In this episode of Pod Candy: Cults, Crimes and Killers, Stacey and Dori unpack Maternal Instinct on Netflix; the shocking documentary about a Texas woman named Taylor Parker, who in 2020 murdered 21-year-old Regan Simmons Hancock and cut her unborn child out of Regan's body to claim it as her own.

The team examines the elaborate web of lies Parker created, the warning signs noticed by friends and family, and the devastating consequences of ignoring the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Forensic psychologist Dr. John Mayer joins the conversation to discuss manipulation, factitious disorder, borderline personality traits, delusional thinking, and how Parker was able to deceive so many people for so long.

The episode also explores the unimaginable trauma suffered by Raegan’s family and asks an unsettling question: Could this tragedy have been prevented if more people had trusted their instincts and acted on the red flags?

Six cults. One episode. And for the first time ever, we let Dr. John skip the green room and join us right at the top — no donuts, no punchki, no waiting his turn.

In this special Best Of, we're revisiting the cult stories you loved most: the Duggars and IBLP in Shiny Happy People, Warren Jeffs and the FLDS in Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, spiritual influencer Teal Swan in The Deep End, Harvey Weisberger's journey out of an ultra-Orthodox sect, the tantric nightmare of Twisted Yoga, and the one that started it all — Gwen Shamblin and The Way Down. From weight-loss churches to sex cults to prophets running the show from prison, Stacey and Dori bring the outrage and the laughs while Dr. John Mayer brings the diagnosis — psychological murder, sublimation, grooming, narcissism, and why any of us could get pulled in.

Content warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual abuse, child abuse, and other sensitive topics. Please listen with care.

New here? This is the perfect place to start. Longtime Candy? Consider it your greatest-hits reel.

In this episode of Pod Candy, Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John Mayer dive into the bizarre and unsettling story behind Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult, the HBO docuseries about Frederick von Mierers and his doomsday cult, Eternal Values.

The hosts unpack how charisma, confidence, vulnerability, beauty, fame, and manipulation created the perfect conditions for people to follow a man whose beliefs became increasingly extreme. Dr. John Mayer breaks down the psychology of cult leaders, the power of control, why interventions often fail, and how people can become trapped in belief systems that seem impossible to understand from the outside.

Our hosts explore the role of Jackie and Fabio in helping expose and escape the group, the impact of AIDS on von Mierers’ final years, and how Hoyt Richards, one of the first male supermodels of the 1980s, spent nearly 15 years under Von Mieres' control inside Eternal Values.

Grab a snack (maybe not frozen yogurt). Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John are back to break down HBO Max's The Yogurt Shop Murders. It's a heavy one, but leave it to these three to find the heart, the outrage, and a few laughs along the way.

Underneath the banter is a real conversation about coerced confessions, a justice system that failed almost everyone it touched, and how much compassion we owe the people it chewed up. Dr. John brings the psychology: why exhausted people confess to things they didn't do, what decades of unresolved grief does to a family, and why a horrific upbringing doesn't have to be destiny.

Gutting and weirdly comforting all in one podcast. Watch the doc, then come hang with us.

Content warning: violent crime, the murder of children, sexual assault, and lasting family trauma. Please take care of yourself as you listen.

In this episode of Pod Candy: Cults, Crimes and Killers, Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John Mayer take on the chilling Gilgo Beach murders and Peacock’s docuseries The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets. The team dives into the disturbing case of Rex Heuermann, the Long Island architect who pleaded guilty to murdering eight women over a span of 17 years.

The hosts examine the shocking contrast between Heuermann’s public life as a husband, father, and professional, and the horrifying crimes he committed in secret. They discuss how his family processed the truth, the role of denial and cognitive dissonance, and the painful question of how someone can still love a parent while confronting the fact that they are capable of monstrous acts.

Dr. John brings his forensic psychology insight to the discussion, breaking down Heuermann’s compartmentalization, his need for control, the significance of his home environment, and why some serial killers stop, or become sloppy over time.
The episode also explores the impact on families left behind, the trauma of law enforcement searches, the role of therapists and mandated reporting, and the larger failures that allowed these women’s disappearances to go unresolved for so long.

This week on Pod Candy: Cults, Crimes and Killers, Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John Mayer break down Netflix’s Trust Me: The False Prophet, the disturbing four-part documentary about Samuel Bateman and the splintered FLDS community he manipulated after Warren Jeffs was sent to prison.

Bateman claimed to be the new prophet, convinced followers that Warren Jeffs was speaking through him, and used faith, fear, sex, and salvation as weapons of control. The episode dives into how he exploited a community already shaped by isolation, obedience, polygamy, and generational brainwashing, and how women and children became currency in his quest for power.

Stacey and Dori unpack the documentary’s most shocking moments, from Christine Marie and Tolga’s hidden recordings to Julia’s incredible courage in helping expose the abuse. Dr. John Mayer joins the conversation to explain coercive control, groupthink, indoctrination, and why people born into systems like the FLDS often cannot see a way out until one small crack of doubt appears.

This is an emotional, disturbing, and powerful episode about false prophets, survival, and the women who risked everything to tell the truth. Please listen with care.

In this episode of Pod Candy: Cults, Crimes and Killers, Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John Mayer pull back the curtain on one of television’s most beloved figures: Bob Barker. For decades, The Price Is Right projected bright lights, big prizes, and wholesome Americana — but behind the scenes, former models and staff described a workplace marked by control, sexism, racism, lawsuits, and unchecked power.

Our hosts discuss the disturbing allegations explored in the documentary, including the treatment of the “Barker's Beauties,” the toxic culture backstage, Barker’s public image as America’s friendly game show host, and the darker claims that challenged that carefully protected legacy. Dr. John Mayer adds a psychological lens, examining how fame, narcissism, and a lack of boundaries can create a culture where abuse of power is allowed to thrive.

It’s a conversation about nostalgia, betrayal, celebrity image-making, and what happens when the person America trusted on screen may have been very different offstage.

You sign up for yoga hoping for clarity, healing, maybe even a little enlightenment. But what happens when that search for peace leads straight into control, coercion, and something much darker?

In this episode of Pod Candy, Stacey, Dori, and Dr. John dive into Twisted Yoga, the Apple TV+ documentary about controversial spiritual leader Gregorian Bivolaru and the international yoga movement that former members say became a system of manipulation, sexual exploitation, secrecy, and abuse. The conversation unpacks how “spiritual growth” can be weaponized, why people stay when their instincts are screaming, and how money, fear, isolation, and the promise of transformation can keep people trapped.

From tantric “initiations” and surrendered passports to cult-like loyalty, cognitive dissonance, and Dr. John’s take on fear as control, this episode gets into the psychology behind how seemingly empowering communities can become dangerous.