This Week on the Show

Twenty-one-year-old Julia Wendell captured the attention of millions across the globe when she claimed she believes she may be the most famous missing child in the world, Madeleine McCann. Wendell claims she has the same famous dark mark on her eye as McCann and similar body markings. She also claims she can’t remember large chunks of her early childhood, isn’t sure of her age, and has never seen her birth certificate. In an exclusive interview, Wendell reveals what else she discovered that made her believe she is the girl who vanished in 2007 at 3 years old. However, Wendell’s parents in Poland insist she is their biological child and deny she was kidnapped. McCann, who would be 19 years old now, was abducted in 2007 while on vacation with her family in Portugal and is presumed dead. Has McCann finally been found? Or, is this a cruel hoax?

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Critics say that Americans pulling the “victim card” seems to be at an all-time high. What are the forms of victimhood and types of people who have a victim mentality? What dangers does a trend toward over-sensitivity, negative thinking, playing the blame game, and entitlement pose for our society? Sam is a skateboarder and recent college graduate who is currently living in his van with his kitten in Los Angeles. He says he is not working and wonders how he is expected to remain positive when bad things just seem to happen to him all the time. Pastor James Ward, founder of INSIGHT Church and author of “Zero Victim: Overcoming Injustice with a New Attitude,” says victimhood culture causes the alleged victims to bully others into accepting their ideologies, and we must start creating better, stronger people who do not see themselves as victims. Trauma therapist and author of “Through The Glass,” Shannon Moroney, says even though she personally experienced an unbelievable tragedy, she does not believe in people believing they have no responsibility to take care of the wounds inflicted upon them. Shaunelle Curry, professor at CSU Long Beach, says Americans see many people's unresolved and unacknowledged historical pain playing out and wrongly call it “victimhood.” She believes instead of criticizing people for airing their grievances, we should listen. Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist, founder and director of the Center for Human Potential, and co-author of “Choose Growth: A Workshop For Transcending Trauma, Fear, And Self-Doubt,” with Jordyn Feingold. His 2020 article for Scientific American titled “Unraveling The Mindset of Victimhood” was very popular, as he analyzed in an easy-to-understand way the groundbreaking Israeli study “The Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood” by Rahav Gabay et al. What does Dr. Kaufman say he believes victimhood is linked to?

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Dr. Phil delves into the very sensitive topic of discrimination. The news has reported claims of discrimination against white people in university admissions, graduation ceremonies, and college welcome weeks. Similar claims have been made in the workplace. Political commentator and activist Candace Owens contends that reverse discrimination does exist, while Dr. Luke Wood and Dr. John Pascarella disagree. PragerU podcast host Amala Ekpunobi and activist Danielle D’Souza say they believe America is obsessed with race. Comedian Tyler Fischer claims he was discriminated against in the entertainment industry because of race, and school teacher Alexis discusses teacher layoffs in Minneapolis.

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Two families, one tragedy, two different outcomes. On May 24, 2022, a gunman entered Uvalde Elementary School and took the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Parents Kimberly and Angel reflect back on that day when they lost their 10-year-old daughter, Amerie. Kimberly was with her daughter at the school just one hour before the gunman entered the building and says she asks herself why she wasn’t there to protect her daughter. Amerie’s best friend, Khloie, was in the classroom when the gunman entered their room. She says she was holding hands with Amerie right before she left her hiding spot to call 911 for help and was killed by the gunman. Khloie’s parents, Jamie and Ruben, reveal what she told them happened inside her classroom during the 77 minutes as she, her classmates, and teachers waited helplessly for someone to save them.

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See more from part two: Through a Child's Eyes: Surviving a Mass Tragedy

Eleven-year-old Khloie, a young survivor of the Uvalde Elementary School shooting, remembers her best friend, Amerie, and the classmates and teachers she lost on that fatal day. Christine, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, gives insight to Khloie and her parents, Jamie and Ruben, on what helped her get through the darkest days she faced after the shooting at her high school that took the lives of her friends and teachers. And, Tony, a father who lost his 14-year-old daughter, Gina, in the Parkland shooting, shares with Angel and Kimberly, whose 10-year-old daughter, Amerie, was killed in the Uvalde shooting, his four-and-a-half-year journey with grief after losing his daughter.

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See more from part one: Two Families - One Tragedy