Uncover: Escaping NXIVM

Good day podcast world!

Can you believe that September is almost over?! It really feels like it flew by, and the fact that my city has already experienced snowfall is not only mildly heart-breaking, but feels like we’re skipping over Fall altogether.

What better way to soothe your post-summer blues then to get into a new investigative podcast series? That’s what I’ve been up to, and I really wanted to share my recent find.

If you’ve listened to and enjoyed other CBC Podcasts like Someone Knows Something and Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo, then Uncover: Escaping NXIVM is something you’re going to want to queue up in your app.

NXIVM (“Nexium”) claims to be a self-help group with a mission statement of “ethical humanitarian civilization”, but allegations that the group is actually a cult have been widespread.

This podcast series investigates the group and its leader Keith Raniere, while following the story of former member Sarah Edmondson and the events that made her realize she had to escape.

So far I’ve really been enjoying this podcast. It keeps me on my toes and I just find it really fascinating how some people are able to take advantage of the powerful need humans have to belong to something. It dives into the mindset of vulnerable people who get caught up in these seemingly humanitarian groups promoting this message of community, that end up being harmful and controlling cults.

And many of the things that Sarah describes are just disturbing, such as being branded when she accepted an invitation to be initiated into a secret women’s group called DOS. Surrounding NXIVM are allegations of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, but in her 12 years of being a top level recruiter for the group, Sarah ignored all of the red flags warning her that something  was wrong.

CBC Podcasts are always pretty extensive in their research, and they do discuss the viewpoint of Keith Raniere via his lawyer, later in the investigation. I personally am a fairly skeptical person and kind of had a hard time taking what Keith’s lawyer was saying seriously, but I’m sure there will be differing opinions on that particular episode.

It’s a very interesting series that makes you want to hear more after every episode, but just keep in mind that there are some messages that come up early on that you may strongly disagree with that could be hard to listen to, such as NXIVM’s attitude towards women and their role in the community.

Head on over to your favorite go-to podcast app and subscribe to Uncover: Escaping NXIVM. Let me know what you think by commenting below, or come find me on social media if you want to chat about it!

You can find me on Facebook or Twitter, or you can come join the PodcastMind Community and talk about all of your favorite podcasts!

If you like this then you’ll also enjoy Cults by the Parcast Network, which explores the minds of cult followers and the leaders that start them.

Until next time my friends,

Jill