What Came Next

Content Warning: legal abuse, divorce, child-to-parent violence, narcissistic abuse, and coercive control. Vanessa Reiser is a mother, author, survivor, and licensed psychotherapist specializing in narcissistic and cult abuse. She is also the founder of Tell a Therapist, LLC and is best known for her 11-day, 285 mile run across the state of New York - in a wedding dress - to raise awareness for na...

Content Warning:  love fraud, intimate fraud, financial fraud, gun violence, and robbery. Tracy Hall is a mother, author, speaker, business marketing expert, and victim of financial and intimate fraud from Australia. After a series of traumatic events and life changes, Tracy found herself unexpectedly single in her early 40’s. Although she had a full life, she sought an activity partner to grow wi...

Content Warning: miscarriage, love fraud, intimate fraud, financial fraud, and robbery. Tracy Hall is a mother, author, speaker, business marketing expert, and victim of financial and intimate fraud from Australia. After a series of traumatic events and life changes, Tracy found herself unexpectedly single in her early 40’s. Although she had a full life, she sought an activity partner to grow with...

Content Warning: suicidal ideation, suicide, neglect, abuse, torture, child abuse, childhood torture, domestic childhood torture, institutionalized abuse, and institutionalized torture. Ali Davis is a healthcare professional, non-profit founder, and a survivor of alleged childhood torture. She was born in Alaska, and as early as she can remember, the alleged torture that she would face at the hand...

Content Warning: intimate partner violence, domestic violence, strangulation, and murder. Nichole Schmidt is a mother, speaker, non-profit founder, victim advocate, and co-victim of murder. Her trajectory changed drastically in August of 2021 with the very public disappearance and murder of her daughter, Gabby Petito. In the wake of her loss, Nichole has transformed her grief into legislative and...

Content Warning: systemic betrayal, institutional betrayal, gun violence, suicide, and murder. As shared in part one of her story, Jana Guyewski-Lautigar is a mother, educator, social worker, and author from Bastrop, Louisiana. She joins us today to honor her sister, Crystal McCrorry Jones, whose life tragically ended on February 9th, 2023. Her death was deemed an unattended death - when a person...

Content Warning: systemic betrayal, institutional betrayal, gun violence, suicide, and murder. Jana Guyewski-Lautigar is a mother, educator, social worker, and author from Bastrop, Louisiana. She joins us today to honor her sister, Crystal McCrorry Jones, whose life tragically ended on February 9th, 2023. Her death was deemed an unattended death - when a person passes away without witnesses or med...

Content warning: self-harm, suicidal ideation, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and suicide. Jen Higgins is a resident of Arkansas, mother, and founder of Anyway Socks, a company on a mission to help end domestic violence. Jen was inspired to create the company after the loss of her best friend, Brooke. In years prior, Brooke had been surviving and attempting to escape a violent relat...

Content Warning: unhousedness, substance abuse, substance abuse disorder, domestic violence, child-to-parent violence, elder abuse, parricide, and murder. As shared in part one of her story, Robin Lee is a court reporter, mother, survivor, and co-victim of murder from Southern California. Although Robin’s career in the criminal justice system has given her a unique perspective, it was the loss of...

Content Warning: intrafamilial sexual abuse, substance abuse, substance abuse disorder, domestic violence, child-to-parent violence, elder abuse, parricide, and murder. Robin Lee is a court reporter, mother, survivor, and co-victim of murder from Southern California. Although Robin’s career in the criminal justice system has given her a unique perspective, it was the loss of her beloved mother, Je...

Content warning: sexual abuse, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, statutory rape, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and suicide. This episode originally aired on November 29th, 2024. Lisa Phillips is a model, actress, survivor, and victim advocate who has spent much of her life all over the world. While cultivating a career in the modeling and acting industries, Lisa even found herself over...

Content Warning: grooming, domestic violence, physical violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. In these two episodes we feature Marina Lacerda, a survivor and mother from Brazil. In her youth, she immigrated to New York with her mother in hopes of forging a new life. Almost immediately, Marina would begin to face sexual and physical violence that norma...

Content Warning: grooming, domestic violence, physical violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. Marina Lacerda is a survivor and mother from Brazil. In her youth, she immigrated to New York with her mother in hopes of forging a new life. Almost immediately, Marina would begin to face sexual and physical violence that normalized a long cycle of abuse. By...

Content Warning: child abuse, domestic violence, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, sexual assault, image-based sexual abuse, cyberstalking, and rape. Mae Scott is a multi-crime survivor, mother, and author. Her story of survivorship began at the age of 14, when she met the man she would eventually marry. And although their relationship would end violently and her ex-husband would face a poten...

Content Warning: child abuse, domestic violence, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, sexual assault, image-based sexual abuse, cyberstalking, and rape. Mae Scott is a multi-crime survivor, mother, and author. Her story of survivorship began at the age of 14, when she met the man she would eventually marry. And although their relationship would end violently and her ex-husband would face a poten...

Content Warning: domestic violence, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, sexual assault, image-based sexual abuse, cyberstalking, and rape. Mae Scott is a multi-crime survivor, mother, and author. Her story of survivorship began at the age of 14, when she met the man she would eventually marry. And although their relationship would end violently and her ex-husband would face a potential life sen...

Content Warning: domestic violence, physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional abuse, stalking, child abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and rape. Nicole Meyer is a mother, educator, and victim-survivor of several types of abuse from Melbourne, Australia. Her journey towards justice and healing was a long, arduous one that spanned 15 years and two countries. Amidst it, Nicole was eventually join...

Content Warning: domestic violence, physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional abuse, stalking, child abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and rape. Nicole Meyer is a mother, educator, and victim-survivor of several types of abuse from Melbourne, Australia. Her journey towards justice and healing was a long, arduous one that spanned 15 years and two countries. Amidst it, Nicole was eventually join...

Content Warning: domestic violence, physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional abuse, stalking, child abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and rape. Nicole Meyer is a mother, educator, and victim-survivor of several types of abuse from Melbourne, Australia. Her journey towards justice and healing was a long, arduous one that spanned 15 years and two countries. Amidst it, Nicole was eventually join...

Hi friends, We wanted to take a moment to wish our audience the healthiest, happiest new year possible. We are endlessly grateful for each of you who listens, shares, and shows up with curiosity and care. We don’t take your listening lightly. Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us, for leaving your hearts open to our guests’ perspectives, and for supporting What Came Next in ways both b...

Content Warning: domestic violence, murder, and missing persons.  Dr. Kelli Boling and Dr. Danielle Slakoff join us today to discuss their impactful research about the creation and consumption of true crime media. They both bring years of experience and expertise to their work in hopes of inspiring true crime to be a more equitable healing space for victims and co-victims. The Broken Cycle Media t...

Content Warning: sexual assault, rape, image-based sexual abuse, strangulation, domestic violence, and attempted murder. As shared in part one of her story, Kelly Sutliff is a survivor, founder of the nonprofit Kelly’s K-9’s: Tails of Courage, and a licensed professional counselor from New Jersey. In 2018, after a devastating grief journey, Kelly decided to return to her search for a life partner....

Content Warning: sexual assault, rape, image-based sexual abuse, strangulation, domestic violence, and attempted murder. Kelly Sutliff is a survivor, founder of the nonprofit Kelly’s K-9’s: Tails of Courage, and a licensed professional counselor from New Jersey. In 2018, after a devastating grief journey, Kelly decided to return to her search for a life partner. It wouldn’t be long before she met...

Content Warning:  verbal abuse, physical abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, and suicidal ideation. Janelle Hill is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and survivor from Montana. She and I first had the chance to meet each other at an intimate dinner celebrating the survivor-founded non-profit, The Army of Survivors, and their newest evolution: a full rebranding as The Athlete Survivor's...

Content Warning:  verbal abuse, physical abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, and suicidal ideation. Janelle Hill is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and survivor from Montana. She and I first had the chance to meet each other at an intimate dinner celebrating the survivor-founded non-profit, The Army of Survivors, and their newest evolution: a full rebranding as The Athlete Survivor's...