Episode 1: The Branding

What happens when a human becomes intimately enmeshed with a chatbot? From people who’ve married their bots or who grieve their loved ones with the help of AI, host Victoria Hetherington (author of The Friend Machine) dives into the stories of the people who have invited these di ... Show More

Sarah Edmondson and Anthony "Nippy" Ames are cult escapees and whistleblowers featured in Escaping NXIVM. In this clip from the Sickboy podcast, Sarah and Nippy sit down with the Sickboy hosts to dive deep into their experience with escaping a cult and how it affected their menta ... Show More

In a U.S. federal courtroom Tuesday, Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years—having been convicted of a slew of crimes related to his alleged sex cult NXIVM. During the trial and sentencing, victims told of how the self-professed empowerment "vanguard" had turned some of his fol ... Show More

Uncover: Escaping NXIVM - Episode 1. Sarah Edmondson is a high-level member of a self-help group called NXIVM, but an invitation to join a secret women's group called DOS leads her to do something she later regrets. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca ... Show More

Sarah Edmondson (TheVow) joins us this week and shares her entire experience in NXIVM, a cult connected with Smallville co-star Allison Mack and known for manipulating its members emotionally, financially, and sexually. Sarah talks about how the cult’s leaders dismantled the intu ... Show More

Sarah Edmondson was a young actress pursuing a career in film and television, when she hit a low point and was hoping to find a new purpose in life. She ran into renowned filmmaker, Mark Vicente, who spoke to her about NXIVM and eventually brought her into the organization. There ... Show More

<p>Allison Mack, formerly known for her role as Chloe Sullivan on the television series Smallville, became a central figure in the NXIVM scandal—a case involving a self-proclaimed self-help organization that was later exposed as a coercive cult.<br />Mack joined NXIVM in 2006, an ... Show More

News leaks that someone in the self-help group NXIVM has branded female members with their leader’s initials. Now, the nation believes they are a cult. In the hopes of changing the narrative, NXIVM gives Vanessa exclusive access to the group’s top members, like Seagram’s heir Cla ... Show More

In Part 2 Sarah Edmondson's story, we see how the truth slowly starts to unfold. Sarah realizes that Keith Raniere, Nancy Salzman, and NXIVM were abusing many of its female members. For the first time, Sarah sees the horrible truth about the organization, and how Keith was actual ... Show More

In 2005, this week's guest Sarah Edmondson joined what she thought was a personal development program devoted to helping her overcome her "limiting beliefs." Little did she know it'd turn out to be one of the most notorious and scrutinized groups of all time, NXIVM. "Self-Help" i ... Show More

Nobody joins a cult on purpose, says Sarah Edmondson, a former member of the infamous NXIVM cult and one of the three whistleblowers that led to its downfall. She explains how she got ensnared in this highly manipulative group — and then escaped it — and shares red flags to help ... Show More

Sara dives into the OC’s dark underbelly of dirty deals, high stakes scams, and hustlers. A mysterious new friend starts passing Sara off as his sister, and teaches her how to loan money to desperate people to make big returns, quickly. There’s no turning back now. Learn more abo ... Show More

If someone who seemed larger than life offered you a glimpse of a brand-new self, would you believe it? Keith Raniere had the ability to make the people around him see a vision of hope and success with his group, NXIVM. For a moment, India Oxenberg saw it too. However, NXIVM's tr ... Show More