The Turning: Room of Mirrors

By iHeartPodcasts and Rococo Punch

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Category: Documentary

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Subscribers: 524
Reviews: 4

Joel
 Sep 8, 2021
Fascinating podcast that gave a glimpse into a world I knew nothing about. In some ways it's critical of the Catholic Church, but it also shows the good that it does.


 Aug 28, 2021

the snake
 Jul 19, 2021
the truth comes out, again. Hitch had it down.

David B
 Jul 13, 2021
The horror of the truth

Description

In every ballet studio, there is a wall of mirrors. It reflects the people within. They’re part of a closed, elite group that asks for sacrifice and devotion from its members. This insular community produces iconic artists. It’s founded on a strict power structure, often with one man at the top. By tracing the origins of this unusual lifestyle, starting with the legacy of choreographer George Balanchine and the intimate stories of young dancers, we expose the beauty of an artform and the complexity of ballet culture.


Episode Date
S2:Ep 10 - Révérence
3264

PART TEN - "If it is going to stick with us forever, it matters that we get it right."

For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunch

TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 21, 2023
S2:Ep 9 - Pas de Deux
2636

PART NINE - "I remember thinking, am I the only one like me who's ever walked these halls?"

For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunch

TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts 

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Mar 14, 2023
S2:Ep 8 - American Ballet
2914

PART EIGHT -

"Blackness is a vehicle. It's a vehicle to get people where they need to go."


For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunch

TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts 

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Mar 07, 2023
S2:Ep 7- The Line
3197

PART SEVEN - "Who decided this? ... Did the skies open up, and the ballet God said, 'This is how it has to be'? No, it's just what we've all been programmed."

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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Feb 28, 2023
S2:Ep 6 - A Golden Year
2564

PART SIX - "It feels like this hazy distant silhouette of a thing that doesn’t feel real, like a wild dream that I can’t fully recall."

For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunch

TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Feb 21, 2023
S2:Ep 5 - The Prince
2690

PART FIVE - "Gone unchecked, bad things can happen. And they did."

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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Feb 14, 2023
S2: Ep 4 - The Muses
2831

PART FOUR - "Balanchine was so fond of perfume that leaves the scent of that dancer behind, and it still permeates."

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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Feb 07, 2023
S2: Ep 3 - Risk All
2439

PART THREE - "There are no windows, because we don't need windows, because the outside world doesn't matter. He was God in the theater. Ever observing, ever present. Are you a patriot? Are you a citizen? Are you willing to do whatever I ask you to do?"

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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Jan 31, 2023
S2: Ep 1 - Only I Can See You
2673

PART ONE - "He used to say, 'What are you looking at dear? You can't see you. Only I can see you.'"

 

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TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Jan 24, 2023
S2: Ep 2 - Ritual Healing
2306

PART TWO - "I would experiment a little. I would go to the theater, and the lights would go down, and I would say, 'Okay, I'm going to give you my mood. I'm going to give you all these troubles, and you do something with it,' said I to the stage. And then I would walk out, and I felt like somebody had rinsed me."

For more content, follow us on Instagram @RococoPunch

TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/turningtranscripts

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Jan 24, 2023
Introducing S2: The Turning: Room of Mirrors
171

A closed, elite group asks for sacrifice and extreme devotion from its members. It produces elegant dancers, but at what cost?

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Jan 17, 2023
S1: Ep Bonus - Bride of Christ
1667

BONUS - Jenna Cooper is a 36-year-old consecrated virgin who lives in Winona, Minnesota. She tells us what that means, what her life is like now, and what it’s like to feel called when you’re 12 years old.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sep 15, 2021
S1: Ep 10 - Out There
2761

PART TEN - “I couldn’t come to any clarity unless I took off the habit and was seen.”


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 20, 2021
S1: Ep 9 - Highway of Broken Glass
2820

PART NINE - Is this a cult? How do you leave?


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 13, 2021
S1: Ep 8 - Saint of Darkness
2767

PART EIGHT - "She used to tell us, ‘If ever I will be a saint, I will be the saint of darkness.’ ... And we didn't know what she meant."


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 06, 2021
S1: Ep 7 - Silence
3181

PART SEVEN - This episode contains descriptions of alleged sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.


We meet two former sisters who say they wanted more than anything to be part of the Missionaries of Charity. Along the road to taking their first vows, they allege their mistresses took advantage of the vow of obedience. They claim they were sexually abused by the women tasked with guiding them through the early days of their religious vocation — one in 1987 and the other in 2014.

This episode was produced in partnership with Type Investigations.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 29, 2021
S1: Ep Bonus - Kelli
2154

BONUS - You know Kelli Dunham from previous episodes. Kelli joined the Missionaries of Charity looking for a life that made sense. That’s not what she found. She had a painful exit from the MCs. 

But there’s so much more to her story. We talked with Kelli about her life before the Missionaries of Charity and after. About her faith. About her comedy. But mostly about her complicated relationship with her mom.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 22, 2021
S1: Ep 6 - The Third Floor
2687

PART SIX - Siblings Joan and Sue both join the Missionaries of Charity, and they steal secret moments on the third floor — the only time they can be alone to talk. Like all MC sisters, they live by the vow of obedience. Their story shows how power works in the order: who has power, and what happens when you push back on it. Sue grapples with this from above, as a superior; Joan from below. 


Content warning: This episode includes a mention of suicide. 

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can find a list of additional resources at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

More support (via text) can be found at: https://www.crisistextline.org/


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 15, 2021
S1: Ep 5 - Particular Friendship
2737

PART FIVE - MC sisters are forbidden from having “particular friendships.” They’re not supposed to get close to anyone. They’re supposed to detach from their human relationships so that they can focus on God. They live a vow of chastity to the extreme. But even in the convent, secret love emerges, and two sisters begin a forbidden relationship.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 08, 2021
S1: Ep 4 - The Devil's Advocates
2196

PART FOUR - The world’s most admired woman lived a life dedicated to helping the poor – but was it always in their best interest? 

After Mother Teresa became famous, controversial claims about her work began to emerge. Dangerous medical practices? Secret baptisms? In this episode, we meet Mother Teresa's biggest critics and hear from sisters who were there.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 01, 2021
S1: Ep 3 - Mother
2527

PART THREE - She wasn’t always a saint. When Mother Teresa is 36 years old, she hears a mystical voice on a train. Then she has visions — visions she believes are sent by God to tell her to bring souls to Jesus. Little does she know these moments of near ecstasy will lead her to international celebrity. But her path to founding her own religious institute is dotted with challenges and skepticism, even spiritual darkness.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 25, 2021
S1: Ep 2 - Love, To Be Real, Has To Hurt
2782

PART TWO - The sisters learn more about sacrificial love and what it means to be married to Jesus. Mother Teresa believed suffering brings you closer to Christ, so the sisters look for opportunities for sacrifice – including sacrifices Mary never expected. She also meets a charismatic sister who makes her question whether God’s love is enough.


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 18, 2021
S1: Ep 1 - No Turning Back
2968

PART ONE - We enter a hidden world behind convent walls to learn what it’s like for a young sister to join the Missionaries of Charity. MC sisters take strict vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor. As aspirants, they start to learn the rules of this closed society, one that contains secret ceremonies and countless rituals


For additional content and information, follow the show on Instagram @RococoPunch

This series was inspired by Mary Johnson’s memoir, “An Unquenchable Thirst.” Find it HERE - https://amzn.to/3whsTeO


TRANSCRIPT - https://www.rococopunch.com/transcripts

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 18, 2021
Introducing S1: The Turning: The Sisters Who Left
198

If you make a lifelong vow, what does it mean to break it? Can you truly give yourself to God or will your humanity get to you first?

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 06, 2021