Note sull'episodio
Episode 2: The Real Exorcist
Precision and Instinct is a true crime debate show. Every episode, Eli argues the hard evidence. Simone argues the pattern. Neither one wins — you decide.
Episode Notes
January 1949, just outside Washington, D.C. A thirteen-year-old boy starts exhibiting behavior no one in his family can explain — scratching in the walls, furniture moving on its own, welts spelling out words on his skin. A Lutheran pastor witnesses it first. Then two Jesuit priests at Saint Louis University get involved, and over the following weeks perform what's become one of the most famous exorcisms in American history — the real case that inspired the novel and film.
Eli says there's not a single neutral witness in the entire record. Simone says you don't get this many independent, credible people converging on the same specific claims by accident. Along the way: a diary that sat sealed in an abandoned hospital room for decades, and a detail from a single, less-reliable source that — if true — reframes the entire case.
A note before you press play: this episode covers real events involving a minor experiencing significant psychological and physical distress. We approach it with the same care we'd want if it were someone we knew.
You'll find the source list here: https://verbeditorial.github.io/precision-and-instinct-notes/episodes/02-the-real-exorcist.html
The hosts' voices in this episode are AI-generated. All research, writing, and production are done by a human team.