On Belief: A Podcast About Cults

In this episode, we discuss: Why she found herself in a high demand group How she felt targeted racially and because she was neurodivergent How decision making played into why she stayed What it was like to go from one group to another And more... Priscilla's website: https://whova.com/web/icsaa_202207/ The ICSA website: https://www.icsahome.com/

In this episode, we discuss: * The basic beliefs of the Unification Church * What it's like for kids * What are the rules, and are they different by gender? * What is the companion book to the Bible that the Unification Church uses? * What are the political beliefs of the church? * And more...

In this episode, we discuss: How much real estate the church owns in Clearwater What the Scientologists do there What happens when David Miscavige comes to town The influence the church has over local politics What happens when they get heckled And more...

Matthew shares his wealth of knowledge in this week's episode and we discuss what the heck "Conspirituality" is. Find Matthew's podcast here: https://conspirituality.net/ And Matthew's website here: http://matthewremski.com/wordpress/

In this episode, we discuss: * What drew her to yoga * What it costs to do the 2 month intensive * What happens at the 2 month intensive * Why vegans began to eat burgers * Why white instructors spoke in put-on "Indian" accents * And more...

In this episode, we discuss: What are the core beliefs of the Salvation Army? Is it really organized like a Military? What are services like for kids? What is the leadership path like? What kinds of ceremonies are there? Where does the Bell Ringer money go? What's the Salvation Army stance on the LGBTQ+ community? And more...

In this episode, we discuss: What kinds of demands are put on children in the church from an early age How activities were sex segregated What rules her parents followed What happens to children of divorce in the LDS church What it's like to go to BYU What it's like to question at BYU All about the honor code And more... For more about The Modesty Talks, visit: https://themodestytalks.com/

My guest joins me to discuss: Being born into the Witnesses What Jehovah's Witnesses believe about parenting What her mother believed about parenting What an average week looks like for a Jehovah's Witness kid What happens when your mom is disfellowshipped And more...

In this episode, we discuss: How the Church of Christ differs from 'mainstream' Christianity How her parents, wanting her to have some religious education, inadvertently changed her trajectory in life What the main teachings of the church are What happens when you have a chastity doctrine at a highschool with boarders What the church camp experience is life And more...

Subscribe to Right Richter here: https://tinyletter.com/rightrichter Read Will on The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/author/will-sommer Will Sommer has been covering conspiracy theories since the inception of Pizzagate. He joins me to discuss what drives people to believe seemingly incomprehensible conspiracy theories. In this episode, we discuss: What is the genesis of Pizzagate? Why did people believe and amplify Pizzagate? Why didn't Pizzagate end when Comet Pizza was shot up? What is QAnon? How do people get progressively deeper into QAnon? What are the societal impacts of collective belief in conspiracy theories? And more...

In this episode we discuss: What was Esalen? How did the Human Potential Movement begin? What made the Human Potential Movement so appealing? Which groups sprung out of that movement? Which forms of untested therapy became popular from the movement? And more...

In this episode, we discuss: What is the Gender Critical movement? What are the fundamental beliefs vs what they claim the beliefs are? Where did my guest find out about Gender Criticism? Are most of the leaders of the Gender Critical movement trans? Who are the celebrities who are involved in this movement? Why the 'science' Gender Critical people cite is erroneous And more...

In this episode, we discuss: How someone finds MRAs online Where the most active members hang out What kind of moderation MRA forums have Can you see people being radicalized in real time? What drove my guest deeper What family members and women told my guest when they were involved When they started to question their views And more...

On this episode, we discuss: What it's like growing up with a fire and brimstone church at the center of your life What kinds of topics were taught in Sunday school Evangelical home schooling What a child understands about a sermon on homosexuality What Bible camp is like Why Bible College doesn't always make pastors And more...

In this episode we discuss: What is an intentional community? What made Helen decide to join Zendik? What was it like moving in? What are the major beliefs of the group? What was the Zendik approach to sex and dating? How did the Farm make money? What was the group's approach to working through trauma? And more...

Guest Katie Mount joins me to discuss her time both studying The Inner Matrix and joining the company, working for its founder. In this episode, we discuss: What brought her to study The Inner Matrix What you study in their courses Why she decided to join the organization What she gave up to work for Joey Klein Whether the office lived by the principles it espoused Why some women in the office were treated differently than others How she connected with other defectors on the other side And more.

In this episode, we explore 3 political cults: The Weather Underground, Ayn Rand's Determinists and The JOhn Birch Society

In this episode, we discuss: How Matt got involved in a Facebook group that 'supported' men who wanted to overcome Same Sex Attraction How groups recruit vulnerable men to join bootcamps What happens at bootcamps that promise to help you 'pray the gay away' What kinds of activities and 'therapy' happen at Conversion Therapy bootcamp Why he sat in a room staring at a candle Whether Conversion Therapy works What the risks of Conversion Therapy are And more... Matt's Article: https://www.dailyxtra.com/lgbtq2-conversion-therapy-168786 Matt's Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/mattash89 https://twitter.com/mattash89

In this episode, we discuss: What kinds of kids get sent to these institutions What kinds of rules are there at these places What kinds of punishments happen How everyone is turned into a snitch What kinds of regulations govern these places What recourse kids have if sent there And much more Links from this episode: Troubled Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/2FUqbPy2iHM5zMcZllJKMN) Troubled podcast on social media: @talktroubled 2007 Congressional Hearing on Child Neglect & Abuse in Residential Homes (https://youtu.be/hgJPmBYctRI) 2008 Congressional Hearing on Child Abuse & Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens (incl GAO findings from the investigation prompted by the 2007 Hearing (https://youtu.be/fRWEh-qIiUM) Aaron Bacon Short Film (his parents testified in Congressional Hearings) (https://youtu.be/rJz5pghLagY) The Last Stop Documentary (film here) (https://thelaststopfilm.com/) Last Stop (trailer) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W93JfLTpAM0) Fix My Kid Documentary (film) (http://www.fixmykidthemovie.com/) Fix My Kid (trailer) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3R4CpyP5CA&t=106s) ABC Special "A Boy Named Lucas" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bwpsoFH-8c&t=44s)

WARNING This episode contains frank discussion of emotional, physical and sexual abuse of minors In this episode, we discuss: How Jim became aware of the initial allegations against R Kelly How R Kelly targeted his victims How R Kelly controlled his victims What we know about his co-conspirators Does R Kelly know he's an abuser? How "The Settlement Factory" kept R Kelly abusing people for years And more...

In this episode, we discuss: Why Dana quickly learned it's not ok to question things What happened when Dana chose a bible passage to discuss in group What happened to a friend of hers who was asked to leave What was the final straw for her What she learned about the group after leaving What life is like outside of the organization And more...

Dana was looking for a way to heal after a relationship break up. What she found was a high demand group with some questionable ideas about personal responsibility. In this episode, we discuss: What is Neo-Calvinism? What does Acts 29 believe? What is the Acts 29 lifestyle like? What happens in study groups? What made her begin to question her committment? And more...

In this episode, we discuss: Some of the unusual requests made of him in the interview How forcing candidates to work for free set up a culture of precarcity What happened when he negotiated his salary What illegal thing he was asked to do The strange veneration of the group's leader And more... Follow Jordan at @jordanuhl on twitter or join his podcast at theinsurgents.substack.com (https://theinsurgents.substack.com/)

In Part 2, We discuss: What it's like to leave a group and a marriage at the same time Leaving a group when you're not legally free to work inthe country where you live How having a son made Eric re-evaluate his experiences When he knew it was time to leave How he got out What he did once he was out And more...

Eric joins me to discuss: How his family beng involved in an LGAT might have primed him to join ISKCON later in life What the belief system of ISKCON is How restrictive the lifestyle can be Why ISKCON is full of contradictions of practice vs doctrine How love and marriage are handled What the Devotee-Guru relationship looks like And more...

In this episode, we discuss: The ways in which the Church operates like Scientology The pressure put on women What makes Mormon marriages perilous What sealing is Why if you're sealed to a man, you had better hope you die first And more...

In this episode, Marie and I discuss: What do Mormons actually believe? What are the expectations put on every member of a Mormon Family? How are Mormon sons and Mormon daughters raised differently? What does courtship look like in the church? What does the church actually teach about homosexuality? What is life like for women at BYU? And much more...

In this episode, we discuss: What preconditions cause Narcissism How to tell if you're dealing with a Narcissist Narcissists in the workplace Narcisissts in relationships Narcissists as parents What makes Narcissists the perfect Cult leaders How to protect yourself from Narcissists And more... Visit http://wkeithcampbell.com for more info

Glynn Washington and I discuss: Why he wanted to revisit Heaven's Gate Why there are people who are sad they missed their chance to join the departed What chilled him to his bone in the interview process What it was like for him growing up in a cult What it's like for an African American man to be in a cult with White Supremacist doctrine What it was like to leave his cult What he learned in covering Heaven's Gate decades later And more...

The promise of Large Group Awareness Training is that it's a "bootcamp for the mind." You can get a lot of therapeutic benefit out of just a few highly intense days. The problem is, LGATs have always been pure moneymaking operations with no credible therapeutic basis. In this episode, Kate and I discuss: How she got involved with XXXXXXX What actually happens inside the seminars, day by day Why people were sobbing in the bathrooms Why the seminar tells you to call and make amends with relatives, even if they abused you. What happened in the guided meditation sessions What rattled her to her core And much more...

Juana Castanheira, our survivor of SGI contacted me after her episode to ask to further articulate what processing out of a cult looks like. In this episode, we discuss: The shame and guilt of leaving What happened when she tried to resign from her leadership position at SGI Why she later worked again for SGI Her experiences with MLMs Her experiences with Transcendental Meditation and her sister being in the group And much more... Special Guest: Juana Castanheira.

In this episode, Jon Atack and I discuss: How he got involved in Scientology What training Scientologists get on recruitment Why we don't train kids how to spot predators, narcissists, and psychopaths What we should be teaching children Why it seems like more people are joining cults And more...

Chelsea Lockwood, author of this Medium Piece (https://humanparts.medium.com/how-i-overcame-cult-trauma-with-psychedelics-4342c03a074c?) Joins me to discuss her time in the Jehovah's Witnesses, leaving, and healing through Ayahuasca ceremonies. In this episode, we discuss: How aware children are made of the apocalyptic nature of the Jehovah's Witness beliefs Corporal punishment in the Jehovah's Witnesses What types of abuse she was privy to while a member What it's like to be a child with extreme panic attacks How she discovered Ayahuasca What psychedelics have taught her about her life experiences And much more...

In this episode, we discuss: How to identify a problematic partner How sociopaths target and manipulate partners Why love bombing is important to both cults and abusive partners Whether we're as good at identifying liars as we thing The similarities between cult leader behaviours and abusive partner behaviours How to get out of a bad relationship And more...

Dr Michelle Haslam (https://newkadampatraditionreport.org) Joins me to discuss how she was seduced by the idea of living in a peaceful intentional community, only to find out the group's main focus was expansion and encouraging cruelty. In this episode, we discuss: Who is (Was?) Kelsang Gyatso The differences between New Kadampa Tradition and mainline Buddhism The hypocritical belief system What it's like to live on site Why some say NKT encourages sadistic behaviour How NKT is like NXIVM and Scientology And more... Special Guest: Dr. Michelle Haslam.

In this episode we discuss: How the group was not prepared for kids attending outside schools What kind of weekly schedule the members had How the group handled questions about the doctrine How Brother Julius disciplined followers How the group was at the mercy of Brother Julius' whims How Sarah got through it with the help of parties and teenage rebellion And more... Special Guest: Sarah Ficca.

Tony Ortega (http://tonyortega.org) Joins me for an extra long episode to discuss what it's like covering a group like Scientology for so long. In this episode, we discuss: Why the Scientology/Nation of Islam alliance isn't so unusual What kinds of retaliations the Church has made against him and those closest to him What we know about the FBI's Trafficking case against the Church Why the media was reticent to report on the Danny Masterson allegations Are there still people in "The Hole?" Where is Shelly Miscavige? And much more... Special Guest: Tony Ortega.

Aryeh Siegel was a member of Transcendental Meditation in the 1970s and early 1980s. In this episode, we discuss: Why TM hides its religious origins Why TM fought in court to not have a translation of the Puja made public What the science is on the TM technique How TM leverages celebrities, including Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah, and Ellen. Why TM is making a big push for schools in low income districts Whether you can be physically harmed doing TM And much more... TM Deception Website (https://www.tmdeception.com) Movie- David Wants To Fly (https://archive.org/details/DavidWantsToFly) Special Guest: Aryeh Siegel.

Steven Hassan was once in the Unification Church, helping recruit and spread their thought reform. He was exit counselled and has since dedicated his life to the study of thought reform. He created the BITE model which explains how thought reform occurs and now counsels survivors and families on how to heal after leaving cults. Steve joins me for an hour to discuss: How the CIA went about trying to build a Manchurian Candidate in the 1960s How Trump's parental ties and upbringing made him into an ideal person to lead a cult How Trump found himself controlled by the only people who would lend him money after his business failures How Evangelicals and Fundamentalists can support a man who has been immoral most of his life What significance NLP played in Trump's election strategy How groups like The Family will ensure that candidates like Trump will be there for them And more... Special Guest: Steve Hassan.

My guest Guy joins me to tell me his insider knowledge of a group called Tara Yoga, which last year became the subject of a Guardian investigation into their Asia-based Ashrams where multiple allegations of rape surfaced. Guy and I discuss: How he became aware of the classes How he found a community How his community tried to start a study group and was rebuked How Tara profits off of non consensual pornography What happens at Tara's retreats Why the Ashrams had masage parlors And more...

This week, former member of Soka Gakkai International, Juana Castanheira, joins me to talk about her time in the group. We discuss: How she and her brother were recruited How she knew she was all in What is the significance of the 'scroll?' What demands were put on her as she rose through the ranks Why she never once complained When she decided to leave And more... Special Guest: Juana Castanheira.

Ellen Huet of Bloomberg Businessweek joins me to discuss her coverage of OneTaste: once a darling of Silicon Valley, now an organization with an ousted founder, cancelled classes, and looking to pivot. Ruwan Meepagala joins me to discuss his time in the organization. In this episode, we discuss: Why women wanted to join OneTaste Why the group deliberately marketed their courses to Silicon Valley What Orgasmic Meditation is What drew participants to work for the organization What kinds of Quid Pro Quo were encouraged in the office How consent lines were blurred for many And More... Special Guests: Ellen Huet and Ruwan Meepagala.

In this episode, we explore Munchausen By Proxy, a disease that, while not fully understood by doctors, is having a pop culture moment. Dr. Marc Feldman, Psychiatrist and author of DYING TO BE ILL: TRUE STORIES OF MEDICAL DECEPTION (https://www.amazon.com/Dying-be-Ill-Marc-Feldman/dp/1138063835) joins me to discuss the clinical side of Munchausen By Proxy, while Judy Tienken joins me to explain her survivor story. In this episode, we discuss: * The profile of a Munchausen By Proxy perpetrator * Whether perpetrators know they're abusing their children * What the prognosis is for helping victims of a Munchausen By Proxy perpetrator * What other forms of abuse Munchausen By Proxy can take * Why Munchausen By Proxy might be an under reported issue * The connection between some SIDS cases and Munchausen By Proxy * How often is Munchausen By Proxy mis-diagnosed? * What needs to be done to help victims of Munchausen By Proxy perpetrators to get justice * And more... Special Guests: Dr. Marc Feldman and Judy Tienken.

In this episode Rachel Bernstein lifts the veil on what Cult Therapy is about. We discuss: * What types of services cult therapists provide * Why she must observe subtle cues from her patients * What families can do to cope with waiting for family members to leave * How to be a supportive family member when a loved one does leave a cult * What the unique challenges are for cult survivors * How to access resources if you need a cult counsellor * And more... Visit Rachel Bernstein's website (http://www.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/) Find out more about the IndoctriNation podcast (http://www.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/indoctrination-podcast/) Special Guest: Rachel Bernstein.

Please note: this episode is not intended to endorse the use of substances that are illegal. In this episode, we explore what it is like to die. I discuss this with Neurosurgeon and Bestselling Author Dr. Eben Alexander (The Map of Heaven) who tells me about his Near Death Experience. I also discuss how we can simulate a Near Death Experience through a drug called 5-MeO DMT ("The toad" or "Bufo") with Hilary Agro, a researcher and anthropologist who studies psychedelics, and I take 5-MeO DMT and describe my induced Near Death Experience. Please note that for legal reasons, I am unable to discuss sourcing of 5-MeO DMT

David Neiwert joins me to discuss White Supremacist Hate Groups and how their recruitment, control, and proliferation are cult-like. In this episode, we discuss: How easy it is to recruit people with the internet Why White Supremacists go for young people How White Supremacist ideas spread Why your child could be getting radicalized when they play games online What the threat level of White Supremacist terror is Whether White Supremacist terror can be contained The role the mainstream media and law enforcement have in spreading White Supremacist ideas How to get a loved one out of these groups And more... Follow David Neiwert on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/DavidNeiwert) Special Guest: David Neiwert.

It's the one thing we're not supposed to talk about. Each week on On Grief, I talk to people involved with death, the dying, or the grieving to discover what they know about death that we don't. Coming this week with interviews with: A mortician on what happens to your body when you're embalmed An expert on the history of why we grieve the way we do Caitlyn Doughty, author, Funeral Director and partner in The Order of the Good Death And many, many more. See you soon Visit https://ongrief.fireside.fm/ or patreon.com/ongriefpod for more information Find us on social media at ongriefpod (https://www.instagram.com/ongriefpod/) or https://twitter.com/ongriefpodcast

Catherine Oxenberg candidly reveals details of her daughter's time spent in NXIVM and assisting the FBI in bringing down NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere, who earlier this year was convicted on all counts after a jaw-dropping trial. In this episode, we discuss: Catherine's initial objection to ESP (the training that would become NXIVM) What the 'therapy' part of NXIVM's training looked like Why she eventually stopped taking classes What happened when Catherine realized India was in over her head How Catherine snapped into action to deliver a plan that would not only pull her daughter out, but would put Keith behind bars What Catherine learned for the first time watching the trial And more... Special Guest: Catherine Oxenberg.

Mia Donovan discusses with me: What were the conditions that led to the discovery of De-Programming? Who was Ted Patrick? What were Ted's credentials Ted began his career working on his own son What techniques did Ted discover? Why was Ted repeatedly sued and brought up on charges? And more... Special Guest: Mia Donovan.

Before Jerry Minor was a successful actor in Los Angeles, he was a boy growing up in the Jehovah's Witnesses. In this episode we discuss: What it feels like to have one parent in the Witnesses and one parent outside What kinds of pressures are put on Witness kids How real the threats of the Apocalypse and Demons are What he knew about the child abuse scandals that have plagued the witnesses What he knew about Jehovah's Witnesses lobbying the government for consideration And more... Content warning: there is a brief mention of suicidal ideation You can listen to Jerry's podcast here (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cult-awareness-podcast/id1473344702) Special Guest: Jerry Minor.