Listener sentiment
Recent ratings for The Storyteller: Naked Villainy remain overwhelmingly positive, with the Sam Vaknin investigation — "The Narcissist's Playbook" — continuing to dominate the conversation. Listeners repeatedly credit host Isla Traquair with exceptional, courageous journalism, praising her exhaustive research, composed interviewing, and compassion toward the survivors whose stories sit at the centre of the series; many survivors of narcissistic abuse describe the podcast as validating and healing, and the companion documentary by Mark Vicente is frequently recommended as essential viewing alongside it. A smaller but persistent group of critics raises familiar structural objections: they find Traquair's on-air emotional reactions and self-congratulation distracting, feel the story is stretched over too many episodes with manufactured suspense, and wish the victims' accounts took clearer precedence over the host's presence in the narrative. This divide between devoted admirers and those wanting tighter, more restrained reporting has held steady across the season rather than shifting, and the dominant sentiment remains strong enthusiasm for the storytelling and the urgency of the subject matter.
Apple4.6 · 448
Summary generated Sep 26, 2026
