Gardens of Evil: Inside the Zion Society Cult

After the events of Gardens of Evil, the story doesn’t end for the survivors.
In the first episode of our series A Closer Look, we examine the lasting psychological impact of growing up inside the Zion Society cult. Survivors describe a childhood defined by constant monitoring, shame, and control—where even a child’s body weight was tied to spiritual worthiness.
Host Mike King speaks with survivors about the lifelong effects of coercive control: broken trust, complicated family relationships, and the challenges of parenting after trauma. Cult expert and sociologist Dr. Janja Lalich also joins the conversation to explain how cult recruitment works, why people stay, and why it can take decades for survivors to rebuild their lives.
This episode is dedicated to victims of child abuse, to those who escaped destructive mind control, and to the advocates who fight every day to protect children.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse, help is available. Support your local Children’s Advocacy Center and organizations that serve survivors.
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Starting March 31st, Gardens of Evil – A Closer Look Inside The Garden, hosted by Mike King. will go beyond the headlines to explore what happens after survival, diving deeper into the hidden impact of coercive control, child abuse, and life inside the Zion Society cult. Hear never before released footage and powerful conversations with survivors, experts and people who lived the investigation and take take down of the Zion Society. These episodes will uncover the lasting psychological toll of growing up in a world where control was absolute—and what it takes to rebuild a life after
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Arvin, Carla and others see their day in court, but was justice served? Most of the Zion Society children are either uncooperative or unable to testify. Mike King and Reed Richards do everything they can to avoid re-traumatizing those who do testify. Finally, our story ends 35 years later, as several of the survivors meet at the opening of a new Children’s Justice Center in Ogden. They learn how their experiences have changed laws to better protect child victims and find healing together.
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The media descends on Northwood. The Zion Society children are interviewed, but many refuse to cooperate. Mike King gets a surprise call from Cedar City.
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Seventy Ogden police officers gather in the dark and move into Northwood at dawn, hitting multiple Zion Society homes at the exact same moment. The plan is simple on paper and terrifying in practice: secure the children, secure the evidence, and arrest the “head of the snake.” Inside the spotless houses and perfectly manicured yards, investigators find signs of a militant system built on control—hidden portals, stockpiles, meticulously organized drawers of lingerie, and evidence meant to corroborate witness accounts of sexual exploitation.

Social workers rush the children into protective custody, but the emotional reality is more complicated than the outside world expects: some of the kids don’t experience the raid as a rescue at all. And just as the case seems to crack open, one urgent question threatens everything that comes next—where is Arvin Shreeve?
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