Vassalage: Truth, Lies, and Power
When I was five years old, I watched my father threaten to drive off a bridge. Years later, I began to understand the truth: my father — a respected school headmaster and teacher, trusted by families and admired by students — was not who he appeared to be.
Vassalage: Truth, Lies, and Power is a serial narrative podcast and true story about how one man’s lies and abuse of power tore his family apart — and my attempt to understand why so many people chose to believe him instead of the truth. Told through the actual letters exchanged during my parents’ bitter divorce, alongside memories I can’t forget, this podcast examines power, control, loyalty, manipulation, and deception — and what happens when truth is managed, softened, or replaced to protect the person who controls the board.
Season 1: The Prologue sets the stage. The pieces are arranged, the players take their positions, and a family prepares for a conflict that will change everything.
Season 2: The Departure unfolds day by day through letters written during a family crisis. As the situation escalates, the story told to the outside world is carefully shaped — not through quiet, but through narrative substitution, strategic omission, and reputation management. What emerges is my study of how truth is redirected, how authority is protected, and how reality itself becomes negotiable.
Companion Book & Exclusive Content
This podcast is the companion to my upcoming book. To be the first to know when it’s released, join my mailing list at https://www.mjmaeyers.com.
Bonus Letters & Behind-the-Scenes Insights
To hear the full, unedited letters featured in these episodes — plus behind-the-scenes context — visit patreon.com/mjmaeyers.
In a world where power protects lies… speaking the truth is how you change the game.
Disclaimer: All names, locations, and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.
Vassalage: Truth, Lies, and Power
April 9 - The Monologue
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
On April 9, communication resumes — but not in the way anyone expected.
After days of silence, my father responds with a single, overwhelming letter. At more than 2,500 words, it is not a conversation, but a performance: expansive, accusatory, self-justifying, and meticulously constructed to control the narrative.
This episode contains only two letters.
First, my mother’s measured attempt to reach him.
Then, my father’s response — read in full, exactly as it was written and sent.
What unfolds is not an exchange, but a monologue. One voice dominates the page, reframing events, assigning blame, and recasting himself as both victim and authority. It marks a clear escalation in tone, and a turning point in how this conflict is being documented — and weaponized.
As with all of Season 2, this episode contains no commentary or analysis. Just the letters themselves, in chronological order.
For background and behind-the-scenes context for this episode, listen to April 9… Continued on Patreon.
⚠️ Content Note:
This series discusses sensitive themes and adult content, including suicide, abuse and coercive control, and may not be suitable for all listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 in the U.S. for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
🎵 Music Credit:
Opening and closing music features Moonlight Sonata performed with permission by Paul Pitman. This piece is used intentionally. My father often played Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven on our piano at home, and I remember sitting in the hallway listening as a young child. Its presence in this podcast reflects the emotional atmosphere of these events — restrained, familiar, and unresolved.