We are honored to be joined by Rae de Leon who is the investigative reporter at the heart of the incredible Netflix documentary “Victim/Suspect” which was directed by Nancy Schwartzman who we are also thrilled to be joining us. Rae walks us through her journey digging deeply into this subject of law enforcement turning victims of sexual assault into suspects of “false” reporting. She has some additional shocking details to add about her interview of a certain detective. Nancy talks about the com...
Jun 14, 2023•35 min•Ep. 448
Do you know what the “Reid” technique is or why it is so controversial? In today's episode Jim explains how this high pressure interrogation protocol can be abused by police officers when they are poorly trained and when they have no experience with traumatized sexual assault victims. But Laura wonders if there isn’t something deeper going on when law enforcement tried to turn victims into suspects. She has a theory about something even more insidious at play here. Join us as we continue breakin...
Jun 09, 2023•43 min•Ep. 447
In 2015, Emma Mannion, an 18 year old college student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa was raped in a parking lot outside of a popular bar. What happened next is almost as shocking as the sexual assault. When Emma went to the police to report this crime, not only did they not believe her, but they arrested her for making a false report. According to the new Netflix documentary “Victim/Suspect” Emma’s case is not an isolated incident. Investigative journalist Rachel de Leon from the Cen...
Jun 07, 2023•36 min•Ep. 446
What’s next for Erik and Lyle Mendez who have so far served 33 years of their life sentences without the possibility of parole? Is there a chance for a new trial now that another person, Roy Rossello, has come forward with the accusation that their father Jose Menendez also raped him when he was an underage member of the boy band Menudo? Could this be a new piece of evidence to corroborate the brothers’ story that Jose sexually abused them, a key part of their original defense, which was exclude...
May 31, 2023•50 min•Ep. 445
There is still so much to take apart in the Menendez case. In today's episode, we examine the behavior of Jose Menedez. Was he a psychopath? Was he trying to raise two sociopaths in the model of himself? Laura puts a photograph of this father and his sons under a microscope to point out something very disturbing. What about the judge who presided over both 1993 and 1996 trials? There is more to discover about his biases. And finally, what about Kitty, Erik and Lyle's mother? What made this mothe...
May 24, 2023•38 min•Ep. 444
Laura updates us on the latest developments in the case of the four Idaho college students who were murdered back in November 2022: Ethan Chapin, 20; and roommates Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. The prime suspect in their brutal killings has just been arraigned and his behavior during the court proceeding deserves to be discussed. Is there a strategy at play here? Should the gag order be lifted from the case? Should cameras be allowed during the trial? We get int...
May 23, 2023•38 min•Ep. 443
Joining us today we are honored to have Hazel Thornton who served as a juror on Erik Menendez’ first trial in 1993. We have so many questions for her about what it was like to see all of the testimony and what conclusions she came to. To clarify both brothers, Erik and Lyle were tried, at the same time, for murdering their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez. But each brother had their own separate jury, who all sat in the courtroom together (sometimes one jury would sit in the jury box while the ot...
May 19, 2023•49 min•Ep. 442
We continue breaking down the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, the 1989 murder of their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez and the connection to the alleged child sex abuse in the boyband Menudo using the framework of the recent Peacock three part docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” as well as the additional evidence televised in the 1993 first trial (streaming now on Court TV in its entirety). Laura is back and weighs in on what she sees as a massive injustice, on so many fronts. What do ...
May 17, 2023•40 min•Ep. 441
Lisa and Jim pick up where their conversation left off, breaking down the details of the Menendez case and posing questions about the events. There are so many things that have been buried in the past three decades, there is a lot to discuss. You can watch the entire first 1993 trial on Court TV archives for yourself. https://www.courttv.com/trials/ca-v-menendez-1993/ #Peacock #docuseries #Menendez #Menudo #BoysBetrayed #parricide #childsexabuse #RoyRosello #grooming #VictimsMatter #Silencebreak...
May 12, 2023•30 min•Ep. 440
There are high profile cases you think you know, but the truth is far more nuance, complicated and terrible than anything the media could ever cover during a headline making trial. On the evening of June 20th 1989, Lyle Menendez (21) and his brother Erik Menendez (18) shot their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez to death in their Beverly Hills home. Of that there is no dispute. In 1996, the brothers were each finally convicted (after a first trial ended in deadlock) of two counts of first degree m...
May 10, 2023•37 min•Ep. 439
We welcome back Amara Cofer, host of the podcast Black Girl Gone https://www.blackgirlgonepodcast.com/ to help us discuss the terrible murders of three young sisters in Atlanta, Texas: Zi’Ariel Robinson-Oliver, 9, A’Miyah Hughes, 8, and Te’Mari Robinson-Oliver, 5, who were reported missing by their babysitter last July and later found dead in a nearby pond. Amara raises a lot of good questions that law enforcement have yet to answer. We share some revelations about the case that no one seems to ...
May 03, 2023•31 min•Ep. 438
On a hot summer night last July in a small town in east Texas, sisters Zi’Ariel Robinson-Oliver, 9, A’Miyah Hughes, 8, and Te’Mari Robinson-Oliver, 5, were reported missing by their babysitter. Their mother Shommaonique Oliver-Wickerson rushed home from work to find the Cass County Sheriff’s office, Texas Parks and Wildlife, volunteer firefighters, neighbors and family members searching the surrounding area for her little daughters. What happened next was every mother’s worst nightmare. At 2 AM ...
Apr 26, 2023•30 min•Ep. 437
Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sex abuse. Listener discretion is advised. We finish our conversation with author and advocate Stephen Mills. Stephen talks about the path of self destruction he took in his twenties as he tried to run away from the demons of his past. He tells us why after many decades he finally decided to write his memoir “Chosen”. We talk about how important it is to keep finding our voices as victims and speaking out as much as possible to lift th...
Apr 21, 2023•38 min•Ep. 436
Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, we are continuing our conversation with Stephen Mills about his experience surviving child sex abuse and his tireless fight to prevent more children from being harmed by those who are meant to care for them. Denial, delay and legal loopholes. Silence as well as cover ups. Stephen reveals how difficult it has been to hold organizations accountable fo...
Apr 19, 2023•29 min•Ep. 435
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual leader of Tibet Buddhism is beloved by millions around the world for his compassion and his teachings of non violence. Known as His Holiness, to the public, his gentle nature, grandfatherly affect and often childlike wonder can be captivating to the masses who come to be in his presence. But recently, the Dalai Lama is under scrutiny for his upsetting behavior toward a child who came up to give him a hug during a public appearance. Laura and J...
Apr 17, 2023•21 min•Ep. 434
Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse. Listener discretion advised. We continue our important conversation with Stephen Mills, author of the memoir “Chosen”, which recounts in excruciating detail the sexual abuse he endured as a child at the hands of a beloved camp director of a prestigious Jewish summer camp. Stephen describes the dissociation he experienced as he tried to cope with what was happening to him. Perhaps even more shocking than the descriptions o...
Apr 14, 2023•29 min•Ep. 433
Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse. Listener discretion advised. When Stephen Mills was thirteen years old, he was sexually abused by a director of his Jewish summer camp. This abuse continued for years and Stephen carried this secret for decades. In his book, “Chosen” out now in paperback, Stephen details in raw powerful emotion how this offender was able to groom him, his parents, and the many prestigious communities where this offender worked and targete...
Apr 12, 2023•27 min•Ep. 432
What is wrong with the Metropolitan Police Force? 5 words: Defensiveness, Denial, Racism, Homophobia and Misogyny. Prompted by the murder of 33 year old Sarah Everard who was abducted, raped and strangled by a London Metropolitan Police officer in 2021, the failures in the Met police force were scrutinized in a recent scathing report. This review is stunning and something everyone, whether you are an average citizen, politician, academic or law enforcement professional, should read and learn fro...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 431
We continue to deconstruct Andrew Tate’s behavior which can be traced right back to his childhood and his response to the toxic male role model he had in his life. We discuss his family dynamics and his craving for his father’s approval. Instead of overcoming that lack of father love, instead of championing the strong women in his life who were raising him and sacrificing for him, instead of creating good in the world — he chose a different path, one of subjugating women, and exploiting vulnerab...
Mar 29, 2023•40 min•Ep. 430
Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and failed reality tv contestant, is someone who has tried to ingratiated himself with, indoctrinate and monetize impressionable young men and boys by proselytizing his own brand of misogyny and toxic masculinity — is now sitting unhappily in a Romanian prison under suspicion of rape, sex trafficking and organized crime. He and his brother Tristan have denied all charges against them. While we would love to ignore someone this thirsty who LIVES to have anyone’s at...
Mar 22, 2023•29 min•Ep. 429
March 19th would have been Gabby Petito's 24th birthday. To honor Gabby and ensure we don't forget her, Laura gives us an update on the latest developments in the two lawsuits Gabby's parents are bringing against the Moab City Police as well as against Brian Laundrie's parents. We analyse the distressing and haunting selfie Gabby took of her injuries just minutes before the 911 call was made to the police in Utah. We discuss the significance of the photo as potential evidence which was found on ...
Mar 21, 2023•36 min•Ep. 428
We are thrilled that Zach Heinzerling, director of the amazing Hulu docuseries “Stolen Youth” joined us to talk about his experience capturing the incredible story of Isabella Pollok, Claudia Drury, Dan Levin, Santos, Yalitza, and Felicia Rosario, all victims of Larry Ray who coercively controlled them, abused and tortured them for years. Zach tells us why he wanted to make the docs-series, and what he learned from the survivors about how it could happen — how these bright, young, vibrant people...
Mar 15, 2023•46 min•Ep. 427
This Is Actually Happening, is a podcast that brings you extraordinary true stories of life changing events, told by the people who lived them. Now, This Is Actually Happening presents: Point Blank, a five-part series shedding a light on the forgotten spree killings of Rancho Tehama. In November of 2017, a lone gunman devastated a small town in northern California, attacking 8 different locations in the span of only 25 minutes. Overshadowed by the Las Vegas shooting that dominated the headlines ...
Mar 14, 2023•6 min
Just this past Friday March 10th, Zohreh Sadeghi, 33, a tech industry podcaster and her husband, Mohammad Milad Naseri, 35, were murdered in their home in Redmond, Washington by a man who stalked Zohreh after listening to her podcast. In the past months, his behavior had become increasingly alarming, relentlessly calling her 100 times in a day, sending her an avalanche of texts, traveling from his residence in Texas to her home in Washington state, surveying her neighborhood and threatening to h...
Mar 13, 2023•32 min•Ep. 426
We continue our discussion about the amazing Hulu three part docu-series "Stolen Youth" which focuses on the victims of Larry Ray, a psychopathic manipulator who systematically tried to ruin the lives of Isabella Pollok, Claudia Drury, Dan Levin, Santos, Yalitza, and Felicia Rosario. Laura points out that his daughters and former wife were most likely also victimized by his coercive control. We detail the excruciating conditions that led to each victim slowly extracting themselves from Larry's g...
Mar 08, 2023•50 min•Ep. 425
In 2010, on the small woodsy campus of Sarah Lawrence College located in Yonkers, New York, 50 year old Lawrence Ray came to “crash” with his daughter Talia in her on-campus dorm town-house that she shared with several other students, ostensibly until he found a place to live after his recent release from prison. That fateful “visit” turned into a twisted decade long odyssey of abuse and coercive control that would nearly ruin the lives of several young people including Isabella Pollok, Claudia ...
Mar 01, 2023•48 min•Ep. 424
We continue our cross over episode with the “Cold” podcast host Dave Cawley, focusing in on one “person of interest” in particular in the disappearance of 24 year old single mother Sheree Warren - who went missing from Ogden, Utah in 1985. One of Sheree’s intimate partners, Cary Hartmann, was eventually convicted of the rapes of two woman and suspected in many many more. He has always claimed he had nothing to do with his girlfriend Sheree’s disappearance, despite a lot of inconsistencies and co...
Feb 22, 2023•48 min•Ep. 423
Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there. When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust aroun...
Feb 20, 2023•9 min
We are so excited for this cross over episode with Dave Cawley of the hit Wondery podcast series “Cold”. Now in his third season of “Cold”, Dave talks to us about his incredible re-investigation into a new “cold” case, that of 24-year old single mother Sheree Warren from Ogden, Utah who went missing on the evening of October 2, 1985 after leaving from work at a Utah Credit Union to meet with her estranged husband. Six weeks later her car was found abandoned in a Las Vegas parking lot. Sheree has...
Feb 15, 2023•48 min•Ep. 422
Convicted serial rapist Harvey Weinstein (HW) will be sentenced AGAIN in Los Angeles on February 23, 2023 following his conviction of rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation. He is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault charges in New York in 2020. Joining us today are Sarah Ann Masse and Rowena Chiu who say they survived assaults by HW though sadly their cases were not addressed in these convictions. You will no...
Feb 08, 2023•39 min•Ep. 421
