Dirty John

A true story about seduction, deception, forgiveness, denial, and ultimately, survival. Reported and hosted by Christopher Goffard from the L.A. Times.

Debra Newell, an interior designer in Southern California, meets John Meehan on an over-50 dating site. His profile looks exciting: Anesthesiologist, divorced, Christian. She falls in love fast. But her children dislike him and warn her that his stories don’t add up. A psychologist advises Debra to set firmer boundaries with her kids, saying she has a right to be happy.

After an intruder appears in John and Debra’s livingroom, John insists that they install security cameras. Debra begins to wonder whether he is spying on her. Her nephew, Shad, looks into John’s background and confronts him with what he finds. Debra’s vision of an idyllic marriage is shattered when she discovers a stash of paperwork in John’s home office.

Debra grapples with the question, “Who did I marry?” The story of John’s mysterious past unfolds through the eyes of his sisters, his law-school housemate, his ex-wife, and an Ohio cop who hunted him. The origins of John’s nickname are revealed. Bed-ridden in an Orange County hospital, he pleads with Debra to take him back.

Debra is in hiding, living out of hotels and disguising herself with a wig. Debra fears she will meet the fate of her sister Cindi, who was killed by her husband as she tried to escape a bad marriage. John has explanations for the accusations against him. He weeps and apologizes. Three decades earlier, that had helped Cindi’s killer walk out of prison.

Episode 5: John finds a lawyer and plots to unleash a blizzard of lawsuits against his enemies, with the aim of proving to Debra that he is the victim, in case after case. The lawyer believes her life is in danger. As her painful isolation from her family deepens, she secretly plans her escape from the marriage.

Jacquelyn and Terra Newell suspect that John has been watching them. When Jacquelyn tells her mother that he is in town, her mother believes she is mistaken. Jacquelyn warns Terra to carry her pocket knife. But Terra is preoccupied by a country-music concert, and she is watching for the wrong car.

In the months since “Dirty John” was released, more of John Meehan’s victims have told their stories. Carolina Miranda from the LA Times interviews Christopher Goffard, Debra and Terra Newell, and John Meehan’s first wife. Plus, a panel on coercive control and a special live performance by Tracy Bonham. Recorded live at the Ace Theatre.

In the first of three special episodes about the making of the Bravo limited series "Dirty John," Christopher Goffard talks with actor Eric Bana about his portrayal of John Meehan and the parallels between actors and con men.“Dirty John” premieres on Bravo at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 25. LA Times Studios is participating as a producer on the Bravo series. You can also find the original L.A. Times series, plus 14 other pieces of narrative journalism, in a new collection called “Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” by Christopher Goffard, published by Simon & Schuster.

In the second of three special episodes, Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights,” “Nashville”) talks about playing Debra Newell in the new Bravo series, and why the story feels timely. Julia Garner and Juno Temple, who play Newell’s daughters, discuss how they came to inhabit their roles, and the show’s production designer and costume designer share details of how they helped create the characters’ worlds.“Dirty John” premieres on Bravo at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 25. You can also find the original LA Times series, plus 14 other pieces of narrative journalism, in a new collection called “Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” by Christopher Goffard, published by Simon & Schuster.

In the last of three special episodes, Alexandra Cunningham, showrunner of the new Bravo series "Dirty John," offers insight into how she approached the writing of the show and its titular psychopath. Jeffrey Reiner, who directed all eight episodes, discusses the creative team’s ambition to transcend the conventions of a traditional thriller.

"Foretold" is the newest podcast from the L.A. Times, and we're sharing a preview of the first episode with you here today.In the fall of 2019, reporter Faith E. Pinho received a tip from a woman named Paulina Stevens. Paulina claimed she had grown up in an insular Romani community in California, where she was raised to be a wife, mother and fortuneteller — until she decided to break away. That first call unraveled a story spanning multiple continents, hundreds of years, and complex metaphysical realities.  Follow "Foretold" to hear new episodes every Tuesday.   

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