The 13th Step
Episodes
Introducing: Safe to Drink
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Introducing “Safe to Drink:” A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the...
Feds Arrest Eric Spofford
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Federal prosecutors now say the vandalism scheme was Eric Spofford’s idea all along. Spofford appears in federal court, and Lauren explains what thi...
The Sentencing
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A New Bill and a Final Ruling
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A Big Arrest
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Federal prosecutors have charged a fourth person in the vandalism case, a man they describe as a “close, personal associate” of Eric Spofford.
Vandalism Arrests
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Federal prosecutors have charged three men for their alleged roles in the vandalism incidents. According to the feds, the vandalism was "solicited" by...
Epilogue: Employee A
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with one of the women whose story of sexual assault you heard earlier in this podcast. She talks with Lauren about what it was like to ...
The Glam Room
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since Lauren began reporting, Eric Spofford sold his New Hampshire company for millions of dollars and filed a defamation lawsuit in response to NHPR’...
The Litter Police
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to catch a predator in the addiction treatment industry? We hear about a case in California where the CEO of a network of treatment ...
A Wild (Wild?) West
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did 13th stepping become so common in the recovery world and who can hold people accountable? Lauren looks into the history of the addiction treat...
Just the Beginning
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In March of 2022, Lauren publishes her first story detailing allegations against Eric Spofford. The events of the next several months illustrate the w...
The God of Recovery
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Eric Spofford tells it, he spent his teen years in the throes of addiction and crime. When he got sober, he became a crusader for recovery. We hear...
The Shadow
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 13th Step is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Document team. More at 13thsteppodcast.org.To hear more stories by Lauren Chooljian an...
Trailer: The 13th Step
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Reporter Lauren Chooljian starts getting tips about the founder of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment network. He is allegedly sexually har...