The Silenced Truth Podcast

People who experience sexual abuse are frequently victimized twice—first in the physical violation, and then a second time when they try to seek justice by disclosing what happened to them. Unfortunately, this secondary injustice is a common experience within any large institution, but it is especially damaging when it happens within faith groups.

This is the story engine of THE SILENCED TRUTH, an audio documentary series that chronicles the decades-long secondary injustice of sexual abuse survivors who confronted the Southern Baptist Convention and other conservative Christian groups—only to discover that the institutions they assumed would protect them were instead protecting themselves.

Spanning four decades, the series moves between past and present, church pews and legislative hearings, exposing how the practices of America’s largest church groups often worked to silence survivors and provide cover for repeat offenders. Each episode blends deeply reported storytelling, survivor testimony, and archival audio to trace how the Southern Baptist Convention’s Conservative Resurgence reshaped theology, gender politics, and institutional power from the 1980s to today in their churches—and across evangelicalism in general.

Following each narrative episode, a conversation with an expert in trauma, law, theology, or history dissects the events and themes of the episode, connecting personal trauma to systemic failure and exploring what justice, repentance, and reform might truly mean—lessons applicable to any institution.

Director | Carolyn McCulley

Executive Producer | Rachael Berglund