Untold: The Retreat By cover art

Untold: The Retreat

By: Financial Times
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  • Summary

  • Untold is a new podcast from the special investigations team at the Financial Times. On Untold: The Retreat, host Madison Marriage examines the world of the Goenka network, which promotes a type of intensive meditation known as Vipassana. Thousands of people go on Goenka retreats every year. People rave about them. But some go to these meditation retreats, and they suffer. They might feel a deep sense of terror, or a break with reality. And on the other side, they’re not themselves anymore. Untold: The Retreat launches Jan. 24.

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    Financial Times
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Episodes
  • Another Death

    Another Death
    Feb 14 2024

    Madison Marriage hears of another death, one that happened five years before Jaqui’s. Was the Goenka network aware of the dangers of intensive meditation? Marriage asks what the organisation is doing, if anything, to protect people from harm.


    For support or more information about adverse meditation experiences, take a look at the Cheetah House website.

    If you are in need of urgent mental health support, please contact your local emergency services or reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US, or Samaritans in the UK.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    45 mins
  • Jaqui’s Story

    Jaqui’s Story
    Feb 7 2024

    Jaqui was 22 when she signed up to a 10-day Goenka retreat. It was the last known thing she did before she died. This is Jaqui’s story.


    For support or more information about adverse meditation experiences, take a look at the Cheetah House website.

    If you are in need of urgent mental health support, please contact your local emergency services or reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    40 mins
  • Ten Long Days

    Ten Long Days
    Jan 31 2024

    Emily’s twin sister spirals after going on a Goenka retreat, and she’s not the only one. Madison Marriage hears multiple accounts of terror, hallucinations and psychosis. Was meditation just the catalyst that unleashed psychological problems? Or did this network of silent meditation retreats actually cause their suffering?


    For support or more information about adverse meditation experiences, take a look at the Cheetah House website.

    We also spoke to Miguel Farias and Jonny Say to corroborate claims in the podcast about adverse meditation experiences. You can find out more about Farias’s work here, and Say’s here.


    If you are in need of urgent mental health support, please contact your local emergency services or reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US or Samaritans in the UK.


    Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    44 mins
Politics & Government Social Sciences Spirituality
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