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The Sunshine Place

The Sunshine Place

Audacy Podcasts | Team Downey

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

Overview

Welcome to the 1980s, where the war on drugs rages on and America's teenagers are caught in the crossfire. Enter Straight Incorporated, a controversial new rehab program that promises its tough love approach can set kids back on the straight and narrow. But for the survivors of Straight, their experience tells a horrifyingly different story — one of abuse, torture, and brainwashing. Season 2 of “The Sunshine Place” delves into the shocking tale of Straight Incorporated, an experimental teen rehab that descended into a sadistic cult exploiting parents' deepest fears and their children's vulnerabilities. This heart-wrenching exploration of parenting, family, and the human spirit intertwines with the dark underbelly of power, money, and politics. And at the heart of it all, we find a connection back to the subject of “The Sunshine Place” Season 1, Synanon. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford of Team Downey, together with Josh McLaughlin of Wink Pictures. The Sunshine Place is an Audacy original.

30 Episodes

Introducing: What We Spend

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

S2|E8: Survivors

By the early 2000s, the “troubled teens” of Straight Incorporated have grown up, and they’re no longer victims, they’re survivors. Many of them embark on a quest for answers, but the architects of their pain and suffering have moved on to bigger, more insidious things. So the survivors look to one another for meaning, but their newfound connection reveals a profoundly dark secret. Together, they discover that the only path forward leads back home. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2024

S2|E7: KIDS

It’s the 1990s, and the rehab landscape has changed, but into this new environment enters a familiar opportunist. Dr. Miller Newton, the personification of the evil at Straight Inc., resurfaces with a new program and a new scheme to con parents. When the next generation of teenagers fall under his influence, it seems like they might never recover. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2024

S2|E6: Poster Child

Princess Diana graces Straight Incorporated with her presence at the invitation of the First Lady, Nancy Reagan. Their visit puts the program in the international spotlight. Enrollment numbers explode, but more teenagers to rehabilitate means more parents to indoctrinate. At Straight, adults take their cues from kids, no matter how vicious the mandate. Whether you call it rehabilitation or brainwashing, the program’s roots lead back to a powerful and unsettling origin. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2024

S2|E5: The Mayflower Group

Straight Incorporated sets its sites on the next prime market. The suburbs of Washington, D.C., with its population of wealthy and powerful parents who are also desperate and vulnerable to Straight’s propaganda. But one of the kids there comes up with a daring plan that threatens to upend Straight’s expanding empire. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 November 2024

S2|E4: Drug Warriors

As Straight Incorporated makes plans to expand across the country, the program’s founder recruits a powerful ally with connections to the White House. But in order to secure a presidential endorsement, Straight will have to answer one glaring question. Is the program brainwashing kids? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2024

S2|E3: Start Again

The Seed is heading down a dark and dangerous path, but nobody seems to realize it, except for the kids. As The Seed grows, so does the ego of its founder, Art Barker. The bigger the program gets, the more rumors start to spread about what is really happening behind closed doors. When people start asking questions they are alarmed by the answers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2024

S2|E2: The Seed

To understand Straight, we have to look back at its predecessor: The Seed. This Florida-based rehab center was founded by Art Barker, a former alcoholic and stand-up comedian turned rehabilitation guru. In the 1970s, he took his new act on the road, performing not in empty comedy clubs, but in packed warehouses filled with teenagers and their desperate parents. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2024

S2|E1: Intake

On Halloween of 1982, a Florida teenager named Valerie is kidnapped from her home, by her own mom. She ends up at an experimental drug rehab called Straight Incorporated. Valeries quickly realizes that at Straight, therapy is more like torture, and rehabiliation happens through indoctrination. When Valerie doesn’t know yet is that Straight is connected to something much bigger and more sinister than she could have possibly imagined. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2024

Introducing: The Sunshine Place, Season 2

Welcome to the 1980s, where the war on drugs rages on and America's teenagers are caught in the crossfire. Enter Straight Incorporated, a controversial new rehab program that promises its tough love approach can set kids back on the straight and narrow. But for the survivors of Straight, their experience tells a horrifyingly different story — one of abuse, torture, and brainwashing. Season 2 of “The Sunshine Place” delves into the shocking tale of Straight Incorporated, an experimental teen rehab that descended into a sadistic cult exploiting parents' deepest fears and their children's vulnerabilities. This heart-wrenching exploration of parenting, family, and the human spirit intertwines with the dark underbelly of power, money, and politics. And at the heart of it all, we find a connection back to the subject of “The Sunshine Place” Season 1, Synanon. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford of Team Downey, together with Josh McLaughlin of Wink Pictures. The Sunshine Place is an Audacy original. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 29 October 2024

Presenting Gone South Season 3: The Sign Cutter

On September 3, 2018, a rancher in Laredo, Texas, discovered a woman’s body shot execution-style on the side of the road. When investigators identified her as a local sex worker, their search for the killer took them into the darkest corners of the city. Then, after days of false starts and dead-ends, another body turned up, terrifying residents and leading law enforcement to conclude a serial killer is at large. More would die before a survivor finally came forward and identified the killer… but his motives proved as confounding as his crimes. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 26 October 2023

Introducing Say More with Dr? Sheila

In the world of feelings, there are winners and losers, and somebody has to be the judge. World-renowned, self-proclaimed couples therapist Dr? Sheila invites you to sit in on her private sessions with clients. (For legal reasons, Dr? must be said in the form of a question.) Each week, a new couple…and a new puzzle to crack. You’ll get to hear, and benefit from, many of her famous techniques as she counsels patients on overcoming disagreements, dealing with an overstepping mother-in-law, navigating open relationships, and much more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, because the best way to feel better about yourself is to compare your problems to the problems of others. “Say More” features guests including Kate Berlant, Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, Jessica St. Clair, Lennon Parham, Paula Pell, Janine Brito, Jason Mantzoukas, Peter Grosz, Jean Villepique, Stephnie Weir, John Lutz, Fred Armisen, Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell and Ana Gasteyer, and stars Amy Poehler as Dr? Sheila. Say More with Dr? Sheila premieres Thursday, September 21, 2023. Listen to and follow Say More with Dr? Sheila, an Audacy production, on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 September 2023

Introducing: Search Engine

No question too big, no question too small. On Search Engine, host PJ Vogt answers the kinds of questions you might ask the internet when you can't sleep. If you find the world bewildering, but also sometimes enjoy being bewildered by it, Search Engine is here for you. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 August 2023

S1|E8: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Chuck Dederich's story reaches its conclusion. Whether or not Synanon does is up for debate.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 September 2022

E8: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Chuck Dederich's story reaches its conclusion. Whether or not Synanon does is up for debate. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 21 September 2022

S1|E7: The Holy War

Chuck is consumed by paranoia and Synanon erupts in violence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 September 2022

E7: The Holy War

Chuck is consumed by paranoia and Synanon erupts in violence. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 14 September 2022

S1|E6: Changing Partners

After Chuck's wife Betty passes away, he quickly finds a new partner, and he instructs his followers to find new ones too, whether they want to or not.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 September 2022

E6: Changing Partners

After Chuck's wife Betty passes away, he quickly finds a new partner, and he instructs his followers to find new ones too, whether they want to or not. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 September 2022

S1|E5: The Breeders

Chuck declares that there will be no more children born in Synanon, and he goes to great lengths to make sure of it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 31 August 2022

E5: The Breeders

Chuck declares that there will be no more children born in Synanon, and he goes to great lengths to make sure of it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 31 August 2022

S1|E4: The Punk Squad

Chuck breaks one of his two rules for Synanon, no violence, beginning with his youngest followers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 August 2022

E4: The Punk Squad

Chuck breaks one of his two rules for Synanon, no violence, beginning with his youngest followers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 August 2022

S1|E3: The Trip

Legend, ritual, religion, LSD. Chuck experiments with all of it on his followers in Synanon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 August 2022

E3: The Trip

Legend, ritual, religion, LSD. Chuck experiments with all of it on his followers in Synanon. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 August 2022

S1|E2: The Miracle on the Beach

Chuck Dederich hits rock bottom as an alcoholic in the beachside slums of Los Angeles. It's 1958, and he's got nothing but an idea, but it's one that would save countless lives. He calls it Synanon. Others call it the Miracle on the Beach. Through sheer force of will, Chuck's idea becomes national news, and Synanon becomes a household word.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 August 2022

E2: The Miracle on the Beach

Chuck Dederich hits rock bottom as an alcoholic in the beachside slums of Los Angeles. It's 1958, and he's got nothing but an idea, but it's one that would save countless lives. He calls it Synanon. Others call it the Miracle on the Beach. Through sheer force of will, Chuck's idea becomes national news, and Synanon becomes a household word. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 August 2022

S1|E1: The Kidsnatchers

Welcome to Synanon. If you're wondering what Synanon is, then you're asking the same question as Celena and Mike, whose lives change forever the moment they arrive. It's the 1970s, and Synanon is a community, a utopia, a cautionary tale, and a cult. But more than anything else, it's a person, the founder of Synanon, a man named Charles E. Dederich, who most people call, Chuck.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 August 2022

E1: The Kidsnatchers

Welcome to Synanon. If you're wondering what Synanon is, then you're asking the same question as Celena and Mike, whose lives change forever the moment they arrive. It's the 1970s, and Synanon is a community, a utopia, a cautionary tale, and a cult. But more than anything else, it's a person, the founder of Synanon, a man named Charles E. Dederich, who most people call, Chuck. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 August 2022

Welcome to The Sunshine Place

Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a radical claim: It could cure heroin addiction. Before long, it would make an even bolder claim: It could cure any of your problems. All you had to do was move in. What started in a house on the beach, soon spread to compounds across the country. The man who made the miracle happen, Charles E. Dederich, aka “Chuck,” would be the one to destroy it all, along with the lives of many of his followers and millions of dollars in assets. The Sunshine Place tells the mind-blowing, true-story of Synanon - one of America’s most cutting edge social experiments, turned into one of its most dangerous and violent cults - as it’s never been told before: by the people who lived it. Executive Produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Emily Barclay Ford for Team Downey and C13Originals, together with Josh McLaughlin for Wink Pictures and written, produced, and directed by Peabody-nominated C13Originals, a Cadence13 Studio. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 26 July 2022

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