The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

S4 Ep20: EP 20 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Claire's Story Part 2 - In Sam's own words and explicitly stating he is speaking about himself, he tells his audience that "only severely mentally ill, broken, damaged tr

Sep 10
51 min

S4 Ep19: EP 19 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Claires's Story Part 1 - Two weeks into the podcast's release, the victim who had reached out to Ann and brought the women together, sent a text to investigative journali

Sep 8
1 h 20 min

S4 Ep18: EP 18 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Old wounds - Australian director Ian Walker had to leave a hotel in the middle of the night and fly home from Europe due to the abuse he suffered while filming Sam Vaknin

Sep 1
1 h 12 min

S4 Ep17: EP 17 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The Wolf - there's no coming back from this explosive episode as the fake professor Sam Vaknin damns himself with his own words. For a man who claims to have an IQ higher

Aug 30
1 h 05 min

S4 Ep16: EP 16 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Herculean Task - Sam Vaknin appealed to the filmmakers to focus their documentary on differentiating between the credentialed and the non-credentialed and goes as far to

Aug 30
1 h 07 min

S4 Ep15: EP 15 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The horrors come to light - Richard Grannon was left grappling with his new reality after learning the details of the allegations of abuse against his former business par

Aug 30
28 min

S4 Ep14: EP 14 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Collateral - having returned to Sam Vanknin's sphere, Richard Grannon found himself detaching again from the chaos of the malignant narcissistic following further profess

Aug 30
46 min

S4 Ep13: EP 13 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Betrayal - Richard Grannon describes how his world fell apart when he discovered the man he'd been working with for seven years had been accused of sexually abusing thera

Aug 30
56 min

S4 Ep12: EP 12 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The Destruction Package - "There is an infinite power in eradicating another person. A God-like power." This was Sam Vaknin's intention with every target he set his sight

Aug 28
40 min

S4 Ep11: EP 11 -The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The lure - Sam Vaknin tells tall tales and it's these fantastical stories about his life which create intrigue and admiration for his victims. Triumph over adversity, bra

Aug 28
45 min

S4 Ep10: EP 10 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Ann's story - in a moment of crisis, she reached out for advice to a psychologist recommended by her own therapist as an expert in Cluster B personalities. She sought a d

Aug 28
43 min

S4 Ep9: EP 9 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Vindication - A former therapy patient of Sam Vaknin witnesses her abuser being held accountable. Emotions spill out on both sides of the video call with journalist Isla

Aug 27
57 min

S4 Ep8: Ep 8 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

An unexpected video call - investigative journalist Isla Traquair talks to a former therapy patient of Sam Vaknin and explains what happened when she confronted her abuse

Aug 25
36 min

S4 Ep7: EP 7 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The aftermath - With the adrenaline still pumping and the crew in shock at the bizarre reaction of Sam Vaknin, investigative journalist Isla Traquair calls the film produ

Aug 20
33 min

S4 Ep6: EP 6 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

The confrontation - Deep into the interview with a renowned psychologist, investigative journalist Isla Traquair finally reveals the list of accusations that have been ma

Aug 18
57 min

S4 Ep5: EP 5 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Part one of the interview begins. After nearly a year of planning, investigative journalist Isla Traquair finally meets the predatory professor. Her mask is on as she del

Aug 13
55 min

S4 Ep4: EP 4 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" - this could not be more true when making plans with a diagnosed narcissist. Investigative journalist Isla Traquair en

Aug 11
31 min

S4 Ep3: EP 3 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Episode 3 - The investigation begins - crime journalist Isla Traquair meets with documentary producers Mark Vicente and Scott Altomare to discuss how to approach the man

Aug 4
43 min

S4 Ep2: EP 2 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Episode 2 - Narcissist's Playbook companion podcast delves into the genesis of the documentary and what led award-winning journalist Isla Traquair to investigate a serial

Aug 4
54 min

S4 Ep1: EP 1 - The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

Episode 1 - companion podcast to Narcissist's Playbook, Empathy Not Included documentary - join award-winning investigative journalist Isla Traquair as she introduces the

Aug 4
49 min

Chart trend

Position in the True Crime chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#97#192AugSep

#134

all-time peak

days in the top 200 since Aug 2026

Chart positions

Where The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 14, 2026).

#149 ▲ 4 True Crime US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Isla’s commitment from age 22 till the end of this trial is unparalleled. Most journalists, even good ones, even excellent ones, would’ve let go and moved on. Isla held steady and brought us an amazing opportunity to hear Justice speaking for Herself , witness by witness, expert by expert, hour by hour.

JoeyMarie2436 · Aug 2024

Not only is this podcast (both series /episodes) compelling -yet tragic, the narrator (writer) has an uncanny way of bringing the stories to life in a calming, compassionate way. I appreciate how she tells the story and more importantly tells the story of the victims and the victims’ family/friends. She affirms them as well as giving them a voice.

Roe3 · Jan 2024

Thank you for sharing your life’s work and this story is just that. Your telling of the story, clarity of details, explorations of events/timeline are excellent. It’s a very sad sad story, heart breaking really, but your fact base storytelling makes for why and perhaps how this madness happened to such a talented and gifted scientist. Note: why is it that such horrendous crimes are perpetrated against women

Hatsnapper · Dec 2023

It’s not just the story and passion for journalism that is captivating by Isla Traquair. She creates a total cultural immersion which paints a glimpse into Scotland in the 1960s, provoking thoughts of culture, sexuality, ideals and technology that help deduce true crime and murder. She can’t help but turn up the heat with this story!!

Lennysbutt · Nov 2020

As a true crime podcast aficionado, let me tell you there is literally no reason for a true crime podcast about a single case to span 30+ episodes - other than perhaps to sell more ad space, if you’re being cynical. If Serial could wrap cases as complex as the ones they featured in 8-9 episodes, then this should have been wrapped in maybe 6. The author contributes almost no commentary and though the court testimony is fascinating, it has barely been edited at all, so the podcast largely consists huge chunks of courtroom speechifying. The host provides very little useful analysis but makes it clear at every then that she thinks the accused is guilty. I’m more used to even-handed hosts who present the facts with at least a degree or objectivity. I’ll keep listening to the end as I’m invested now, but I definitely wouldn’t seek out another podcast by this author.

valeriancshdur · Mar 2024

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.