157. Dr. Kirsten Harrison: I, Sean/a and Perspectives That Break the Silence
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Release Date: 09/30/2025
169. Shannon Porter: "What They Don’t Say" Is in The House...and The Social Media Reels People Can’t Ignore
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
I’m happy to announce that I’m joined once again by Shannon Porter, host and co-founder of the What They Don’t Say podcast. Shannon returns to talk about the evolution of her work, her growing presence on social media, and what’s driving her to speak more openly, and more frequently, about the realities of surviving rape and sexual assault. Our conversation centers on the reels and posts Shannon is producing to help shed light on what survivors face every day: how people respond when a survivor shares their story, the misunderstandings that follow trauma, and the emotional labor...
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168. Marina Lacerda: When Epstein Power, Money, and Rape Collided — and She Survived
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
For decades, Marina was known only as “Minor Victim-1” in legal documents — a label that stripped away her humanity while protecting those responsible. In this conversation, Marina reclaims what was taken from her: her voice, her story, and her identity. She speaks not just about what happened, but about what it costs to survive abuse at that scale — the trauma that lingers, the mistrust that settles in the body, and the long road back to agency and truth. This episode is not sensational, and it is not speculative. It is grounded in lived experience and courageous truth-telling....
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167. Erin Williamson: Love146 — Pulling Children Back from the Darkness
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Erin Williamson joins me for an incredibly important conversation about her work with Love146, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children from human trafficking and walking alongside young survivors on their path to healing. Erin shares what this work truly looks like — not the headlines, but the day-to-day reality of survivor care, long-term recovery, and prevention education — and how essential it is to understand trafficking as a real issue affecting real children in communities across the country. We discuss the profound impact trafficking has on children’s brains,...
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166. Jason Patrick Berry: Secrets Beneath a Perfect Childhood
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
This week on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, I sit down with Jason Patrick Berry, author of the brave and unflinchingly honest memoir Secrets Beneath. Jason’s story is one that quietly breaks your heart and then slowly helps rebuild it. On the outside, his childhood looked perfectly normal, even picturesque. But behind closed doors lived a painful reality of abuse, secrecy, and survival that no child should ever have to experience. In Secrets Beneath, Jason pulls back that veil and walks us through the lasting impact of trauma, including post trauma stress, anxiety, and emotional...
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165. Anonymous: A Return Guest Shares Some Meaningful Impacts of Being a Guest on SASS
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
This week on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, I’m joined once again by a guest whose voice made a deep impact the first time she appeared on the show. For this episode, she’s choosing to remain anonymous and will be known as “Ann”—a decision that becomes increasingly meaningful as you hear why she reached out to return. Ann came back to talk about a part of the survivor experience that rarely gets acknowledged: what happens inside a person after they share their story publicly, and how the emotional ripple effects can show up long after the recording ends. In this conversation, Ann...
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164. Rita Smith: The Voice That Changed the National Conversation
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
In this week’s episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, I’m honored to welcome someone whose name has become synonymous with advocacy, leadership, and meaningful systemic change. Rita Smith has spent more than four decades reshaping how this country understands, responds to, and prevents violence against women. From her grassroots beginnings to her national-level impact, Rita has consistently shown up for survivors with a rare blend of humility, strength, and deep psychological insight. Rita’s work reaches across some of the largest platforms in the nation. She has served as Senior...
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163. Anne Marie Hauben: The Truth About Non-consent, Trauma, and Speaking Up
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast with Dave Markel Guest: Anne Marie Hauben I’m honored to share this week’s episode of The SASS Podcast with someone whose courage doesn’t just echo across a microphone—it reverberates across decades of silence, retaliation, and survival: Anne Marie Hauben. Anne Marie isn’t just a guest. She is a truth-teller, an advocate, and a woman who refused to let a lifetime of dismissal define her story. After more than 30 years of carrying the weight of an assault she endured at 18 years old, she decided she would not stay silent any...
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162. Dr. David Lisak, PhD: The Man Who Shaped My Work — Sharing Science, Wisdom, and Hope
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
I’m so honored to share this week’s episode of The SASS Podcast with someone who is far more than a guest—he’s a mentor, a guiding light, and a dear friend: Dr. David Lisak, PhD. I’ve personally known David since 1992, when I met him at a training conference where we were both teaching on rape and sexual assault investigations. From those early days of my journey into trauma-informed investigations, inspired by David, he set the bar for what rigorous, compassionate, science-based work looks like. I’m grateful every day that our paths crossed. Who is David Lisak? David is a...
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161. Diane: Fighting for Justice for Almost 50 Years…Because It’s That Important!
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
I had a SASS listener reach out to me a few months ago via email. It was a short email, but it sure got my attention. The writer, Diane, told me that she had been listening to SASS for a while, and that she was very appreciative of the show, as she is a survivor of military sexual assault (MSA) from almost 50 years ago. She also told me she had sent me a large envelope of important information about her case…certified, return receipt. That’ll peak you’re curiosity! I did get a large envelope a few days later. It was a pretty full, 9x12 , mailing envelope, full of documents—letters, law...
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160. Inside The Epstein Era: An Important Re-airing From The Jan Broberg Show
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
This week’s episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories is a powerful replay of Episode 223 from The Jan Broberg Show — an episode that I was honored to join alongside Beth Magnetic, host of the Mormon True Crime Podcast. In this deeply important conversation, Jan, Beth, and I confront one of the most disturbing and misunderstood realities of our time: how a trafficking operation like Jeffrey Epstein’s could remain functional, protected, and operational for more than four decades — despite countless victims, despite obvious warning signs, despite so many people “knowing” something...
info_outlineI had an instant connection with Kirsten Harrison…we had a “vetting” phone call several weeks before we recorded her episode, and I truly wish I had recorded that conversation and made it a part of this weeks’ episode so that you could actually hear that connection! Kirsten and her work are truly inspiring and captivating. Read on, if you would:
Dr. Kirsten Harrison has dedicated her career to understanding trauma and guiding survivors through some of life’s most difficult psychological and spiritual transitions. With research experience at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and advanced studies at Georgetown, Pepperdine, and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Harrison brings a wealth of knowledge and clinical skill to her work. Yet, as she shares in this episode, it is the lived experiences of her clients — their creativity, resilience, and will to survive — that have most profoundly shaped her philosophy and practice.
As we talked, Kirsten took the conversation deep into the realities of trauma treatment, including her decades of work with PTSD, dissociation, and near-death experiences. She told me not only about her clinical insight and practices, but also her striking view of humanity, and her approach to healing, emphasizing that it is never linear, nor is it confined to a single framework. Instead, it is forged in the bravery of those willing to confront their trauma and fight for their own transformation.
A central part of our discussion centered on her groundbreaking book, I, Sean/a: The Story of a Homeless Intersex Woman Who Inspired a Community. Co-authored with Sean/a Smith, the book chronicles the life of an intersex woman living with schizophrenia who endured nearly two decades of homelessness yet never lost her voice or her hope. Through Sean/a’s story, Dr. Harrison exposes the failures of outdated medical practices, the destructive force of stigma, and the radical resilience it takes to survive and inspire change.
This episode is an invitation to see trauma, healing, and identity through a wider lens. Dr. Harrison’s wisdom and candor challenge us all to confront hard truths while also offering a vision of what is possible when compassion and science meet in service of dignity and justice. I truly hope to continue working with Dr. Harrison on widening both of our platforms!
An important side note: if you’re finding value in these episodes, please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating on your podcast platform. AND, please send me a note of support. I can’t tell you how much your emails mean to me—they fuel my passion to keep this podcast going. Here’s my email address: dave@sasstories.com Thank you to all of you who have reached out to me already; and, if you’re interested in guesting on the show, please mention that in your email or text, and provide me with a phone number where I can reach you. Please keep those emails and texts coming…I truly look forward to hearing from you!
Here are some critically important links that I hope you’ll take the time to explore, and where a contribution is requested, please consider doing so!—Thank you!!
gofund.me/af648f46 (Kennedy Alley: A 100 Mile Journey; GoFundMe link)
https://a.co/d/7P6Fmmc (Amazon link to I, Sean/a)
https://www.whattheydontsay.com
https://www.survivor-school.com/?ref=DAVEMARKEL
My email address:
As mentioned and emphasized, it’s time to Normalize the Conversation.™ And please remember to Start by Believing…because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault.
Thank you for tuning in.