104. Conspiracy therapists and Satanic Panic cops

In this week’s episode, we break down the New South Wales Police announcement that they had dismantled an international satanic child-sex ring. Within hours, major outlets—including CNN and Al Jazeera—ran with the headline unquestioningly. What didn’t show up in any of the early coverage? Evidence. Not even the basic details that would justify calling the case “satanic” in the first place.Lucien walks through what he uncovered in his own reporting, including the origins of Strike Force Constantine, a special police unit formed in April 2025 specifically to investigate satanic ritual abuse. Within just eight months of its creation, the task force claimed success—yet the public record raises more questions than answers.Next, the conversation shifts into the psychological machinery that makes these panics self-renewing. We look at Sarah Y. Krakauer’s 2019 ISSTD case study on Dissociative Identity Disorder therapy, which describes clients “recovering” memories of ritual abuse under highly suggestive visualization procedures. The paper is a window into how certain clinical subcultures—especially those aligned with the ISSTD—continue to reaffirm ritual-abuse mythology through “inner wisdom,” hypnotic techniques, and guided imagery that closely resemble recovered-memory practices of the 1980s.Theme music: “Satanic Planet” by Satanic PlanetSubscribe to Failed State Update: ⁠http://lennyflatley.substack.com/⁠TST TV: https://thesatanictemple.tv/⁠https://thesatanictemple.tv/⁠Further reading: "Australian Police's Dubious Claim of 'International Satanic Child Sex Ring'" (Lucien Greaves)⁠https://luciengreaves.substack.com/p/australian-police-dubious-claim-of⁠“Four arrests over alleged ‘international satanic child sex abuse material ring.’” (CNN) ⁠https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/australia/sydney-satanic-child-sex-abuse-ring-intl-hnk⁠