Episode notes
When Lorren Holliday got pregnant in 2018, she joined Emilee Saldaya’s Facebook group and quickly became hooked on the Free Birth Society podcasts. It was a decision that led to tragedy. This is episode three of a year-long investigation by Guardian journalists Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne
Black Box: The Chatbots
by The Guardian · English · Society & Culture
People are becoming convinced they have made scientific breakthroughs, cured diseases or invented new technologies using AI chatbots. What does this reveal about a technology now used by more than a billion people? A new series from the Guardian Investigates
More from Black Box: The Chatbots
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S5 · E6 · 10 Dec 2025 · 43 min
The Birth Keepers: Death plan – episode six
A backlash against FBS grows and Emilee and Yolande respond to the growing crisis. This is episode six of a year-long investigation by Guardian journalists Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne
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S5 · E5 · 10 Dec 2025 · 32 min
The Birth Keepers: FBS goes global – episode five
Emilee and Yolande had grown an ideology and seeded it globally. A reach investigative reporters Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne could not have fathomed when they started reporting on the story. They set out to see just how far FBS has spread. This is episode five of a year-long investigation
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S5 · E4 · 10 Dec 2025 · 43 min
The Birth Keepers: Growing an empire – episode four
Within months of the death of Lorren’s baby, Journey Moon, and the public backlash against the Free Birth Society that followed, Emilee Saldaya took the FBS membership private, turning the business into a global multimillion dollar empire. This is episode four of a year-long investigation by Guardian journalists Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne
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S5 · E2 · 10 Dec 2025 · 41 min
The Birth Keepers: When Emilee met Yolande
Who is Emilee Saldaya, the woman behind the Free Birth Society movement? And how did she meet her business partner Yolande Norris-Clark? Do either woman have the credentials they are claiming? This is episode two of a year-long investigation by Guardian journalists Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne
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S5 · E1 · 10 Dec 2025 · 37 min
The Birth Keepers: I choose this
The Free Birth Society was selling pregnant women a simple message. They could exit the medical system and take back their power. By free birthing. But Nicole Garrison believes FBS ideology nearly cost her her life. This is episode one of a year-long investigation by Guardian journalists Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne
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S4 · E8 · 23 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 15 min
Gina: a real life Succession story, episode 8
At 13, Gina Rinehart read a book that would help shape her worldview – Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The novel’s capitalist underpinnings promote the idea that people should strive to be their best industrial selves. In this episode, we explore how these values are playing out in Rinehart’s life today, including her proposal to build a coalmine in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. And we hear how author and environmental campaigner Tim Winton views her efforts to prevent an overhaul of Australia’s environmental laws
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S7 · E6 · 3 Sep 2026 · 47 min
Black Box: The Chatbots | What I Saw at the Double Six Ranch | Ep 6
From his remote property in rural Texas, the millionaire businessman Michael Samadi is plotting a new kind of civil rights movement – for the welfare and protection of AI systems. Guardian journalist Michael Safi spends an afternoon at the Double Six ranch, meeting Samadi’s AI chatbots and catching a glimpse of a possible vision of the future
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S7 · E5 · 3 Sep 2026 · 48 min
Black Box: The Chatbots | The Line | Ep 5
Five stories that feel like five answers to one important question: in a world where AI chatbots can help us through a breakup, listen like a friend, be a life coach, draft a difficult text message and do our work, where do we draw the line?
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S7 · E4 · 3 Sep 2026 · 44 min
Black Box: The Chatbots | Life Raft | Ep 4
More than a billion people are suddenly talking to AI chatbots designed to connect with us. We are sharing with them our deepest secrets, trusting them with our wellbeing and acting on their advice. Across two powerful stories – a woman who was struggling to leave a relationship, and a man who was desperate to quit drinking – the Guardian journalist Michael Safi explores what this new way of living looks like In the UK, Taking Action on Addiction provides links to different support services. In the US, call or text SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 988. In Australia, the National Alcohol and…
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S7 · E3 · 3 Sep 2026 · 47 min
Black Box: The Chatbots | Happy Accident | Ep 3
Why are AI chatbots pulling so many people down a rabbit hole? Our answer starts with the world’s first-ever chatbot, the strange effect it had on people and the ‘time bomb’ that exploded when ChatGPT was released four years ago. The result is a strange experiment we are all living through – whether we know it or not
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