The Escape Pod

Escape Pod Show Notes – Episode 69: Blind Faith, Pt. 3 (Mica Miller’s Story) 

Date: 5/21/2025 

Episode Title and Number: Blind Faith, Pt. 3 (Mica Miller’s Story) – Ep. 69 

Summary of Episode 

Our four-part series “Blind Faith” focuses on a Carolina pastor and his often-tumultuous relationships, particularly with his second wife, Mica, who – authorities ruled – took her own life in the spring of 2024. In this third installment, Th...

Bad (PTA) Moms 

Summary of Episode 

The movie “Bad Moms” portrayed PTA parents as crazy, controlling, and conniving – but all in good fun. (It is a movie, after all.) It wasn’t nearly as funny when three PTA moms in southern California scammed millions of dollars from real people, including fellow PTA members. They got away with it for a time but couldn’t escape the consequences of their scheme. Learn more about the case in this ...

The second installment of our four-part series, “Blind Faith,” delves deeper into the second marriage of a Carolina pastor to a young woman he may have wooed – or groomed – when she was just a teen and he was married with children. What initially appeared to be true love became truly terrifying. In this edition of The Escape Pod, the co-hosts examine the disturbing behaviors that characterized the marriage and may have led to Mica ...

When a common person uses the term “insane” or “incompetent” to describe someone, they’re rarely using the same standard as that of a lawyer or judge in a court of law. The Escape Pod’s own former news reporter-turned-podcast co-host can testify to this, using the example of a South Dakota kidnapping/murder case she first covered 20+ years ago. 

Resources & Links 

• State vs. Tiegen (2008 appeal) 

• https://rapi...

Call it love. Call it blind faith. Call it the result of a predator getting the best of his prey. 

A young woman who appeared happily married claims to be trapped in a controlling, manipulative relationship. She begs for help, but no one listens. Instead, she's publicly shamed – painted as crazy and unhinged. Her pastor husband couldn’t be the bad guy, right? This isn’t a classic case of a respected position covering up a true crim...

A nature reserve and popular party place in the middle-of-nowhere becomes the scene of mass murder in the fall of 1973: four teens are killed; a fifth escapes death but is victimized in other ways – by her friends’ killers and, later, by small-town conspiracy theorists who suspect she was in on the crime. In time, though, this survivor gets to tell her own story of escape and finds healing in doing so. The co-hosts travel back more...

A familiar face on the streets of Grand Junction, Colorado, goes missing in February 2021. Known as “The Reading Man,” Warren Barnes is described as kind and helpful by those who saw him daily at his favorite place to read. Just days after the man's disappearance, a mom makes a gruesome discovery while cleaning her 19-year-old son’s bedroom. But it makes no sense: her son, diagnosed with autism as a child, had never been violent to...

“You can trust your kid all you want, but do you trust the world with your kid?” 

Back by popular demand, Hollie Strand of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force returns to The Escape Pod to help us help our kids escape – or at least better navigate – the very real dangers of the digital world. Hollie offers tips to start these tough conversations with kids of all ages (FYI – if you’re waiting until they’re teens to talk a...

In the spring of 2023, police in the U.K. found the most unlikely of overdose victims: a well-liked, well-respected couple in their 60s. Initially, investigators considered that the deaths might be the result of suicide or an accident, but then – as one co-host likes to say – their “Spidey senses” kicked in, turning their attention toward a caregiver who may have been providing the wrong kind of TLC. This week, The Escape Pod goes ...

In 2022, the “self-help” industry in the U.S. alone raked in more than $13B. (That’s BILLION, with a capital B.) There is no shame in wanting to better oneself – personally, professionally, or both. What is shameful is taking advantage of those people who seek self-improvement. Adherents of such programs often expect (and pay big money) to be challenged physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But self-help gurus operate...

It’s not exactly “breaking news.” America has an obesity problem, and we all know it.  But, historically speaking, it is a relatively new problem that dates back only about 50 years. That’s when some of the biggest food companies in the world got very smart about how to keep customers coming back for more ... and more ... and more. How? By using incredibly effective formulas to create “hyper-palatable” foods. Hop into The Escape Po...

Even with morning sickness and other side effects, the nine months of anticipating a newborn baby is often an exciting and joyful time for women. But for those in dysfunctional or – worse – abusive relationships, that nine months can be traumatizing and potentially dangerous. Research shows that homicide is among the leading causes of death for pregnant and postpartum women, but some states still have laws that prevent couples from...

A marriage license before a driver’s license? In some states in the U.S. – YES – it's totally legal, even today. And if you think these unions are simply young lovers who can’t wait to “make it official,” think again. Research shows 86% of childhood marriages involve girls married to adult men, and in many of those cases, the age difference is vast. The co-hosts take a closer look at the stats and share true stories of truly crimin...

Raped. Stabbed. Disemboweled. Nearly beheaded. How could anyone survive such an attack? The co-hosts take The Escape Pod back to December 1994, when a young woman in South Africa was kidnapped, brutally assaulted, and left for dead on a dirty beach. But when this escape artist decided to live, she went “all in.” Now – more than 30 years later – her story and drive to survive continue to inspire people around the world. 

BE ADVISED:...

A 2nd grader sends nude photos to a stranger online. How? Why? Who or what could compel a child to do such a thing? It happens, and it happens far more often than most people realize, according to a forensic examiner and veteran member of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in South Dakota. Think she’s exaggerating? Consider this: The Internet Watch Foundation reported a 360% increase in “self-generated” sexual i...

The Escape Pod observes Black History Month this February with a tale of true crime out of the Depression-era Deep South. Nine Black teenagers traveling by train found themselves caught in the middle of hate and lies, giving new meaning to the phrase “wrong time, wrong place.” Initially accused of assault for a rock-throwing fight, they instead spent years defending rape charges. Even after one accuser recanted, the accused couldn’...

A day set aside to celebrate love and romance ... what could possibly go wrong?! You know as well as we do, A LOT can go wrong on Valentine’s Day. Hop into The Escape Pod for a light-hearted episode about Valentine’s Day plans gone awry and gifts that left a lot to be desired. 

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 

Topic #1     4:07 The co-hosts share their views on Valentine’s Day 

Topic #2    9:31 Valentine’s Day stories: T...

A traveling salesman befriends a woman and her daughter Heidi in 1978. While Heidi sees “B” (his nickname) as a father-figure, B sees Heidi in a very different way. But, as is typical with child predators, she is not his only victim. In fact, several years earlier, B spent years wooing a girl in Idaho, and – get this! – seducing her parents, too. What level of charisma does it take to win over adults while simultaneously preying on...

There are terrible roommates, and then there’s THIS guy. For more than a decade, a man with extensive knowledge of squatters’ rights made life miserable for multiple people – a girlfriend, landlords, neighbors, even members of his own family. How was he able to get away with it for so long, and when did his serial squatting finally come to an end? Find out on this episode of The Escape Pod! 

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Marker...