The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook

North Macedonia - another victim of Sam Vaknin's abuse. Three professors in the country where the fake professor has been living for three decades, have taken it upon themselves to warn people about the allegations against him including
 sexual abuse and fraud. 

Prof Rumena Buzarovska is one of three hosts of the podcast Radio Mileva. After watching the documentary Narcissist's Playbook and being horrified to learn that Sam has been accused of abusing therapy patients and using false credentials to lure victims, they decided to amplify the story. Prof Buzarovska is calling on the authorities in No...

A Tale of Two Sock-puppets - Sam Vaknin lies but the data doesn't. In Part 2 of the conversation with the cyber expert, the deep dives continues as more and more "receipts" are found. Two decades of recorded edits of SV's Wikipedia show the lengths he has gone to, to protect his false academic status and  even the founder of Wikipedia Jimbo Wales, had a part to play.

Digital timeline: samvaknin.info

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The Sock-puppet Master Part 1 - Fake accounts and fraud, Sam Vaknin who has falsely presented himself as a Professor of Psychology to gain access to women through therapy, has used the internet to maintain his lies for two decades. A cyber expert contacted journalist Isla Traquair after hearing the podcast and offered his skills. He uncovered the method that SV has been using to block changes being made to his wikipedia, which reads more like a CV and is full of unverified information, now known be false. The self-confessed pathological liar has flooded the internet with content and successfully...

The Professor's verdict - From the absurd to the abhorrent, Psychology Professor Inna Kanevsky examines the impossibilities of Sam Vaknin's academic claims. There is no paper trail, there is no proof he has any qualifications in any subject. Although all of this has been covered in the series, hearing it from a professor who has become world famous for debunking misinformation about psychology on the internet, was another layer of proof that he cannot explain away.

Also uncovered in this episode, is a recording of a lecture by Sam, who is not a licensed mental health practitioner...

Part 2 - HG Tudor gives his perspective as a diagnosed narcissistic psychopath on the behaviour of another diagnosed narcissistic psychopath, Sam Vaknin. Following on from Part 1 in which we listened back to the key moments of the confrontation interview with the fake professor, HG now offers his observations on some of the digital evidence particularly at the point when the victims have contacted the filmmakers to inform them of the abuse they suffered. We also take a look at how Sam is reacting to the documentary and podcast release and HG makes a prediction about his likely response to...

EP 30 - Psychopath on Psychopath Part 1. There are two big names who are both diagnosed narcissistic psychopaths serving a niche on the internet offering insights into their pathology. One is Sam Vaknin, who is accused of multiple allegations of sexually abusing women using fake credentials to lure them in, and the other is anonymous Englishman HG Tudor. The latter does not claim to hold any psychology qualifications and states his insights are purely from his lived experience being self aware. Some may regard them as rivals although both would likely dispute that and have until recently, publicly ignored one another...

Being seen - British healthcare worker "Rachel" tagged along with a friend to watch author Sam Vaknin do a seminar on narcissism in London in November 2018. He was yet to name himself the made-up title of Dr Professor. Over a year later, after he had criticised her in the comments section of his social media deeming her not intelligent enough, he eventually messaged her privately and everything changed. He was her constant support during the covid years. But his attention and comforting friendship was soon replaced with darker demands. Rachel was won over by the intelligent internet expert, but...

Sam Vaknin was her idol - Grace is a second year PhD Philosophy student and for years she has admired the man she believed to be a professor. He wasn't just someone she watched from afar, he became a mentor and was even referenced in her Masters thesis. When she recently heard via Sam about what he's calling a "smear campaign" she brushed it off as a misunderstanding over him being a Doctor of Philosophy, who taught a different subject, Psychology. That was until her friend contacted her and informed her it was not a smear campaign, but an...

The mystery woman - an alarming incident at one of Sam Vaknin's seminars in Macedonia last year was recorded by one of the attendees who herself believes she was being targeted. The director of CIAPS, Anthony Kila, who is himself currently under investigation for being a fake therapist, was a co-sponsor of this event and did not take  me up on my offer to listen to the audio of this serious safeguarding incident. The mystery woman from Lithuania was branded dangerous and yet Sam Vaknin, using fake credentials as a professor of psychology did nothing to help the woman. H...

Monsters do exist - An introduction to HG Tudor, the faceless diagnosed psychopath who keeps his identity a secret but tells Isla Traquair that one day he will reveal himself, even if it's at his funeral. In this episode you'll learn some chilling details about psychopaths and warnings to heed. If a psychopath tells you "his kind" are evil and cannot change, it's advisable to believe them. 

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Analysis Part 2 - In the second part of this special analysis episode Sam's former collaborator Richard Grannon, Director Mark Vicente and investigative journalist Isla Traquair continue to assess the dog whistling videos Sam Vaknin released ahead of the documentary and podcast release. Isla discovers a chilling remark made by Sam to the filmmakers in behind the scenes camera footage. 

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Analysis Part 1 - In April 2026, Isla Traquair, Richard Grannon and Mark Vicente met up in London ahead of the BAFTA screening of the documentary. The social media campaign had been running for two months and Sam Vaknin knew it wouldn't be long before he would be exposed as a fake professor accused of abusing therapy patients. 

As you may already know from social media, Sam's efforts to discredit the film and podcast have escalated significantly since the film's delayed release in July. It had originally been scheduled for May. Sadly some of our predictions have come true i...

How many victims? - Criminologist Dr Graham Hill gives an estimate of the likely number of potential victims of fake professor and serial sex predator Sam Vaknin. Following a successful career in the police as a Senior Investigating Officer, including leading the British side of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Dr Hill studied for a PhD in psychology and now specialises in profiling sexual offenders. Dr Hill analyses part of one of Sam's therapy sessions recorded by a victim and observes typical language and patterns of a sex offender. 

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TRIGGER SA - When "yes" means "no" - This was the title of Joyce Short's famous TEDx Talk in which she details her personal experience of SA. As the founder of the Consent Awareness Network, Joyce and colleague Nina Lucas deliver one of the most important messages of this entire series. CAN defines consent as "Freely Given, Knowledgable and Informed Agreement" by a person who has capacity to reason. They believe by defining consent within laws, it will help prevent sex crimes and rape culture. There is currently no country in the world that has a legal definition for...

Claire's Story Part 3 - In the final episode of Claire's story, she explains how Sam Vaknin knew which buttons to push to further destroy her mental health. Everything she had told him when she first approached him in a suicidal state, he used against her further compounding her desire to end it. Triangulation and discard drove Claire to the edge, but thankfully she found the strength to expose him by reaching out to other women and was horrified when she discovered how many victims there were. And there's a bonus update near the end recorded after Claire experienced a...

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 traumatised women will succumb" to his psychology and sexuality. Succumb means to lose the determination to oppose something, accept defeat. It can also mean to die or suffer badly from an illness. The illness in this story is Sam's Vaknin's sick mind. After more than a month of video calls grooming a woman who'd reached out for help in a suicidal state, Sam had sexually assaulted her in a hotel room and then...

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 journalist Isla Traquair offering to take part. Sam Vaknin's tailor-made abuse had left it's mark on her and it wasn't until listening to Ann's story, did Claire decide she was ready to talk. But her main motivation was to help stop her abuser from harming more women and believed another voice would strengthen the chorus to seek justice.

TRIGGER WARNING - this episode contains an account of a sexual...

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 for the documentary I, Psychopath in the late 2000s. When Isla Traquair reached out to him in 2025 to inform him of her investigation, seeing Sam Vaknin's name on the email brought back awful memories. In this fascinating interview Ian and Isla look back on his experiences and examine what has happened since. The most chilling aspect, Ian received similar claims from women two decades ago that...

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 than Einstein, he's been incredibly careless. There is no more hiding in plain sight. We see him, we see his lies, we see his stupidity and like he feared, the outcomes will be horrible. 

Following the recording of this episode, it was learned that no scholarship has been awarded through the foundation and the accounts showed a balance of 200 Euro. 

Although this is...

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 say it should be a crime to talk about narcissism online unless you are licensed. Investigative journalist Isla Traquair took on that challenge and in what is one of the most crucial episodes in the entire series, she unravels the fake persona he's spent a lifetime building. By the end of the episode, she tears it down leaving no doubt who and what Sam Vaknin is. 

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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 partner. He's also shown written proof that Sam Vaknin knew he was infecting his patients with a cancerous strain of HPV. As a result of these revelations, Richard contacts the filmmakers and asks to be removed from the documentary but they have other plans. 

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Collateral - having returned to Sam Vanknin's sphere, Richard Grannon found himself detaching again from the chaos of the malignant narcissistic following further professional challenges. But not before Sam obtained collateral on him and played a therapy patient and Richard like puppets. This was the catalyst for their public fall out and the beginning of the collapse of Sam's house of cards. 

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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 therapy patients and had been accessing women through their seminars designed to help victims of narcissistic abuse. Richard reflects on the fact he too had been groomed and brainwashed by Sam Vaknin with devastating consequences. 

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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 sights on. In this episode former patient Ann explains how her mind and later her body were hijacked by the fake professor. You will also hear parts of a recording of a "therapy"session in which he splits a patient and sexualises the new version of the young women who'd gone to him for help at one of the the most vulnerable moments in her life. Later Sam's triangulation of patients backfires...

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, branded a genius as a child but then abused, going to prison and coming out a reformed man who works as a healer, educator and activist. He's a wolf pretending to be a saint while still being a wolf. 

You'll also hear the nuances of what happened during the shift in his dynamic with patient Ann. The man who wouldn't allow you to greet him with a hug or stand c...

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 deeper understanding of narcissism to come to terms with what had happened her life, but instead invited in a greater evil. Ann was quickly told she was very unwell and only he could help her, and thus began a seven year nightmare with Sam Vaknin. Her abuse took time, her story takes time and will continue on into the next episode. 

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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 Traquair. And filmmaker Mark Vicente shares his feelings about the significance of finally being believed following his own experiences in seeking justice against his cult leader of NXIVM who was eventually jailed.

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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 abuser on camera. The woman knew nothing of the investigation that was going on behind the scenes and is told why she was kept in the dark. Richard Grannon, Sam's former business partner, also weighs in with his thoughts on what will happen next for the man who betrayed him.

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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 producers to give them the news they've been waiting for. On her return to Scotland Isla meets Sam's former business partner, Richard Grannon for the first time who give his insight into the confrontation video. Then finally, one of Sam's victims is taken aback when she learns over a video call that a stranger has been secretly investigating her case and has confronted her abuser.

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The confrontation - Deep into the interview with a renowned psychologist, investigative journalist Isla Traquair finally reveals the list of accusations that have been made against him by multiple patients who claim he sexually and psychology abused them, threatened them, infected them with a cancerous strain of HPV and more. Everyone expected a narcissistic rage attack but what happened surprised everyone. Prepare for an edge-of-your-seat listening experience.

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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 delves deep into the topic of Narcissistic Personality Disorder during the interview with the world-leading expert who's alleged to have abused multiple patients. Every question is bringing her closer to the critical moment.

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"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 encounters multiple hurdles while trying to secure a face-to-face interview with a therapist accused of abusing multiple female patients over many years. The filmmakers arrive in Scotland to film Isla before she heads to North Macedonia with her cameraman.

A TRIGGER WARNING - this podcast covers accounts of physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

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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 they can no longer interview after being contacted by a number of his former patients with claims of abuse. But before Isla can meet the fake professor for a face-to-face sit down interview, she must first learn the full horror of what he's accused of. One of his former patients reveals the harrowing details of what happened to her over a seven year period.

A TRIGGER WARNING - this podcast covers...

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 predator and public figure. In this episode she interviews filmmaker and cult survivor Mark Vicente about his drive to understand Narcissistic Personality Disorder and how that became the inspiration for the documentary. He and his wife Bonnie were instrumental in the take down of the cult NXIVM and the jailing of cult leader Keith Raniere, as seen in The Vow on HBO. 

You'll hear about the bombshell revelation which almost derailed the documentary a...

Episode 1 - companion podcast to Narcissist's Playbook, Empathy Not Included documentary - join award-winning investigative journalist Isla Traquair as she introduces the start of her investigation into a serial predator and discovers the truth of what Narcissistic Personality Disorder is beyond a buzzword. World leading psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula explains the complexity of narcissistic abuse. Not all wounds are visible, victims are not to be blamed for being fooled by the wolf in saviour's clothing.

A TRIGGER WARNING - this podcast covers accounts of physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

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Coming soon - following on from three number one true crimes series, The Storyteller's brand new investigation reveals what really happened when an educational documentary film turned into a real-life thriller. Award-winning investigative journalist Isla Traquair does it again weaving the narrative with compassion and honest observation. A predator is unmasked, survivors share their stories and leading experts give their insight into one of the misunderstood personality disorders impacting our world today. The Storyteller: Narcissist's Playbook is the companion podcast to the recently release documentary Narcissist's Playbook: Empathy Not Included. 

In part one of my interview with Defence KC Brian McConnachie we learn about how he landed one of the biggest cases of his career unexpectedly. Part two, which is considerably longer and more detailed is available on the Patreon on the link below.


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This is part one of a three part interview with now retired Detective Inspector Gary Winter - the man responsible for getting the case to court. He reveals the huge effort it took to get the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service to agree to move the case forward. In the second and third parts of his interview you will hear so much more about what was not said in court, evidence that couldn't be heard due to witnesses dying, more about Kit's actions after the murder and his frustration that it took 45 years to get to court. To hear the...

In the second part of this in-depth interview with retired forensic officer Eric Jensen, he reveals his encounter with Kit Harrisson in the police station in 1978 following his arrest.

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Retired forensic officer Eric Jensen gives an in-depth interview revealing parts of evidence found at the scene which weren't mentioned during the trial. 

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