The Lost Kids

To my delight I discovered this illuminating podcast (the 1996 Oklahoma bombing) narrated by The New Yorker writer, Jeffery Toobin. He dives deep into what incited Timothy McVeigh to mass murder and maim innocents...and connects the decades-long (and tolerated) violent history of America’s White Supremacy movement and its alarming growth. Anticipating the ongoing series!

As a parent of a troubled teen, who did send my kid to a residential program where there wasn’t abuse, according to my son, I would have liked to have had a few questions asked. What exactly are you supposed to do with kids like this. I’d like to hear from kids who weren’t addicts but just basically who refused to follow rules and made life a nightmare. We tried everything we could afford and eventually my son ended up homeless. Of course abuse shouldn’t be allowed but the lady who said if they don’t have a diagnosis they shouldn’t be in a program, obviously has never dealt with this. We need help in this country to deal with kids like this.

Very well researched podcast. Great information that everyone should know so they don’t think sending their kids to one of these “schools” will help. Then the producers couldn’t help themselves and start to bash Republicans for supporting the schools. Was Princess Diana a registered Republican? Anyway Synanon is the source of their philosophy and counted many celebs among their supporters. In short, listen through episode 4, it’s great. Then episode 5 it takes a sharp left turn, if you get my meaning.

This is a compelling true crime story of lives altered by an industry that purports to “save” children, but obviously does not. In addition to the young people forced into these communities, their parents are victims, too. Not only by CEDA, but also by, in this case, the private investigator that took many thousands of dollars in exchange for empty promises. And we should not forget the siblings who not only lost a brother or sister for weeks, months, years, or forever, but lost the attentive parents they deserved.