This is exactly right.

This story contains adult content and language.

Listener discretion is advised.

He told me that there would be times at night when they were alone where he had her convinced,

you know, you're not actually God.

And she would say, no, you're right, you're right.

And then he says, these people would reel her back in.

I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, a nonfiction author and journalism professor in Austin, Texas.

I'm also the co-host of the podcast Buried Bones on Exactly Right.

And throughout my career, research for my many audio and book projects has taken me around the world.

On Wicked Words, I sit down with the people I've met along the way,

amazing writers, journalists, filmmakers, and podcasters

who have investigated and reported on notorious true crime cases.

This is about the choices writers make, both good and bad,

and it's a deep dive into the unpublished details behind their

stories.

What is the origin story of cults?

Author Jane Borden says it goes all the way back to the Puritans and their doomsday beliefs.

She says that from the beginning, we've been a nation of easy marks for con artists and manipulators.

She tells me about her book, Colts Like Us.

I don't remember how long ago you and I met. Your last name specifically is what drew me to you, of course.

Do you remember how we met and what I interviewed you for?

...