A devout Colorado youth, Alana Chen, disappears from Boulder, leaving behind dozens of journals that reveal her aspiration to become a nun alongside fatal secrets about sexuality and faith. Host, Simon Kent Fung, who shares a strikingly similar past, embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind her fate, while confronting his own demons.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

A devout Colorado youth, Alana Chen, disappears from Boulder, leaving behind dozens of journals that reveal her aspiration to become a nun alongside fatal secrets about sexuality and faith. Host, Simon Kent Fung, who shares a strikingly similar past, embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind her fate, while confronting his own demons. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A devout Colorado youth, Alana Chen, disappears from Boulder, leaving behind dozens of journals that reveal her aspiration to become a nun alongside fatal secrets about sexuality and faith. Host, Simon Kent Fung, who shares a strikingly similar past, embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind her fate, while confronting his own demons.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="noopener noreferrer">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Introducing "Dear Alana,"

4x nominee ​and WINNER at the 2024 Ambie Awards​.
Host Simon Kent Fung explores the life of Alana Chen, a 24-year-old woman who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. Alana left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and dream of becoming a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she confessed to her priest that she was attracted to women and was instructed not to tell her parents. Over the next seven years, Alana covertly received conversion therapy which her family believes played a role in her fate. Simon, who sought to change his sexual orientation through conversion therapy for nearly a decade in his efforts to become a priest, is compelled to understand the truth of what happened to Alana—and finally face what happened to him. “Dear Alana,” is an unraveling mystery and a poignant spiritual memoir about teenage rebellion and spiritual manipulation, the price we pay to belong and the systems that pay no price at all.
****Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by Apple, KQED, and Lifehacker, and critically acclaimed by The Guardian, the CBC, and ​People Magazine.
Explore more at www.dearalana.com

Society & Culture

Religion & Spirituality

True Crime

Personal Journals

4x nominee ​and WINNER at the 2024 Ambie Awards​. Host Simon Kent Fung explores the life of Alana Chen, a 24-year-old woman who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. Alana left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and dream of becoming a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she confessed to her priest that she was attracted to women and was instructed not to tell her parents. Over the next seven years, Alana covertly received conversion therapy which her family believes played a role in her fate. Simon, who sought to change his sexual orientation through conversion therapy for nearly a decade in his efforts to become a priest, is compelled to understand the truth of what happened to Alana—and finally face what happened to him. “Dear Alana,” is an unraveling mystery and a poignant spiritual memoir about teenage rebellion and spiritual manipulation, the price we pay to belong and the systems that pay no price at all. ****Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by Apple, KQED, and Lifehacker, and critically acclaimed by The Guardian, the CBC, and ​People Magazine. Explore more at www.dearalana.com

Share Introducing "Dear Alana,"

Sign up to save your podcasts

Introducing "Dear Alana,"

Introducing "Dear Alana,"

More shows like Dear Alana,

Someone Knows Something

Up and Vanished

To Live and Die in LA

Culpable

Radio Rental

Somebody

The Binge Cases: U R NEXT

Whistleblower

Dead and Gone

Gaining Ground: The New Georgia

Truer Crime

Algorithm

The MLK Tapes

Betrayal Weekly

Undetermined

Rattled & Shook

The Estate

The Vanishing Point

Down Range

Radical

The Raven

This Day in Crime

To Die For

Status: Untraced

Lords of Death

Up and Vanished Weekly

Crook County

Blink | Jake Haendel's Story