Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

S2E0 Season 2 Co-Host Roundtable

Welcome to Season 2 of the Dear Katie: Survivor Stories Podcast! We are pleased to welcome an additional two hosts to future episodes of Dear Katie: Survivor Stories. Claire, Sandra, and Kavita will take turns sharing space with Katie and our guests.

Dr. Claire Kaplan is an associate producer on the Dear Katie podcast, and has been the co-host through all of season one. She began her activist work more than thirty years ago in California, and recently retired as Director of the Gender Violence and Social Change Program at UVA’s Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center.

Dr. Sandra Miles is an expert in DEI and Title IX in higher education spaces. She presents regularly at national and regional conferences and at hundreds of schools throughout the country on inclusivity, diversity, gender and sexual harassment. 

Dr. Kavita Ajmere is a psychologist with a focus on women and adolescent girls' health. She's also a yoga instructor and adjunct professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.

Editor: Kelsey Styles
Producers: Katie Koestner and Emily Wang

S1E20 Sunset on the Ocean

Sabrina wanted to become a firefighter. Perhaps it was the betrayal of the community she vowed to protect that hurt the most. When her certification teacher assaulted her, she tried to ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening. When her small town found out about the assault, they shunned and blamed her. Her school told her not to come to prom so she wouldn't cause a scene. She was forbidden from attending their senior year river cruise. She was blamed for being the only woman in a male-dominated program, and encouraged to enroll in online school. Sabrina talks about her battle to become the certified firefighter she was determined to be, and all the forces standing in her way. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Bob Kanygin
Voice Actor: Arianne Few

 

S1E19 Penalty Kick from 12 Yards

Taylor was a freshman college athlete who was assaulted after a party. Her story is shockingly common - and she explains that she felt like she grew up in a liberal area, and thought she was prepared for college. This episode, Katie, Claire, and Taylor talk about the lack of education teenagers receive before living on their own, and how that can impact their early sexual encounters. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Jake McFadden
Voice Actor: Danielle Thacker

S1E18 Fresh Picked Daisies

Sharlene was labeled a troubled child as a result of sexual abuse. Nobody asked her what was wrong. When she cried at the empty bus stop or refused to eat, she was seen as a bad kid. Now, as a grandmother in her sixties, she has wisdom to share. Sharlene watches her children and her grandchildren closely, and protects them from harm. Decades later, she is able to shed the guilt and pain and go on to help others. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Jake McFadden
Voice Actor: Renee Chambers

 

S1E17 Acting Up at the Kitchen Sink

When she was eight years old, Lillyhanna was molested by her sixteen year old cousin. She was later raped by a family friend. It took many years for her to begin her healing process, but now she understands what it is she needs to do when she has memories of the past. She explains how she is surrounded by a strong support network, and how invaluable that is to her. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Tony Zaret
Voice Actor: Christina Johnson

S1E16 Baritone Ukulele Golden Oldies

Lilleana knows what happens when your abuser is well connected. The man who abused her, a family friend, molested her from age 9-11. She did report it, but nothing will be done since he has three sons on the police force and his brother is a detective.

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Tony Zaret
Voice Actor: Zia Edgell

 

S1E15 Expert Episode: Laura Davis, Author of The Courage to Heal

Laura Davis has helped survivors world over with her book The Courage To Heal, co-authored by Laura Bass. She has now written a memoir of her fraught relationship with her mother. The Shining Light of Two Stars is a riveting story of the love and anger that drew them together and pulled them apart in the decades since Laura told her mother that her grandfather sexually abused her. In this episode of Dear Katie: Survivor Stories, Laura discusses the dangers and the benefits of reconciling with a toxic family member, and what survivors can learn from her experience.

 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest: Laura Davis
Editor: Kelsey Styles
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang

S1E14 Hawkins v. McGee

Ella is bold and sure of herself - and it is for this reason that, after two seniors rape her in her own dorm room, she doesn't report. It is only as she brags to her roommate about the encounter does her roommate correct her: "Ella, what happened to you was assault." She spends the next few years hiding behind the men she dates, until she finally graduates and is free. Ella provides listeners with their own courage to be the freest, truest versions of themselves. Her story will give you hope.

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Editor: Kelsey Styles
Voice Actor: Melanie Hart

S1E13 Bad Axe in the Forest

Kelly is a single mother ready to enter the world of online dating. She connects with a man whose friendly façade quickly fades to reveal a sexually violent manipulator who takes advantage of Kelly's vulnerability. His control over her doesn't last long, however; learn how this axe-throwing superwoman took back her power and prevented him from preying on anyone else. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Editor: Jake McFadden
Letter Voice Actor: Jeremiah McMillion

S1E12 Morning Frost on Moss

Fern's story doesn't add up. Four drinks leave her vomiting and unable to walk as she is practically carried to a shower where she is raped while unconscious. This survivor recounts in flashes her assault and the invasive legal processes that she hoped would lead to closure. Fern gives listeners tips for healing even after police insist she has no case.

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan
Editor: Kelsey Styles
Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang
Letter Voice Actor: Anna Claire Walker