Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the Insta Scammer. Before this series begins,
Speaker 1: I want to take a few minutes to tell you
Speaker 1: how the podcast was made and how I've tried to
Speaker 1: be fair. My name is Casey and I am the
Speaker 1: host of the Cult Vault podcast. And this is the
Speaker 1: Insta Scammer, an 11-part investigation into the online wellness figure
Speaker 1: known as Liana Shanti, the community that formed around her,
Speaker 1: and what former members and their families say it has
Speaker 1: cost them. This series is built on first-hand interviews, recordings, documents,
Speaker 1: and public records, including court files. Throughout the series, I've
Speaker 1: tried to keep three things clearly separate. What people personally experienced,
Speaker 1: what experts offer as their professional opinion, and what can
Speaker 1: be shown on the public record. Where a matter is
Speaker 1: contested or unproven, and some of what you'll hear is
Speaker 1: deeply contested, the series makes no finding, and I'll tell
Speaker 1: you so when we get there. Fairness matters to me,
Speaker 1: and a big part of that is the right of reply.
Speaker 1: Before publishing the series, I approached Liana Shanti directly and
Speaker 1: offered her a full opportunity to respond to matters this
Speaker 1: series covers, by recorded interview or by written statement, with
Speaker 1: a clear deadline ahead of release. Liana Shanti initially agreed
Speaker 1: to a video interview, but did not respond to arrange
Speaker 1: it by the time the right of reply deadline came around.
Speaker 1: Her perspective is not represented here in her own words,
Speaker 1: but the invitation remains open. If Liana Shanti responds, I
Speaker 1: will include those responses through additional content. Others named in
Speaker 1: the series were also offered the chance to respond. A
Speaker 1: Word of Care Before You Listen This series includes discussion
Speaker 1: of coercive control, recovered memory and childhood abuse allegations, family estrangement,
Speaker 1: significant financial loss and, in some places, suicidal ideation. Please
Speaker 1: look after yourself as you listen and take a look
Speaker 1: at the support resources in the show notes of every
Speaker 1: episode if you are impacted by the themes in this series.
Speaker 1: I also want to say thank you. To the former
Speaker 1: members and the families who sat down with me and
Speaker 1: trusted me with some of the hardest chapters of their lives,
Speaker 1: thank you for your courage. This series exists because you
Speaker 1: were willing to tell your truth of what happened to you,
Speaker 1: and I've tried to honour that in every episode. And
Speaker 1: to the small group of people who helped me bring
Speaker 1: this series together, those who guided, supported, checked and believed
Speaker 1: in this work, I could not have done this without you.
Speaker 1: If you're a journalist, a researcher or someone personally affected
Speaker 1: by the series and you'd like to understand how something
Speaker 1: was sourced, you can reach me at cultvaultpodcast at gmail.com.
Speaker 1: All 11 episodes are out on Monday the 31st of
Speaker 1: August 2026 and you should start with episode 1. I'm
Speaker 1: your host Casey and thank you for listening.