S1|E7: The Holy War

Chuck Dederich's story reaches its conclusion. Whether or not Synanon does is up for debate. 

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 S ... Show More

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 i ... Show More

<p>Sari Crawford, host of podcast The Sunshine Place, details her father's involvement with Synanon, the notorious drug rehabilitation program turned cult. Sari shares what led Charles Dederich to found the group in the 1950s, Synanon's early success helping addicts recover, and ... Show More

Life inside the cult at the center of this mystery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

A strange man arrives in a small town. 

A strange man arrives in a small town. 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