Episodes
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In this bonus episode I'm sharing a conversation I had with my Literary Agent, Carly Waters for her podcast (The Sh*t Noone Tells You About Writing) about my new novel Women Are the Fiercest Creatures plus a look into what's coming in Season 2.
Check out my new book: https://www.andreadunlop.net/books
Check out Carly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/?hl=en
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Andrea and her Producer Tina at Larj Media talk about how the show came to be, the journey towards finding and talking with Hope Ybarra and what you can look forward to for season 2 of the show.
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Missing episodes?
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Andrea has made an intense connection with Hope Ybarra's family, and asked experts, doctors, and the detective so many of her burning questions about Munchausen by Proxy. But she's become increasingly fixated on talking to Hope herself as she comes to realize that it may be her only chance to get the insights she needs. In this stunning season one finale, Andrea travels to Mountain Home, Idaho, to meet with Hope Ybarra.
In this intense, emotional back-and-forth, we hear straight from Hope what life is like for her after being released from prison. We find out what she's up to and what she hopes for from the future. Hope listens to her own family—all of whom she's estranged from with the exception of Robin—talk about what she was like before everything fell apart. She insists that she still loves her children, despite what she did. We see the human being behind the monstrous acts that splashed Hope's story across headlines and landed her in prison for a decade.
Andrea asks Hope what might have been done to help her and what she might say to her younger self if she could go back. Finally, she tells Hope that if she really wants her family back, she should get treatment and offers to help her if she wants that.
Hope is friendly and warm in person, but Andrea is left with the unsettling truth that she hasn't changed.
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Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
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Andrea delves deep into her questions around the psychopathology of Munchausen by Proxy perpetrators. Floored by the similarities in the many cases she’s researched, she talks to two of the world's foremost experts on the disorder—Dr. Marc Feldman and Dr. Mary Sanders—about the characteristics, warning signs, and causes of the disorder that has upended the lives of so many people Andrea has spoken to throughout the course of the podcast. Why would a mother ever do this? What do they get from it? And most importantly, what could be done to stop them? Is it possible for someone who does these things to get treatment?
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Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
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As Andrea contemplates what the future looks like for survivors of Munchausen by Proxy, she gets an unexpected message from two young women who’ve lived it. After appearing with Marc Feldman on a podcast, Andrea hears from twin-sisters who survived MBP.
Liz and Erica Handt were taken from one terrifying situation to another when the foster mom who adopted them turns out to be abusive, telling the girls they had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and dragging them from specialist to specialist. The twins' story is harrowing but ultimately hopeful as they're now thriving.
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Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
For more about the Handt twins: https://lotusesinbloom.com/
Erica’s Instagram: Erica Blake (Handt) (@erica_a_blake) • Instagram photos and videos
Liz’s Instagram: Liz | Mental Health + Healing (@lizhandt) • Instagram photos and videos
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Right before his story was released in episode five of NOBODY SHOULD BELIEVE ME, the father we referred to as “John” changed his mind about wanting to share his story anonymously after he learned a terrifying piece of news about his son. Now, Doug Welch shares the events that led up to his decision, where things stand in his family now, and what he wants his kids to know.
Coverage of the case against Mary Welch
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/investigations/mother-at-center-of-investigation-is-indicted/89-105671356
Detective Mike Weber’s arrest warrant for Mary Welch
https://bit.ly/ArrestWarrent
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As we learn from Detective Mike Weber, the father in a Munchausen by Proxy case can be the most important ally--or the biggest obstacle--in protecting child victims from abuse. In part two of Andrea’s examination of the father’s role in MBP cases, Andrea speaks to “John”, a father devastated but the revelation that his ex-wife had subjected their son to unnecessary brain surgery. We also talk to Ryan Crawford, a man who found himself fighting for his son’s life against a disbelieving system.
Plus we get a stunning real-time update on one of our cases as “John” decides to come forward with his true identity.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
More about Ryan Crawford’s story: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2019/august/the-boy-who-stayed-sick/
https://mikeweberconsulting.com/
Produced by the team at Larj Media
Editing by Lisa Gray
Engineering by Jeff Gall
Additional scoring and music by Johnny Nicholson & Joel Shupack
Additional story editing by Wendy Nardi
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As we learn from Detective Mike Weber, the father in a Munchausen by Proxy case can be the most important ally--or the biggest obstacle--in protecting child victims from abuse. We learn more about how Andrea’s own family became divided during the first investigation into her sister and we meet George Hunnicut, a veteran who discovered his young wife was abusing their infant son and found himself up against a system that had no idea what to do for him.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
For more about Mike Weber, visit https://mikeweberconsulting.com/
More about George Hunnicut’s story:
https://media.star-telegram.com/Munchausenmoms/
More about Ryan Crawford’s story: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2019/august/the-boy-who-stayed-sick/
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Andrea speaks to Deanna Boyd, the crime reporter who broke the Hope Ybarra case and discovers that Hope's was one of many Munchausen By Proxy cases in Tarrant County that Deanna unearthed; all of which had flown under the radar. What's going on here? Why are there so many cases in this one area?
As Andrea interviews Deanna and meets with Detective Mike Weber, as well as Dr. Jayme Coffman and Dr. Karen Shultz--two doctors involved with the Ybarra and many other MBP cases--she makes a chilling discovery. It's not that there are so many cases in Tarrant County, it's just that they're catching them. If the systems meant to protect children were functioning, every county would look like Tarrant.
Andrea can only guess as to what truly went on behind the scenes in her own family's case, but she begins to grasp what the systems involved--CPS, the police, the doctors--are up against and why so many cases are destined to fail. Meanwhile, Andrea continues her maddening back-and-forth with Hope.
Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
For more about Mike Weber, visit https://mikeweberconsulting.com/
Read Deanna Boyd’s original reporting: https://media.star-telegram.com/Munchausenmoms/
Produced by the team at Larj Media
Editing by Lisa Gray
Engineering by Jeff Gall
Additional scoring and music by Johnny Nicholson & Joel Shupack
Additional story editing by Wendy Nardi
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We meet accomplished novelist and loving mother Andrea Dunlop as she embarks on a journey to understand the series of events that tore her family apart. We learn that her older sister has been investigated twice for Munchausen by Proxy abuse, which inspired Andrea to learn everything she could about this complex and misunderstood issue. We see Andrea become captivated by the story of Hope Ybarra and go along with her to meet Hope’s father, sister, and brother: the first people Andrea has ever spoken to who’ve actually lived through a case. But can anything prepare Andrea for the truth?
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Follow host Andrea Dunlop on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
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Produced by the team at Larj Media
Editing by Lisa Gray
Engineering by Jeff Gall
Additional scoring and music by Johnny Nicholson & Joel Shupack
Additional story editing by Wendy Nardi
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We delve deeper into the story of Hope Ybarra, a young mother whose family discovers she’s been faking her eight-year-long battle with terminal cancer and begins to suspect her own health isn’t all she’s lying about. We talk more to Hope’s family and her ex-husband Fabian Ybarra about their efforts to unravel Hope’s many sinister deceptions.
We meet Detective Mike Weber, who was responsible for investigating Hope Ybarra, an early foray into what would become the main focus of his career: Munchausen by Proxy.
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Follow Andrea on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
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Follow host Andrea Dunlop on Instagram for behind-the-scenes photos: @andreadunlop
To support the show, go to Patreon.com/NobodyShouldBelieveMe where you can listen to exclusive bonus content.
For more information and resources on Munchausen by Proxy, please visit MunchausenSupport.com
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s MBP Practice Guidelines can be downloaded here.
To learn more about Dr. Marc Feldman, visit Munchausen.com
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Produced by the team at Larj Media
Editing by Lisa Gray
Engineering by Jeff Gall
Additional scoring and music by Johnny Nicholson & Joel Shupack
Additional story editing by Wendy Nardi
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Novelist Andrea Dunlop is looking for answers. When her older sister was first investigated for Munchausen by Proxy abuse more than a decade ago, it tore her family apart. This catastrophic series of events sent Dunlop on a journey to understand this most taboo form of abuse. In this groundbreaking podcast, she talks to some of the top experts in the world to explore the criminology and psychopathology behind Munchausen by Proxy and to reveal the wide swath of destruction these perpetrators leave in their wake.
Along the way, she becomes captivated by the case of Hope Ybarra: Dunlop speaks to those most familiar with the case, from the reporter who broke the story, to the detective who investigated it, to the family who lived through it. In the dramatic finale, she’ll speak to Hope Ybarra herself.
