Outside the Box with BRPH

884: The Idiot

In this episode, journalist M. Gessen recounts the tangled family saga of his cousin Alan, who repeatedly abducted his five‑year‑old son O from his mother Priscilla, first fleeing to the U.S. and later being arrested in Canada. Gessen describes his role as a reluctant “double agent,” secretly aiding Priscilla with legal help and tracking Alan’s movements while the family oscillated between fascination and denial. The story culminates in Alan’s arrest, a brief period of shared custody, and the eventual dropping of kidnapping charges, leaving the family to grapple with the absurdity of the ordeal.