The Escape Pod

Valentine's Days So Bad, They’re Criminal – Ep. 55

A day set aside to celebrate love and romance ... what could possibly go wrong?! You know as well as we do, A LOT can go wrong on Valentine’s Day. Hop into The Escape Pod for a light-hearted episode about Valentine’s Day plans gone awry and gifts that left a lot to be desired. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1     4:07 The co-hosts share their views on Valentine’s Day 
Topic #2    9:31 Valentine’s Day stories: The good, the bad, and the funny 
Topic #3   18:28 The very dark history of the holiday 
Topic #4   27:55 Co-host's 20-year-old self ‘makes her move’ on Valentine’s Day 
 
Resources & Links 
The Origins of Valentine’s Day 
The Dark Origins of Valentine’s Day 
The Real History of Valentine’s Day Will Definitely Surprise You 
10 Bizarre Facts About Valentine’s Day 
Hilarious Valentine’s Stories 
 
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Liars and Aliens and Pedophiles, Oh My! – Ep. 54

A traveling salesman befriends a woman and her daughter Heidi in 1978. While Heidi sees “B” (his nickname) as a father-figure, B sees Heidi in a very different way. But, as is typical with child predators, she is not his only victim. In fact, several years earlier, B spent years wooing a girl in Idaho, and – get this! – seducing her parents, too. What level of charisma does it take to win over adults while simultaneously preying on their children? How did B escape the law for so long?? And what the heck do aliens have to do with any of this??? The co-hosts ask those questions and many more in this edition of The Escape Pod! 
 
BE ADVISED: This episode contains content involving child sexual abuse, kidnapping, and other topics listeners might find disturbing. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1     8:14 1978: Traveling salesman meets Heidi and her mom 
Topic #2   16:39 The “other girl” B was “seeing” 
Topic #3   26:10 Alien abductions? 
Topic #4   40:55 Jan starts realizing the truth about B 
Topic #5   54:30 Escapism, co-host-style! 
 
Resources & Links 
12.20.2022. Heidi Brewer. https://www.newsweek.com/heidi-brewer-robert-berchtold-abuse-jan-broberg-abducted-plain-sight-documentary-1768332 
10.12.2022. Heather Robinson. https://nypost.com/2022/10/13/meet-jan-broberg-the-real-double-kidnap-victim-from-a-friend-of-the-family/ 
Aaron Rasmussen. https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/sex-crimes/how-child-predator-robert-berchtold-kidnapped-actress-jan-broberg-twice-in-the-1970s  
Netflix Documentary: Abducted in Plain Sight 
 
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Serial Squatter Strikes Again – Ep. 53

There are terrible roommates, and then there’s THIS guy. For more than a decade, a man with extensive knowledge of squatters’ rights made life miserable for multiple people – a girlfriend, landlords, neighbors, even members of his own family. How was he able to get away with it for so long, and when did his serial squatting finally come to an end? Find out on this episode of The Escape Pod! 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1    6:45 2005: Houseguest refuses to leave 
Topic #2  19:20 2012: Woman's dream home becomes a nightmare 
Topic #3  24:47 2017: “Jed Creek” answers Craig’s List ad seeking roommate 
Topic #4  35:55 Bailed out 
 
Resources & Links 
https://www.netflix.com/title/81031682 
https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/the-shocking-murder-that-shaped-jamison-bachmans-life 
https://famewatcher.com/jamison-bachman-fraternity-friend-ken-gutzeit-worst-roommate-ever.html#google_vignette 
 
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The Long Game: Fighting crime by creating connections – Ep. 52

Police officers typically meet residents of high-crime neighborhoods on their worst days – when they’re either victims of crime or contributors to it – and providing long-term help and support while addressing the situation at hand is nearly impossible. That’s where the Rapid City Police Department’s Community Engagement Team steps in. Comprised of both non-uniformed officers and civilians, including a social worker, this team plays the long game, creating positive relationships with kids and families, supporting them in the wake of tragedies, and connecting them with community resources to help them escape the crises they face on an almost daily basis. So far, the results are impressive. Meet special guests and Community Engagement Team members Jamie and Miriam on this edition of The Escape Pod! 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1    6:13 How it started 
Topic #2  10:43 'Handle with Care’ 
Topic #3  24:33 Taking the model to a new neighborhood 
Topic #4  35:38 Strengthening our networks and our workforce with Gravitate 
 
Resources & Links 
Gravitate online employment platform: https://gravitate.work 
 
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Escape Artist Overcomes Trafficking, Trauma, Addiction, and More – Ep. 51

At age 5, she remembers being touched inappropriately; at 7, doing drugs for the first time; at 10, going into foster care, where she was a “lost child” until getting adopted in her teens. 
As an adult and addict at risk of losing her own children, Chari sought help in the fall of 2022 and began a remarkable transformation. Join Julie and Charity in The Escape Pod as they welcome this special guest and OneHeart "rock star" to share her inspiring story of overcoming trauma and choosing a better life for herself and her kids. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1    1:04 Escaping the Zoom video preview? One co-host wishes she had! 
Topic #2    6:01 Meet escape artist and special guest Chari 
Topic #3  23:12 The truth about human trafficking 
Topic #4  31:44 Chari talks OneHeart, safety, and why she’s able to thrive 
Topic #5  42:36 Creating healthy family connections 
 
Resources & Links 
Since its inception in 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received 909 signals and identified 175 cases of human trafficking in SD, with 579 identified victims. “South Dakota.” Accessed March 8, 2024. https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics/south-dakota. 
Information obtained from the SD Department of Public Safety (DPS) via a public records request notes that in SD state fiscal year 2022, DPS Victims’ Assistance funds supported 12 victims of labor trafficking and 258 victims of sex trafficking; in state fiscal year 2023, funds supported 24 victims of labor trafficking and 253 victims of sex trafficking. 
A 2018 report from the Human Trafficking Institute found that SD ranked 8th in the nation for number of new criminal cases initiated; 11th for number of active criminal cases; and 22nd for number of defendants convicted. 
“2018 Federal Human Trafficking Report.” Human Trafficking Institute. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://traffickinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2018-Human-Trafficking-Report-SD.pdf. 
Federal and state law enforcement have worked together to make nearly 100 arrests (primarily for attempted commercial sex trafficking of minors) from 2009 – 2023 during the Sturgis Rally. A total of 39 trafficking arrests were made from 2019-2023, 92% of whom were SD residents, demonstrating the state’s demand. 
Hope, Native. “Human Trafficking at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.” Accessed April 10, 2024. https://blog.nativehope.org/sex-trafficking-during-the-sturgis-motorcycle-rally. 
Of all U.S. cities, Rapid City, SD, has the ninth highest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cases not in law enforcement records. 
Lucchesi, Annita, and Abigail Echo-Hawk. “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.” Our Bodies, Our Stories. Urban Indian Health Institute. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.uihi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls-Report.pdf. 
In 2019, Shared Hope International released its annual “state report cards” on human trafficking responses and services. SD received a “D” grade—the lowest given to any state—due to gaps in statutes protecting and serving youth victims of sex trafficking, including connecting them with specialized services. 
Ferguson, Danielle. “South Dakota Ranks Lowest in National Report Card on Sex Trafficking.” Argus Leader. Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/11/20/south-dakota-ranks-lowest-national-report-card-sex-trafficking/4227721002/. 
 Call to Freedom Stats 
In 2023, CTF served 419 clients and their intersecting needs; of these, 86% were below the federal poverty line, 53% had experienced homelessness, and 38% identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. 
We’ve served over 1,400 clients since our founding in 2016, and the majority of those individuals were from—and trafficked within—South Dakota. 
In 2023, a total of 36 clients served by CTF stated that their perpetrator was a family/household member; an additional 28 stated it was a parent. 
 
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The Call: 12 year old escapes bowling alley massacre – Ep. 50

911: Emergency. 
Melissa, 12: Please help me ... We were all shot. 
A child, suffering from multiple bullet wounds, still manages to provide critical information to emergency dispatch in hopes of helping her mom and others gunned down at a New Mexico bowling alley in 1990. 
Join the co-hosts in The Escape Pod this week to hear the girl’s harrowing account and theories surrounding who was responsible for the massacre that, to this day, is considered an “open” case. 
  
BE ADVISED: This episode contains violent content, including discussion of a mass shooting. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1         :49 Co-host has a rough return after holiday break. 
Topic #2       8:43 Intro to the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre 
Topic #3    16:00 12-year-old escape artist calls 911 
Topic #5    24:04 Theories about why the bowling alley was targeted 
Topic #6    35:12 Escapism, co-host-style! 
 
Resources & Links 
911 Call Audio: https://soundcloud.com/crucessunnews/las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre-911-call-full-audio?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing  
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2022/02/10/las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre-reward-increased-32nd-anniversary/6704122001/  
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Las_Cruces_Bowling_Alley_Massacre  
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2010/02/10/1990-bowling-alley-massacre-leaves-4-dead-3-injured/31512615/ 
https://americancrimejournal.com/las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre/ 
https://audioboom.com/posts/8406445-murder-las-cruces-bowling-alley-massacre  
If you have any information, you can find the necessary resources online, or call the Las Cruces Police Department at 575-528-4222. 
Cruces Sun News file photo, Steven Teran and Melissa Repass. 
Paula Holguin, age 6 and Valerie Teran, age 2 Photo Courtesy: Las Cruces Police Department 
 
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HERsterical! Escaping Myths Surrounding Menstruation – Ep. 49

The curse. Aunt Flow. Code Red! Whatever you call it, women have been experiencing periods since women came to be; yet, historically, this “monthly visitor” has made people – mainly men, if we’re being honest – downright hysterical. (Case in point, the philosopher Plato compared the uterus to a “living creature” that wandered through a woman’s body wreaking havoc. Yikes!) The myths about menstruation are – indeed – wild, and even in modern times, products commonly used to help women cope with their periods have a long way to go. The co-hosts explore the topic in-depth (even throwing in a menstruation-related case of true crime) in this HERsterical edition of The Escape Pod! 
BE ADVISED: If you have a severe aversion to blood and other bodily fluids, you might want to skip this one, and if you're suffering from PMS, you’ll likely find this episode especially annoying. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1      5:32 Intro to topic: period products and menstruation myths 
Topic #2    18:25 Research – or lack thereof – on what is in period products 
Topic #3    26:19 Why is the topic still so taboo? A history lesson on “hysteria” 
Topic #5    43:05 PMS vs. PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) 
Topic #6 1:00:55 OneHeart “Woohoo of the Week” (Hear more in our latest guest testimonials at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prrst9TMvVY) 
 
Resources & Links 
12.15.2019. Christine Ro. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191213-pmdd-a-little-understood-and-often-misdiagnosed-condition 
https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/111219-sj-periodequity.pdf 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JATkdZ3hnlc  
07.11.2024. Sandee LaMotte. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/health/tampons-lead-arsenic-plastics-wellness/index.html  
02.09.2023. Jeffrey Kluger. https://time.com/6254060/pfas-period-chemicals-underwear-tampons/  
https://legal-forum.uchicago.edu/print-archive/menstrual-product-deprivation-prison-sex-neutral-litigation-strategy  
07.18.2024. Benjamin Plackett. https://cen.acs.org/safety/consumer-safety/researchers-found-arsenic-lead-tampons/102/web/2024/07  
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/the-controversy-of-female-hysteria 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria 
 
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Call Me ‘Fernando’ – Ep. 48

An email arrives in a nonprofit CEO’s inbox. The gist: An “investor” is interested in the work you do. He has connections to some of the country’s wealthiest people, and he’d like to leverage those connections to help you raise funds. The email looks legit, sounds promising, and a quick internet search raises no immediate red flags associated with the individual or his company. At least, not at first. BUT ... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, right? So the savvy CEO keeps digging and not only uncovers the con, but also the real name of the con artist who very charmingly introduces himself with the line, “Call me Fernando.” 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1    7:00 Topic of the Week: Escaping con artists. 
Topic #2  14:50 The red flags begin flapping like crazy! 
Topic #3  25:13 Fernando’s real name revealed. 
Topic #4  37:41 Tips to avoid similar cons. 
Topic #5  55:54 OneHeart Woohoos of the Week: Community-style! 
 
Resources & Links 
https://www.jitasagroup.com/jitasa_nonprofit_blog/common-nonprofit-scams/ 
https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/7p1c7l/maurice_aguirre_has_been_sentenced_to_prison/?rdt=33604  
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2018/01/06/forger-and-scam-artist-just-can-t-seem-to-give-up-his-trade/ 
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen-irs-warns-of-scammers-using-fake-charities-to-exploit-taxpayers 
Immediately file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). 
Contact the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721. 
Reach out to your state’s consumer protection office. 
Inform your bank immediately if you shared your account details with a scammer. 
credit: ABA Foundation; https://www.aba.com/advocacy/community-programs/consumer-resources/protect-your-money/charity-scams 
https://www.sbtadvantage.com/blog-posts/charity-scams  
https://www.dhsventures.com/governing-board  
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/11/14/2779872/0/en/DHS-Makes-Full-Acquisition-of-Carolco-Enterprises-for-745M-Fernando-Aguirre-Vice-Chairman-of-DHS-Ventures-Holdings-Announced.html  
https://www.cbinsights.com/company/carolco-enterprises 
 
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