On PRETEND, we tell stories about people who build false identities and hide the truth in plain sight. This week, we are featuring a case that fits right into that world. It is the newest season of Dakota Spotlight, titled “Meanwhile in Mankato.”
In 1965, an 18-year-old gas station attendant named Ray Dahm was murdered during an overnight shift at a rural Minnesota truck stop. The person who killed him was a clean-cut 17-year-old who looked harmless, the kind of kid no one would ever suspect. On the surface, it seemed simple. A robbery. A terrible act of violence. Case closed.
But that was only the beginning. Reporter James Wolner later uncovered that the killer did not stay locked away for long. Within a few years, he was quietly back in the community, working around teenage girls who had no idea they were interacting with a convicted murderer. His past had been buried, ignored, or conveniently forgotten.
“Meanwhile in Mankato” is a story about manipulation, vanished accountability, and the people who were left to carry the fallout of one man’s lies. It is exactly the kind of story we look at on PRETEND, because it shows how someone can reinvent themselves while everyone else looks the other way.
If you follow PRETEND, you will want to hear this one. It is sharp reporting, unsettling truth, and a reminder that the most dangerous story is often the one no one bothered to check.
Subscribe to Dakota Spotlight on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZqpK6FfXIvS35TUYjckd6?si=fe79cf9a61264247
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2309: From Smallville to NXIVM: The Psychology Behind Allison Mack
Smallville's Allison Mack is out of prison, and she's finally talking.
What was NXIVM, and how did Allison Mack become a high-ranking member?NXIVM was a self-help organization that sold leadership training and personal development courses. Beneath the surface, it operated as a coercive group led by Keith Raniere, using control tactics like starvation diets, sleep deprivation, emotional manipulation, and eventually a secret “master-slave” subgroup called DOS.
Who is Allison Mack?Allison Mack, best known from Smallville, joined NXIVM in the mid-2000s. She rose quickly inside the group and later played a major role in recruiting and controlling women within DOS. Mack pled guilty to racketeering and served three years in federal prison for her crimes. She was released in 2023.
What is this episode about?In this conversation, journalist Natalie Robehmed — host of the new CBC podcast Allison After NXIVM — explains how Allison Mack describes her journey from devoted follower to active perpetrator. We break down the psychological mechanics that made NXIVM work: obedience training, emotional conditioning, sexual manipulation, and why even smart people get pulled into systems like this.
We also revisit Allison’s early life as a child actor, her abusive relationship before NXIVM, and how these patterns help explain the control she eventually exerted over others.
After you listen, check out:👉 Allison After NXIVM from Uncover (CBC + Campsite Media) — Episode 1 is out now.
https://open.spotify.com/show/5asD2sDYXsiUCtYi7VUO49?si=0325705c159b4f54
👉 Comic Book Central’s 2016 interview with Allison Mack — recorded before NXIVM collapsed, offering an eerie look at who she was then.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VXZyFrQGrzwHzgU1D1Cih?si=dd94dae2332a493e
20% off all NordStellar Plans (valid until December 10th, 2025)
Link: nordstellar.com/pretend
Coupon code is: blackfriday20
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Bonus: The Psychology Behind Parasocial Relationships (Cracks in the Fandom)
This bonus episode is a chance to step back and make sense of everything that just unfolded in Cracks in the Fandom. If you listened to the series, you saw how an Instagram unfollow spiraled into harassment, infighting, and full-on chaos inside the SVU fandom. This series was petty, confusing , and pretty revealing about how people form attachments online.
I wanted to understand why this happens. Why someone can feel personally betrayed by an actor they don't even know. So I reached out to Bradley J. Bond, a professor at the University of San Diego who studies parasocial relationships for a living. He breaks down what these one-sided bonds actually are, why they feel real, and how they can slide from harmless to unhealthy faster than we think.
Copyright Takedown Update:My attorney has already filed a counterclaim. Patreon will let me put the episodes back up after the standard 10-business-day window. And Spotify is working on restoring the episodes promptly. I’ll keep you updated.
Thank you for supporting the show. Without you, I couldn't fight these frivolous legal challenges.
Javier
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The Hypnotist - Alien Abductions
Alien abductions.Hundreds of people say it’s happened to them.They’re not looking for fame or attention.Some keep it a secret...haunted by memories they can’t explain.
In Day 3 of PRETEND’s Halloween Marathon, we meet Dr. John Mack, a Pulitzer Prize–winning Harvard psychiatrist who risked his reputation to study these so-called abductees. Using hypnosis and relaxation techniques, Mack tried to uncover whether these encounters were dreams, delusions, or something far stranger.
Why would a man of science devote his life to stories most people laugh off? And what if the people he studied weren’t crazy at all?
This episode is part of a larger series I produced on hypnosis.
Check out the rest of the series. Season 8 of PRETEND:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/05forE4OuW9zgsI9OZ7XHy?si=71eca84e0f5843ba
Listen ad-free on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1813212
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The Haunted Tourist
It’s Day 2 of my Halloween Marathon, and today we’re diving into The Haunted Tourist.
I’m joined by Brandon Schexnayder, host of Southern Gothic and Fear Daily—two shows that live and breathe ghost stories. Together, we pull back the curtain on haunted tourism: the ghost tours, the myths, and the money that fuels them.
From fake cemeteries built for tourists to real tragedies twisted into folklore, Brandon and I explore what’s real, what’s exaggerated, and why we want to believe.
If you love a good ghost story—but also like to know what’s behind it—this one’s for you.
Southern Gothic: https://open.spotify.com/show/6s2eCUQgs76SLGEwiBwYOn?si=b9edd693f49b4e41
Fear Daily: https://open.spotify.com/show/5RrG0f6Yd7WNqSmuebfRMJ?si=d99660cd2e8c4a42
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PRETEND is an investigative true crime podcast about real people who lie for a living — con artists, scammers, and the victims caught in their web.
Hosted by journalist Javier Leiva, an and based in the United States, PRETEND exposes the human psychology behind deception and fraud. Each episode follows a real case of manipulation — from financial scams and Ponzi schemes to digital hoaxes and emotional cons.
PRETEND explains how and why deception works without shaming victims, combining ethical journalism with cinematic storytelling.
Featured in lists of the best podcasts about con artists and scams, PRETEND investigates crimes of persuasion, trust, and betrayal. New episodes drop regularly with stories that reveal how manipulation shapes modern life, both online and off.
[CLAIM:B6BT3XC4]
Ireland