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\n Related: <\/span>Elizabeth Smart Opens Up About How Her Faith Changed After Being Kidnapped<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tAfter Elizabeth Smart survived nine months of being kidnapped, so many aspects of her life changed forever \u2014 including her definition of faith. \u201cIn the spiritual sense, I would say before, it was just very rigid, very, \u2018This is what was said, so this is what I\u2019m going to believe,\u2019\u201d Smart, 38, exclusively reveals in [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Smart \u2014 who was abducted in 2002 at age 14 and sexually abused before being rescued<\/a> nine months later \u2014 tells Us<\/em> that another case features a young girl who was groomed by a teacher who \u201cbefriended her.\u201d By giving the survivor a platform to discuss her experience, Smart hopes to deepen listeners\u2019 understanding of how grooming can unfold.<\/p>\n\u201cIt can be easy to think, \u2018Oh well, that just happens really fast,\u2019 or \u2018That\u2019s a week-long process.\u2019 But no, this happened over weeks and months,\u201d Smart shares. \u201cThere\u2019s so many of these pieces that I can talk about and that are so meaningful to me and that are so important to be shared because, again, from the outside, it\u2019s easy just to look at these cases and be like, \u2018Well, I would never do that,\u2019 or \u2018If I was in that situation, I\u2019d do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than simply recounting how each crime unfolded, Smart wants the podcast to explore the decisions survivors made and what they were experiencing in the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this podcast so powerful [is] when you hear the survivors themselves sharing what happened and what was going through their mind and why they did what they did,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Smart\u2019s own experience with trauma also shapes how she approaches every interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly have been on the receiving end of less than pleasant interviews,\u201d she says, explaining that she tells guests they do not have to answer any question that makes them uncomfortable. \u201cThe last thing I want is for someone to share the worst moments of their life with me and then feel like I exploited them, or feel like I betrayed them, or I made the situation worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Inside-Elizabeth-Smarts-New-Powerful-Podcast-The-Survival-Files.jpg?w=1000&quality=78&strip=all\")
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\n Elizabeth Smart.<\/span> Courtesy of Elizabeth Smart\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSmart notes that the podcast explores a variety of cases, including stalking, robberies and home invasions, illustrating the wide range of experiences that can shape a survivor\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI interview people from all different walks of life, all different stories. It\u2019s not just kidnapping. It\u2019s not just sexual violence<\/a>,\u201d she shares. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s so many different kinds of survivors that I talk to, and it\u2019s actually been fascinating how there have been survivors of completely different crimes. It\u2019s also been fascinating to hear other victims [whose] stories are a bit similar to mine, but how their responses were so different.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile there is no shortage of true crime podcasts, Smart says \u201cThe Survivor Files\u201d distinguishes itself by exploring each survivor\u2019s experience \u201cstep by step.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey really take you into their mind \u2014 what they\u2019re thinking about, how they felt, how they made their decisions, what made them do this, what made them do that, were they scared, how did they feel, were they thinking of their family?\u201d Smart says. \u201cSo they really take you on a deep dive through their side of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearing a first-person account gives each story \u201ca whole new meaning and a whole new depth,\u201d Smart adds, helping listeners better understand the decisions a survivor made<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe podcast isn\u2019t only about the crimes at hand; each episode also highlights where the survivor is now.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n![\"Elizabeth](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Elizabeth-Smart-TheSurvivorFiles-Podcast-Art.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Courtesy of Megan Turley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cWe talk about healing, and we talk about what was it that you held onto that helped you survive? What was it that was your light at the end of the tunnel?\u201d she says. \u201cWhat is your happiness, and how do you learn to trust again? And are you a parent? How do you communicate with your kids about what happened, and has it changed how you parent and what\u2019s important to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
For Smart, that focus reflects one of the most important lessons she hopes listeners take away from the series: A survivor\u2019s journey doesn\u2019t end when the immediate danger is over. \u201cMy story didn\u2019t end the day that I was rescued,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople\u2019s stories continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be easy to think, \u2018Oh well, that just happens really fast,\u2019 or \u2018That\u2019s a week-long process.\u2019 But no, this happened over weeks and months,\u201d Smart shares. \u201cThere\u2019s so many of these pieces that I can talk about and that are so meaningful to me and that are so important to be shared because, again, from the outside, it\u2019s easy just to look at these cases and be like, \u2018Well, I would never do that,\u2019 or \u2018If I was in that situation, I\u2019d do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than simply recounting how each crime unfolded, Smart wants the podcast to explore the decisions survivors made and what they were experiencing in the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this podcast so powerful [is] when you hear the survivors themselves sharing what happened and what was going through their mind and why they did what they did,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Smart\u2019s own experience with trauma also shapes how she approaches every interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly have been on the receiving end of less than pleasant interviews,\u201d she says, explaining that she tells guests they do not have to answer any question that makes them uncomfortable. \u201cThe last thing I want is for someone to share the worst moments of their life with me and then feel like I exploited them, or feel like I betrayed them, or I made the situation worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Smart notes that the podcast explores a variety of cases, including stalking, robberies and home invasions, illustrating the wide range of experiences that can shape a survivor\u2019s story.<\/p>\n \u201cI interview people from all different walks of life, all different stories. It\u2019s not just kidnapping. It\u2019s not just sexual violence<\/a>,\u201d she shares. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s so many different kinds of survivors that I talk to, and it\u2019s actually been fascinating how there have been survivors of completely different crimes. It\u2019s also been fascinating to hear other victims [whose] stories are a bit similar to mine, but how their responses were so different.\u201d<\/p>\n While there is no shortage of true crime podcasts, Smart says \u201cThe Survivor Files\u201d distinguishes itself by exploring each survivor\u2019s experience \u201cstep by step.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey really take you into their mind \u2014 what they\u2019re thinking about, how they felt, how they made their decisions, what made them do this, what made them do that, were they scared, how did they feel, were they thinking of their family?\u201d Smart says. \u201cSo they really take you on a deep dive through their side of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n Hearing a first-person account gives each story \u201ca whole new meaning and a whole new depth,\u201d Smart adds, helping listeners better understand the decisions a survivor made<\/a>.<\/p>\n The podcast isn\u2019t only about the crimes at hand; each episode also highlights where the survivor is now.<\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n \u201cWe talk about healing, and we talk about what was it that you held onto that helped you survive? What was it that was your light at the end of the tunnel?\u201d she says. \u201cWhat is your happiness, and how do you learn to trust again? And are you a parent? How do you communicate with your kids about what happened, and has it changed how you parent and what\u2019s important to you?\u201d<\/p>\n For Smart, that focus reflects one of the most important lessons she hopes listeners take away from the series: A survivor\u2019s journey doesn\u2019t end when the immediate danger is over. \u201cMy story didn\u2019t end the day that I was rescued,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople\u2019s stories continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
\n Elizabeth Smart.<\/span> Courtesy of Elizabeth Smart\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n\t<\/p>\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
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