The Unraveling: How Your Reality Is Made Up – Details, episodes & analysis

Cori Shepherd Stern's attorney sends a second warning but it is legal? And why is she friends with the famous family that made a fortune in Liberia and then helped finance the brutal civil war that destroyed it?

Show Notes:

TikTok Video from @TheReckoningCo

https://www.cagoldberglaw.com/

Firestone Wedding Announcement- https://web.archive.org/web/20150605043849/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/fashion/weddings/10firestone.html

Firestone Sisters - https://firestonesisters.com/journal/a-gift-that-gives-back-the-akawelle-necklace-to-support-the-strongheart-fellowship

Cheryl Saban Article - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/living-life-as-a-refugee_b_881002

Grace Freeman Interview - https://youtu.be/rIZsVkVybOQ?t=3965

Firestone and the Warlord by Frontline

https://www.propublica.org/article/firestone-and-the-warlord-chapter-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaVzhCqfPQk&t=8s

Charles Taylor and Civil War:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjpvsup0pnk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuSS0iiFyo&rco=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuSS0iiFyo&rco=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt9_95PPYDk

https://allafrica.com/stories/200101090216.html

(Trigger Warning at 4 min.) The kids in Liberia are shocked to learn Strongheart is moving to Texas and leaving them behind. Their permanent home of healing is converted into a surf hostel. Some of the kids stay on to work while the owners try to generate a tourism industry in Liberia from the ground up. But why didn't Strongheart report the sale? And why is the Pope involved?

Contact: micajringo@ pm dot me

Show Notes:

Cori Shepherd Stern, American Refugee - https://youtu.be/9dolEOdduNU?t=2466

2012 Form 990 - https://app.candid.org/profile/8940934/the-strongheart-group-26-2190101?activeTab=7

Strongheart House - https://web.archive.org/web/20120831205113/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/shhouse.php

Volunteer Describes Experience - https://share.google/1xdd1O98rgLMDonXO

Stern's Quote "It's so twisted" and "hate masquerading as love" - https://kitchentablecult.com/2023/07/14/s5e14-shiny-happy-people-part-2-cori-shepherd-stern/

Daniel Hopkins Interview https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2014/10/12/ebola-wipes-out-liberia-surf-camp-plan/

BBC Profile - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-18523721

Time - https://time.com/119491/liberia-goes-from-warzone-to-surfing-mecca/

On Surfari w Shane and Shannon McIntyre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBgwdsqCavk

Cori on "Being a Producer" - https://kitchentablecult.com/2023/07/14/s5e14-shiny-happy-people-part-2-cori-shepherd-stern/

Alphanso Appleton:

2009 Reuters Video - https://web.archive.org/web/20210720192441/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zDpO1YT8uk

BYU Profile - https://kealakai.byuh.edu/campus-community/capturing-a-full-life

Audio Interview - Therapist Uncensored https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/tu109-this-is-resilience-in-action-with-guest-alphanso-appleton/

French Interview - https://observers.france24.com/en/20140609-surfing-waves-liberia-robersport-beach

Poetry - # [Strongheart](https://alphansosworldofpoetry.blogspot.com/2011/01/strongheart.html)

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/the-thriving-surf-culture-and-perfect-empty-lineups-of-west-africa/

https://www.surfer.com/news/survivors-surf-club

Sean Brody

Sean Brody as Messiah - https://web.archive.org/web/20140709020418/https://kwepunha.com/team/

Surfing Prevents Conflict: https://m.naharnet.com/stories/en/131993-liberia-on-the-crest-of-a-wave-as-surfing-takes-off

Touting political connections and community ties: https://1library.net/article/brody-social-impact-business-sustainable-stoke-transitions-sustainability.qvpnoedq

General Background - https://htmedge.blogspot.com/2012/11/sean-brody-from-liberia.html

Published Credits - https://www.stokecertified.com/team/sean-brody/

ESPN Post - https://web.archive.org/web/20130105214238/http://espn.go.com/action/surfing/blog/_/post/8676924/the-rise-liberia

Scholas Occurentes:

Sean Brody and Pope - https://youtu.be/MOrIV9AkCkQ?t=4241

Surfers Visit Vatican - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8JZCOcZK1o

Scandals: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/10/24/financial-and-operational-questions-surround-scholas-occurentes-pontifical-foundation/

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/246398/does-a-pontifical-foundation-use-pope-francis-to-spread-gender-ideology

Kwepunha Surf Retreat - first page in wayback machine is March 11, 2012

https://web.archive.org/web/20130608131233/https://kwepunha.com/

https://web.archive.org/web/20131013203158/http://kwepunha.com/vision/https://web.archive.org/web/20140710015040/http://www.kwepunha.com/properties/

Grace Freeman Interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZsVkVybOQ

Liberia Tourism:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20151022-the-making-of-child-surfers-not-child-soldiers

https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/destinations/africa/chasing-adventure-corners-world/

https://bubblegumclub.co.za/community/the-emergence-of-liberias-surfing-culture

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diegans-try-to-save-liberia-surf-shop-after-ebola/62635/

Circumstantial Indicators of Trafficking:

https://www.ungm.org/Shared/KnowledgeCenter/Pages/OpInd

https://www.ungm.org/Shared/KnowledgeCenter/Pages/SHTFLResources

What's worse than promising needy kids a full ride to college but only giving them a laptop battery? Promising them a permanent home base of healing.... that isn't so permanent. Or healing.

Show Notes:

Grace Freeman Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZsVkVybOQ

Lovetta on US Homelessness - sourceid=&smenu=87&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=719&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1846&hn=oakhillgazette&he=.net

Cori on Lovetta seeing photographs of African women: https://youtu.be/e7L4xJ6TCmc?t=2621

Blog with Spanking Comments https://web.archive.org/web/20231203083412/https://kingsemantics.blogspot.com/2009/07/young-liberians-urged-to-forget.html

2007 Living in Austin - https://web.archive.org/web/20071107052517/http://www.txconferenceforwomen.org/conference/speakers.htm#conto

Lovettas Drive to Help Others - http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/lovettaconto.php

Coco Chanel Reference in Article Full of Lies - https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/the-art-of-war-1.599900

The next mlk - https://web.archive.org/web/20071111004842/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/press.php

https://web.archive.org/web/20160104084549/https://medhum.med.nyu.edu/view/12400/20071111004837/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/lovettaconto.php

Cori Recruiting Volunteers in Blog Commments - https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/ten-days-in-south-america-recipe.html#recipe

Volunteer Blog:https://web.archive.org/web/20140103114840/http://janajohnsonhealingworks.com/

Therapist Uncensored Volunteer Comments https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/tu109-this-is-resilience-in-action-with-guest-alphanso-appleton/

2010 990 - https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/262190101/2011_12_EO%2F26-2190101_990EZ_201012

2011 - 990 https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/262190101/2014_09_EO%2F26-2190101_990EZ_201112

Bringing Down the House Clip: https://youtu.be/Sh8ZsnzoZMU?t=289

https://web.archive.org/web/20120112042013/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/shhouse.php

Volunteer Blog Entries:

Sept 21: https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-20-liberia.html

Sept 23 - https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-23-liberia.html

Sep 24 - https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-24-liberia.html

Sep 26 - https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-26-liberia.html

Oct 6 - https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-6.html

12 Hour Excursion on Bad Roads: https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/10/liberia-october-10.html

Asking for donations/praising press coverage - https://kundaliniinliberia.blogspot.com/2011/10/

Orphanage Tourism/Trafficking:

https://www.ipu.org/news/voices-and-videos/2025-03/orphanage-trafficking-hidden-crisis-aided-good-intentions

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-tourism/articles/10.3389/frsut.2023.1177091/full#B51

https://www.abta.com/sustainability/human-rights/orphanage-tourism

Surf Retreat: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20151022-the-making-of-child-surfers-not-child-soldiers

Cori Shepherd Stern, former psych patient turned Hollywood producer, has reinvented herself as a humanitarian. Through her non-profit Strongheart, she recruited a 15 year old Lovetta Conto as the first fellow and primary fundraiser. Selling homemade jewelry made from spent bullets, together they rake in more than a quarter million dollars in the first 3 years, but where does that money go?

Show Notes:

emirates article

https://voice.laverne.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/11/2015-Fall.pdf

Comparing refugee child's looks to satirized cartoon characters - https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2006/01/19/160/

Deceptive Fundraising for Orphans - https://web.archive.org/web/20090301191712/http://www.givemeaning.com/project/stronghearttina

"Except for Us" plea - https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/why-im-in-africa/

Strongheart House:

Ten Days Trip - https://web.archive.org/web/20081120145807/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/tendays.php

https://web.archive.org/web/20090414112432/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org:80/tendays.php

https://web.archive.org/web/20090425173625/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/shhouse.php

Curriculum - https://web.archive.org/web/20090425173625/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/curriculum.php

How it Works - https://web.archive.org/web/20090306003310/http://www.strongheartfellowship.org/howworks.php

Grace Freeman Interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIZsVkVybOQ

Director's Blog:

Recounting Separation and homelessness - https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2018/03/07/people-in-your-la-jolla-neighborhood-meet-oscar-nominated-cori-shepherd-stern/ -

My big deal, no longer homeless - https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/today/

Liberia:

Westerners in Liberia are a rare breed - [https://www.wabash.edu/magazine/index.cfm?news_id=8942]

Therapist Volunteer First Hand Account - https://therapistuncensored.com/episodes/tu109-this-is-resilience-in-action-with-guest-alphanso-appleton/

Rape Culture - https://world.time.com/2012/04/30/history-of-violence-struggling-with-the-legacy-of-rape-in-liberia/

President's Comments on Lack of Rape Prosecutions - https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/when-things-fall-apart

Robertsport, rebel stronghold: https://www.wastedtalentmag.com/blog/2024/12/30/a-year-in-review-2-the-5th-county/

Audit - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CoSA_tsA_WglA2_As2A86v7ysdkgjRj4/view?usp=sharing

Emirates Article citing tourism - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w9WY_c298BuDhC6T8iubiPujEm7pFwHm/view?usp=sharing

Phase One Accomplishments

2008 990 Tax Form - https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/262190101/2010_12_EO%2F26-2190101_990EZ_200812

2009 990 Tax Form - https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/262190101/2010_12_EO%2F26-2190101_990EZ_200912

After leaving Hollywood, Cori Shepherd Stern rebrands herself as an “American refugee” in Africa.

Always a talent scout, she selects several minor refugee children and eventually gains custody of them. Promoting their stories in the press turns camera time into credibility, the kind that opens doors to elite global circles, from the Clintons to the World Bank.

Sources:

https://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/show/showroom#

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/hillary-clinton-abortion-documentary-zurawski-v-texas-1235988766/

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/la-jolla-light/

https://kitchentablecult.com/2023/07/14/s5e14-shiny-happy-people-part-2-cori-shepherd-stern/

Director's Blog:

https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2003/01/24/40/ - First trip to Ivory Coast

https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2003/01/30/45/ - Extremely Dangerous

https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2003/03/31/59/ - Trip 2

https://girlseeksworld.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/why-im-in-africa/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/73034471@N00/210740637/ - Description of NatGeo camerman

Book: Lethal Decisions https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Lethal_Decisions/RbwpEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

ABC Person of the Week: https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/broadcasts/816962

https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version

https://www.unicef.org/media/96136/file/Childrens-Rights-Business-Principles-2012.pdf

Evelyn Apoko CNN - CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/23/world/africa/uganda-war-survivor

https://www.npr.org/2006/12/23/6668530/group-seeks-to-aid-ugandas-youngest-victims

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2009/05/19/liberian-shares-lesson-at-franklin-middle-school/

Lovetta Conto

https://web.archive.org/web/20110701155008/http://strongheartfellowship.org/documents/LiberiaGlobalReport.pdf

Chosen for Strongheart - https://morganhilltimes.com/from-civil-war-refugee-camp-to-jewelry-designer/

LA Times - https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/all-the-rage/story/2008-11-26/adventures-in-gift-giving-akawelle-jewelry

https://carlottasplendor.blogspot.com/2010/08/lovetta-conto.html

UN Rights of the Child - https://downloads.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/UNCRC_united_nations_convention_on_the_rights_of_the_child.pdf

Lovetta Audio pulled from:

Lovetta Conto Tedx from Liberia - https://youtu.be/AHMuOSIF0iM?si=bKQGy8B_cQl5sh8_&t=318

with Dalai Lama: https://youtu.be/uokdokgi-34?si=rucoe6tpK8QKBLYn

By all appearances, Oscar nominated director Cori Shepherd Stern was both a Hollywood hit maker and a humanitarian. Whether it was directing Shiny, Happy, People for Amazon Prime, arranging medical care for African kids in extreme need, or starting a home for Liberian refugees, she developed a reputation for tackling the hardest cases in the hardest places.

So why is she framing the star of her latest show, a whistleblower, for a crime? Targeted unjustly, Mica Ringo sets out to investigate. Listen while each thread pulled unravels a shocking world of power and deceit where loyalty is currency and truth is a liability. How far would they go for a lie? And how far would you go for the truth?

And what exactly was the nature of her relationship with a 16 year old Ryan Gosling?

A tale of deception and betrayal — and the high-stakes power games that define our perception of truth

Part investigation, part cultural commentary and part audio diary - The Unraveling examines the tactics of manipulation, power, and psychological warfare — and what it takes to break free from the covert influence that controls us in our media, our institutions, and our own minds.

Inquiries: Mx. Mica Ringo (ze/zir)

email: micajringo at pm.me

www.micaringo.com

Shownotes and Sources:

Sarah Brown https://www.sarahbrown.net/transcript

Sarah Brown Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvILg8mYgI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mLdm8E3xCk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eejtMrYRS_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIhGC9qoW5I

Haim Saban, Shuki Levy and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/haim-saban-power-rangers-hillary-clinton-top-donor/

Animation World Quiz: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/so-you-wanna-be-animation-executive

CNN Ryan Gosling Story: https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/sport/sailing-class-afloat-breaker-high/index.html

Breaker High Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUPx-EqvAMY&list=PLV4Ztn9euy7Q2AnT5-ky0iKmdAxXcyPEY&index=1

Cori Shepherd Stern Interview on Kitchen Table Cult Podcast: https://kitchentablecult.com/2023/07/14/s5e14-shiny-happy-people-part-2-cori-shepherd-stern/

A psychological cat-and-mouse game — but who is the cat, and who is the mouse? The stories we consume become the realities we live in. But who is telling the story… and why?

A tale of deception and betrayal, The Unraveling pulls back the curtain on Hollywood’s reality-making machine — revealing how predators hide in plain sight and manufacture the narratives they want us to believe. Follow the evidence to uncover what’s truth… and what’s illusion. By understanding the tactics of psychological manipulation, we can begin dismantling their influence — in our media, our institutions, and our own minds.

Because inside the dream factory, reality itself is under construction — and nothing is what it seems.