you can’t stop thinking about—revisiting cases that deserve a second look.
Join Jonathan Hirsch (My Fugitive Dad, Dear Franklin Jones) and investigative reporter Cooper Moll as they crack open overlooked details, challenge the official narrative, and uncover what others missed. Each episode delivers the depth of a true crime mini-series in a single, gripping listen.
If you’re drawn to unresolved mysteries and stories that stay with you long after they end...this is for you.
Follow Crime Scene wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday.
Subscribers to The Binge+ can listen ad-free, in addition to our network of limited series.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 2
Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he …
Show notes
Hannah Smith sits down with Jake Haendel to answer the questions listeners have been waiting for—what really happened behind the scenes, why the show suddenly paused, and how legal realities shaped what he could and couldn’t say at the time. Jake revisits the sperm-bank situation in greater depth, breaking down what’s known, what remains unresolved, and how returning to it has reshaped his understanding of that moment. The conversation also dives into the limits of transparency, lingering fears of running into Ellen, and what comes next for blink.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, sexual assault (SA), medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress, and mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Created by Jake Haendel
Hosted by Hannah Smith
Edited by Scott Somerville
Original composition by Michael Marguet
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BLINK Q&A: You Asked, Jake Answers Part 1
Journalist Hannah Smith hosts an intimate BLINK Q&A with Jake Haendel, responding to listener questions submitted across platforms. Jake revisits locked-in syndrome, the exact moment he finally broke free—and …
Show notes
Journalist Hannah Smith hosts an intimate BLINK Q&A with Jake Haendel, responding to listener questions submitted across platforms. Jake revisits locked-in syndrome, the exact moment he finally broke free—and what it felt like—along with storming, recovery updates, and life after going public. The conversation also explores addiction, resilience, and what comes next.
Part 2 dives into the break, the legal fallout, and the truth behind what’s been unfolding off-mic—details Jake has never fully shared before.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress & mature content. Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Created by Jake Haendel
Hosted by Hannah Smith
Edited by Scott Somerville
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Work in Progress
In the final episode of Blink, Jake brings us into his world today, offering a raw, powerful look at what healing truly means—and what comes after survival. Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical …
Show notes
In the final episode of Blink, Jake brings us into his world today, offering a raw, powerful look at what healing truly means—and what comes after survival.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Proxy Trap
Jake’s search for answers pulls him into the unsettling world of Munchausen by proxy—a rare, insidious form of abuse where illness is manufactured for attention. And as he revisits his own medical history, he’s …
Show notes
Jake’s search for answers pulls him into the unsettling world of Munchausen by proxy—a rare, insidious form of abuse where illness is manufactured for attention. And as he revisits his own medical history, he’s left to wonder: did a real diagnosis conceal something even darker?
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, child abuse, child loss, pregnancy loss, medical child abuse, death and dying, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.
https://www.munchausensupport.com/
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bad Batch
Jake’s long-held theory—that his illness wasn’t accidental—takes a jarring turn when a Facebook message arrives from someone he’s never met. Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and …
Show notes
Jake’s long-held theory—that his illness wasn’t accidental—takes a jarring turn when a Facebook message arrives from someone he’s never met.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, mental health crises, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
One-Hundred Pound Baby
As old memories resurface and old connections are rekindled, Jake starts to suspect that someone in his inner circle may have been orchestrating far more than just his care. Alarming details come to light …
Show notes
As old memories resurface and old connections are rekindled, Jake starts to suspect that someone in his inner circle may have been orchestrating far more than just his care. Alarming details come to light, offhand comments take on new meaning, and a once-unthinkable theory begins to feel dangerously plausible.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael MarguetLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
An Update on Blink
A brief update on our upcoming episodes, tips for accessing past episodes, and how to send in your questions for our Q&A episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Silent Witness
Jake’s case exposed an unsettling reality: countless patients may be fully aware, yet locked inside unresponsive bodies—misdiagnosed and dismissed. But just as medicine starts to grasp the scope of covert …
Show notes
Jake’s case exposed an unsettling reality: countless patients may be fully aware, yet locked inside unresponsive bodies—misdiagnosed and dismissed. But just as medicine starts to grasp the scope of covert consciousness, Jake’s experience veers into the uncanny. His consciousness didn’t just endure—it slipped free.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, death and dying, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Signed, Sealed, Silenced
What started as a straightforward effort to move on spiraled into a bitter and complicated divorce—one that called Jake’s right to share his own story into question. As the layers begin to peel back, deeper …
Show notes
What started as a straightforward effort to move on spiraled into a bitter and complicated divorce—one that called Jake’s right to share his own story into question. As the layers begin to peel back, deeper questions emerge—about love, control, and the versions of a relationship we choose to believe.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, divorce, discussions of consent, sexual assault, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dude, Where’s my Sperm?
As Jake lay locked-in and unable to move or speak, a sperm sample was taken without his explicit consent, sparking a complex legal and ethical battle that would stretch far beyond his hospital bed, and Jake’s …
Show notes
As Jake lay locked-in and unable to move or speak, a sperm sample was taken without his explicit consent, sparking a complex legal and ethical battle that would stretch far beyond his hospital bed, and Jake’s fight to reclaim what was his.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, death and dying, medical trauma, discussions of consent, marital rape, sexual assault, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Resurrection of Jake
Alone and abandoned in a hospital, Jake is forced to focus on his recovery. That is, until a single phone number suddenly pops into his mind. A phone call sets off a chain of events that will reconnect him with …
Show notes
Alone and abandoned in a hospital, Jake is forced to focus on his recovery. That is, until a single phone number suddenly pops into his mind. A phone call sets off a chain of events that will reconnect him with his past and lead to staggering revelations.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, death and dying, medical trauma, sexual abuse, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Blink Twice
Against all odds, Jake was alive. In the depths of suffering, he discovered an extraordinary power within himself—the will to survive. But survival wasn’t the only battle he’d have to fight. As he clawed his …
Show notes
Against all odds, Jake was alive. In the depths of suffering, he discovered an extraordinary power within himself—the will to survive. But survival wasn’t the only battle he’d have to fight. As he clawed his way back to life, one heartbreaking revelation at a time, the question remained: Was his recovery truly a second chance… or just another game of control?
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, death and dying, medical trauma, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Making Peace with Death
Jake was given just six months to live, and now that deadline is closing in. As his body is wracked by a series of violent autonomic storms, his hospice nurse fears the worst. The final moments seem …
Show notes
Jake was given just six months to live, and now that deadline is closing in. As his body is wracked by a series of violent autonomic storms, his hospice nurse fears the worst. The final moments seem inevitable—last rites are read, and his wife prepares to say goodbye. But then, Jake comes face to face with death itself… and what happens next defies all expectations.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, death and dying, medical trauma, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Heroin or Heroine
Jake meets the woman who would soon become his wife. The two embark on a whirlwind romance, but life is anything but easy. Jake is an addict, and his addiction to heroin is all-consuming. Tension builds between …
Show notes
Jake meets the woman who would soon become his wife. The two embark on a whirlwind romance, but life is anything but easy. Jake is an addict, and his addiction to heroin is all-consuming. Tension builds between the two, and we are left wondering who the real hero of this story is.
Content warning: Pregnancy loss, drug use/abuse, addiction, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Wayward Son
How does a man like Jake find himself with only six months to live? Friends and family give us a glimpse into Jake’s past—a childhood that seemed ordinary until everything changed. His descent started early …
Show notes
How does a man like Jake find himself with only six months to live? Friends and family give us a glimpse into Jake’s past—a childhood that seemed ordinary until everything changed. His descent started early, having been introduced to drugs in middle school and running the trade by high school. But when his mother is diagnosed with cancer, his world shatters, and drugs become his escape. What begins as a way to numb the pain soon pulls him into a high-stakes world of addiction, dealing, and danger. As his choices drag him deeper into a world of crime, the stage is set for the shocking events to come.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, cancer and terminal illness, criminal activity, death & dying, suicidal ideation, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Locked-In
If the disease doesn’t kill Jake, the medical system just might. As his condition worsens, he endures brutal treatment and increasing isolation while tensions explode between his family and his wife. But when …
Show notes
If the disease doesn’t kill Jake, the medical system just might. As his condition worsens, he endures brutal treatment and increasing isolation while tensions explode between his family and his wife. But when he finally slips into a coma, the real nightmare begins—trapped in silence, Jake overhears something chilling.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, domestic violence, assault, murder, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Blink
Jake Haendel knows something isn’t right—his body and mind feel disconnected in a way he can’t explain. That realization hits hardest at the worst possible moment... in the middle of getting arrested for …
Show notes
Jake Haendel knows something isn’t right—his body and mind feel disconnected in a way he can’t explain. That realization hits hardest at the worst possible moment... in the middle of getting arrested for smoking heroin while driving. But the real punishment isn’t the cuffs or the charges—it’s the diagnosis that follows. Doctors give him six months to live. A death sentence. And the clock starts now.
Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress & mature content.
Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com
Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession.
Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien
Co-created by Jake Haendel
Original composition by Michael Marguet
Edited by Mitch Huckaby
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Blink - Coming February 2nd
Heroin. Secrets. Deadly Betrayal. The untold story of Jake Haendel. Unlocking February 2nd.https://www.blinkthepodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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