Several months after recounting the harrowing details of her abduction in a Netflix documentary, Elizabeth Smart has launched a podcast to give survivors of violent crimes a chance to tell their own stories.
Elizabeth Smart launches true crime podcast
In “The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart,” which launched on Aug. 17, Smart provides a platform for survivors to open up about what they endured, the aftermath and the continual healing process, as The New York Times reported.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to help share these stories and introduce you to the people behind them,” Smart said in a Facebook post announcing the podcast.
The first episode features an interview with Kara Robinson Chamberlain, who escaped from a serial killer when she was 15 years old.
In a brief clip from the podcast shared on social media, Robinson recounts the moment she was being kidnapped and how she asked the kidnapper what he was doing.
“It is incredible that you even said ‘Stop, what are you doing?’” Smart said as she recalled her own state of shock that kept her from saying anything while being held at knifepoint. “So you’re already just incredible in my eyes for even saying anything.”
“The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart” — a 48-episode weekly series co-produced by iHeartPodcasts and Marwar Junction Productions — is one of the latest endeavors for Smart, who in the 24 years since her abduction has become a tireless advocate for sexual abuse survivors and families of missing children.
“Elizabeth’s voice has become synonymous with resilience, hope and survivor advocacy,” Will Pearson, president of iHeartPodcasts, said in a statement. “Through ‘The Survivor Files,’ she brings a deeply personal perspective to stories that deserve to be told with compassion. We’re excited to partner with Elizabeth and Marwar Junction Productions on a series that expands the true crime genre in such a personal and meaningful way.”
For Smart, the podcast is a testament of the power of resilience.
“The strength of humanity is incredible,” she told The New York Times. “It’s so common — I have people come up to me and say, ‘I could never go through what you did.’ And honestly, if I heard someone share my story, and it wasn’t me, I’d probably think the same thing. But you don’t know how strong you are until you’re going through something.
“That’s true of every person that I’ve interviewed,” she continued. “Nobody thinks they’re that strong until they don’t have another direction to go in, until they are forced to be that strong.”
Smart, a 38-year-old survivor and mother of three, has opened up about her abduction and captivity over the years, including through the recent Netflix documentary “Elizabeth Smart: Kidnapped” and a YouTube channel where she tackles frequently asked questions and revisits the site of her kidnapping.
“The Survivor Files” embodies Smart’s belief in the strength of hearing firsthand accounts.
“There’s nothing more powerful than when the survivor of the story is the person sharing their story,” she told The New York Times.
‘I don’t forget how I feel when I hear someone else’s story’
Smart didn’t always want to share her own story.
When she was rescued after nine brutal months of captivity, she said she felt a lot of shame and embarrassment.
“Sexual assault and rape and abuse, it can feel so isolating. I remember one of the reasons why I didn’t want to talk to people was because I felt like, ‘How could anyone else understand what I went through?’” she told the Deseret News in an interview earlier this year. “I didn’t know anyone who had shared their story publicly. I didn’t know anyone who admitted that they’d been raped or admitted that they’d been abused in any way. I didn’t feel like that was just something people talked about. It was kind of like people kept their skeletons in the closet.”
It wasn’t until the trial for her abductor — which took place roughly eight years after her kidnapping — that she began to share the details of what had happened.
“I felt like everything that I had kept private all of a sudden was out. And I wanted my story to be more than a courtroom transcript. I felt like it needed to serve a purpose,” she told the Deseret News. “I remember just thinking, ‘Well, if it’s going to be out there, then I want it to help other people to not feel so alone.’”
Over the years, Smart said, victims and survivors have approached her and thanked her for being vocal — which in turn encouraged them to share their own stories.
Ultimately, Smart said, it’s the powerful accounts of resilience that linger in the mind more than any statistic or number.
“As I’ve attended summits and conferences and I’ve listened to other speakers, I find it incredible that I can hear statistics and they can be staggering, and I can be shocked listening to the numbers, but also, give it a week or two, and that exact number gets kind of fuzzy in my brain. Give it a month or two, and that number may have fallen completely out of the back of my head. But I don’t forget how I feel when I hear someone else’s story,” she said.