In this episode, we dive into the disturbing, complicated, and often misrepresented case of Mary Kay Letourneau — the Washington teacher who groomed and sexually abused her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. Decades later, the story is still warped by media sensationalism, “tabloid romance” narratives, and cultural double standards around female perpetrators. We’re stripping away the myth to explore what actually happened, what was missed, and the lifelong impact on Vili.

We start by unpacking Mary Kay’s background: her rigid Catholic upbringing, political family steeped in hypocrisy, early signs of emotional instability, and the deep manipulation and performance she showed in interviews. Then we shift to Vili — a vulnerable, artistic kid navigating financial instability, craving connection, and completely unequipped for the adult dynamics Mary forced onto him.

From the illegal relationship itself to the 1997 arrest, plea deals, pregnancies, and the famous no-contact order violation, we detail the case through a mental-health and trauma-informed lens. We look at diagnoses like severe bipolar disorder, narcissistic traits, and emotional dysregulation.

Finally, we explore the long-term impact: the complicated marriage, the media’s warped portrayal, the trauma bond, their eventual separation, and the nuanced, heartbreaking interviews Vili gave after Mary Kay’s death. This episode is about abuse, delusion, coercive control, and the danger of romanticized narratives that ignore harm.

Content Warning: sexual abuse of a minor, grooming, exploitation, mental illness, and legal consequences.

Dennis Rader seemed like the last person you’d suspect: a church council president, a devoted father, a Boy Scout leader, and the neighborhood rule-enforcer who always waved hello. But behind the clean-cut façade lived one of America’s most methodical and narcissistic serial killers — the man who called himself BTK: Bind. Torture. Kill.

In this episode, Jess G and Lex break down the chilling duality that allowed Rader to hide in plain sight for over 30 years. We trace his early emotional deprivation, the development of an escalating fantasy life, and the compulsive need for control that shaped his violent “projects” — all while he maintained the image of a stable suburban family man.

We walk through the timeline of BTK’s murders, the letters that built his persona, and the long silences where he lived quietly among the very community he terrorized. We also unpack the psychological mechanisms behind his double life — compartmentalization, narcissism, ritualization — and how these ultimately paved the way for his downfall in one of the most bizarre arrests in true crime history: a floppy disk, a metadata blunder, and a killer convinced of his own invincibility.

Finally, we explore the family’s perspective, the generational impact of discovering your father is a serial murderer, and the complex grief and betrayal that followed.

Join us as we step into the unsettling world of BTK — a case that forces us to confront the monstrousness that can hide beneath everyday normalcy, and the terrifying power of a well-maintained mask.

Content Warning: homicide, torture, sexual deviance, psychological manipulation, familial trauma, deception

In 1957, the world met Ed Gein — a quiet farmer from Wisconsin whose crimes would forever change the landscape of horror. Though often mislabeled as a “serial killer,” Gein’s story sits at the eerie crossroads of delusion, grief, and obsession. His farmhouse was found filled with human remains repurposed into furniture, clothing, and masks — the product of a shattered psyche and a lifetime of religious abuse and isolation.

In this episode, we dive into the psychological underpinnings of Ed’s crimes, exploring his relationship with his domineering mother, his descent into psychosis, and how trauma and religious fanaticism shaped his distorted sense of morality. We also discuss the blurred line between delusion and evil intent — and how Gein’s story inspired some of America’s most iconic horror films, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.

Join us as we untangle the dark psychology behind one of true crime’s most infamous cases — and ask what our fascination with stories like Ed’s reveals about us.

Content Warning: severe mental illness, trauma, ghoulish violence, homicide