Every night since July 3, a group of people turn on music and dance on the street outside Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. The group that organized the dancing say it's meant to support federal inmates during the pandemic, including one in particular: Kay Rose. There is, however, no inmate by that name in the Brooklyn facility — or anywhere else in the federal prison population, for that matter. But "Kay Rose" shares the initials of someone who has spent the past two years in the downstate lockup: Keith Raniere, the leader of the formerly influential and now shattered organization known as NXIVM.  On this episode of NXIVM on Trial, Times Union editor Casey Seiler and reporter Robert Gavin discuss the latest development in the NXIVM saga.

Times Union editor Brendan Lyons moderates a conversation between NXIVM whistleblower Toni Natalie and cult expert Rick Ross. The episode highlights their personal interactions with NXIVM and its founder, Keith Raniere, who was convicted this summer on federal charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Ross and Natalie shine a light on the inner workings of NXIVM and Lyons offers his own insights covering the shadowy organization.  

Times Union managing editor Casey Seiler assembles the newspaper's NXIVM beat writers, Robert Gavin and Brendan Seiler, for an update on the shadowy cult since its leader, Keith Raniere, was found guilty of federal racketeering charges and more.  The conversation addresses a lawsuit against NXIVM, the potential prison sentences for members of the cult and a made-for-television movie debuting in September. The episode also explores the doctor who had his medical license revoked by the state for conducting unsanctioned experiments on behalf of NXIVM.  

In a special post-verdict edition of the Times Union's "NXIVM on Trial" podcast, managing editor Casey Seiler and justice reporter Robert Gavin discuss Wednesday's speedy verdict in the trial of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere: guilty on all counts. Gavin describes the scene in the courtroom when Raniere learned his fate, and the reactions from his defense attorneys and the people who have claimed their lives as well as those of their loved ones were ruined by the man known within NXIVM as "Vanguard." Daily coverage of the trial is available in print and online at www.timesunion.com/nxivm/.

The seventh episode of the Times Union's "NXIVM on Trial" podcast breaks down the final week of testimony in the federal trial of Keith Raniere, and what's coming next week as jurors prepare to begin deliberations. This week's episode, "Like in Rome or Whatever," features an interview with reporter Robert Gavin from Brooklyn, and looks at the testimony of the final prosecution witnesses, including two women who broke away from the shadowy "master/slave" group within NXIVM and an FBI agent who introduced video evidence of Raniere discussing his belief that sexual relations between adults and children isn't necessarily abuse. Daily coverage of the trial is available in print and online at www.timesunion.com/nxivm/.

The sixth episode of the "NXIVM on Trial" podcast features an interview with Rob Gavin, the Times Union's reporter in the Brooklyn courthouse where Keith Raniere faced some of the most brutal testimony in the case thus far. Gavin talks about the scene in the courtroom and the media covering it, and describes his visit to the Knox Woods neighborhood in Halfmoon, where neighbors of the NXIVM high command are only now learning what went on behind closed doors in the pleasant suburban homes all around them. Also: Casey Seiler recaps the news from this week's three days of testimony, including a 31-year-old actress' account of her initiation into NXIVM's "master/slave" club.

The fifth episode of the Times Union's podcast "NXIVM on Trial" offers analysis of the week-long testimony of a young Mexican woman who said she was placed in virtual confinement in a Halfmoon bedroom for two years on the orders of NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. With justice reporter Robert Gavin in Brooklyn covering a Friday session of the trial, the podcast features managing editor Casey Seiler and investigations/Capitol Bureau chief Brendan J. Lyons. Topics include how the woman's testimony appeared to play with the jury — the short answer: not at all well for Raniere — and how "Secrets of NXIVM," a 2012 investigative series by the Times Union appears to have played a role in NXIVM's decision to transport her to the U.S.-Mexico border and cut her loose.

The Times Union's "NXIVM on Trial" podcast features a discussion about the roller-coaster third week of testimony in the trial of Keith Raniere — a week that brought the accounts of two women who described Raniere's alleged emotional and physical cruelty in often excruciating detail. Managing editor Casey Seiler, investigations and Capitol bureau chief Brendan Lyons and courts reporter Robert Gavin analyze the details in the testimony of former NXIVM insider Lauren Salzman and a young Mexican woman who said she remained captive in a room in a Halfmoon home for two years after she earned Raniere's disfavor by expressing interest in another man.  

The third installment of the Times Union's weekly podcast "NXIVM on Trial" features a discussion with reporter Rob Gavin on his way back from Brooklyn, where the trial of Keith Raniere swerved from the testimony of filmmaker Mark Vicente to the first appearance of cooperating witness and admitted Raniere "slave" Lauren Salzman. New episodes will be released every week during the federal trial. Complete coverage is available at the Times Union website.

Keith Raniere's shadowy reign as the leader of NXIVM came under fire this week during the start of his federal trial in Brooklyn. Times Union reporter Robert Gavin was in court for the first week of action, which included allegations of sex with underage girls, comparisons to Winston Churchill and emotional testimony from people trapped in the organization. All this and more is explored in the second installment of the  "NXIVM on Trial" series, which is hosted by Times Union managing editor Casey Seiler. New episodes are scheduled every week during the trial. This coverage is supported by

The details of Keith Raniere's shadowy reign as the leader of NXIVM, which has for years withstood allegations that it was a cult-like criminal enterprise, are expected to be fully revealed at his federal criminal trial in May. Raniere, long known to his followers as "Vanguard," has for more than two decades been a captivating figure after founding the Capital Region-based organization that amassed thousands of followers and pledged to help "humanity rise to its noble possibility." But behind the programs that promised executive success and self-empowerment, Raniere's penchant for manipulating those who believed in him, especially the many women who would become his sexual partners, would lead to last year's collapse of NXIVM. All these issues and more are covered by Times Union investigator editor Brendan Lyons for the first episode of the "NXIVM on Trial" podcast series.