The Escape Pod

“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...

Police officers typically meet residents of high-crime neighborhoods on their worst days – when they’re either victims of crime or contributors to it – and providing long-term help and support while addressing the situation at hand is nearly impossible. That’s where the Rapid City Police Department’s Community Engagement Team steps in. Comprised of both non-uniformed officers and civilians, including a social worker, this team play...

At age 5, she remembers being touched inappropriately; at 7, doing drugs for the first time; at 10, going into foster care, where she was a “lost child” until getting adopted in her teens. 

As an adult and addict at risk of losing her own children, Chari sought help in the fall of 2022 and began a remarkable transformation. Join Julie and Charity in The Escape Pod as they welcome this special guest and OneHeart "rock star" to share...

911: Emergency. 

Melissa, 12: Please help me ... We were all shot. 

A child, suffering from multiple bullet wounds, still manages to provide critical information to emergency dispatch in hopes of helping her mom and others gunned down at a New Mexico bowling alley in 1990. 

Join the co-hosts in The Escape Pod this week to hear the girl’s harrowing account and theories surrounding who was responsible for the massacre that, to this d...

The curse. Aunt Flow. Code Red! Whatever you call it, women have been experiencing periods since women came to be; yet, historically, this “monthly visitor” has made people – mainly men, if we’re being honest – downright hysterical. (Case in point, the philosopher Plato compared the uterus to a “living creature” that wandered through a woman’s body wreaking havoc. Yikes!) The myths about menstruation are – indeed – wild, and even i...

An email arrives in a nonprofit CEO’s inbox. The gist: An “investor” is interested in the work you do. He has connections to some of the country’s wealthiest people, and he’d like to leverage those connections to help you raise funds. The email looks legit, sounds promising, and a quick internet search raises no immediate red flags associated with the individual or his company. At least, not at first. BUT ... if it sounds too good ...

Summary of Episode 

The co-hosts return to The Escape Pod this week to wrap up a two-part series on “phrogging,” when a person occupies a home without the homeowner’s or renter’s knowledge or permission. (It’s a criminal act that lands pretty high on the creep-o-meter, if you ask us!) Part 2 takes us back to the mid-1980s, when a teen phrogger terrorized families in Massachusetts.  

SIDE NOTE: Why does phrogger start with a “ph”? A...

Summary of Episode 

“Phrogging” (sounds like “frogging”) refers to the act of living in someone’s home without their knowledge or permission. It is not the same as squatting, and – in many ways – phrogging is much, much creepier. In the first of a two-part series on the subject, the Escape Pod co-hosts discuss a handful of phreaky phrogging incidents that might have you checking your closets. Twice. 

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode...