The Gypsy Rose Obsession, Part 9

About this episode

When Gypsy Rose Blanchard announced she was pregnant, the internet opened an investigation. The woman who spent her childhood trapped inside her mother's medical lies was now raising a daughter of her own. In this episode, I look at what the research actually says about the cycle of abuse, and at what happens when a mother is watched as closely as Gypsy is. Strangers called CPS over a livestream and a baby with colic. Someone pulled her daughter's shot records from a state database and put them on TikTok. I talk to one of the women who made a CPS report, I go looking for whoever put a baby's medical records on the internet, and I ask Gypsy where she thinks the line is between protecting a child and isolating one. Content note: This episode discusses child abuse and contains strong language. Sources and further reading Cathy Spatz Widom, Sally J. Czaja and Kimberly A. DuMont, "Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: Real or detection bias?" Science (2015): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25814584/ Cathy Spatz Widom, "The Cycle of Violence," Science (1989): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2704995 Fleming S. Pedroso et al., "The Diving Reflex in