How to Avoid or Survive a Kidnapping

How to Avoid or Survive a Kidnapping

Author: Francis Tapon October 22, 2019 Duration: 1:31:07

Few people expect to get kidnapped, but it's good to have some education on how to avoid kidnapping and what to do if you are kidnapped.


In this episode 59 of the WanderLearn podcast, I interview Olav Ostad, who wrote Surviving Kidnappers: Precautions, Influence, Strategic Tools, which I reviewed on my website.


You can buy it on Amazon.


I ask Olav to share:


  • A kidnapping story with a happy ending.

  • A kidnapping story with a tragic ending.

  • What can we learn from these two stories?

  • Why did he write this book given that he's never been kidnapped?

  • Should you cry when you're captured? Beg for mercy?

  • What can we do to avoid getting kidnapped in the first place?

  • Is kidnapping and ransom insurance worth it?

  • What should they do during the moment of the assault?

  • What should they during the transportation phase?

  • What should they do during the captivity phase?

  • How do you get over PTSD that may arise from surviving a kidnapping?


 Visit Kidnapping Survival to learn more.


TourRadar is running a special promotion for WanderLearn listeners at tourradar.com/wanderlearn. Each month, listeners can sign up for the chance to win amazing travel prizes. Prizes include everything from $1,000 in travel credits to a trip for two to Europe to a free river cruise in Asia! Visit tourradar.com/wanderlearn to sign up for your chance to win today!


Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!


3 Sponsors


1. Tour Radar

Do you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?


TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.


Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.


And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 


2. The Steelman Family Foundation

Rene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.


Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.


Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org


3. Health Access Sumbawa

One of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.


In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org


More info

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.


If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 


On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:



Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon


Rewards start at just $2/month!


If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at FT@FrancisTapon.com


If you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV



Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

There's a certain kind of travel that changes you, not just your location. It’s the slow, immersive kind where the journey itself becomes the teacher. In WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life, Francis Tapon acts as your guide into this world, exploring how leaving familiar ground can fundamentally reshape your perspective. This isn't about quick tips or itineraries; it's about the deeper conversations that happen at the crossroads of culture, society, and personal growth. Each episode delves into how we engage with places and people, often weaving in discussions about the role of modern technology in both enabling and complicating these profound experiences. You'll hear stories and insights that challenge the conventional tourist mindset, pushing toward a more thoughtful, engaged way of moving through the world. Francis draws from a wealth of experience to discuss concepts like vagabonding and deep travel, making the case that the greatest souvenirs aren't trinkets, but transformed thoughts. Tuning into this podcast feels like sitting down with a well-traveled friend who understands that the real destination is often a shift within yourself. It’s for anyone who believes that travel, at its best, is a powerful catalyst for learning and living differently.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 388

WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life
Podcast Episodes
What Do Vegans Think about Lab-Grown Meat? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:20
Lab-grown meat has many other names:Cultivated Meat: This term is increasingly favored as it accurately describes growing meat from animal cells in a controlled environment.Cell-Based Meat: This name emphasizes that the…
Does Going Vegan Have To Suck? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:17
Vegans have a marketing problem: they're perceived to be annoying, self-righteous, judgmental, and inflexible.Author Matthew Halteman's book Hungry Beautiful Animals is designed to fix that perception and make veganism m…
DB Cooper's Background & the Cash Found at Tena Bar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:21
Who was DB Cooper? Did he have a military background? Where did the cash found in Tena Bar come from? What's a plausible explanation for what happened on the night that DB Cooper jumped? Did he survive?In part 3 of 3 abo…
DB Cooper's Planning, Prep, & Precursors [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:37
DB Cooper was cunning. What were the various considerations he had to contend with to pull off the only unsolved act of air piracy in US history?Watch the VideoDB Cooper needed a:Plane with an airstairShort flightTermina…
Jimmy Carter's 2024 death fulfills my prediction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01
I've always recorded my annual predictions on December 31 or January 1.However, on December 28, 2024, I started a two-week trip to Dalat, Vietnam. I wanted to travel light, so I recorded my annual predictions on December…
How the FBI Screwed Up the DB Cooper and Flight 305 Case [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:45
In this three-part series, Dr. Robert Edwards and I discuss the fascinating mystery of DB Cooper. In 1971, a man hijacked Flight 305, received $200,000 in $20 bills, 4 parachutes, and skydived into the darkness over the…
2/3 of the way to visiting every country faster than anyone else [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:20
Michael Zervos explains why North Korea is the toughest country to visit.Watch the video interviewListen to all 6 of my interviews with Zervos.Timeline00:00 Why North Korea is the toughest05:30 How Zervos makes videos11:…
Fastest Traveler Reflects On Ukraine, Palestine, & USA Election [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:24
Michael Zervos of The Project Kosmos is two-thirds through his trip to every country.He's on track to break the record for visiting all the countries faster than anyone else.We talked while he was in Lviv, Ukraine in Dec…
I Ate Durian: the fruit that smells like sh*t [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:48
Durian is recognized for its overpowering and foul odor, often described as similar to feces.I decided to try it and record my reaction.See the video!Have you ever attempted to eat durian or smelled its distinctive aroma…