American Rehab

Series produced by Reveal

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Reveal’s American Rehab exposes how a treatment for drug addiction has turned tens of thousands of people into an unpaid shadow workforce.

In 1960s California, a cult leader mesmerized America by claiming to have discovered the cure for heroin addiction. His rehab ran on punishment and profits, putting participants to work and generating millions from their free labor. A new system of rehab was born. Over the decades the model would be hailed by an American president and endorsed by judges across the country. Today these rehabs are flourishing by turning people desperate for treatment into an unpaid labor force. As the opioid epidemic rages on, Reveal uncovers tens of thousands of people each year trapped in the gears of this rehab machine.


Additional Files

6 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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For decades, work based rehabs have spread across the country. No one knows how many are out there, so we counted them ourselves.

Bought by KRPS, KALW, WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, WLRH, WKMS and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 10
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The first episode of Reveal’s investigative series, American Rehab, exposes a treatment for drug addiction that turns tens of thousands of people a...

Bought by WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, KRPS, WLRH, KALW, WKMS and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 14
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After amassing a small fortune, Synanon turns from a revolutionary rehab into a violent cult with mass sterilizations and a rattlesnake in a mailbox.

Bought by KRPS, KALW, KCPW Salt Lake City, WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, WLRH and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 12
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He’s a liar, a killer and a wannabe country singer. Luke Austin creates Cenikor in the image of a cult. But graft and violence nearly destroy it.

Bought by KRPS, KCPW Salt Lake City, KALW, WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, WLRH and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 12
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Cenikor rises from the ashes, thanks to an inventor of NFL football pads and an endorsement from an American president. Then we go to the bayous of...

Bought by KRPS, KCPW Salt Lake City, KALW, WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, WLRH and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 12
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One man’s journey into Cenikor leads to almost two years of hard labor. The program will change him. But can it help Chris Koon with his addiction?

Bought by KRPS, KALW, WGHC-LP 98.3 FM Chicago, WLRH, WKMS and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2020
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 11