Crisis & Consequences

We’ve all been there – on a long car ride, waiting in line, stuck in traffic, etc., etc. - when you realize the extra-large coffee, half-gallon bottle of water, or super-sized iced tea you just finished was a REALLY bad idea because now you REALLY “gotta go.” But where you go and the circumstances surrounding that sweet release could be downright criminal. On this episode of the Escape Pod, the le...

Twists and turns abound in this episode of The Escape Pod, as we deep-dive into the story of a Texas woman and mother of 5 who claims she and her husband were victims of a home invasion and her husband was kidnapped by the three intruders.  While there’s no one way or “right way” to act in a high-crisis situation, police body-camera footage reveals extremely unusual behavior by the wife left behin...

“Dr. X” drinks a glass of wine with dinner, performs emergency surgery that night, and remembers nothing the next day? It happened, and (spoiler alert!) the patient knew nothing.  We talk often on the Escape Pod about how the brain is a funny thing. The doctor’s experience is just one of several true tales of people going beyond a state of impairment to “blackout” mode. They might seem perfectly n...

Aug. 2, 2011: It’s a beautiful summer afternoon in Rapid City, SD, when three police officers are dispatched to a call regarding suspicious activity in a residential neighborhood. One of those officers describes the call now as seemingly “benign” ... at least at first. The officers make contact with four people walking down the sidewalk, and shortly after, three of them are allowed to leave the sc...

Pillar of the community. Philanthropist. Medical doctor. Dorthea Puente was given – or gave herself – many different titles over the years, but in California in the 1980s, the one title that proved true was “serial killer.” On this episode of the Escape Pod, co-costs Charity and Julie are joined by friend-of-the-show Karabeth to discuss this “greedy granny” whose love of money may have driven her...

March Mashup Special - Bonus Ep.7 (Beer, an Intruder, and a Wild Waitress) The Escape Pod is giving you a sneak peek “behind the paywall” with this special “March Mashup” of clips from some of the Bonus episodes dropping this month. Become a patron today to hear the full episodes, and know that your support supports a greater mission – empowering people to change their own lives for the better.  ...

Creepy Coppers & Other Stalkers – Ep. 8    Summary of Episode A law enforcement agency’s review of dashcam footage in Ohio reveals predatory behavior by one of their own. Find out how this patrolman chose his victims and managed to get away with it for as long as he did. Plus, an Escape Pod co-host shares her own experiences with a creepy (former) cop and other stalkers who had a hard time tak...

A marijuana grower who calls the cops when kids steal from his illegal crop; a would-be supermarket robber who posts his plans on social media; a vain vandal doesn’t like the photo on his “Wanted” poster – so he sends law enforcement a better one.  What’s that saying? “You can’t make this stuff up?” You really can’t!  Escape into the Escape Pod with co-hosts Julie and Charity for a not-so-terrifyi...

Teen escape artist survives Aussie serial killers – Ep. 6 In 1986, four women go missing near Perth, Australia, in only a month’s time. But law enforcement doesn’t know there is a serial-killing couple in their midst until a very smart 17-year-old girl, realizing her captors have killed before, seizes an opportunity to make her escape. In doing so, she likely saved many other lives.  The 2016 psyc...

You’ve likely heard or used the phrase “problem child” in discussing a kid who creates challenges at home, school, or elsewhere, but in some families a parent (or two!) can be the kindling for chaos. In this episode, Escape Pod co-host Charity describes life in her household through her teenage years, how higher education (and her bedroom window) helped her escape those unhealthy cycles, and how i...

Poop Duty: Shart Art on display and the people who have to deal with it – Ep. 4  We’re heavy on the “aumedy” of traumedy in this episode of the Escape Pod! People “unload” their problems in a variety of ways. Podcast guest Chad, a veteran of the human services sector, brings some humor to the Escape Pod with true tales of bad bathroom behavior taken to new lows – sometimes even to public spaces. W...

Summary of Episode  April 2014: The “bubble” that is Murrysville, PA, bursts when a 16-year-old student goes on a mass stabbing rampage at a local high school, injuring nearly two dozen people but traumatizing many more in the school and community. On this episode, co-hosts Charity and Julie welcome a guest into the Escape Pod – a mom whose son witnessed and escaped the horror in the hallways that...

Summary of Episode  An estimated 1 in 12 teens are victims of dating violence. In this episode, Escape Pod co-host Charity shares her own experience with a high school boyfriend who, on their first (and last) anniversary, made her fear for her life; plus, a Pennsylvania teen tries to end a relationship but meets a tragic end at a train station; and we offer a few tips to help people, regardless of...

The Gist of It: Podcast co-host Charity wants to escape her 13-year-old self, a girl who – in trying to gain the attention of her father and friends – tested a theory involving a bottle rocket and a school bus. Find out if her experiment worked and hear about other tales of true crime on the premier episode of the Escape Pod, “The Wheels on the Bus Go Bang, Bang, Bang”.    Resources & Links  A...

Meet Julie and Charity. They both work at OneHeart, a 4-acre transformation campus with this mission: Empowering people to overcome crisis and achieve self-sustainability. The purpose of the OneHeart transformation campus is to elevate the human spirit and the spirit of the Rapid City community. By providing transitional housing and co-locating a variety of services - from addiction and mental hea...