Elizabeth Smart Launches Podcast for Trauma Survivors

Elizabeth Smart knows what it means to survive the unthinkable, and now she's using her voice to amplify others who've walked similar paths. The advocate and author launches "The Survivor Files" podcast on August 17, giving survivors of trauma a platform to share their stories of resilience and healing.

Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City home at age 14 in 2002 and held captive for nine months. Since her rescue, she's transformed her experience into powerful advocacy work, writing memoirs and producing content for Lifetime that helps other survivors feel less alone.

The new podcast, produced with iHeart and Marwar Junction Productions, will feature conversations with people who've survived abductions, home invasions, assaults, and other traumatic events. But this isn't just about what happened to them. Each episode explores the lifelong journey of healing, finding justice, and reclaiming the life violence tried to steal.

"My hope is to honor the extraordinary strength, resilience, hope and courage of survivors," Smart said in a statement. "Each of our stories are unique, but so many share a common thread: the strength to keep moving forward in the face of hell."

Smart emphasized something crucial for anyone listening who's been through trauma. "I want this podcast to remind people that we are more than what we experience, and that we are so much stronger than we believed."

Why This Inspires

For survivors listening, Smart's podcast offers something precious: proof that healing is possible and that their stories matter. By centering survivor voices rather than sensationalizing their trauma, "The Survivor Files" expands what true crime storytelling can be.

It transforms the genre from voyeuristic entertainment into a tool for connection and hope. Survivors sharing their journeys forward might help someone else take their next difficult step toward healing.

The first episode drops next Monday on iHeartPodcasts, bringing Smart's two decades of advocacy into a new medium where her experience as both survivor and storyteller can reach people who need to hear they're not alone.