Defeating The Darkness

The story of Table 23 comes to its final chapter. In this episode, Heather Brown and Tom Masline finish the remarkable story of Winston. The man who saw something in a young waitress and decided to change the trajectory of her life. What began with a conversation at a restaurant table turned into something extraordinary. Winston didn’t just offer encouragement. He removed every obstacle standing i...

In Part 2 of  Table 23 , Heather continues the story that quietly shaped the rest of her life. What began as a college student waitressing at a family restaurant in Marina del Rey turned into something far bigger. Every day at table 23 sat four men who would unknowingly play a pivotal role in her future. Among them was “Winston” — the chain-smoking regular with sharp wit, deep pockets, and an unex...

Before the courtroom. Before the cases. Before the podcast. There was a moment that changed everything. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Heather sits down with her close friend Tom Masline to share the story that radically altered the direction of her life. It is the origin story most people have never heard. Heather opens up about the season that led her to leave everything familiar behind an...

Three’s Company Kevin. Salberg. Nick. What could possibly go wrong? In this episode, Heather is joined once again by Kevin and Salberg but this time her son, Nick Brown, pulls up a chair. What starts as laughs and friendly chaos quickly turns into something deeper. Nick shares his college football journey. The grind. The setbacks. The growth. The moments that tested him and the people who stood be...

In this episode, Heather is joined by her friends Salberg and Kevin Smith for a candid, sometimes unbelievable conversation about criminals who made it far too easy to get caught. From sloppy mistakes to head-scratching decisions, they break down real cases where arrogance, laziness, and pure bad judgment turned crimes into cautionary tales. But beneath the humor is a serious reminder: criminal be...

In Part 2 of Heather Brown’s conversation with Stuart Haskin, the discussion goes deeper into what real safety, recovery, and empowerment actually look like in everyday life. Stuart shares how Get Safe works alongside survivors, families, and professionals to help people reclaim their voice after trauma. From child safety and situational awareness to dating red flags, boundaries, and the power of...

In Part 1 of this two-part Get Safe series, Heather Brown sits down with Stuart Haskin, founder of Get Safe USA, reserve lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and nationally recognized safety educator. Stuart’s journey into safety work did not start in law enforcement. It started with personal trauma. As a young boy, he survived a violent attack that would later shape his life’s...

In this episode of Defeating the Darkness, the roles are reversed. Former FBI agent Tom Brown takes the lead and sits down with his wife, former homicide and sexual assault prosecutor Heather Brown, to talk about her new book, Defeating the Darkness. Heather shares why she wrote the book and who it is truly for. Survivors who are carrying shame that was never theirs. Parents who want to protect th...

In this episode of Defeating the Darkness, Heather Brown sits down with Peter Finnerty to examine how abuse of power rarely begins with violence. It begins with silence, status, and a lack of accountability. Rather than focusing only on the final act, this conversation pulls the lens back to expose the warning signs that were present long before everything unraveled. Together, they explore how aut...

In Part 2 of this two-part series, Heather Brown is joined again by former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Brian Gurwitz. This time after the trial has concluded. Following the release of Part 1, which was recorded more than a year before the case went to trial, Heather and Brian return to break down what actually happened in court. They examine the prosecution’s strategy, the defense’s a...

This is Part 1 of a two-part series that was recorded more than a year ago and intentionally held back until now. In this episode, Heather Brown sits down with fellow former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Brian Gurwitz to examine the shocking case of Orange County Judge Jeffrey Ferguson, who was charged with the murder of his wife, Cheryl Ferguson. At the time this conversation was recor...

In Part 2 of our series with cold case investigator Bob Taft, we step into a case that stretches across decades, countries, and generations. The disappearance of a young mother whose remains were discovered in 1983, but whose identity remained unknown for nearly 40 years. This episode follows the extraordinary journey of Dawn, a daughter who grew up believing her mother abandoned her. She didn’t k...

Cold case investigator Bob Taft returns for a powerful two-part series, beginning with one of the most unsettling cases of his career. The death of a ten-month-old baby girl left with an unlicensed babysitter in 1982.From the start, nothing about the babysitter’s story aligned with the physical evidence. The injuries were severe. The timelines didn’t match. Key details changed. And critical steps...

In this hilarious episode, Heather Brown sits down with her friend Salberg to uncover some of the strangest, most ridiculous laws that are still technically on the books today. From laws about hunting and fishing to rules that will make you say, “Wait, that’s real?” This episode reminds us that sometimes the best way to shine light in the darkness is with laughter. Heather and Salberg bring humor...

The Night Everything Changed: Honoring the 24 Who Never Came HomePart 2 of this special Veterans Day series brings you into the most defining night of Richard M. King’s service. The coordinated attack on March 31, 1968, that claimed the lives of 24 young Americans. In this episode, King walks Heather through the chaos of the ambush, the courage of the Seabees and Marines who held the line, and the...

In this special two-part Veterans Day episode, Heather Brown sits down with the Richard M. King. A man whose journey from the battlefields of Vietnam to the California courtroom is marked by courage, loss, and a lifelong sense of duty. Before becoming a prosecutor and judge, Richard King was just 19, a young man from the Midwest who enlisted in the Navy Seabees during the Vietnam War. In this firs...

In this continuation of her story, Jolene returns to share what healing looks like after surviving the life. From escaping exploitation to building a new identity, she reveals how community, faith, and holistic health helped her find freedom and purpose again. Heather Brown and Jolene discuss breaking generational cycles, the importance of physical activity in trauma recovery, and the role of comm...

At 18, Jolene met a man at Union Station who told her she was beautiful. What began as kindness turned into control and a decade of manipulation, exploitation, and pain. In this raw and courageous conversation, Heather Brown sits down with Jolene, a survivor who escaped the sex industry, rebuilt her life, and found faith, freedom, and purpose beyond the darkness. Jolene shares her journey from “th...

In this chilling episode, Heather Brown sits down again with Dr. Leslie Dobson. Clinical and forensic psychologist, author, and host of Intentionally Disturbing. Here they'll unpack how online grooming can twist vulnerable minds toward the unthinkable. This isn’t about politics... it’s about the loss of life and the growing danger of digital radicalization. Together, Heather and Dr. Dobson exp...

Some stories are hard to hear but that’s exactly why they need to be told. In this chilling and necessary conversation, Dr. Leslie Dobson joins Heather to expose the unseen world of sexual abuse, trauma, and what really happens when the Dr. is in session. As a forensic psychologist, Dr. Dobson has worked with attackers, survivors, law enforcement, and the court system to not only help people heal...

When the bombs went off at the 2013 Boston Marathon, the world watched in horror. But behind the headlines was a team of federal agents racing against time to track down the perpetrators and former FBI agent Kristen Von KlonSmid was one of them. In this gripping episode, Kristen joins Heather to share what it was really like to be on the ground during one of the most intense manhunts in American h...

Former SWAT operator and FBI agent Tom Brown returns to Defeating the Darkness with more stories from the frontlines. From training with flashbangs and shotguns to the chilling reality of the “funnel of death,” Tom breaks down the tactics, dangers, and split-second decisions that define survival in high-risk situations. He also shares wild behind-the-scenes moments, including FBI training trips to...

In this episode of Defeating the Darkness, Heather Brown sits down with John Kelly, the larger-than-life founder of Kelly’s Smoke Shop in Tustin. From opening his tobacco shop at just 17, to becoming the youngest city councilman in Tustin at 24, John’s story is packed with history, politics, colorful characters, and a lifelong passion for tobacco culture. He shares wild tales about the rise of clo...

What happens when your loved one is on trial but you’re the one seeking justice? In this special episode of Defeating the Darkness, Heather Brown sits down with criminal defense attorney Michael Molfetta to talk about the cases you don’t see on the news. The ones where families come to him not because they believe their loved one is innocent, but because they believe they still deserve a fair tria...

After surviving a near-fatal undercover sting, former FBI agent Rob Preijers stepped out from behind the badge. In Part 2 of this powerful two-part series, Rob sits down with Heather to share the next chapter of his story: chasing mafia bosses, investigating spies, and ultimately turning his attention to the mental health crisis inside law enforcement. Rob pulls back the curtain on his time in cou...