Crime Writers On...True Crime Review
True Crime
The Troubled Teen Industry comprises the wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and group programs desperate parents turn to when their kids are struggling with mental health, substance misuse, and behavioral issues - whether real or perceived. Often, kids are escorted to these programs by so-called Goons - transport agencies hired to take kids away from home, often against their will in the dark hours before dawn. But are these Goons a last-resort tactic for families at the end of their rope or a high-ticket, legal kidnapping operation?
In the podcast “Gooned,” journalist Emma Lehman details many facets of the Troubled Teen Industry, interviewing survivors, former employees, and even impersonating the parent of a teen in crisis in order to dig up dirt on what she asserts is ground zero for the emotional, physical, and psychological abuse that leads to lasting trauma for those the industry is claiming to help.
OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GOONED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.
In Crime of the Week: ghost in the machine.
For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.
Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com
Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Undetermined
The Battle for Justina Pelletier
Verified: Full Disclosure
The Best TV of 2022
Best Podcasts of 2022
Cover Story: Seed Money
Welcome to Chippendales
Infamous: Boy Gone Wild
The White Lotus Season 2
The Vow, Part Two
Run, Hide, Repeat
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields
Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff
Suspect Season 2
God Forbid
Pseudocide
Vatican Girl
Bad Sisters
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Ghosts of Dallas
Crime Beat
The Pope’s Long Con
Uncover
CrimeFeed
Criminal