Something Was Wrong

S25 Ep5: Testing Me

January 29, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • Abuse of power in academia is often facilitated by institutional hierarchies, where professors like Cato Buss control grades and opportunities, leading to institutional betrayal when systems fail survivors. 
  • Cato Buss allegedly used the Meisner acting technique, which emphasizes vulnerability and repetition, as a method to break down students like Miranda before offering emotional consolation, which is identified as a grooming tactic. 
  • The culture within the University of Central Oklahoma's theater department, particularly surrounding Cato Buss, normalized excessive drinking and inappropriate behavior during required travel and festivals, creating an environment where boundary testing could escalate. 

Segments

Introduction and Content Warnings
Copied to clipboard!
(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Sexual harassment by faculty or staff affects nearly 25% of senior undergraduates, highlighting significant institutional power imbalances.
  • Summary: The episode opens with extensive content warnings covering grooming, institutional betrayal, and sexual violence. Data cited indicates that 12.5% of freshmen and nearly 25% of seniors reported experiencing sexual harassment by faculty or staff. The core issue discussed is the power imbalance inherent in professor-student relationships, which perpetrators can exploit.
Miranda’s Chaotic Background
Copied to clipboard!
(00:06:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Miranda’s chaotic childhood, marked by parental divorce and instability, created a foundation of seeking external support upon entering college.
  • Summary: Miranda, originally from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, describes a chaotic childhood due to her parents’ divorce and an abusive stepfather. She moved frequently between her parents until age 18, leading her to intentionally choose the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) to gain distance from her family life. This background left her without a strong support system when she first arrived at college.
Meeting Professor Cato Buss
Copied to clipboard!
(00:09:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato Buss immediately targeted Miranda’s isolation and poor background by offering scholarship money during their first meeting, establishing early leverage.
  • Summary: Cato Buss was the first person Miranda met in the theater department during her second semester. Recognizing her isolation and poor background, he offered her scholarship money in their initial meeting. Miranda perceived him as manipulative yet trustworthy, allowing him to shape her perception of him easily.
Cato’s Departmental Power
Copied to clipboard!
(00:15:43)
  • Key Takeaway: As department head, Cato held significant control over student futures through casting, directing coveted shows, and managing departmental finances.
  • Summary: Cato Buss transitioned from tenured professor to head of the theater department by Miranda’s sophomore year, making him the most authoritative figure for students. He directed the most coveted plays, which offered students unlimited access to his unique acting methods. He also controlled the department’s finances, heavily influencing who received scholarships and opportunities.
Meisner Technique as Grooming Tool
Copied to clipboard!
(00:21:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato used Meisner technique exercises, involving forced repetition of emotional vulnerability, to break students down and then console them, lowering their guards.
  • Summary: The Meisner technique, based on repetition and vulnerability, was used by Cato in rehearsals for the play Love and Information. This involved forcing students into intense emotional states, such as sobbing, followed immediately by his consoling them while also crying himself. This emotional high-low cycle was used to make Miranda feel seen as a sexual being and to lower her defenses.
Boundary Testing Through Communication
Copied to clipboard!
(00:26:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato escalated contact by obtaining Miranda’s phone number and adding her on Snapchat, using unsolicited praise to reinforce her vulnerability after intense rehearsals.
  • Summary: Following the Meisner-heavy rehearsal process, Cato obtained Miranda’s phone number, moving communication beyond school email. He texted her after rehearsals, praising her vulnerability and claiming she brought him to tears, which she interpreted as validation. Snapchat addition followed, marking the beginning of direct, non-school-sanctioned communication.
Olivia’s Mentor Relationship
Copied to clipboard!
(00:33:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato positioned himself as a paternal father figure to Olivia, potentially using her credibility to validate his character to Miranda and prevent Miranda’s red flags.
  • Summary: Olivia notes that Cato treated her as a father figure, a relationship he developed earlier in her college career. Miranda suggests Cato pushed for their friendship because he needed Olivia to vouch for him, thereby preventing Miranda from recognizing warning signs as the grooming progressed.
Cato’s Paternalism and Anger
Copied to clipboard!
(00:36:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato alternated between intense paternal mentorship, offering private coaching and compliments, and sudden, controlling anger, which dictated Olivia’s emotional state.
  • Summary: Olivia initially viewed Cato positively, seeing him as a strong mentor who invested in her success, receiving private coaching and early script access. However, his moods controlled her day; he would use the silent treatment or ’love bombing’ to manage her loyalty. Olivia recognizes this pattern as grooming, as she became intensely loyal and at his beck and call.
Travel as Boundary Escalation
Copied to clipboard!
(00:48:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Off-campus trips, particularly the international trip to Scotland, provided Cato with less supervision to engage in boundary-testing behaviors like excessive drinking and isolating Miranda.
  • Summary: Travel for festivals like KCACTF and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival became crucial for boundary crossing, often involving excessive drinking by both students and Cato. During the Scotland trip, Cato took Miranda and Olivia alone to shows, texting Miranda about wishing they could be alone, which Miranda identifies as integral to the grooming process due to reduced supervision.
Cato’s Misogyny and Favoritism
Copied to clipboard!
(00:56:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Cato exhibited clear disdain for male students, justifying his harsh treatment of them under the guise of supporting feminism and the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Summary: Cato generally disliked the male students in the department, often being mean or calling them names, while simultaneously claiming to champion feminism. Olivia notes that Cato’s abuse toward her felt different than his treatment of the boys, whom he made work harder for roles they were unlikely to receive.