The 13th Step

Dec 10 2024 14 ep. 33 mins 1.5k
The 13th Step Podcast artwork

An investigation into the widespread culture of sexual misconduct and abuse persistent in the addiction treatment industry.

  News  Society & Culture  True Crime
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Update: The Sentencing

Dec 10 2024 22 mins  
A federal judge sentences Eric Labarge, the man who pled guilty to orchestrating the vandalism in retaliation for our reporting on Labarge’s friend, Eric Spofford. Lauren explains what went down in the courtroom – and how she navigated the experience as both a journalist and a victim of this crime.

Emelia's Thing

Oct 29 2024 51 mins  
A young police officer unexpectedly finds herself back in New Hampshire, and she’s not the same person she was when she left. Something happened to her – to all of us. But for Officer Emelia Campbell, this thing still lives in her brain and her body. This is her story of survival.

Introducing: The Youth Development Center

Jul 08 2024 31 mins  
Introducing the newest series from NHPR’s award-winning Document team: “The Youth Development Center.” New Hampshire has sent its most troubled kids to the same juvenile detention center for more than a century. It's a place that was supposed to nurture them, that instead hurt them – in some of the worst ways imaginable. It's now at the center of one of the biggest youth de

Update: A New Bill and a Final Ruling

Mar 05 2024 17 mins  
New Hampshire lawmakers consider a new oversight bill proposed in response to the podcast. And the judge issues his final ruling in Eric Spofford’s defamation lawsuit against NHPR and three of our sources.

Update: A Big Arrest

Sep 12 2023 16 mins  
Federal prosecutors have charged a fourth person in the vandalism case, a man they describe as a “close, personal associate” of Eric Spofford.

Update: Vandalism Arrests

Jun 20 2023 11 mins  
Federal prosecutors have charged three men for their alleged roles in the vandalism incidents.

Epilogue: Employee A

Jun 05 2023 23 mins  
A conversation with one of the women whose story of sexual assault you heard earlier in this podcast. She talks with Lauren about what it was like to hear her story published, the legal threats she has faced from Eric Spofford and his lawyers, and why she decided to speak out in the first place.

The Glam Room

Jun 05 2023 35 mins  
Since Lauren began reporting, Eric Spofford sold his New Hampshire company for millions of dollars and filed a defamation lawsuit in response to NHPR’s coverage. We catch you up on everything that’s happened. And we introduce you to a sober living community where addressing women’s sexual trauma is a priority.

The Litter Police

Jun 05 2023 57 mins  
What does it take to catch a predator in the addiction treatment industry? We hear about a case in California where the CEO of a network of treatment facilities was convicted of sexual assault and massive insurance fraud. It required years of work – and two women who banded together and refused to give up.

A Wild (Wild?) West

Jun 05 2023 51 mins  
How did 13th stepping become so common in the recovery world and who can hold people accountable? Lauren looks into the history of the addiction treatment industry; goes in search of the people, government agencies, and industry groups that are supposed to oversee it; and does a deep dive into its most pervasive cultural force: AA and the 12 steps. She finds a lot of good intention