The Sunshine Place - podcast cover

The Sunshine Place

Audacy Podcasts | Team Downeywww.audacy.com
Welcome to the 1980s, where the war on drugs rages on and America's teenagers are caught in the crossfire. Enter Straight Incorporated, a controversial new rehab program that promises its tough love approach can set kids back on the straight and narrow. But for the survivors of Straight, their experience tells a horrifyingly different story — one of abuse, torture, and brainwashing. Season 2 of “The Sunshine Place” delves into the shocking tale of Straight Incorporated, an experimental teen rehab that descended into a sadistic cult exploiting parents' deepest fears and their children's vulnerabilities. This heart-wrenching exploration of parenting, family, and the human spirit intertwines with the dark underbelly of power, money, and politics. And at the heart of it all, we find a connection back to the subject of “The Sunshine Place” Season 1, Synanon. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford of Team Downey, together with Josh McLaughlin of Wink Pictures. The Sunshine Place is an Audacy original.

Episodes

S2|E8: Survivors

By the early 2000s, the “troubled teens” of Straight Incorporated have grown up, and they’re no longer victims, they’re survivors. Many of them embark on a quest for answers, but the architects of their pain and suffering have moved on to bigger, more insidious things. So the survivors look to one another for meaning, but their newfound connection reveals a profoundly dark secret. Together, they discover that the only path forward leads back home. To learn more about listener data and our privac...

Dec 11, 202456 minSeason 2Ep. 8

S2|E7: KIDS

It’s the 1990s, and the rehab landscape has changed, but into this new environment enters a familiar opportunist. Dr. Miller Newton, the personification of the evil at Straight Inc., resurfaces with a new program and a new scheme to con parents. When the next generation of teenagers fall under his influence, it seems like they might never recover. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ht...

Dec 04, 202455 minSeason 2Ep. 7

S2|E6: Poster Child

Princess Diana graces Straight Incorporated with her presence at the invitation of the First Lady, Nancy Reagan. Their visit puts the program in the international spotlight. Enrollment numbers explode, but more teenagers to rehabilitate means more parents to indoctrinate. At Straight, adults take their cues from kids, no matter how vicious the mandate. Whether you call it rehabilitation or brainwashing, the program’s roots lead back to a powerful and unsettling origin. To learn more about listen...

Nov 27, 202447 minSeason 2Ep. 6

S2|E5: The Mayflower Group

Straight Incorporated sets its sites on the next prime market. The suburbs of Washington, D.C., with its population of wealthy and powerful parents who are also desperate and vulnerable to Straight’s propaganda. But one of the kids there comes up with a daring plan that threatens to upend Straight’s expanding empire. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

Nov 20, 202455 minSeason 2Ep. 5

S2|E4: Drug Warriors

As Straight Incorporated makes plans to expand across the country, the program’s founder recruits a powerful ally with connections to the White House. But in order to secure a presidential endorsement, Straight will have to answer one glaring question. Is the program brainwashing kids? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 13, 202442 minSeason 2Ep. 4

S2|E3: Start Again

The Seed is heading down a dark and dangerous path, but nobody seems to realize it, except for the kids. As The Seed grows, so does the ego of its founder, Art Barker. The bigger the program gets, the more rumors start to spread about what is really happening behind closed doors. When people start asking questions they are alarmed by the answers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit htt...

Nov 06, 202455 minSeason 2Ep. 3

S2|E2: The Seed

To understand Straight, we have to look back at its predecessor: The Seed. This Florida-based rehab center was founded by Art Barker, a former alcoholic and stand-up comedian turned rehabilitation guru. In the 1970s, he took his new act on the road, performing not in empty comedy clubs, but in packed warehouses filled with teenagers and their desperate parents. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad cho...

Oct 30, 202450 minSeason 2Ep. 2

S2|E1: Intake

On Halloween of 1982, a Florida teenager named Valerie is kidnapped from her home, by her own mom. She ends up at an experimental drug rehab called Straight Incorporated. Valeries quickly realizes that at Straight, therapy is more like torture, and rehabiliation happens through indoctrination. When Valerie doesn’t know yet is that Straight is connected to something much bigger and more sinister than she could have possibly imagined. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices vis...

Oct 30, 202456 minSeason 2Ep. 1

Introducing: The Sunshine Place, Season 2

Welcome to the 1980s, where the war on drugs rages on and America's teenagers are caught in the crossfire. Enter Straight Incorporated, a controversial new rehab program that promises its tough love approach can set kids back on the straight and narrow. But for the survivors of Straight, their experience tells a horrifyingly different story — one of abuse, torture, and brainwashing. Season 2 of “The Sunshine Place” delves into the shocking tale of Straight Incorporated, an experimental teen reha...

Oct 29, 20244 min

S1|E8: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Chuck Dederich's story reaches its conclusion. Whether or not Synanon does is up for debate. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 21, 20221 hr 11 minSeason 1Ep. 8

S1|E7: The Holy War

Chuck is consumed by paranoia and Synanon erupts in violence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 14, 202252 minSeason 1Ep. 7

S1|E6: Changing Partners

This episode of The Sunshine Place explores the changing dynamics within Synanon, focusing on Chuck Diedrich's evolving leadership and social experiments. It details the transition from a rehab-focused community to one prioritizing "lifestylers," the forced "changing partners" edict, and increasing violence against outsiders and splitees. The episode highlights the personal stories of members affected by these changes and the growing external scrutiny of Synanon's practices.

Sep 07, 202256 minSeason 1Ep. 6

S1|E5: The Breeders

This episode of The Sunshine Place explores Synanon's controversial policy on childlessness, led by Chuck Diederich. Through firsthand accounts, the episode details the organization's shift towards forced vasectomies and abortions, justified under the guise of women's liberation and community dedication. The narrative uncovers the intense social pressure, personal sacrifices, and long-term consequences faced by Synanon members.

Aug 31, 202249 minSeason 1Ep. 5

S1|E4: The Punk Squad

This episode explores the dark transformation of Synanon through the eyes of former members and neighbors. It details the organization's early appeal of community and equality before descending into violence and abuse. The episode features firsthand accounts of the Gambonini family's conflict with Synanon and Julie's harrowing experiences as a child subjected to Synanon's harsh and brutal practices.

Aug 24, 202248 minSeason 1Ep. 4

S1|E3: The Trip

Legend, ritual, religion, LSD. Chuck experiments with all of it on his followers in Synanon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 17, 202249 minSeason 1Ep. 3

S1|E2: The Miracle on the Beach

Chuck Dederich hits rock bottom as an alcoholic in the beachside slums of Los Angeles. It's 1958, and he's got nothing but an idea, but it's one that would save countless lives. He calls it Synanon. Others call it the Miracle on the Beach. Through sheer force of will, Chuck's idea becomes national news, and Synanon becomes a household word. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://p...

Aug 10, 202246 minSeason 1Ep. 2

S1|E1: The Kidsnatchers

Welcome to Synanon. If you're wondering what Synanon is, then you're asking the same question as Celena and Mike, whose lives change forever the moment they arrive. It's the 1970s, and Synanon is a community, a utopia, a cautionary tale, and a cult. But more than anything else, it's a person, the founder of Synanon, a man named Charles E. Dederich, who most people call, Chuck. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more a...

Aug 10, 202248 minSeason 1Ep. 1

Welcome to The Sunshine Place

Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a radical claim: It could cure heroin addiction. Before long, it would make an even bolder claim: It could cure any of your problems. All you had to do was move in. What started in a house on the beach, soon spread to compounds across the country. The man who made the miracle happen, Charles E. Dederich, aka “Chuck,” would be the one to destroy it all, along with ...

Jul 26, 20224 min