Monique LaBorde

So much gratitude for that. Okay. I want to move on to questions about specific episodes. Okay. And I'm going to do a little recap of each episode because I know it's been a few months since listeners have heard some of these stories. So our first question is about the Tora episode. Tora was episode number eight. She was a history professor.

She met a student named Aaron in her class, an adult student. He was a veteran. He told her that he had had his foot blown off in an explosion while he was serving in in Afghanistan, and that he wore a prosthetic. But his death began the process of her learning that the amputation was a lie, that he actually had both of his feet.

She met a student named Aaron in her class, an adult student. He was a veteran. He told her that he had had his foot blown off in an explosion while he was serving in in Afghanistan, and that he wore a prosthetic. But his death began the process of her learning that the amputation was a lie, that he actually had both of his feet.

She met a student named Aaron in her class, an adult student. He was a veteran. He told her that he had had his foot blown off in an explosion while he was serving in in Afghanistan, and that he wore a prosthetic. But his death began the process of her learning that the amputation was a lie, that he actually had both of his feet.

So a listener wrote in to us and said, how could anyone live with a person and have a sexual relationship with them for three years and never see their foot?

So a listener wrote in to us and said, how could anyone live with a person and have a sexual relationship with them for three years and never see their foot?

So a listener wrote in to us and said, how could anyone live with a person and have a sexual relationship with them for three years and never see their foot?

Yeah. I mean, there are the practical elements. Like, he not only wore a sock, but he also wore a hard plastic brace underneath the sock. So when he walked, it sounded like... a prosthetic. And I mean, he always used a different shower that he said was easier for him to get into. So there are logistics of how he actually pulled off the deception.

Yeah. I mean, there are the practical elements. Like, he not only wore a sock, but he also wore a hard plastic brace underneath the sock. So when he walked, it sounded like... a prosthetic. And I mean, he always used a different shower that he said was easier for him to get into. So there are logistics of how he actually pulled off the deception.

Yeah. I mean, there are the practical elements. Like, he not only wore a sock, but he also wore a hard plastic brace underneath the sock. So when he walked, it sounded like... a prosthetic. And I mean, he always used a different shower that he said was easier for him to get into. So there are logistics of how he actually pulled off the deception.

But then there's, I think, a deeper level, too, that's more important to understand than the logistics of how he covered this up, is that he said it was an injury from a traumatic experience, an explosion that killed one of his friends in the war, which didn't happen. And there is a larger pattern about how these people who are manipulating others often work differently.

But then there's, I think, a deeper level, too, that's more important to understand than the logistics of how he covered this up, is that he said it was an injury from a traumatic experience, an explosion that killed one of his friends in the war, which didn't happen. And there is a larger pattern about how these people who are manipulating others often work differently.

But then there's, I think, a deeper level, too, that's more important to understand than the logistics of how he covered this up, is that he said it was an injury from a traumatic experience, an explosion that killed one of his friends in the war, which didn't happen. And there is a larger pattern about how these people who are manipulating others often work differently.

There's this research psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Fried, who we talk a lot about. Yeah. And her work is foundational to understanding betrayal trauma. She coined the term betrayal trauma. She also coined this acronym DARVO, D-A-R-V-O, which is a manipulation technique. And it stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. It's super powerful and effective.

There's this research psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Fried, who we talk a lot about. Yeah. And her work is foundational to understanding betrayal trauma. She coined the term betrayal trauma. She also coined this acronym DARVO, D-A-R-V-O, which is a manipulation technique. And it stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. It's super powerful and effective.

There's this research psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Fried, who we talk a lot about. Yeah. And her work is foundational to understanding betrayal trauma. She coined the term betrayal trauma. She also coined this acronym DARVO, D-A-R-V-O, which is a manipulation technique. And it stands for deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. It's super powerful and effective.

We see this tactic all the time in the world. But in a case like Tora, Aaron was claiming that he had this very sympathetic and very traumatic victim narrative of how he lost his foot. And so oftentimes people who are doing Darvo are basically flipping the script of who the victim is. And their victim narrative is compelling and is powerful and emotional. Right.

We see this tactic all the time in the world. But in a case like Tora, Aaron was claiming that he had this very sympathetic and very traumatic victim narrative of how he lost his foot. And so oftentimes people who are doing Darvo are basically flipping the script of who the victim is. And their victim narrative is compelling and is powerful and emotional. Right.

We see this tactic all the time in the world. But in a case like Tora, Aaron was claiming that he had this very sympathetic and very traumatic victim narrative of how he lost his foot. And so oftentimes people who are doing Darvo are basically flipping the script of who the victim is. And their victim narrative is compelling and is powerful and emotional. Right.

And it's the kind of thing that no sympathetic, reasonable person would say otherwise. I don't believe you that you had a injury in the war. Like you don't want to push someone on that. And the victim narratives can be so effective. I mean, we saw it also with Tammy McCrary in that episode where her husband was a fake doctor. He had said that he had two children.