Cult of One: The Manipulation of Munchausen by Proxy

A Little Bit Culty

Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames

True Crime, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2024

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Head to https://www.squarespace.com/CULTY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code CULTY.

When describing a cult, the first thing that comes to mind is often a powerful leader at the helm of a large group of followers. That’s not the case with today’s guest.

Andrea Dunlop, author and host of the podcast “Nobody Should Believe Me,” is an expert on Munchausen by Proxy. Munchausen by Proxy is a form of mental illness and child abuse where a caregiver, typically a parent, induces or fabricates symptoms in their child to make them appear sicker than they actually are. It’s, in Andrea’s words, a “cult of one.” Muchahusen by Proxy has found its way into the mainstream through the Maya Kowalski case and the story of Gypsy Rose, which was adapted into a documentary and Hulu limited series, “The Act.” In today’s episode, Andrea explores Munchausen by Proxy abuse, its recent coverage in the news, including the Maya Kowalski court case, and how it could forever impact the medical system.

Munchausen by Proxy Support Resources

Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Emma Diehl and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical,
0:03.9	or mental health advice. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the
0:07.9	official policy or position of the podcast and are not intended to malign any religion group,
0:12.1	club, organization, business, individual, anyone, or anything.
0:25.8	I'm not Edmondson.
0:27.6	And I'm Anthony Nippy Ames.
0:30.3	And this is A Little Bit Calty.
0:31.9	Cults are commonplace now.
0:34.2	From fandoms to fads, we're examining them all.
0:38.9	We look at what happens when things that seem like a great thing at first go bad. Every week we chat with survivors, experts, and whistleblowers for real culty stories
0:43.3	told directly by the people who lived through them, because we want you to learn a few
0:47.3	things that we've had to learn the hard way.
0:50.0	For example, if you think you're too smart to get sucked into something culty, you might
0:53.8	be prime recruitment material, and who knows, you could already be in a cult.
0:58.3	If you're not aware of your programming, you're probably being programmed.
1:01.6	So keep listening to find out.
1:03.3	We'll talk about all sorts of topics on the show, but be aware.
1:06.8	This podcast might contain stories that could be alarming to some of our listeners.
1:10.6	So please check our show notes for more detailed descriptions and take care of yourself.
1:15.1	Subscribe to our Patreon for Thursday bonus episodes, Q&A, and all sorts of exclusive content.
1:20.0	That's patreon.com slash A Little Bit Culti.
1:22.7	Welcome to Season 7 of A Little Bit Calti.
	...

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