Podcast Episodes

Human trafficking can feel distant—until you see the patterns, the people being targeted, and the routes traffickers use to move them. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid Dutton sits down with Laura Parker, CEO and co-founder of The Exodus Road, to go inside the realities of human trafficking intervention, sex trafficking prevention, online grooming, and sextortion. Laura shares how she and her husband went from teaching and pastoring to working alongside law enforcement, goin...

“Look at that little enemy of God.” That single sentence captures the shame and fear Hollyanna grew up with as the fourth generation of her family inside a high-control religious group. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid Dutton sits down with Hollyanna to talk about religious trauma, cult recovery, coercive control, and what happens when a system demands obedience at the expense of identity. Hollyanna describes growing up in an environment where questioning could be dangerous, i...

What happens when a podcast conversation ends—but the questions don’t? Beyond the Statistics explores domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, legal abuse, healing, survivor advocacy, and the systems that impact survivors. Week after week, those conversations lead to more questions, more ideas, and topics that deserve more than a single episode. So I created a place to keep them going. In this special bonus episode, I’m introducing the Beyond the Statistics Community, a new membe...

The most chilling cult stories aren’t always about strangers. Sometimes the cult is your last name. Stella McCormick, author of Deliver Us from Mother: Faith, Fear, and the Family Cult That Broke Me, joins Ingrid to share what it was like growing up inside what she now recognizes as a single-family cult—an extreme fundamentalist Christian home shaped by isolation, fear, unquestioned authority, and punishment disguised as discipline. But Stella didn’t always recognize her childhood as abuse. Y...

You can leave an abusive relationship and still feel like your body is bracing for the next threat. Panic, numbness, hypervigilance, physical symptoms, and a nervous system that won’t seem to settle can leave survivors wondering why they don’t feel “better” yet. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid sits down with Dr. Lisha Antiqua, a survivor who works in trauma recovery and somatic healing to talk about healing after abuse, somatic trauma, and nervous system regulation. They expl...

When the person causing harm holds a position of power, the barriers survivors already face can become even more complicated. In this special Beyond the Statistics conversation, Ingrid Dutton moderates The Pulpit and the Badge: When Power and Authority Go Wrong with Norma Peterson of Document the Abuse, Neil Schori of Called to Peace Ministries, and Bruce Bieber. Using the stories of Mica Miller and Stacy Peterson as a starting point, they examine what happens when domestic abuse and coercive ...

What happens after you tell your story—and the people from your past start responding? Tricia Gray returns to Beyond the Statistics to talk about what happened after publishing her memoir, A Lotus Legacy. Readers across the country began connecting with her story, but so did people from the Louisiana hometown she once ran from—including people who remembered the day her mother died. In this conversation, Tricia and Ingrid explore healing after domestic violence and childhood trauma, wha...

Coercive control doesn’t always leave bruises. It leaves patterns, fear, and often a trail of behavior that can be incredibly difficult to explain—or prove—when a survivor finally asks for help. In this bonus episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid sits down with Norma Peterson of Document the Abuse and Tracy Curtis of EmpowerEd to talk about documenting coercive control, domestic abuse, and post-separation abuse in ways that can help survivors preserve important details and help professiona...

Codependency is often talked about in conversations about domestic violence—but too often, it sounds like blame. What if people pleasing, approval seeking, and self-abandonment aren't character flaws, but patterns shaped by trauma, instability, and survival? In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid is joined by boundaries coach, speaker, and podcaster Barb Nangle to talk about codependency recovery, healthy boundaries, and rebuilding self-trust after relational trauma. Barb shares her ...

Two different marriages. The same man. And a trail of “that’s weird” moments that only made sense once Deana and Lizzie finally compared timelines. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid sits down with Deana and Lizzie, co-hosts of Surviving Toxic Relationships, to share the remarkable story of how they discovered they had each married the same man at different points in their lives—and began recognizing strikingly similar patterns of emotional abuse, manipulation, deception, and cont...

Reporting sexual assault is supposed to be a step toward justice. But what happens when the system itself becomes another barrier? In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid is joined by survivor and advocate Danielle Pyle to talk about surviving sexual assault, reporting to law enforcement, navigating a sexual assault forensic exam, and fighting for accountability when the justice system falls short. Danielle shares what she remembers from the night of her assault in April 2021, includi...

Someone can survive domestic violence and still feel unsafe long after the relationship ends. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ray Floyd shares how abuse changed his everyday life—from living without fear to constantly scanning his surroundings for danger. His memoir, No One Is Listening, tells the story of surviving domestic violence, navigating trauma, and rebuilding life after abuse. Ray and host Ingrid Dutton discuss the warning signs he recognizes in hindsight, including escalat...

Domestic abuse isn't defined by a single incident—it's defined by a pattern. At the center of that pattern is coercive control. Coercive control is the ongoing use of fear, intimidation, manipulation, isolation, and domination to strip away another person's freedom and autonomy. It can exist with physical violence, but it doesn't have to. In many abusive relationships, coercive control is the foundation that allows every other form of abuse to take hold. In this episode of Beyond the Statisti...

Strangulation is one of the strongest predictors of future homicide in domestic violence, yet it's often misunderstood, minimized, and overlooked because many survivors have little or no visible injury. In this episode of Beyond the Statistics, Ingrid Dutton is joined by retired South Carolina law enforcement officer and domestic violence expert Brian Bennett, who has trained thousands of officers, investigators, medical professionals, and advocates on identifying and responding to nonfatal s...

When this podcast began, it was built around a powerful statistic. But over time, it became clear that statistics can only tell part of the story. In this special announcement episode, I share why the podcast is evolving and what Beyond the Statistics represents moving forward. We explore: Why domestic violence is more than a number How coercive control, legal abuse, stalking, and psychological abuse fit into the larger picture The overlap between domestic violence, sexual assault, and huma...

When trauma leaves you without words, poetry can become a way back to yourself. This week on 1 in 3, host Ingrid sits down with licensed clinical mental health counselor Margaret Bryden to explore how poetry therapy helps survivors process traumatic experiences, regulate emotions, and reconnect with their own voice. Margaret believes you don't have to be a "good writer" to benefit from poetry. In fact, her philosophy of bad poetry encourages people to silence their inner critic and simply beg...

A man reports sexual assault and is laughed at. Sadly, that experience is far more common than many people realize. This week, Ingrid sits down with Liana Lucine, former Metropolitan Police officer, trainer, and author of Men Ignored, for an important conversation about the realities male survivors face when they experience sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and coercive control. Together they explore why so many men never disclose abuse, how harmful stereotypes prevent sur...

Leaving an abusive relationship is rarely the end of the story. In Part 2 of Luna's powerful survivor story, she shares how the abuse escalated from coercive control to strangulation, weapon threats, and constant intimidation. What began as controlling behavior during a teenage relationship became life-threatening violence that affected every aspect of her life. Luna opens up about discovering she was pregnant at just 16 years old and facing accusations instead of support. She describes being...

The most dangerous relationships rarely begin with obvious abuse. This week on 1 in 3, Ingrid is joined by domestic violence survivor Luna, who shares how a relationship that began when she was just 16 slowly transformed from what seemed like a typical teenage romance into coercive control, isolation, and escalating abuse. What started with jealousy over a Facebook post became constant accusations, monitoring, and demands to prove her loyalty. Luna describes how "protection" became control, w...

Strangulation doesn't have to leave visible bruises to cause life-altering injuries—or even death. In Episode 122 of 1 in 3, Ingrid Dutton sits down with April Flores-Brayton, Director of Community-Based Services at WINGS, Illinois' largest domestic violence agency, to discuss the often-overlooked connection between strangulation, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and intimate partner violence. April explains how WINGS' hospital-based advocacy program helps survivors access support during one of ...

Kids don't have to be physically abused to be deeply affected by domestic violence. When children grow up surrounded by fear, conflict, manipulation, or emotional instability, the trauma often follows them long into adulthood. In this episode of the 1 in 3 Podcast, Ingrid sits down with executive leader, advocate, and author Tricia Gray to explore the lasting impact domestic violence has on children. Drawing from both professional insight and personal experience, Tricia explains how childhood...

Some stories don't just break your heart—they remind you that healing is possible. In this powerful episode of the 1 in 3 Podcast, Ingrid sits down with survivor, entrepreneur, author, and advocate Rita Cartwright to discuss how faith helped her navigate domestic abuse, infidelity, profound grief, and unimaginable loss. Rita shares her personal journey of rebuilding her life, the inspiration behind her book How To Heal Your Broken Heart, and why healing isn't a destination—it's a daily practi...

When parents age, society often assumes adult children should automatically step in and provide care. But what happens when the parent needing help is also the person who caused years of emotional harm, manipulation, or trauma? In this episode of the 1 in 3 Podcast, Ingrid sits down with elder care educator and advocate Amy Friesen to unpack the complicated reality of parental estrangement, caregiving boundaries, and healing from toxic family dynamics. Amy shares both professional insight ...

Trafficking is not always a stranger in a parking lot or a dramatic abduction story. Sometimes it looks like coercive control inside a relationship, grooming by an older partner, or manipulation powered by fear, shame, and trauma bonds. In this episode of 1 in 3, Ingrid sits down with former FBI agent and retired SWAT operator Eric Robinson to unpack what sex trafficking actually looks like under federal law—and why so many victims remain hidden in plain sight. Eric shares insights from years ...