‘Uncover’ is the binge-worthiest investigative podcast reminding us that not everyone in Canada is as nice as they seem
The CBC just cannot stop pumping out binge-worthy podcasts. And, oh boy, can you binge this one. “Uncover” is an investigative podcast series with each season focusing on a different crime, con, or criminal in Canada. Some of the seasons are actually repurposed individual podcasts, such as “The Village” and “Evil By Design.” Regardless, we can’t complain about having them all in one place.
The “Uncover” podcast is made out of 13 seasons and over 115 episodes. It depends on the season, but episodes typically range from 40 to 50 minutes. This podcast is a true crime gold mine.
Its first season is what got people truly hooked. Titled “Escaping NXIVM,” the inaugural season is hosted by CBC documentarian Josh Block, who gives us the story of Sarah Edmondson, a former high-level member of the “self-help group.” For 12 years, she moved up the ranks of the cult, but when she’s invited to join a secret subgroup of NXIVM, the infamously cruel DOS, she comes to regret what she’s gotten herself into.
Block lets Sarah take us through her story of trying to escape the self-help/sex cult. The two tell us about Keith Raniere, NXIVM’s founder and leader, and speak with members who have left the group. Block even gets Raniere’s lawyer on for an episode, Marc Agnifilo. Agnifilo has a very different view of NXIVM and DOS than most people…
Perhaps most interesting about this first season, though, is the criticism Sarah faces not from current members of the cult, but those outside of it. She has to reckon her 12 years of service she spent as a high ranking member of the cult found to be guilty of racketeering and sex-trafficking. “Uncover” even has a bonus interview with Sarah’s assistant, Jennifer Kobelt, who tells her story of joining the cult.
Subsequent seasons of the podcast investigate a 1965 plane bomb, a serial killer in Toronto’s Gay Village, a case of vanishing elderly Canadians, Satanic Panics, MKULTRA, murders, disappearances and much more.
What ties each season is not its genre but instead the stark reminder that the criminal justice system is often blind and rarely just. Extremely well-produced and narrated, praises given especially to its earliest seasons, “Uncover” is a compelling listen. Created with obvious thoughtfulness and researched meticulously by determined investigators and journalists, every single story is a deeper look into these tragedies.
Be sure to check out “Uncover” if you’re looking for your next true crime binge. No matter what kind of true crime podcasts you are into, this one has a little something for everybody.
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