Before there were organizations in place to help people with drug addiction, the landscape for people with these problems was harsh and unforgiving. In the late 1950s, Charles "Chuck" Dederich wanted to change that. Dederich — who was open about…[Continue Reading...]
Forget murders, Netflix‘s latest hot doc is about schools. Only they’re not really schools, they are prisons, they make millions of dollars and destroy thousands of lives, and the bigwigs at the top of these horrific establishments keep getting away…[Continue Reading...]
Netflix’s The Program explores the troubled teen industry from the perspective of someone who went through it. Filmmaker Katherine Kubler spent 15 months at The Academy at Ivy Ridge, and uses the new docuseries to connect with fellow former students…[Continue Reading...]
From books and docuseries to podcasts and big-screen thrillers, true-crime tales are everywhere. Much of it is thinly researched retreads of well-worn cases and subjects that feel exploitative in the end. “Born in Synanon” is none of those things. The…[Continue Reading...]
Sandra Rogers-Hare and Cassidy Arkin are the mother-daughter duo behind Paramount+’s new docuseries, Born in Synanon. Rather than sensationalize the story of the cult known as Synanon, the series challenges viewers to reflect on what really went wrong in hopes…[Continue Reading...]
The phrase “not an obvious cult” doesn’t really get thrown around too much. Something either is a cult, or isn’t. And yet .. .there always seems to be some sort of grey area, especially when it comes to the self-help…[Continue Reading...]
Exploring the rise and fall of the Synanon organization — through the eyes of the members who lived it — from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult.…[Continue Reading...]
Many Havasu Pioneers and long-time residents have vivid memories of Synanon, the cult that established roots in Lake Havasu City during the 1970s. Recently, it has reentered the public consciousness, thanks to a new documentary series on Paramount Plus. We’re…[Continue Reading...]
From the archives: former KPIX reporter David Fowler shows the unusual ceremony at a Synanon drug rehabilitation ranch (now Walker Creek Ranch) near the town of Marshall in Marin County, where many Synanon married couples re-affirmed their wedding vows, August…[Continue Reading...]
The internet has been abuzz with the latest release, a Paramount Plus docuseries titled "Born in Synanon." Those who followed the headlines between the 1970s and '90s may recognize the name, as the addiction-recovery-community-turned-cult led by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich…[Continue Reading...]
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