
American Nightmares: The Canal Murders
CLOSER LOOK, E1 - Get Over It, Kids are Resilient
Coming soon to iPhone. Already have it? “Listen in Starcast” takes you straight there.
On this episode
About this episode
After the events of Gardens of Evil, the story doesn’t end for the survivors.In the first episode of our bonus series A Closer Look, we examine the lasting psychological impact of growing up inside the Zion Society cult. Survivors describe a childhood defined by constant monitoring, shame, and control—where even a child’s body weight was tied to spiritual worthiness.Host Mike King speaks with survivors about the lifelong effects of coercive control: broken trust, complicated family relationships, and the challenges of parenting after trauma. Cult expert and sociologist Dr. Janja Lalich also joins the conversation to explain how cult recruitment works, why people stay, and why it can take…