We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of traum ... Show More
Sep 1
The Cult of Bellum Entertainment
This week, Chelsea and Iman investigate The Cult of Bellum Entertainment, the true crime production company whose founder, Mary Carol McDonald, allegedly spent years building a very different kind of crime empire behind the scenes. True crime podcaster Jami Rice (@jamionair) join ... Show More
59m 22s
Aug 25
The Cult of Celebrity Wellness Brands
This week, Reese dives into The Cult of Celebrity Wellness Brands, where skincare, mental health, spirituality, supplements, and good old-fashioned celebrity worship have melted together into one extremely Instagrammable belief system. From Goop and Rhode to Rare Beauty, Kardashi ... Show More
1h 7m
Aug 2023
Troubled Teen Industry with Samantha Leach
Unpacking the numerous systemic issues with the Troubled Teen Industry, the controversial network of for-profit, youth treatment centers such as boot camps, wilderness programs and boarding schools with the author of The Elissas: Three Girls, One Fate, and the Deadly Secrets of S ... Show More
27m 56s
Mar 2024
The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
Like hundreds before her, Katherine Daniel was sent by her parents to a school for troubled teens. The Academy at Ivy Ridge claimed to use therapy and recreational activities to help its students. Instead, teens suffered mental and physical abuse in a program that operated like a ... Show More
37m 9s
Aug 2025
S24 Ep6: An Accountability Letter
*Content warning: distressing topics, bullying, addiction, Institutional child abuse, ‘troubled teen industry’ (TTI), disability abuse, body image abuse, sexual trauma, medical neglect, therapeutic trauma. *Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resour ... Show More
1h 4m
Jun 2022
Cults Summer Road Trip: Twelve Tribes
They came to the edge of extinction in Tennessee, then had a revival in Island Pond, Vermont. The group led by Elbert Spriggs had roots in the Jesus Movement of the ‘70s, but in time, began to reflect the early Christian church of the first century. Critics fear the still-active ... Show More
39m 27s
Dec 2022
I Grew Up in a Cult
CW: This episode contains descriptions of CSA, child abuse, suicide, alcoholism, and death.
On this episode of We’re All Insane, Charlie shares her harrowing story of spiritual and physical abuse at the hands of her parents, particularly her father. She also discusses the devasta ... Show More
1h 39m