S07 E01: The Catalyst

Nobody Should Believe Me

True Story Media

Society & Culture, True Crime, Personal Journals

4.2 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome to Season Seven of Nobody Should Believe Me. Andrea revisits the case of Maya Kowalski—the story at the center of the Netflix film Take Care of Maya–and the family’s high-profile lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. What became widely framed as a story about “medical kidnapping” began when hospital staff reported suspected medical child abuse after Maya arrived with a history of extreme ketamine treatments. How did a case of horrific abuse become a story about evil doctors kidnapping children? Featuring: Ethen Shapiro, Attorney for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital *** Listen to our 4-part recap of the Kowalski Case: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revisiting-kowalski-part-one-the-turn/id1615637188?i=1000750439578 Listen to our season 3 coverage of the Kowalski Case: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s03-e01-special-report-watching-take-care-of-maya-re-release/id1615637188 Listen to Andrea and Dr. Bex’s coverage of the Kowalski v Johns Hopkins Trial: https://www.patreon.com/collection/548199 Try out Andrea’s Podcaster Coaching App: https://studio.com/apps/andrea/podcaster Order Andrea’s book The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/the-mother-next-door-9781250284273/ View our sponsors: https://www.nobodyshouldbelieveme.com/sponsors/ Remember that using our codes helps advertisers know you’re listening and helps us keep making the show! Subscribe on YouTube where we have bonus content: https://www.youtube.com/@NobodyShouldBelieveMePod Follow Andrea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreadunlop/ Buy Andrea's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrea-Dunlop/author/B005VFWJPI For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit: https://www.munchausensupport.com/ The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines: https://apsac.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Munchausen-by-Proxy-Clinical-and-Case-Management-Guidance-.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	True Story Media.
0:07.5	Please note that this show discusses child abuse, which may be difficult for some listeners.
0:12.1	For resources about abusive head trauma, go to shakenbaby.org.
0:17.9	Take care of Maya trial.
0:20.2	New details as well, and take care of Maya trial.
0:21.6	Well, Maya Koalski and her family have waited now five years to hear a verdict in their $220 million lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
0:31.6	In the conduct of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, in fact, are Maya Kowalski.
0:47.7	What happened to Maya? That was the question posed by Diane Neri in her viral feature for New York Magazine that ran in the fall of 2022.
0:53.0	There was that headline, along with a close-up of Maya Kowalski's eyes.
0:58.8	I remember reading this article long before I'd end up reading thousands of pages of court documents,
1:02.1	medical records, testimony, and police records about the case,
1:08.2	and thinking, I don't think this reporter understands what actually happened here.
1:11.7	And then, of course, there was the Netflix film.
1:17.0	No matter what we did, the court sided with the hospital staff.
1:19.5	Judges don't care about evidence.
1:23.8	You don't get to the truth by accepting what's in front of you without questioning it.
1:27.3	And I realized that this was a lot bigger than just the Kowalskies. How many times are you allowed to be wrong and destroy lives before they say, okay, that's enough?
1:35.3	These families walked in, hoping for help for their child, and some of them walked out in handcuffs.
1:42.3	And this was followed by a high-profile question. and some of them walked out in handcuffs.
1:48.9	And this was followed by a high-profile court battle.
1:52.8	Nobody should believe me had been on the air for about a year at this point.
1:57.2	And this was the biggest story about Munchausen by proxy since Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
	...

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