The Upgrade Presents: The Gateway

The Upgrade would like to share with you a podcast our colleagues at Gizmodo have been working on called The Gateway. It's a six-part series about Teal Swan, a new brand of spiritual guru, who draws in followers with her hypnotic self-help YouTube videos aimed at people who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Some followers move to Teal’s healing center, a spiritual startup where they produce content and manage social media accounts. Teal insists her therapy saves lives, but her critics say Teal’s death-focused dogma is dangerous. Gizmodo reporter Jennings Brown traveled to rural Utah and to the forests of Costa Rica, with extensive access to Teal and her inner circle, to understand Teal’s teachings and investigate the deaths of some of her followers. You can also listen to new episodes one week early and ad-free on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of listening, go to stitcherpremium.com/gateway and use promo code ‘GATEWAY’.