AUDIO EXTRA: A Conversation With Elizabeth Smart

January 29, 2026·1 hr 31 min·5 clips

Elizabeth Smart describes the moment she felt a knife at her neck on June 5, 2002.

Britt opens with a surprise for Crime Junkies. She reminds listeners that Ashley and she covered Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and return in 2021, then steps back so Elizabeth can speak for herself. The conversation moves quickly to the hours after someone goes missing, when organization, public awareness, searchers, and resources can make the difference. For Elizabeth, the first 48 hours carry real weight. She says those early hours can affect whether a victim gets home alive. Then the conversation turns more personal. Elizabeth remembers reading a college newspaper article that questioned why her case drew so much attention while other cases did not. At first, she pushed back. She says she did not ask to have white skin, blonde hair, a nice home, or well-connected parents. Still, the article stayed with her. As she spent more time speaking, advocating, and working in activism, she came to believe the article was basically right. That is where the episode hits hardest. Elizabeth does not shrink the miracle of her return, but she also names the unfairness in missing-person coverage without dressing it up. The hope is that more survivors could come home if more cases got the urgency hers did. Britt keeps the space steady and lets Elizabeth carry the hardest parts. The ending is quiet and grateful, with Elizabeth thanking the team for their support and for sharing everything.

As heard by us

Elizabeth Smart turns her own survival story into a clear-eyed conversation about advocacy, media attention, and the urgency of early searches.

Crime Junkie's audio extra steps away from the familiar outline of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and return and gives her more room to speak about survival, advocacy, and why speed matters when someone goes missing.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You've heard the case. Now hear Elizabeth Smart herself, in the fuller 2021 conversation about what she survived and the uncomfortable truth she has carried since.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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