Conversion therapy

Last October, reporters Michael Majchrowicz and Mary Katherine Wildeman published ‘Taught hate to myself,’ revealing how South Carolina is home to one of the nation’s most expansive networks of ex-gay ministries and counseling practices. Gay conversion therapy – which aims to suppress or eradicate a person’s LGBTQ identity – has been condemned by most major medical groups. Fourteen states have barred professionals from offering it. Majcrowicz and Wildeman identified 22 ministries, churches and practitioners across the Southeast, with at least nine operating in South Carolina. In this week’s episode, we catch up with Majchrowicz to get the background on just how these groups continue to operate here, what it was like to report this story and what the reaction has been to the project.