Episode 6: On the Record

Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story

Dear Media

True Crime

4.4 • 989 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Coco Berthmann’s student visa is set to expire, and she’s desperate to stay in the United States. So… her story grows. Again. Coco meets with a best-selling author to talk about collaborating on a book. She tries to convince journalist Chris Hansen to make a documentary criticizing a major anti-trafficking organization… with her as a central character in the film. And she files rape charges against a well-known anti-trafficking advocate.

But in the middle of all this, the word gets out: Coco Berthmann is not who she claims to be.

If you or a loved one is struggling, help is available:

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988

National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): 855-897-5910

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Resources

Mental Health Hotline: 866-903-3787

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Transcript

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0:00.0	A Dear Media Original Podcast.
0:02.7	Just a reminder, we are using AI to create audio of written words.
0:07.2	We'll let you know when it happens.
0:09.0	And a warning.
0:10.0	This episode includes mention of sexual violence against children, rape, and suicide.
0:14.8	Listen with care.
0:15.8	If you want, you can go right here.
0:20.2	Go to the right and then that will take us to Temple Square. The first time I came to Salt Lake City, Lynn Packer gave me a tour.
0:27.8	He's the veteran Utah journalist who first exposed some of Coco Birthman's lies. This was really fun. Lynn knows this town
0:35.0	really well. He's been covering it for a long time. Right over there is where I
0:39.4	interviewed Robert Redford the night that he had finished shooting all the president's men.
0:46.0	Lynn is in his late 70s and he has great stories and I can't tell you how much I love
0:51.5	hearing journalism war stories. I could listen all day.
0:54.8	I covered Ted Bundy's trial when he was on trial here in Salt Lake.
0:58.8	For the past nine years, Lynn has been working on a different kind of story. One about an organization called Operation
1:05.2	Underground Railroad. It's known as O-U-R. It's a Utah nonprofit that sends out what they call
1:11.9	jump teams around the world to rescue
1:14.4	purported child sex slaves. OUR and its founder Tim Ballard are the
1:19.4	inspiration for the summer's surprise hit movie Sound of Freedom and if your social media
1:25.3	feed is anything like mine you've probably already heard about it.
1:29.7	Here at the drive-in in Maryville finally, about to watch the sound of freedom.
1:34.6	All over Tik-talk, people are talking about it.
	...

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