Nobody Should Believe Me

Welcome to the final installment of True Story Media Presents! This week Andrea is talking to Wendy and Beth, the creators behind Fruitloops: Serial Killers of Color. The three of them chat about how they first met and what drove Wendy and Beth to dive into true crime podcasting. They reflect on the shared thread of how cultural and societal ideals shape policy and how that engages with true crime...

LaDonna Humphrey. Remember that name because she is central to this story. I've tried to sum up this tale quickly, but every time I attempt an elevator pitch, I fail. When friends ask me what this new series is about, I'm at a loss for words. It's impossible to explain in just a few minutes. I'm about to retell the story the way I learned it: completely out of order. By the end, you'll need a susp...

In the third installment of True Story Media Presents, Andrea sits down with Javier Leiva—host and creator of PRETEND. The two talk about how they first connected, their new partnership under True Story Media, and the overlapping themes in their work. They dig into the emotional toll of telling true crime stories, and Javier shares his path from local news and documentary filmmaking into the world...

September 1998 brought a chilling moment in Bismarck, North Dakota, when 17-year-old Aimee walked into the police station. She suspected her boyfriend, Brian Erickstad, had harmed his parents. A welfare check was meant to set things straight — but it uncovered something far worse. Episode 1, A Little Red Car, introduces Barbara and Gordon Erickstad’s case, a North Dakota true crime story that expo...

In this special crossover, Andrea talks with James Wolner, creator of Dakota Spotlight—another show in her True Story Media network—about how a rumor in a rural North Dakota bar led him to pick up a microphone in 2019 and start chasing the truth. Together, Andrea and James dig into what it means to practice ethical reporting in a medium with no rules. James shares a case from season three of Dakot...

We’re kicking off our new series introducing the shows of True Story Media, Andrea’s ethical true crime network. In this conversation, Andrea sits down with Alvin, the host and creator of Affirmative Murder, to talk about the wild landscape of podcasting in 2025. They dive into questions of diversity and representation, the ethics of telling real-life stories, and what’s at stake when we shine a s...

This week, we hear more from Mishelle about the impact of The Guthy Jackson Foundation’s response to the revelations about Lisa McDaniel is having on her family. We examine how Lisa’s long tenure with the foundation shaped research, messaging, and trust in the NMO community, and what it means when one person’s deception ripples out so far.  We also hear from listener Bekah Rhea, whose perspective...

As the story of the McDaniel family continues to send shockwaves through the communities Lisa was involved with, we check in with Mishelle about what else has come to light and what her mother has been up to since the season aired.  We take a deeper dive into the of role of The Guthy Jackson Foundation–Lisa’s former employer– and cover how they’ve responded to the news about Lisa.  We also speak t...

Today we have a very special crossover episode with journalist and host/producer of The Con: Katilyn’s Baby, Sarah Treleaven. Sarah and Andrea recount how they met many years ago and the similarities in their work with Munchausen and Munchausen adjacent stories. Sarah reveals a personal story about how she got into this line of work. Kaitlyn’s Baby, is about a woman that had been serially fabricat...

Welcome to the Mike Weber Retirement Special! Mike gives us a brief glimpse into what he’s been up to since retirement and talks to Andrea about his experience publishing their co-authored novel, The Mother Next Door. Andrea asks Mike to give his thoughts on the Lisa McDaniel case from a law enforcement perspective, and he details his outreach to the Birmingham Police Department, stressing the imp...

We're unlocking an episode from the subscriber feed. Enjoy! *** This is the first part of Andrea and Dr. Bex’s coverage of the Peacock documentary series “Anatomy of Lies”. The show dives into the story of Elisabeth Finch, who was best known as a head writer on “Grey’s Anatomy”, and the lies that her life was built on. In their conversation about the first part of this docuseries, Andrea and Dr. B...

In our season finale, Andrea comes face-to-face with Lisa McDaniel, the woman at the center of this story when she arrives on her doorstep with television journalist Meredith Anderson to request an interview.  As they process the revealing conversation with Mishelle, they reflect on the ripple effects that this story has already had on the McDaniel family, and for Lisa’s former employer, the Guthy...

Mishelle recounts how she and her sister, Angellyn, stumbled upon their past medical and court records while helping Lisa and Carey move. This discovery prompted the sisters to reach out to people who could offer a perspective unfiltered by their mother’s influence: Judy, the PICU nurse who once treated Angellyn, and Bea Yorker, the Munchausen by proxy expert who testified against Lisa more than t...

On this week’s episode, we hear Mishelle’s phone call with Dr. Jayne Ness, Collin’s treating physician, who shares concerning insights into Collin’s treatment—notably, that she was never certain Collin had NMO and that she had serious concerns for abuse. Andrea then speaks with Dr. Kenneth Feldman, a Child Abuse Pediatrician and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington, abo...

As Lisa escalates Collin’s medication regimen and pushing for risky experimental treatments, we examine the gulf between Lisa’s reports of Collin’s symptoms and known cases of NMO.   We also see the beginning of Lisa’s connection to the Guthy Jackson Foundation, a high-profile non-profit, dedicated to NMO awareness and research. Collin’s condition rapidly declines, and he is placed on hospice care...

Mishelle describes her brother Collin as a vibrant little boy who loved to joke around and make people laugh. All of that changed, seemingly overnight. Sabrina and Mishelle walk Andrea through their memory of the timeline of Collin’s symptoms, and his eventual diagnosis with NMO (Neuromyelitis Optica). This recounting of events exposes some discrepancies in the family’s memory and Lisa’s public st...

We begin this week’s episode with a young Mishelle struggling to adjust to life with her grandparents, finding it difficult to accept both the separation from her parents and the reality of what her mother had done. Meanwhile, Lisa is in the midst of a police investigation, undergoing a psychological evaluation and attending therapy. We hear from Bea Yorker—an expert in Munchausen by Proxy and the...

Lisa’s second child, Angellyn, was born prematurely and in a medically fragile state. Mishelle and her aunt Sabrina recount a troubling pattern: just as Angellyn would be cleared for hospital discharge, doctors would abruptly reverse course, warning that she might not survive the night. Andrea speaks to a nurse, “Judy”, who was working in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the time of Ang...

This season on Nobody Should Believe Me, we tell the story of Lisa McDaniel, who crafted a public image as the Director of Patient Advocacy at the Guthy Jackson Foundation while concealing her conviction for child abuse more than a decade ago. We begin with an introduction to the McDaniel family: Lisa, her husband Carey, and their children—Mishelle, Angellyn, and Collin. While the unraveling of th...

This week on Nobody Should Believe Me, Andrea and Dr. Bex dive further into the allegations against Dr. Paolo Bolognese, discussing the whistleblower complaint that exposed unnecessary medical treatments as well as sexual harassment accusations. They explore how deceptive marketing and the glamorization of medical authority can lead to real harm—especially for patients with complex or misunderstoo...

Season 6 of Nobody Should Believe Me–out weekly starting June 19, available in full for subscribers at launch– covers the extraordinary and tragic saga of the McDaniel family, a real-life Southern Gothic tale of Munchausen by Proxy that spans decades and has left untold damage in its wake.  For the past twelve years, Lisa McDaniel worked for The Guthy Jackson Foundation, a high-profile non-profit,...

This week, Andrea and Dr. Bex dive into the controversial Dr. Paolo Bolognese, a neurosurgeon with a significant number of malpractice lawsuits and explore his role in the Rady Children's lawsuit.  Andrea and Dr. Bex also highlight the complexities of medical malpractice, particularly in neurosurgery, emphasizing the risks associated with experimental procedures and the importance of informed cons...

In the 4th part of our Case Files series on Rady Children’s, Andrea and Dr. Mary Sanders from Stanford University deep dive into the emotional and legal complexities of child abuse cases. They unpack how surveillance in hospital settings—while potentially life-saving—raises big questions around privacy and consent. The conversation also explores the difficult dynamics of teenage victims, how hard...

We left off in the previous episode with Madison Meyer being returned to her parents after more than a year in state custody—yet still hospitalized at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Today, Andrea and Bex unpack the complaint filed by her parents in 2021 and Madison’s own 2024 lawsuit.  *please note that this episode contains mentions of suicide and sexual assault of a minor.  For resources...

We're rereleasing an episode from our original coverage of the Kowalski case that was published on 11/7/2023. *** With a verdict in the case days away, host Andrea Dunlop unpacks some of what’s happened so far in the Kowalski v Johns Hopkins All Childrens trial with lawyer and trial consultant Jonathan Leach. They analyze the dueling opening statements, consider what each side is likely to look fo...