Elena Sada recounts her early experiences with the Legion of Christ, including the moment she felt “chosen” by its founder, Marcial Maciel. Lourdes Barroso shares her story of being personally invited by Maciel to become a consagrada. Both women describe the “spell” that Maciel cast, blurring their perceptions and leading them down a path of strict obedience and hidden manipulation. As the women are molded into ideal servants, they are tasked with recruiting new members and raising funds, becoming key players in the Legion’s expansion and financial empire.

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When Elena Sada was eight, she met a priest who would change the course of her life forever. This priest, Marcial Maciel, founded the Legion of Christ, which became one of the world’s largest and wealthiest Catholic institutions. As a child, Elena was drawn into Maciel’s world, attending a Legionary school and eventually dedicating 21 years of her life to the organization. But behind the holy facade lay dark secrets. 

The archival audio clips used in this episode come from Rome Reports, Milenio and Televisa. 

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Sacred Scandal is back for a fourth season. The Many Secrets of Marcial Maciel is a gripping investigative podcast that uncovers the mysteries behind one of the Catholic Church’s most powerful and controversial figures. Through the voice of Elena Sada—a former consecrated lady in the Legion of Christ—the series exposes Marcial Maciel’s double life of abuse, fraud, and manipulation, as well as the silence and complicity that allowed him to thrive. Blending survivor testimony and in-depth reporting, the show reveals how faith, power, and secrecy collided to protect a predator, and how those who lived inside his empire found the strength to break free.

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Law & Order: Criminal Justice System is back with Season Two, turning its focus to a threat that hides in plain sight, harder to predict and even harder to stop: terrorism. Hear the real stories from those who lived it, worked it, and risked everything to confront it.

Listen here and subscribe to Law & Order: Criminal Justice System S2 on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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What does it mean to be a victim, or a villain? What happens when the line between the two starts to blur? On 7th July 2010, Kelly Harnett says her abusive boyfriend murdered a man right in front of her.  So how did she end up in prison for it? Anna Sinfield - the journalist behind the global number 1 podcast, The Girlfriends, returns with her toughest story yet. This series isn’t a whodunnit. It’s not even really about what happened. It’s about how a woman who was a victim of domestic violence became a villain in the eyes of the law. Found guilty of murder and locked up for over a decade; Kelly Harnett taught herself the law. And as she battled to overturn her conviction, she became a beacon of hope, fighting for the freedom of the abused women locked up alongside her.

Listen here and subscribe to The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hello, Sacred Scandal Fans! We want to share our new show, "Cold Case Files: Miami."

About the show: Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.

Listen here and subscribe to "Cold Case Files: Miami" on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hello, Sacred Scandal Fans! We want to share our new show, "My Friend Daisy." 

About the show: After 19-year-old Daisy De La O was murdered outside her Compton apartment, her friends and family looked to authorities to make an arrest. When that didn’t happen, they took matters into their own hands. Their secret weapon? TikTok. The online videos spawned an international manhunt, rallying amateur detectives to do something radical: Help catch a killer.

From London Audio, iHeart Radio, and executive producer Paris Hilton, My Friend Daisy is a ten-part investigative series written and hosted by L.A. journalist Jenn Swann. Each episode dives deep into the murder investigation and its fallout, exposing what went wrong, how it went viral, and why American communities are turning to social media to find justice. After 19-year-old Daisy De La O was murdered outside her Compton apartment, her friends and family looked to authorities to make an arrest. When that didn’t happen, they took matters into their own hands. Their secret weapon? TikTok. The online videos spawned an international manhunt, rallying amateur detectives to do something radical: Help catch a killer.

Listen here and subscribe to "My Friend Daisy" on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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To kick off Marketplace’s season premiere, we’re sharing a conversation with one of our favorite writers, Hanif Abdurraqib. He joins Reema for a wide-ranging discussion about the moral judgments often made regarding people’s financial circumstances, notions of success and legacy, and what it means to be “good” versus “bad” in an unequal world. Hanif also opens up about one of the most challenging financial moments of his life and his commitment to giving away a significant portion of his income.
Hanif is an award-winning poet, cultural critic, and author from Columbus, Ohio. He’s written six books, several of which are bestsellers, including his most recent, “There’s Always This Year.” His work spans sports, pop culture, and politics, often focusing on issues of race and class, while also exploring themes of grief, beauty, and love. Hanif has received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” and was a finalist for the National Book Award, among other accolades.

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An extended interview with writer and professor Roberto Lovato, whose book “Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas” helped inspire the series.  

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A special conversation with Salvadoran American comedian Marcella Arguello, whose giant tattoo of Oscar Romero sparked the series. 

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