BONUS: Why Did They Stay? Inside the Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy: A Discussion with Author Annette McGivney
Once Upon A Crime · Sep 18, 2026 · 1:00:00
Once Upon A Crime · Sep 18, 2026 · 1:00:00
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In this bonus episode, Esther shares the complete interview with journalist Annette McGivney, author of Plastic Shaman: The True Story of a Deadly Self-Help Retreat and America’s Misguided Quest for Wellness, expanding on the 2009 Sedona sweat lodge tragedy and self-help guru James Arthur Ray.
McGivney details Ray’s rise from 1990s business motivational speaking to fame via The Secret and Oprah, his blending of secular “prosperity gospel” with spirituality, and prior warning incidents of heat illness before 2009.
They discuss why attendees stayed in the dangerously hot lodge (cost, credibility, coercion, impaired thinking), staff dynamics, and profiles of victims Kirby Brown, Liz Newman, and James Shore.
The conversation also covers commercialization and appropriation of Indigenous ceremonies, the term “plastic shaman,” Ray’s post-prison comeback and lack of regulation, his 2025 death, McGivney’s personal wellness journey, red flags, and the Seek Safely resource
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