When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife. 

Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim of building up the Kingdom of God.

But one day, Lu Ann couldn't take it anymore. She decided she had to escape…

The foundation Lu Ann runs to support other people who have fled polygamy is Hope After Polygamy.

 

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

 

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife.&nbsp;
Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim of building up the Kingdom of God.
But one day, Lu Ann couldn't take it anymore. She decided she had to escape&hellip;
The foundation Lu Ann runs to support other people who have fled polygamy is <a href="https://www.hopeafterpolygamy.org/">Hope After Polygamy</a>.
&nbsp;
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks&rsquo; worth of lasagne when you&rsquo;d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to <a href="mailto:thegirlfriends@novel.audio">thegirlfriends@novel.audio</a>. Please don&rsquo;t include your own name or anyone else&rsquo;s real names.
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit <a href="http://novel.audio/">Novel.Audio</a>

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.

Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.

The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city’s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren’t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.

 

US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://rainn.org/   

International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://nomoredirectory.org/   

US Suicide & Crisis Helpline: https://988lifeline.org/  

International Suicide & Crisis Helplines: https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ 

 

The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. 

 

You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.

Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!

*** 

In Season 1, it’s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It’s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he’s Jewish - but there’s something off about him. He’s perfect on paper but he’s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob’s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz’s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.

In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.
Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.
The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city&rsquo;s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren&rsquo;t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.
&nbsp;
US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://rainn.org/">https://rainn.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://nomoredirectory.org/">https://nomoredirectory.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
US Suicide &amp; Crisis Helpline: <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">https://988lifeline.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
International Suicide &amp; Crisis Helplines: <a href="https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/">https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit <a href="https://novel.audio/">https://novel.audio/</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.
Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for &ldquo;iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!
***&nbsp;
In Season 1, it&rsquo;s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It&rsquo;s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he&rsquo;s Jewish - but there&rsquo;s something off about him. He&rsquo;s perfect on paper but he&rsquo;s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob&rsquo;s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz&rsquo;s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.
In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that&rsquo;s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail&rsquo;s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?
For more from Novel visit <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnovel.audio%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CNateTobin2%40iheartmedia.com%7C497d9dbd748a4a45fa5d08dd6bc3166f%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638785207822450296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XDVXzNUnH5v38U37q0a8585CsvW5jiTakMCsKZaTnV4%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="c6e2adb4-91a0-4b4c-a163-1a05ff7cbfa6">Novel.Audio</a>
See <a href="http://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Untouchable - Season 4

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.

 

Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.

 

The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city’s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren’t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.

 

US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://rainn.org/   

International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://nomoredirectory.org/   

US Suicide & Crisis Helpline: https://988lifeline.org/  

International Suicide & Crisis Helplines: https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ 

 

The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. 

 

You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

*** 

In Season 1, it’s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It’s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he’s Jewish - but there’s something off about him. He’s perfect on paper but he’s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob’s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz’s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.

In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.
&nbsp;
Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city&rsquo;s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren&rsquo;t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.
&nbsp;
US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://rainn.org/">https://rainn.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://nomoredirectory.org/">https://nomoredirectory.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
US Suicide &amp; Crisis Helpline: <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">https://988lifeline.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
International Suicide &amp; Crisis Helplines: <a href="https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/">https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit <a href="https://novel.audio/">https://novel.audio/</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.
&nbsp;
See <a href="http://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.
***&nbsp;
In Season 1, it&rsquo;s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It&rsquo;s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he&rsquo;s Jewish - but there&rsquo;s something off about him. He&rsquo;s perfect on paper but he&rsquo;s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob&rsquo;s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz&rsquo;s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.
In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that&rsquo;s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail&rsquo;s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?
For more from Novel visit <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnovel.audio%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CNateTobin2%40iheartmedia.com%7C497d9dbd748a4a45fa5d08dd6bc3166f%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638785207822450296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XDVXzNUnH5v38U37q0a8585CsvW5jiTakMCsKZaTnV4%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="c6e2adb4-91a0-4b4c-a163-1a05ff7cbfa6">Novel.Audio</a>

The Girlfriends

When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife.  Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim of building up the Kingdom of God. But one day, Lu Ann couldn't take it anymore. She decided she had to escape…  The foundation Lu Ann runs to support other people who have fled polygamy is Hope After Polygamy.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E2: Lu Ann Escapes the Order

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/31a51402-9070-478b-a578-b2b200e27a62/transcript

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