#296 Meg Appelgate - Why Parents Are Being Lied To About Teen “Treatment”

The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan Show

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.9 • 46.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 144 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Meg Appelgate is the Founder and CEO of Unsilenced, a nonprofit organization launched in January 2022 to support past, present, and future victims of institutional child abuse. A survivor of the Troubled Teen Industry (TTI), Meg was abducted from her bed at age 15 and confined in abusive facilities for three and a half years—an experience that drives her mission to expose systemic abuse and fight for reform. Her 2024 memoir, Becoming UNSILENCED: Surviving the Troubled Teen Industry, chronicles her harrowing journey and transformation into one of the leading national voices demanding change. In 2023, she testified as an expert before the Montana State Senate, helping secure passage of HB 218, landmark legislation increasing oversight and regulation of TTI programs. Her work continues to empower survivors while pushing for transparency, accountability, and legal reform across the industry. Alongside her advocacy, Meg serves as Vice President and Managing Director of the Gochnauer Foundation, supporting philanthropic initiatives aligned with justice and healing. She lives with her husband, Ben, and their four children, dedicating her life to ensuring that no child endures what she once did. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Go to https://calderalab.com/SRS and use code SRS for 20% off your first order. If you’re serious about selling to the Department of War, go to https://SBIRAdvisors.com and mention Shawn Ryan for your first month free. Live better longer with BUBS Naturals. Get 20% OFF on collagen, MCT creamers, and more with code SHAWN at https://bubsnaturals.com/srs Don’t let your money sit around—put it to work with Stash. Go to https://get.stash.com/SRS to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures Meg Appelgate Links: Personal Website - www.megappelgate.com Memoir - https://a.co/d/3P5hM37 IG - https://www.instagram.com/megappelgate TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@megappelgate Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Megappelgate1 X - https://x.com/megappelgate Unsilenced Website - www.unsilenced.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Meg Applegate, welcome to the show.
0:07.6	Thank you.
0:08.4	I'm happy to be here.
0:09.5	I'm happy you're here.
0:10.4	This is, man, these are so heavy.
0:13.7	Yeah.
0:14.1	We've really been diving into the kid stuff.
0:17.1	Actually, we've been diving into it for a couple years.
0:19.6	Yeah.
0:19.8	You know, it started with one of my best friends Ryan Montgomery, and it's just spiraled into,
0:24.9	there's a lot of evil shit going on.
0:28.7	I know.
0:29.7	I feel like evilness is just like follows the kids.
0:33.9	And anywhere there's kids, you're going to find people who don't have the best of intentions, and they just flocked them.
0:39.2	You know, I finally have come to that conclusion, and everybody always talks about it, you know, that they're going to be where the kids are, but it doesn't register.
0:49.1	And then, you know, when I interviewed Elizabeth Phillips, who connected us, that, I don't know,
0:55.4	for some reason that interview is what made it click.
0:58.8	And I just realized, you know, hey, we, like, that whole thing was about Camp Canacook,
1:04.4	you know, the biggest, supposedly the biggest Christian camp in the world.
1:10.7	And I was just thinking about it.
1:13.6	I was like, man, this is, I mean, it's great.
1:16.6	We're, hopefully nobody ever goes there again,
	...

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