Podcast Summary: Something Was Wrong

Podcast: Something Was Wrong
Host: Broken Cycle Media (Tiffany Reese)
Episode: S25 Ep1: Something is Terribly Wrong
Date: January 8, 2026

Overview

This powerful season opener investigates the ongoing epidemic of sexual violence on U.S. college campuses, focusing on survivor Luna's harrowing experience and exploring how institutions and Title IX processes often fail to protect students and instead protect their own reputation. Through a deep dive into Luna's story and historical/legal context, the episode sets the tone for a season exposing patterns of institutional betrayal, survivor re-traumatization, and the fight for accountability.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Scope and Urgency of Campus Sexual Violence

• Tiffany Reese introduces the theme: Despite years of advocacy and legal reform, sexual violence on college campuses remains common, with institutions and Title IX systems often compounding trauma for survivors rather than protecting them.
  • "We've spent months speaking with students, parents, witnesses, professors and experts... What we found was not a series of isolated incidents but a pattern." (03:40)
• Title IX was enacted to guarantee students' right to an education free from sex-based discrimination, but its promise is frequently unfulfilled.

Understanding Title IX — Purpose and Pitfalls

• Title IX: Enacted in 1972, it's just 37 words long but intended to safeguard students from sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, assault, and violence.
  • Tiffany Reese recites Title IX:

    "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." (04:10)

• Title IX protections extend far beyond athletics, requiring schools to respond to sexual violence and protect access to education.
• Recent changes and complications:
  • 2020: Department of Education rules require live hearings, cross-examination, and narrow the definition of harassment.
  • 2022: The Supreme Court's Cummings v. Premier Rehab ruling strips survivors of the ability to seek compensation for emotional distress under Title IX.
    • "For many survivors, emotional harm is the most significant impact... After this ruling, students... can no longer seek compensation for that emotional injury." (12:13)

The Lived Reality for Survivors

• National stats:
  • 1 in 5 undergraduate women experience sexual assault in college; 90%+ do not report.
  • The "Red Zone": First months of freshman year, highest risk; over 50% of assaults occur then.
  • LGBTQIA students and student-athletes experience especially high rates.
• Reporting is rare due to confusion, fear, social backlash, and re-traumatizing bureaucracy. Survivors who do report often face institutional barriers, disbelief, or retaliation, while perpetrators’ education continues uninterrupted.
• Title IX rights in theory vs. practice: Students have the right to a fair process and support, but policy variability between schools leaves many in the dark or unsupported.

Introduction to Luna’s Story

• Tiffany Reese:
  • Luna is a nursing student whose story is central to this season.
  • Her journey began with excitement but was derailed by assault — followed by institutional failures and betrayals.
  • Key questions raised:
    • "What duty does a university have to its students?"
    • "Who does a Title IX office really serve?" (21:58)

Luna’s Background and Family (23:16–29:03)

• Luna: Only child, raised by a supportive mom (nurse) and dad (disabled, MS). Grew up wanting to help others; describes herself as empathetic but introverted.
  • "I survived and I just want to put my story out there in case it can help somebody in the way that this podcast has been helpful to me." (23:16)
• Luna’s parents share their pride, anxiety, and hope as she began college.
  • "You prep yourself their whole life for this moment... but also you feel this hole in your stomach like, oh my God, they're leaving. It's really hard." (27:23, Luna’s Mom)

Transition to College & Campus Life (28:14–39:00)

• Luna struggles with homesickness and feels isolated as the "small town girl," but finds comfort by forging friendships at RA-hosted events.
  • "I started to branch out... I made a lot of really nice friends. I built my own little niche..." (29:03)
• She has no knowledge of Title IX before arriving on campus — raising concerns about lack of student awareness.
  • "I had never heard of Title IX... I was blissfully unaware at that point, honestly." (34:21)

Meeting Cody, the Perpetrator (34:56–42:30)

• Cody is introduced as friendly, outgoing, sensitive, with many female friends. Both Luna and her roommate initially feel comfortable around him.
  • "Nobody ever felt unsafe around him. We all thought he was like one of the girls." (37:08)
• Their dynamic progresses, culminating in an invitation to his dorm for a movie — an event that starts innocently but rapidly devolves.

The Assault (45:05–59:47)

Luna’s First-Person Account

• Luna provides a detailed, harrowing account of her assault:
  • Cody manipulates her physically and emotionally, isolates her in his locked room, and takes away her phone.
  • He repeatedly violates physical boundaries, pins her, ignores her refusals, and escalates to violent, injurious assault including choking.
  • She experiences dissociation:
    • "I don't think I was in my body at that point... I was watching myself and I wasn't actually me in that moment, which I think is a protective mechanism for my brain." (57:25)
  • Luna escapes when her roommate calls at her distressed text request.
  • The aftermath: She returns to her dorm “in tears,” physically injured, immediately supported by her roommate who encourages her to tell their RA.

Reporting and Immediate Aftermath (59:47–01:00:12)

• Emotional trauma sets in; Luna describes dissociative symptoms and an aversion to acknowledging the assault.
  • "I was so disassociated. I was watching myself move through the rest of the evening... I just was like a spectator." (59:55)
• The RA is supportive, validating her experience and encouraging her to consider reporting to the administration.

Looking Ahead: Institutional Betrayal

• Season preview: The season will expose systemic failures of Title IX offices and the re-traumatization survivors face from purportedly protective systems.
  • Luna’s Dad: "Had they done their job the first time, my daughter would not have been assaulted." (60:28)
  • Tiffany Reese: "One of the most unexpected parts of this experience was the amount of secondary trauma that I endured from the justice system and from the systems that were put in place to protect me." (62:07)
• The episode closes on the promise to uncover “the work still required to make campuses safe for all students.”

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Tiffany Reese (Host/Narrator):

  "This season is one of the most urgent investigations we've ever produced, because behind every statistic is a young person... navigating one of the most vulnerable moments in their life in a system that was supposed to protect them and didn't." (02:18)

• Luna (Survivor):

  "Assault is something that is still really taboo in society. A lot of college age women... have a hard time sharing their story. It can feel really isolating. But I survived." (23:16)
  "I had never heard of Title IX... I guess I never thought that assaults or any kind of Title IX violation would be a prevalent thing in college." (34:21)
  "I don't think I was in my body at that point... I snapped back into it all of a sudden... I sat up just a little bit to try to push him off me. That's when he choked me until I was unable to even speak." (56:00–57:25)

• Luna’s Dad:

  "Had they done their job the first time, my daughter would not have been assaulted." (60:28)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:40] Launch of the season’s investigative theme and background on Title IX.
• [04:10] Quoting Title IX; discussion on law’s intent.
• [06:48]–[12:00] Statistics on sexual violence, reporting, and campus risk ("Red Zone").
• [12:13] 2022 legal change: survivors cannot claim emotional distress damages.
• [21:01] Introduction to Luna’s background and story arc.
• [23:16] Luna and family describe her upbringing and transition to college.
• [34:21] Luna admits never hearing of Title IX prior to college.
• [37:08] Luna and friends feel safe around Cody: "like one of the girls."
• [45:05] Luna’s detailed, minute-by-minute account of the assault.
• [59:47]–[60:12] Immediate emotional aftermath; dissociation, reluctance to report.
• [60:28]–[61:00] Family’s reflections and systemic critique; preview of incidents to come.

Tone

The episode’s tone is empathetic, urgent, and unflinching. Luna’s narrative is candid, vulnerable, and sometimes raw, while Tiffany Reese guides the conversation with informed compassion. The episode does not shy away from painful realities or institutional failures but foregrounds survivor voices and the need for systemic change.

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a stark wake-up call about the scope of campus sexual violence, the limitations and inconsistencies of Title IX, and the bravery required to come forward. Through Luna’s deeply personal account, it is clear how survivors often face not only their perpetrators but also the daunting, sometimes hostile systems meant to protect them. The season promises to provide survivor stories, expert insight, and an uncompromising look at what must change to make campuses truly safe.