When spiritual authority crosses into control, how do you recognize it—and why is it so hard to name while you're inside it?

In this episode of Christian True-Crime Junkies (which coincides with Spiritual Abuse Prevention Month), Jaime sits down with Alana for Part 2 of a 3-part interview exploring Alana's experience in a Christian cult during her college years. What began as a faith community rooted in belonging and purpose slowly revealed patterns of manipulation, control, and spiritual abuse.

Through Alana's firsthand account, we begin unpacking how high-control religious environments form, why intelligent and faith-seeking young adults are especially vulnerable, and how Scripture, obedience, and "submission" can be weaponized to silence questions and override personal discernment.

This first conversation lays the groundwork for understanding grooming, coercive leadership, and the subtle red flags that are often dismissed—or only recognized in hindsight.

When spiritual authority crosses into control, how do you recognize it—and why is it so hard to name while you're inside it?

In this episode of Christian True-Crime Junkies (which coincides with Spiritual Abuse Prevention Month), Jaime sits down with Alana for Part 1 of a 3-part interview exploring Alana's experience in a Christian cult during her college years. What began as a faith community rooted in belonging and purpose slowly revealed patterns of manipulation, control, and spiritual abuse.

Through Alana's firsthand account, we begin unpacking how high-control religious environments form, why intelligent and faith-seeking young adults are especially vulnerable, and how Scripture, obedience, and "submission" can be weaponized to silence questions and override personal discernment.

This first conversation lays the groundwork for understanding grooming, coercive leadership, and the subtle red flags that are often dismissed—or only recognized in hindsight.

When abuse happens in the church, why is it so often mislabeled, minimized, or silenced? In this episode of Christian True-Crime Junkies, we partner with special guest Lori Morrison to examine adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA): how it happens, why it's frequently dismissed as an "affair," and the devastating impact church responses can have on survivors. By researching a well-documented case and through Lori's expert insights, we explore power imbalances, grooming, spiritual manipulation, and the dangerous confusion between forgiveness and accountability. We discuss the importance of recognizing that not all abusers are male, and not all victims are female, and Lori helps highlight warning signs, red flags, and safety measures you can take to protect yourself and those you love from this kind of abuse. This episode is not about scandal—it's about truth, justice, and protecting the vulnerable. Listener discretion advised due to sensitive content. You can connect with Lori at SheShepherds.org You can get Lori's book Shielded: 52 Weekly Devotions for Church Security Team Members on Amazon! You can listen to her podcast, The Unlovely Truth, here, or find it anywhere you listen to podcasts!

In the spirit of New Year's, we're looking back at all our stories and crime cases from 2025 and giving out awards to the most deserving in the first ever Christian True-Crime Junkies award ceremony.

Find out who wins the prize for creepiest criminal, most resilient survivor, biggest transformational reform, and more! (Just don't forget to dress up and bring your own dessert.)

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

The world knew her as a living saint. Mary Johnson knew her as "Mother," the woman who devoted her life to serving the poorest of the poor in Calcutta and creating an order of sisters that Mary lived with, worked with, and dedicated her life to for two decades.

When Mary joined Mother Teresa's convent as a young woman, she had no idea that she was going to walk into a world of abuse, power plays, and hardship. Dive into her own personal story to answer the question for yourself ... who was Mother Teresa of Calcutta?

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

In this episode, Jaime and Alana examine a quiet kind of deception: spiritual manipulation that preys on compassion rather than money. Describing personal encounters, they uncover how time, emotional energy, and even prayer can be stolen under the guise of need.

But when discernment finally breaks through the deception, the story doesn't end in shame. Instead, it raises a hard question: how do believers guard what is sacred without closing their hearts?

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

Kim Hyun-Hee was hand-picked by the North Korean Party when she was still a teenager. Ripped away from her family, Hyun-Hee was trained and molded into an elite secret agent whose devotion was only to her country.

By the age of 25, she had carried out North Korea's deadliest terrorist attack, but even though she tried to end her own life before her crimes caught up with her, Hyun-Hee's story was far from over.

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

Kirat is living her best life as a young, professional 30-something when she meets Bobby, a friend of her cousin. After several years of very casual interactions, Bobby confesses two things to her: He's dying, and he's in love with her.

What unravels next destroys Kirat's life, her trust in humanity, and leaves listeners wondering ... could something like this ever happen to you?

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

In the days of Alaska's Wild West, a scrappy ambitious con man decided to take on East Coast bankers like J. P. Morgan and Simon Guggenheim who were making claims on the mines in Alaska's Copper River region.

The ensuing mess led to a scam that left hundreds penniless and a shootout whose echoes still ring in Alaska's Keystone Canyon today.

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!

What the world saw was 47 felonies and 4 incarcerations. Tammy Franklin didn't know it yet, but she was more than just a number. She was a Daughter of the King.

Nearly 200,000 women in America are behind bars today, many carrying the heavy burdens of trauma, shame, and brokenness. Tammy knows that world firsthand. Early on, she believed her destiny was an endless cycle of addiction and incarceration, until she cried out one simple prayer: "God, help me."

That desperate plea became the turning point that changed everything.

Now, years later, Tammy oversees Prison Fellowship's correctional programs across the South Central U.S., helping women discover the same hope and healing that transformed her life. Join us for this very special episode where Tammy shares her powerful story of hope and redemption.

Join award-winning authors Alana Terry and Jaime Hampton, as each week we bring you unforgettable testimonies of survival, stories of justice, tales of redemption, and yes sometimes plain old murder ... but always clean and always from a Christian perspective!