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The Hypnotist, Part 1 (Revisited) Nov 10, 2026

Show notes

When I was eight months old, I pulled a rice cooker full of boiling water and oil off the kitchen counter, and it spilled down the left side of my body. I still have the third-degree burn scars, but I have no memory of it happening. So I booked a session with a hypnotherapist in Raleigh to see if regressive hypnosis could take me back to that kitchen.

Before I go under, I try to answer a question: what is hypnosis, really? Listeners tell me how it helped them quit smoking, switch careers, and get through childbirth without an epidural. A hypnotist tells me what she believes the mind can heal.

This is Part 1 of a four-part series. Keep listening on Spotify:

Who’s Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey is back with three new episodes. Part 19 is available on Patreon right now: https://www.patreon.com/pretendradio/posts/whos-afraid-of-174853114. Everyone else can hear it next week.

Have you been hypnotized? Send me a voice memo at javier@thisispretend.com.

Get early access and bonus content:
PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

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The Babalawo - Secrets of Santeria Revisited Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

Growing up Catholic in Miami, I heard all kinds of stories about Santeria. People talked about dead chickens on doorsteps, curses, and spirits taking over people’s bodies. Even the people who didn’t practice it all said the same thing: “I don’t believe in Santeria, but I respect it.” That’s enough to terrify a little Cuban kid, and honestly, it still scares me.

So I went back to my hometown to face that fear. My mom is a lifelong Catholic who has quietly started visiting a babalawo (or babalao, as we say in Miami), and she takes me to meet Fernando, the Santeria priest who told her things she swears he had no way of knowing. Santeria, also known as Lucumí or Regla de Ocha, is an Afro-Cuban religion with roots in West Africa’s Yoruba culture. Fernando explains how enslaved people in Cuba kept their orishas alive behind the faces of Catholic saints. Then he takes me to a botanica hidden in a residential neighborhood, where the animals for sacrifice wait in their cages.

I also sit down with Cynthia Duncan, Ph.D., a scholar of Cuban culture who is also an initiated priestess. She explains what the orishas are, why the rituals are secret on purpose, what really happens during an animal sacrifice, and whether Santeria can ever be used to hurt someone.

This episode first aired back when the show was called Pretend Radio. College professors still play it in their classrooms, and it’s still one of the most personal stories I’ve ever told.

About our guest: Cynthia Duncan, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Hispanic Studies at the University of Washington Tacoma. She has spent more than 35 years studying Latin American literature, film and culture, with a focus on Mexico and the Hispanic Caribbean. She wrote Unraveling the Unreal: Fantastic Fictions in Latin America (Temple University Press, 2010). She is an initiated priestess of Ochún and part of the religious community in Palmira, Cuba, and the city of Cienfuegos named her a Distinguished Daughter in 2005.

Get early access and bonus content:
PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva

Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

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The Stalker: Fit to Stand Trial? Part 24 Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

According to police, Shelbey Fernandez ran a stalking campaign for years. She used burner numbers, fake accounts and fake 911 calls. She asked Google how detectives trace a texting app, how long a burner number lasts, and whether police can tell when you’ve hidden a phone during a search warrant. Prosecutors charged her with 29 counts.

Her parents describe someone else. For years, Tanya and Rick have told me their daughter has the mentality of a 12-year-old. She watches blooper videos and Dancing with the Stars. She couldn’t possibly be behind any of this.

Now a judge has to decide which Shelbey is standing in his courtroom. Four days after her arrest, her lawyer asked the court whether she’s even competent to stand trial. Two experts examined her. Their reports are sealed. And if she isn’t competent, Arizona doesn’t simply drop the case. It tries to teach her how to stand trial, one lesson at a time.

On October 1, the judge made his decision, and I have the audio.

I also share what the latest on Rick’s court file. Plus, a conversation with Susan and Brittni, recorded in the weeks after the arrest.

Shelbey has pleaded not guilty, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

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The Prophet: A Word of Faith Fellowship Minister Back in Court, 13 Years Later Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

A 19-year-old says members of his church held him down, choked him, and beat him for two hours, trying to cast out what they called his “homosexual demons.” That was in 2013. Thirteen years, a mistrial, and countless delays later, the minister accused of leading it is finally back in court.

I drove to Asheville, North Carolina, to be there. Inside the courtroom, members of Word of Faith Fellowship filled three rows, and some of the kids the minister once raised sat with her accuser. You’ll hear from Matthew Fenner, the district attorney, and former members who say they were there that night, along with my own 2018 conversation with the minister, Brooke Covington, and church leader Jane Whaley. The church denies any abuse.

Word of Faith Fellowship was the very first story I told on PRETEND. This is how it ends, at least for now.

New to the story? Go back to the beginning with Season 3 of PRETEND, “The Prophet,” where I first went inside Word of Faith Fellowship, met Jane Whaley, and heard from the former members who walked away. Find every episode at thisispretend.com or wherever you’re listening now.

Binge All 12 Episodes:

https://thisispretend.com/seasons/word-of-faith-fellowship/#episodes

Credits

Hosted, reported, and produced by Javier Leiva

Edited and mixed by Puneeth, Podcast Pundits

Music by Joe Basile, thechicken.net

Special thanks to Matthew Fenner, Sarah Anderson, Rachael Bryant, Danielle Cordes, Nancy Burnette, and Josh Farmer

PRETEND is a production of Creative Babble LLC.

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The Gypsy Rose Obsession, Part 10 Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

When Gypsy Rose Blanchard was a little girl, the thing that comforted her most was her mother's touch. In the final episode of The Gypsy Rose Obsession, I ask Gypsy when that changed. I also track down the attorney who drew up a power of attorney for Gypsy in 2013, and she tells me Dee Dee came into her office claiming her 22-year-old daughter was mentally disabled and asking for guardianship.

Then I follow the money in the Gypsy Rose economy. Sir Morbid X, the YouTuber who helped build the anti-Gypsy corner of the internet, tells me he now wants to tear it down. I also talk with Audacious Audrey, Fancy Macelli, Brande from the Dragon's Den, and Nancy Simpson from The Toll. Longtime listener Rebecca Catalfu tells me how her opinion of Gypsy swung back and forth over ten episodes, and my friend Andrew Barbari asks the question many people have wondered about: why such a violent death? I close the series with what I think is the most truthful thing Gypsy ever told me.

Go to thisispretend.com to contact me, find every episode, and find the latest news on the cases we've covered. For more, get early episodes and bonus content on PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts, or join the PRETEND Patreon and become part of our Discord community. You can also watch the video version of my Gypsy interview on YouTube at @pretendpod. Everything is linked at thisispretend.com.

PRETEND is written and produced by Javier Leiva. This episode was edited by Puneeth Shenoy with Podcast Pundits, and our theme music is by Joe Basile with thechicken.net. Credits were read by Lexi, a PRETEND Patreon supporter.

PRETEND is a Creative Babble production.

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Nobody Should Believe Me: The Case of Dr. John Cox Oct 10, 2026

Show notes

This week I'm handing the feed over to Andrea Dunlop and her show, Nobody Should Believe Me. Andrea has spent years covering medical child abuse, and she came to the subject through her own family.

In 2019, Dr. John Cox, an ER physician at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, brought his adoptive infant daughter to her pediatrician with an injured arm. Within months, he was charged with abusing her. NBC News covered his case as a wrongful accusation. Andrea went back to the records, talked to the prosecutor who filed the charges, and found a much more complicated story than the one that made headlines.

This is part one of a four-part special report. Follow Nobody Should Believe Me wherever you get your podcasts to hear the rest, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Patreon to binge the full series ad free.

nobodyshouldbelieveme.com

Content warning: this episode discusses the abuse of an infant.

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The Gypsy Rose Obsession, Part 9 Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

When Gypsy Rose Blanchard announced she was pregnant, the internet opened an investigation. The woman who spent her childhood trapped inside her mother's medical lies was now raising a daughter of her own.

In this episode, I look at what the research actually says about the cycle of abuse, and at what happens when a mother is watched as closely as Gypsy is. Strangers called CPS over a livestream and a baby with colic. Someone pulled her daughter's shot records from a state database and put them on TikTok. I talk to one of the women who made a CPS report, I go looking for whoever put a baby's medical records on the internet, and I ask Gypsy where she thinks the line is between protecting a child and isolating one.

Content note: This episode discusses child abuse and contains strong language.

Sources and further reading

Cathy Spatz Widom, Sally J. Czaja and Kimberly A. DuMont, "Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: Real or detection bias?" Science (2015): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25814584/
Cathy Spatz Widom, "The Cycle of Violence," Science (1989): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2704995
Fleming S. Pedroso et al., "The Diving Reflex in Healthy Infants in the First Year of Life," Journal of Child Neurology (2012): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21881008/
Louisiana Children's Code, Article 609, Mandatory and permitted reporting: https://www.legis.la.gov/LEGIS/Law.aspx?d=73201

Written and hosted by Javier Leiva
Edited by Puneeth Shenoy with The Podcast Pundits
Theme music by Joe Basile, thechicken.net

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BONUS: How Doctors Diagnose Medical Child Abuse Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

How does a doctor actually decide that a parent is making their child sick? Dr. John Melville is a child abuse pediatrician, president of the Ray E. Helfer Society, and one of the people who helped write the board exam that certifies child abuse pediatricians.

In this bonus episode, he walks me through how medical child abuse is diagnosed. He explains the difference between Munchausen by proxy, factitious disorder imposed on another, and medical child abuse. And he answers the criticism that child abuse pediatricians are self-appointed experts who took a short course and now override the specialists who know the patient best.

He also talks about what happens when he's wrong, in either direction, and about the myth that a child who's been abused is broken forever.

Dr. Melville has cerebral palsy, which affects his speech. He asked me to mention it up front.

Note: I didn't ask Dr. Melville about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, and he hasn't studied her case. He speaks here only about his own work, and for himself, not for any organization.

Written and hosted by Javier Leiva
Theme music by Joe Basile, thechicken.net

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BONUS: Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Partner Ken Urker Has Died Oct 03, 2026

Show notes

Ken Urker, Gypsy Rose Blanchard's partner and the father of their daughter, Aurora, died on October 1, 2026, his 34th birthday. The sheriff is still investigating, and no official cause of death has been released. Gypsy has said publicly that she believes it was an overdose, and that she doesn't know whether it was intentional or accidental. Throughout The Gypsy Rose Obsession, Gypsy told me that Ken was struggling with relentless online harassment. The night he died, she texted me three words: "They killed him." In this bonus episode, I talk about what we know so far, who Ken was to Gypsy, what the research says about online harassment, and why I'm worried about Aurora and Gypsy. Whatever you think about Gypsy, a little girl lost her dad this week. Before you post about a real person, remember that a real person is reading it. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Learn more: https://thisispretend.com/blog/gypsy-rose-ken-urker-death/

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The Gypsy Rose Obsession, Part 8 Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Gypsy Rose Blanchard thought no one was listening.

For years, everything she said from inside Chillicothe was being recorded. Now it's public. More than five hundred hours of it.

Some of those recordings broke through on social media, because on them Gypsy and her now ex-husband Ryan can be heard using racial slurs. She eventually apologized publicly for it.

But that's not the part that got me. It's what she says about her mother, when there's no camera on and no reason to give a polished answer.

Fair warning. This one is rough.

Content warning: racist language and racial slurs, child abuse, sexual content involving a child, murder, and self-harm.

Written and Produced by Javier Leiva

Edited by Puneeth Shenoy | Podcast Pundits https://www.podcastpundits.com/

Music by Joe Basile | thechicken.net

Get early access and bonus content

PRETEND+ on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/pretend/id6443456985

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/pretendradio

Learn More:

thisispretend.com

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