Sticks and Stones ... But Words Can Kill – Ep. 75

2025-07-02

BE ADVISED: This episode includes discussion of suicide and other sensitive subject matter. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or suicidal ideations, please call or text 988, and remember ... YOU MATTER. The saying goes: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me. Not so, Escape Artists, not so – as proven by today’s episode in which a teen girl’s text messages are used against her as she faces charges in her friend’s tragic death. What does this case tell us about the power o...

BE ADVISED: This episode includes discussion of suicide and other sensitive subject matter. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or suicidal ideations, please call or text 988, and remember ... YOU MATTER.

The saying goes: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me. Not so, Escape Artists, not so – as proven by today’s episode in which a teen girl’s text messages are used against her as she faces charges in her friend’s tragic death. What does this case tell us about the power of influence in the digital age? And where does the First Amendment fit in? The co-hosts debate and discuss it all in this edition of The Escape Pod.

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers:

Topic #1 1:12 Escaping a glitch in The Matrix (kidding ... kind of)

Topic #2 9:50 Meet Michelle and Conrad

Topic #3 21:39 A suicide investigation becomes a homicide case

Topic #4 36:15 Escapism, co-host-style

Resources & Links

Michelle Carter Case: The 'Texting-Suicide' Case Five Years After Sentencing

Death of Conrad Roy

Michelle Carter’s Texting Suicide Trial Revisited

The Death of Conrad Roy: Michelle Carter's 'Virtual Presence' and 'Failure to Act' in Texting Case

Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Podcast Episode 161 : The Encouraged Suicide of Conrad Roy by Michelle Carter

The Girl From Plainville: Where is Michelle Carter Now?