Author Andrea Dunlop is looking for answers. When her older sister was first investigated for Munchausen by Proxy abuse more than a decade ago, it tore her family apart. This catastrophic series of events sent Dunlop on a journey to understand this most taboo form of abuse. In this groundbreaking podcast, she talks to some of the top experts in the world to explore the criminology and psychopathology behind Munchausen by Proxy and to reveal the wide swath of destruction these perpetrators leave in their wake.
In each season, Dunlop investigates a case: speaking to friends, family members, doctors, law enforcement, child protection workers, and experts. Nobody Should Believe Me unravels these complex and terrifying stories, shedding light on an unspeakable crime.
"A rich and harrowing chronicle of the condition." --The New York Times
(LM032423)
Site
RSS
Apple
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
Welcome to the Season 3 mailbag episode! Andrea is joined by Dr. Bex (aka Secret Florida Doctor Friend), to sort through all the commentary and listener feedback from Season 3. They tackle the good, the bad, and the just plain weird from the comments, and answer burning questions about the Kowalski case. We hear what it was like to cover this case in real time and to go on the road to meet some of the key players. Come down the rabbit hole with us!
* * *
Preorder Andrea's new book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy.
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S03 E20: Kowalski Case Update with Ethen Shapiro
Season 3 · Episode 19
Thursday, May 16, 2024 • Duration 40:06
Join Andrea as she delves back into the ongoing legal battle of Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, with Ethen Shapiro, the lead defense attorney for Johns Hopkins All Children's. They discuss the grounds for a retrial based on allegations of juror misconduct and the potential chilling effect on mandatory reporters following the substantial amount of money awarded to the Kowalski family by the jury.
We also look at the the broader societal impacts on mandatory reporting and the protecting vulnerable children from abuse.
* * *
Get up to speed on the Kowalski case with our Kowalski Catch-Up Playlist on Spotify
Preorder Andrea's new book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy.
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening helps us keep making the show!
Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S03 E19: What Happened to Beata?
Season 3 · Episode 19
Thursday, May 9, 2024 • Duration 46:11
This week's episode delves into the intricate details surrounding Beata Kowalski's death, which was central to the Kowalski's lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's, as well as the documentary 'Take Care of Maya'. In court, Beata's death was presented as an act of maternal sacrifice and heroism. Through interviews and court deposition excerpts, we'll explore the odd circumstances leading up to and immediately after Beata's death that suggest a far more complex story might lie beneath the surface.
* * *
Get up to speed on the Kowalski case with our Kowalski Catch-Up Playlist on Spotify
Preorder Andrea's new book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy.
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening helps us keep making the show!
Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S03 E18: What Jack Knew
Season 3
Thursday, May 2, 2024 • Duration 40:43
As we prepare to launch Season Four next month, we’re revisiting the subject of Season Three—the landmark Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins All Children’s verdict, in which a jury awarded Jack Kowalski more than $200 million dollars in damages following the suicide of his wife Beata while their daughter Maya Kowalski was in state custody because a medical child abuse investigation. Though the media has been largely sympathetic to Kowalski’s case—thanks in large part to the popular Netflix film “Take Care of Maya”—our exploration continues to reveal that nothing about this story is what is seems.
With the case headed towards appeal, we take a closer look at newly released information about what was going on with the Kowalski family, as well as how this verdict is affecting mandatory reporting and the safety of children in pediatric hospitals all around the country.
* * *
Get up to speed on the Kowalski case with our Kowalski Catch-Up Playlist on Spotify
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Subscribe on YouTube where we have full episodes and lots of bonus content.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cons, Scams, and Adventures in Podcasting with Roberta Blevins and Terra Newell
Season 3
Thursday, April 25, 2024 • Duration 42:39
On this week's episode, Andrea is joined by Roberta Blevins, creator and host of the Life After MLM podcast, and Terra Newell, who was featured in mega-hit Dirty John podcast and has since created and hosts Terra's Baddy Club. The audience gets to listen in as these three women talk about about the pros and cons of having a personal connection to the topics of their podcasts, how that affects their coverage of the topic, and the intersection between Munchausen by proxy, MLMs, and domestic violence. *Special thanks for Spotify, who provided recording support for this episode!
* * *
Listen to Life After MLM.
Follow Roberta on Instagram.
Listen to Dirty John.
Listen to Terra's Baddy Club.
Follow Terra on Instagram.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Unabridged Conversation with Hope Ybarra
Season 3
Thursday, April 18, 2024 • Duration 01:24:35
Listen to an episode we're releasing from our subscriber vault -- Andrea's full conversation with Hope Ybarra, whose story we've been revisiting in our look back at season one of the show. This conversation gives listeners a peek into the mind of a perpetrator and inspired the name of the show "Nobody Should Believe Me".
* * *
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revisiting Season One: There's Hope (Season One Finale)
Season 3
Thursday, April 11, 2024 • Duration 45:01
In the final episode of our look back at season one, Andrea reflects on her experience interviewing Hope Ybarra, how it impacted her in regards to her sister, and audience reactions to the conversation.
* * *
Andrea has made an intense connection with Hope Ybarra's family, and asked experts, doctors, and the detective so many of her burning questions about Munchausen by Proxy. But she's become increasingly fixated on talking to Hope herself as she comes to realize that it may be her only chance to get the insights she needs. In this stunning season one finale, Andrea travels to Mountain Home, Idaho, to meet with Hope Ybarra.
In this intense, emotional back-and-forth, we hear straight from Hope what life is like for her after being released from prison. We find out what she's up to and what she hopes for from the future. Hope listens to her own family—all of whom she's estranged from with the exception of Robin—talk about what she was like before everything fell apart. She insists that she still loves her children, despite what she did. We see the human being behind the monstrous acts that splashed Hope's story across headlines and landed her in prison for a decade.
Andrea asks Hope what might have been done to help her and what she might say to her younger self if she could go back. Finally, she tells Hope that if she really wants her family back, she should get treatment and offers to help her if she wants that.
Hope is friendly and warm in person, but Andrea is left with the unsettling truth that she hasn't changed.
* * *
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revisiting Season One: Can They Be Saved?
Season 3
Thursday, April 4, 2024 • Duration 45:34
After a look back at season 1 episode 7, Can They Be Saved?, Andrea reflects on how her thoughts regarding the psychopathology of Munchausen by Proxy has evolved over the years, as she has spoken to experts, survivors, and perpetrators of this abuse.
* * *
Andrea delves deep into her questions around the psychopathology of Munchausen by Proxy perpetrators. Floored by the similarities in the many cases she’s researched, she talks to two of the world's foremost experts on the disorder—Dr. Marc Feldman and Dr. Mary Sanders—about the characteristics, warning signs, and causes of the disorder that has upended the lives of so many people Andrea has spoken to throughout the course of the podcast. Why would a mother ever do this? What do they get from it? And most importantly, what could be done to stop them? Is it possible for someone who does these things to get treatment?
* * *
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andredunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revisiting Season One: Sisters Surviving
Season 3
Thursday, March 28, 2024 • Duration 01:16:33
During this look back at the 6th episode of our first season, we hear the story of twin sisters who survived Munchausen by Proxy at the hands of their foster mother. At the end of the episode, we get a visit from very special guest, Erica Blake (then Handt), one of the sisters we interviewed almost 3 years ago. Andrea reconnects with her to chat about life since that interview.
***
As Andrea contemplates what the future looks like for survivors of Munchausen by Proxy, she gets an unexpected message from two young women who’ve lived it. After appearing with Marc Feldman on a podcast, Andrea hears from twin-sisters who survived MBP.
Liz and Erica Handt were taken from one terrifying situation to another when the foster mom who adopted them turns out to be abusive, telling the girls they had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and dragging them from specialist to specialist. The twins' story is harrowing but ultimately hopeful as they're now thriving.
* * *
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andredunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revisiting Season One: Nobody Would Believe Me: Dads Part 2
Season 3
Thursday, March 21, 2024 • Duration 01:00:16
This is the 5th episode of our look back at season one of the show. We revisit Andrea's conversation with two more dads who were a part of Munchausen by Proxy cases. At the end of the episode, Andrea gives a brief update on one of the dads and shares her thoughts on how gender roles play into these cases and why such a high percentage of offenders are women.
***
As we learn from Detective Mike Weber, the father in a Munchausen by Proxy case can be the most important ally--or the biggest obstacle--in protecting child victims from abuse. In part two of Andrea’s examination of the father’s role in MBP cases, Andrea speaks to “John”, a father devastated but the revelation that his ex-wife had subjected their son to unnecessary brain surgery. We also talk to Ryan Crawford, a man who found himself fighting for his son’s life against a disbelieving system.
Plus we get a stunning real-time update on one of our cases as “John” decides to come forward with his true identity. You can listen to the follow-up interview with him here.
* * *
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andredunlop
Buy Andrea's books here.
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe or subscribe on Apple Podcasts where you can get all episodes early and ad-free and access exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
More about Ryan Crawford's story: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2019/august/the-boy-who-stayed-sick/
* * *
Click here to view our sponsors. Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Related Shows Based on Content Similarities
Discover shows related to Nobody Should Believe Me, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.