Believable Podcast, Episode 5: A Short Stay in Hell Transcript

Steve was a father of five and a devout Mormon when he was dragged into a world that upended everything he knew to be true.

Steve: By the time we got into the rainforest, it was early afternoon and the sounds were rich. Frogs and birds were chirping, the butterflies were gorgeous. There were beautiful beatles everywhere. I was turning over logs and things, looking for things like I was a little kid.

Noah: In August of 2001, Steve Peck was in the rainforest in Vietnam studying insects. Steve was a newly minted biology professor. He was the head of a young family, a father to five kids he was raising with his wife, Lori. In a lot of ways, his life was just beginning.

Steve: Everything was new, new, and filled with opportunities. And so things like this chance to go to Vietnam really seemed exciting.

Noah: Steve was a devout Mormon and alone in the jungle. Cataloging insects, he felt like he was in contact with something bigger than himself. This sense of the importance of this little patch of land came over me. There was a profound sense that this place mattered to God.

Steve had no way of knowing how that trip …