READING & LISTENING01
Returning to the newspaper archive
A short reading note and a link to historical reporting.
STORIES & READING NOTES
Experiences shared.
Perspectives opened.
New reading notes alongside the original stories and educational excerpts.
READING & LISTENING02
Revisiting Newsweek’s 2007 reporting on Midtown
Historical reporting on competing accounts of support, control, and leaving a group.
READING & LISTENING03
Belonging, leaving, and rebuilding trust: @alabamaamanda’s Facebook account
A separate reflection from the creator whose Instagram account is already featured here.
READING & LISTENING04
Creepaholics Anonymous: a conversation on The Dream
An introduction to @alabamaamanda’s podcast appearance, with a direct listening link.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS05
Looking for understanding: two anonymous messages
Two reader messages, shared with permission and identifying details removed, about seeking understanding and concerns about harm.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS06
When leaving means starting over: @mandiptalkspredators on Midtown
A reading note on her account of entering Midtown as a teenager and the barriers to leaving, with timestamped YouTube links.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS07
Seven years in Midtown: @alabamaamanda’s account
A personal account of Midtown, drawn from @alabamaamanda’s Instagram caption, with a link to her original reel.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS08
Eight years in an AA group she calls a cult: @complexis’s account
A look at the captions and on-screen text in three posts by @complexis, with direct links to her videos.
READING NOTE09
Reading the Guardian’s Midtown investigation
A link to the Guardian investigation, with a note on reading at your own pace.
FROM THE ARCHIVE10
Many AA Members Upset with Revealing Coercive AA Group
Reflections on the response to sharing stories about Midtown in an online AA community.
FROM THE ARCHIVE11
What is Midtown and Who is "Mike" Q.?
Background on the Midtown group and the reporting referenced in the original story.
FROM THE ARCHIVE12
Criteria for Mind Control
An excerpt exploring Robert Jay Lifton’s eight criteria for ideological totalism.
The three original articles were published in September 2023. Their original text and source links are preserved; new reading notes are dated separately.