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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 Miller’s untimely and tragic death.
BE ADVISED: This episode includes discussion of violence against women and suicide.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 :01 Recap of Part 1 and intro to Part 2
Topic #2 9:25 2011: Meet 15-year-old Mica
Topic #3 18:18 January 2023: Couple separates
Topic #4 35:45 Mica calls 911 – on the day of her death
Topic #5 42:58 Escapism, co-host-style
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
On Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EscapePod.traumedy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/escape_pod_podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Escape_Pod_podcast/videos
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
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
On Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EscapePod.traumedy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/escape_pod_podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Escape_Pod_podcast/videos
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 crime, is it? Step into The Escape Pod for the first in a four-part series about a woman who escaped a predatory and manipulative husband but did so in the worst possible way.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 1:03 Meet (and SEE) the co-hosts (video version of podcast is now on YouTube, Episode 67+
Topic #2 6:20 Meet the main characters in this tale of true crime
Topic #3 14:25 Divorce and remarriage
Topic #4 27:08 Escapism, co-host-style
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EscapePod.traumedy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/escape_pod_podcast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Escape_Pod_podcast/videos
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 than 50 years – to the place where the “Gitchie Girl” got her name – for this edition of The Escape Pod.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 8:27 An escape artist with South Dakota ties
Topic #2 15:20 Setting the scene
Topic #3 23:03 Bodies found
Topic #4 32:55 Sandra tells her story
Topic #5 44:10 Escapism, co-host-style!
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
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 towards anyone and had no connection to The Reading Man. Is there a plausible explanation for what she finds? Or is this a clear case of murder committed by a very matter-of-fact murderer? The co-hosts explore the possibilities in this edition of The Escape Pod.
BE ADVISED: You can’t escape the grizzly details of this truly heinous true crime. This episode contains content that listeners may find extremely disturbing.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 4:30 Secret Service contacts The Escape Pod? (True story!)
Topic #2 10:18 A mom’s disturbing discovery
Topic #3 19:52 Confession
Topic #4 30:37 The Reading Man
Topic #5 40:42 Escapism, co-host-style!
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
“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 about it, you’re waiting WAY too long), as well as insight into the depth and breadth of our digital footprints. For example, did you know digital “exhaust” is a thing? Neither did the co-hosts, until now!
This is a must-listen follow-up to our first meeting with Hollie. If you missed Episode 57, check it out at the link below.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 1:40 A podcast that has one co-host all fired up!
Topic #2 11:00 (Re)introducing podcast guest Hollie Strand
Topic #3 20:20 Digital “exhaust” explained
Topic #4 30:56 “Technology is a tool, not a lifestyle”
Topic #5 45:18 Co-host gets a high-five from Hollie
Topic #6 52:08 Hollie’s Rule of Fives
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
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 back more than a decade before the Baxters’ untimely deaths for a cautionary tale about who we choose to trust.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 :30 MIL saga continues – with a funny twist
Topic #2 12:28 Meet the Baxters
Topic #3 19:08 Investigation turns up treasure trove of interesting tidbits
Topic #4 29:53 Escaping children who mock their mothers
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
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 in a largely unregulated space, and that can – and has – had fatal consequences. The Escape Pod takes an interesting turn this week, as one co-host shares her own experiences with an ungodly guru whose brazen actions pushed his followers much, much too far.
BE ADVISED: This episode contains mature language and disturbing descriptions of victims in their final moments of a “retreat” gone wrong.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 7:50 Escaping false gurus
Topic #2 20:21 What makes a guru a guru?
Topic #3 34:02 Main event at JAR’s October 2009 retreat ends in tragedy
Topic #4 42:41 July 2009: Woman dies during different JAR retreat
Topic #5 1:06:08 Red flags to watch for with self-help gurus/programs
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
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 Pod for an episode that is heavy on food for thought, but also on belly laughs – courtesy of those who failed to escape the lure of some “sugar free” foods and lived to tell about their not-so-savory side effects.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 9:30 Trying to escape Big Food’s tactics
Topic #2 24:03 The truth about sugar
Topic #3 36:37 "Sugar free” food reviews
Topic #4 47:25 The push for more transparency
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
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 divorcing if the wife is pregnant. Lawmakers may have good intentions in keeping these laws on the books, but the unintended consequences can be serious – even fatal. The co-hosts take a closer look at the scary statistics in this edition of The Escape Pod.
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:
Topic #1 5:25 Intro to topic: Escaping pregnancy-related divorce bans
Topic #2 12:40 States that prevent divorce during pregnancy
Topic #3 21:31 What a wife (and wanna-be escape artist) can do
Topic #4 36:12 The unintended consequences of eliminating ‘no-fault’ divorce
Topic #5 39:10 Destiny’s story
Resources & Links
Sign up to be a Patron today! Get access to the Patron-Only Facebook Group, Bonus Episodes, and more.
https://www.escapepod.live
Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?
General mail: [email protected]
Submit listener stories: [email protected]
From the publisher's feed
Crisis & Consequences is a true crime podcast with a purpose, where we step out of our daily lives and dive into murder stories and the complicated humans behind them.
Hosted by Charity Doyle and Karabeth Borresen, each episode blends storytelling, dark humor, and real conversation — because sometimes the best way to understand crisis is by getting lost in a really good crime story.
All proceeds support OneHeart’s mission to empower people to overcome crisis and achieve self-sustainability.