Infamous

We examine trouble in the Boston school system, particularly the Boston Student Advisory Council, when a youth worker was found practicing co-counseling with minors without parental consent. We hear the story of student Keondre McClay, who felt pressured to attend an overnight retreat where he was asked by white adults to physically express his emotions as a way to address his trauma from racial e...

In this episode, we explore Re-evaluation Counseling (RC), a group that promotes emotional release as a way to heal psychological wounds. Originating in the 1950s, RC encourages individuals to process their emotions through crying, shaking, or laughing, while also framing itself as a movement for social change. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTh...

Natalie's talking today to Pulitzer Prize-winner Emily Nussbaum, author of bestselling book Cue the Sun, about reality TV. From Love Island to Scandoval to Love is Blind, reality TV is more than a guilty pleasure - it's a powerful mirror of society itself. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts....

How did the leader of Tesla and SpaceX turn into a late-night Twitter addict? A onetime tech optimist, Elon, father of 12 children and all around angsty guy, has a darker cast of mind today. Natalie talks to Ryan Mac, who co-authored Character Limit, a book about Elon and Twitter. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherev...

Matthew Perry was a beloved star making a million dollars an episode on Friends. But he could never shake his addiction to drugs, and died at 54 years old after taking ketamine in his backyard hot tub. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment...

Lululemon’s expensive leggings propelled the company to a $29 billion market cap and made its founder, Chip Wilson, a billionaire. But Lululemon also has had its fair share of scandals, including some comments from Chip about who should – or should not – wear its clothes. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you ge...

Can we trust our own memories? Vanessa and Natalie hear from memory experts to dig into the ideas of repressed and false memory that came up in the Kelly Michaels story. They also discuss how the themes in this story are still relevant today – from Lil Nas X to Pizzagate. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you ge...

After years in prison, Kelly is finally free. But what about those on the other side of the table? Does it matter whether or not Kelly is innocent, if they believe she isn’t? Experts weigh in on the role memory plays in cases like Kelly’s, and what the Satanic panic can teach us about the moral panics of today.  Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetT...

Not long ago, Kelly Michaels was a daycare worker and aspiring actor; now, she’s locked in a prison cell, in solitary confinement, struggling to hold on to her sanity. Meanwhile, some journalists and activists are beginning to see a pattern in all the bizarre allegations against daycare workers around the country — and they take an interest in Kelly’s case. Something smells fishy, and they soon he...

Advances in developmental psychology dispel the popular belief that children should be seen and not heard. And as news reports surface of danger, parents are anxious to hear what their kids have to say. When a child from Wee Care Nursery School mentions something suspicious about his former teacher, Kelly, the authorities leap into action. Accusations multiply, and suddenly, parents aren’t just li...

For Kelly Michaels, all of history is a Tolkien-like battle between a small number of heroes and villains. Most of us are hobbits — the in-between folks, just trying to get by. Kelly, who makes a modest living at Wee Care Nursery School in Maplewood, New Jersey, considers herself an ordinary hobbit. That is, until she — like Frodo — gets swept up in a battle, as panic sweeps the nation over a surg...

How did a shy teenager from North Carolina become one of the biggest YouTubers in the world, making more than 80 million dollars a year? In this episode, Vanessa talks to Proof News founder Julia Angwin, plus MrBeast expert, her eight-year-old son, to discuss MrBeast’s superfame and the new genre he pioneered: philanthropy as entertainment. Read more about Julia's new venture and how she is remaki...

From wage discrimination to dangerous weight loss methods to personal safety concerns, the scandals that have rocked the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders over the past half century touch on almost every issue in contemporary feminist discourse.  This week, Vanessa and Natalie talk to Sarah Hepola, creator of the Texas Monthly podcast America’s Girls and author of Blackout: Remembering the Things I Dran...

After a multi-year hiatus, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has returned, but it’s nothing like it used to be. Natalie attended the show in 2015 with celebs like Kris Jenner and Selena Gomez, but a lot has happened to the brand since then, including the bombshell revelation about the owner Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Vanessa reunites with Fallen Angel co-creator Justine Harman to tell...

Earlier this year, a door fell blew off of a Boeing 737 Max mid-flight, and there's now a massive investigation into Boeing, one of the largest producers of airplanes in the world. This wasn’t the first time a Boeing plane malfunctioned during a flight – in fact, it turns out the company has been nosediving for years. Aviation writer Jeff Wise tells us what happened at Boeing, what’s being done ab...

Ruby and Jodi are both serving their prison sentences, but was this tragic story a microcosm of a larger problem? Vanessa and Natalie listen back to some new jail tapes and other audio recordings and discuss the difficult question of who is ultimately responsible for what happened — and what it will take to protect children online in the future. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show pa...

This episode is free on 7/11. After they are arrested for harming Ruby's children, Ruby and Jodi head to court to fight the charges against them. Ruby seemingly has another revelation, one that leads her to turn on Jodi. But who is really to blame for all the abuse? Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your...

This episode is free on 7/4. Through a series of religious visions, Jodi and Ruby become convinced that there is a war between good and evil, and that Ruby's children are agents of the devil. They begin to treat the kids with a new level of cruelty. With Ruby’s husband Kevin estranged, who will save them? Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge...

This episode is free on 6/27. Ruby's parenting techniques start to spark backlash online, and when her YouTube career collapses, Ruby joins Jodi's Connexions empire. We take a deep dive into Jodi's family therapy business and hear from some of her past clients, including Ruby's husband Kevin, who reveals that something very strange is going on with Jodi. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamou...

Ruby gains a reputation for being strict with her kids, in contrast to the popular practice of gentle parenting. But when she starts having trouble with her eldest son, and with her husband Kevin, Ruby turns to a Mormon family therapist named Jodi Hildebrandt. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podca...

Stay-at-home mom Ruby Franke starts a YouTube channel, joining a popular niche of Mormon women sharing their lives online as mommy vloggers. While Ruby gains a following for her videos of the everyday life of a big Mormon family, we hear from Ruby's former neighbor, who sensed that something dark was going on in her home. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or...

Technology and culture writer Taylor Lorenz joins Vanessa and Natalie to discuss TikTok, its addictive algorithm, and what’s behind the U.S. ban of the app. Is TikTok really an instrument of insidious espionage and control, or are lawmakers just scared of Gen Z activism? What will banning the app really mean—and what precedent will it set? Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on...

This week we’re talking about girlbosses, a very specific set of highly-marketable young women who ran businesses like Glossier, Nasty Gal, and The Wing. Where did the Girlboss come from? Is she a second-wave feminist nightmare dressed like a daydream? And what led to her downfall? Marisa Meltzer, the author of Glossy: The Inside Story of Glossier, joins us. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Inf...

Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Tom Holland, Michelle Obama — these are just some of the celebrities who’ve fallen under the spell of Jay Shetty, the former monk whose journey to digital superstardom has recently come under fire. Peel back the Instagram filters and you’ll start to see allegations of plagiarism and bizarre half-truths. This week, Vanessa talks to John McDermott — the journalist who...

Tensions worsen between Tory and Chris after Chris launches his own fashion company, C. Wonder. The two battle it out in court before reaching a private settlement and continuing to their next ventures. Subscribe to The Binge to get all episodes of Infamous: Retail Revenge ad-free right now. Click ‘try free’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit G...