This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Landmark has been the most requested topic from our listeners since day one of this podcast. When we got eyes on Anne Peterson?s new memoir about her 15+ year journey inside its ecosystem, we knew our listeners would be pissed at us if we didn?t get her on our microphone, ASAP.  ??Is This a Cult?: Confronting the Line Between Transformation and Exploitation? (available on Amazon) is a raw and gritty read, and tells the story of Anne?s heartbreaking journey from starry-eyed idealist to disillusioned leader in a way that gives us NXIVM déjà vu all over again. There are also some incendiary stories of the famous large-group awareness training (LGAT) company?s lurking ghost/guru/shapeshifter, the infamous Werner Erhard. In this first of two episodes with Anne, she shares what drew her to the organization and her whirlwind ascent through its ranks.

And don?t worry, Landmark top brass, if you?re listening. We aren?t throwing the wonderful, transformational baby out with the dirty bathwater. Nor is Anne. Just the opposite, in fact. We think you could realize your full potential if you actually listened and learned from the bad feedback, instead of shutting it down. So maybe this time, you?ll make some meaning out of this before you start cranking out your latest cease and desist? Deep breaths. Good talk.

SHOW NOTES:Anne Peterson spent 15+ years selling, producing and facilitating transformative programs for an international personal and professional growth and development company. Since leaving, she has launched ILumn8.life, a learning hub and marketplace dedicated to the safe and ethical practice of providing personal development. Her memoir is available now on Amazon. You can also hear more about her story on recent episodes of the (excellent!) Seek Safely podcast.

NY Times article on the return of Werner Erhard

Outrageous Betrayal: The Real Story of Werner Erhard from est to Exile (book)

Cult Education Institute?s Landmark info page

Times-Union article on Rick Ross?s Landmark/NXIVM Testimony

More background on Erhard scandals

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/culty and get on your way to being your best self.

 

Erika Cheung arrived at the Theranos corporate headquarters at just 22 years old as a newly minted college grad. At the time, the idealistic chemist and biologist saw Elizabeth Holmes just as so many others did: As a visionary on the verge of completely disrupting the healthcare paradigm. As it would turn out, Erika?s honeymoon phase at her dream gig lasted all of seven months. That?s when she quit her job in the Theranos lab, bought a burner phone, and blew the whistle on one of the biggest con artists in American business history. The Theranos story has always seemed more than a little bit culty to us, so we jumped at the chance to chat with Erika about her experience. After all, sometimes a culty situation starts out looking like a promising job offer with a ?visionary? who turns out to be a faux humanitarian. (We?ve been there, Erika. Oh?have we been there.)

About Erika Cheung:

Erika was born in Los Angeles, CA. She spent most of her education homeschooled, but started community college at age 14 and then went on to obtain a dual degree in Linguistics and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.

She was one of the key whistleblowers that reported Theranos to health regulators. Her report subsequently led to the shut down of Theranos' clinical lab which prevented the company from providing false medical results to thousands of patients. This account is covered in the book Bad Blood by John Carreryrou, 60 Minutes, the ABC Podcast: The Drop Out, and Alex Gibney's documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.

Erika is the executive director of Ethics in Entrepreneurship, a non-profit whose mission is to foster ethical questioning, culture, and systems in startups and startup ecosystems. She's currently working towards obtaining her ACFE-certified fraud examiner's license to educate others on fraud prevention strategies and develop programs to protect business stakeholders from high-risk ventures. She is also an advisor to several whistleblower advocacy organizations to support individuals who may 

She is also an avid mixed martial artist in her free time and hopes to support efforts that leverage martial arts to empower trauma survivors.

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This epiosde is sponsored by Better Help.

We always jump at the chance to talk to Dr. Ramani. This time she arrives at A Little Bit Culty fresh from publishing her newest book: It?s Not You: Identifying And Healing From Narcissistic People. (We read the advanced copy and it blew our minds.) Dr. Ramani wants you to know that thriving after?or even during?a narcissistic relationship can be challenging, but it is possible. She also wants to flip the script on the prevailing cultural and clinical conversations around narcissism, and focus less on the narcs and more on the people they impact. So if you?ve been burned by a narcissist, listen up for a crash course in how to stop blaming yourself and start giving yourself permission to recover. 


SHOW NOTES:

Dr. Ramani Durvasula, PhD,  is a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, Professor Emerita of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, and the Founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training & Consulting. She is an author of several books including her newest title: It?s Not You: Identifying And Healing From Narcissistic People.  Her clinical, academic and consulting work is all about the impact that narcissism and high-conflict, entitled, antagonistic personality styles have on human relationships, mental health, and society. She?s been featured at SXSW, TEDx, Red Table Talk, the Today Show, and Investigation Discovery. You can also find her on YouTube where she has accumulated millions of views on her videos discussing narcissism on her successful channel, and on social media @DoctorRamani. She?s a proud podmama: Hosting the excellent Navigating Narcissism with Dr. Ramani, and if you haven?t heard that show already: It?s a must-listen. Trust us. Get that in your ears, ASAP.  Learn all about her work, shows, and books at: https://doctor-ramani.com/

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

We get emails and messages from people every day who are looking for guidance on what to do when someone they love is in a cult, so we called in an expert. Here?s our chat with Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, of the mighty helpful and always bingeable IndoctriNation podcast. Is this technically a crossover episode? We don?t make those rules, but we do feel pretty confident in saying that this episode is a power hour on what to do if your loved ones become culty collateral damage.

 

SHOW NOTES:

Rachel Bernstein is one of our all-time favorite cult awareness and recovery podcast hosts. She?s a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Los Angeles, California who has specialized in cult intervention and re-acclimation for over 30 years. She serves on the advisory board of the International Cultic Studies Association and has worked with the Department of Justice providing therapy to cult victims who testify against their perpetrators. She's also made many media appearances over the years as a cult expert on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, Bloomberg, and many other news outlets. Ms. Bernstein is also the host of IndoctriNation: A weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control where she has interviewed hundreds of cult survivors, journalists, and experts. Her book, "Kids Talking to Kids about Divorce" is available now on Amazon.

 

Her Website

Her Book

Her Podcast & Socials

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

 

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/culty and get on your way to being your best self.

And?we?re back for part two of our conversation with Claire Headley, a defiant Scientology whistleblower who still owes the shadowy organization a billion minus 30 years on her contract. (Don?t hold your breath, David Miscavige.) Born and bred in England?s Scientology boarding schools before rising up through the ranks all the way to headquarters, Claire?s  escape after a lifetime of indoctrination is nothing short of heroic. In this follow-up, she shares more about the details of her exit, her thoughts on the future of Scientology, and her role as an expert witness for the prosecution in the Danny Masterson trial. This episode is as insidery as an insider account of L. Ron?s house gets. Also, paging Trey Parker and Matt Stone: We see you and we appreciate you. 

 

SHOW NOTES: 

Claire Headley escaped L. Ron?s Church of Scientology, bravely emerging from its dark depths to share her harrowing experiences with the world. Since breaking free 18 years ago, Claire has become a prominent advocate for survivors, shedding light on the church's practices, its culture of control, and the struggles faced by those who leave. She?s also continued to be abused by its powerful reach. As President of The Aftermath Foundation, Claire helps others ? often with no work experience or family beyond Sea Org ? leave Scientology. You can find lots of details at  Blown for Good, on Twitter, and YouTube. 

 

There are more ALBC episodes on Scientology:

Leah Remini: Heal That Sh*t: Leah Remini & The Aftermath

One Billion Years: Mike Rinder on How Scientology Could End

Or remix, Scientology SUCKS | Ft. Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, and Jon Atack 

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/culty and get on your way to being your best self.

In part one of this 2-parter, we feature Scientology defector and whistleblower Claire Headley who spent 30 years in the church isolated from her family and basically any outside influence. Headley was born and bred in England?s Scientology boarding schools, was shipped to the big blue buildings in LA, and then onto headquarters. Thoroughly indoctrinated, she landed at the mother church, Sea Org, where she signed billion-year contracts and rose through the ranks. In this episode, she describes her childhood. She recounts personal tragedies and abuses. She tells us what it?s like to experience the practice of fair game ? beginning at age two. And she shares what the nearly intractable clutches of this 100% high-control group felt like. Until her own husband escaped without her, and the proverbial shelf broke. Her almost foiled escape is an action sequence you won?t want to miss.

 

SHOW NOTES: 

Claire Headley escaped L. Ron?s Church of Scientology, bravely emerging from its dark depths to share her harrowing experiences with the world. Since breaking free 18 years ago, Claire has become a prominent advocate for survivors, shedding light on the church's practices, its culture of control, and the struggles faced by those who leave. She?s also continued to be abused by its powerful reach. As President of The Aftermath Foundation, Claire helps others ? often with no work experience or family beyond Sea Org ? leave Scientology. You can find lots of details at  Blown for Good, on Twitter, and YouTube. 

 

There are more ALBC episodes on Scientology:

Leah Remini: Heal That Sh*t: Leah Remini & The Aftermath

One Billion Years: Mike Rinder on How Scientology Could End

Or remix, Scientology SUCKS | Ft. Leah Remini, Mike Rinder, and Jon Atack 

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/culty and get on your way to being your best self.

If you?re not already familiar with the culty cluster known as ?School?,  it was an ultra-secret Manhattan organization run by late actress and forever eccentric Sharon Gans. The shadowy group did its dark magic in the form of secret study groups, arranged marriages, and some pretty gnarly narcissistic abuse. In this episode, former School enrollee Esther Friedman discusses the five years she spent as a student after her study group love bombed her right into its clutches. We also cover how she got out, and how she?s healing now by helping other gentle souls navigate a culty, culty world. Empaths, this one?s for you. And if you?ve got Big Valedictorian Energy and are crazy about that extra credit, please note that we?ve taken our listeners to School before in our episode with the groovy Spencer Schneider who wrote a page-turning memoir about his experience titled Manhattan Cult Story: My Unbelievable True Story of Sex, Crimes, Chaos, and Survival.

NOTES

Esther Friedman is a licensed mental health counselor, expressive art therapist, songwriter, and author. To process and heal, she presents her misadventures as an ?edu-tainment campaign.? Her memoir The Gentle Souls Revolution is a PSA/recovery guide/template for anyone who?s navigated exploitative relationships. She?s also a board member of the newly formed nonprofit ?Living Cult Free? and is joined in that endeavor by some cult recovery heavyweights. You can learn more about their work at livingcultfree.com

You can find Esther at www.gentlesoulsrevolution.com, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by Better Help. 

Tom Krumins was one of the brave whistleblowers who came forward to shine a light on the scandal of abuse and predation within the Boy Scouts of America. You can see his story in the recent Netflix doc, ?Scout?s Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America,? and we?re guessing you?ll be as moved and inspired by him as we were. In this episode we sit down with him  to learn more about his experience in the Scouts, how he navigated the aftermath, and his work today as the Executive Director for the US-Based Keep Kid Safe Movement and as Chief of Staff of the global BRAVE Movement.  Listen to this one with care because it gets into the gritty topic of child sexual abuse. But also, know that there?s also a whole lotta hope in this conversation, too. 

 

Please note: The Boy Scouts bankruptcy has concluded. The day the plan went into effect, a Settlement Trust was established to manage the funds contributed by the Boy Scouts, the Local Councils, the Chartered Organizations, the Insurance Companies, etc. The Trust also reviews every claim to determine its validity and then disseminate funds per a "Claims Matrix" and state-by-state statute of limitations. At this stage, we do not know the final amount that will officially enter into the Trust or how it will be disseminated. The "back of the napkin" math portion of this episode highlighted the general size of the Trust, not the potential amount of damages a claimant may receive. These numbers are not official. This was merely an exercise to better understand the scale of people harmed by the Boy Scouts.

Show Notes:

About Tom Krumins:
Tom Krumins is a passionate Executive Director serving the movement to end childhood sexual violence at Keep Kids Safe. As a visionary civic entrepreneur, Tom believes in developing new and innovative organizational models that encourage positive change in society. He has contributed to multiple fields,including medical education, behavioral health, prison reentry, hospice care, rural entrepreneurship, grassroots coalition-building, political campaigns, cash relief programs, and nonprofit advocacy.

Tom comes to this work as a survivor of childhood sexual violence during his time in the Boy Scouts of America and his experience navigating the largest child abuse bankruptcy in U.S. history. His story was included among other brave survivors in the Netflix documentary, Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America. He now serves on the Scouts new Youth Protection Committee. When he isn't working, Tom enjoys performing stand-up and improvisational comedy -- successfully entertaining tens of people since 2017.

You can find him on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomkrumins

His Website & Substack: https://www.tomkrumins.us/

About  Keep Kids Safe &  BRAVE:

Childhood sexual violence happens in every community. The stigma and shame far too often lead to

silence, but this can change. We should never be comfortable with children and adolescents experiencing

sexual violence, but we should feel comfortable talking about it.

We share the movement to end childhood sexual violence. This is a movement of survivors (whether

public or not) and allies. If you are interested in joining, reach out today!

- The U.S. movement ---> keepkidssafe.us

- The global movement ---> bravemovement.org

If you experienced sexual violence and need help, you can find support at

https://www.bravemovement.org/get-help/.

 

ABOUT A LITTLE BIT CULTY:

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by Better Help.

But maybe it should also be sponsored by a company that manufactures blood pressure cuffs, because the ?Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals? docuseries had us all kinds of pissed off. If you haven?t seen it yet, the doc wades into the darkness and depravity within the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement and takes no prisoners. Sidenote: Fuck you, IFB predators and enablers, fuck you very, very much. 

In this episode we speak with Ruthy Heiler, the whistleblower at the heart of the series, along with Sharon Liese, the series? Emmy-award winning director. Word to the wise; this conversation touches on sexual assault and abuse, so please listen with care. It?s really appalling what some people do in the name of old time religion when it?s actually just a front for being predatory scum. 

SHOW NOTES:

Learn more about The Blind Eye Movement on Instagram and Facebook

Notes provided courtesy of Investigation Discovery:

Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, is a new four-part docuseries exposing the predatory and insidious behavior within the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Churches, and the struggles of survivors to find justice. Featuring first-hand accounts from survivors, church defectors and activists, it offers crucial insight into the troubling culture within the IFB and the stronghold the church has on its members.  

 

Since its inception in the 1950s, the IFB has evolved into one of the dominant religious forces in the United States today with an estimated 8 million believers spread out over 6,000 churches across the country. Let Us Prey uncovers the dark inner workings behind the IFB?s cheery and virtuous exterior by exposing depraved secrets and violence that have existed within their churches for decades. Rituals oriented towards ?breaking a child?s will,? mind control and torture are only the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface lurks accusations of rape and physical abuse of members, including minors, at the hands of IFB figure heads. 

 

Anchored by the testimony of survivors who have come forward to tell their stories and seek justice, Let Us Prey explores the deep pain and lifelong trauma they experienced. Survivors and IFB defectors Ruthy Heiler, Kathy Durbin and Amanda Householder, among others, share their accounts of abuse at the hands of church leaders and the violence, manipulation and suspected cover-ups of other members. Also featuring key independent voices, including Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Sarah Smith ? one of the first journalists to uncover IFB?s tangled web of abuse allegations and unregulated teen boarding schools ? Let Us Prey offers a deeper understanding of how those within the IFB have continued to operate unchecked for years. Through powerful, emotional testimonies and archival footage,  

Let Us Prey: A Ministry Of Scandals Is produced for ID by ITV America?s Good Caper Content, with Emmy Award-winning Director Sharon Liese, who created the series, serves as the director. Liese is a critically acclaimed and award -winning filmmaker, whose recent Emmy Award-winning documentary short, The Flagmakers, was Oscar shortlisted and nominated for a Critic?s Choice Documentary Award.

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by Better Help.

Today we welcome Wise Jezebel and former fundie Dr. Laura Anderson to the ALBC huddle. She?s a psychotherapist, podcaster, and smarty-pants content creator specializing in helping people come back from the sneaky scars of high control religion. She?s also the author of the next book you need to read. Seriously. We cannot recommend it enough and it?s called: When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High Control Religion. Dr. Anderson is here with us to talk about her story, the ways and means of culty church trauma, and the non-linearity of the healing process. In case you need another reminder that toxic churches, some mainstream American religious communities, and even your culty as fuck personal development organization can be traumatizing: This episode is for you. Let the unpacking commence.

NOTES: 
Dr. Laura Anderson, PhD, LMFT is a therapist and trauma resolution and recovery coach in private practice specializing in complex and developmental trauma and the dynamics of power and control of culty religions. She?s a writer and educator who specializes in religious trauma. She?s founder and director of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, an online coaching service for folks recovering from adverse religious experiences and cults. And she co-founded the Religious Trauma Institute, a training institute focused on helping the helpers in their trauma-informed healing work. You can listen to her on her own podcasts The Wise Jezebels and Sunday School Dropouts. She lives with her dog, Phoebe, in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Find her online

on her own website, 

on her own podcasts The Wise Jezebels and Sunday School Dropouts, 

on and social media:

@drlauraeanderson: Instagram (also TikTok & FB), 

@traumaresolutionandrecovery (IG & Facebook)

@religioustraumainstitute (IG & Facebook)

@wisejezebelspod (IG)

@sundayschooldropoutspod (IG)

Hashtags: #religioustrauma #whenreligionhurtsyou

 

Though our pod spans the culty religious fallout gamut, this one pairs well with the June two-parter Shiny Happy Wife: Tia Levings on Christian Fundamentalism (Tia Levings is co-host of The Wise Jezebels) and Leaving the Fold: Dr. Marlene Winell on Religious Trauma Syndrome. See also: Our episode about Attachment Theory with the deep and amazing Alexandra Stein.

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Buckle up ALBC babies, we?re about to go all over the map through Hollywood, the music industry, Australia, and a couple decades of cult-hopping. In fact, it?s so epic that (picture this) we are holding an invisible boombox over our heads outside your window while blaring Peter Gabriel, asking you to listen. Got the picture? Okay cool: Because we?re chatting with Ione Skye and Ben Lee, married podcasters that you may know from their hilarious Weirder Together podcast. Or maybe you know him as a prolific singer-songwriter, and her from the high school of your John Hughes teen cinema dreams. Or maybe, just maybe, you were in a cult with them at some point. It?s not statistically improbable because they?ve been in a few culty situations, from chasing Qigong, to following Gurus and slinging DoTerra essential oils. Heads up: This isn?t our regular format. It?s more of a Rom-Com than the stuff of True Crime, but these two are thoughtful and funny as hell on the subject of loving people through?and out of?cults. And we?re always interested in hearing from people who?ve dabbled and ducked out before things got too fucky. Lots of cultiverse easter eggs in this one, from David Lynch to QAnon, Theranos to Sean Penn, Rick Ruben to Ruby Tuesday?s?just kidding about that last one. If you?re a cult nerd, this one will be mother?s milk. Put on your New Year?s jammies, and enjoy. 

 

NOTES

Ben Lee is a musician, singer/songwriter, producer, DJ DadBod, and professional adventurer.

Ione Skye is an actor, director, painter, and author. According to this story, Skye will ?Say Everything? in her new memoir soon to be published.

Together, Ben and Ione run a creative production company where they do podcasts, events, film, fanzines, and quote ?make stuff, curate stuff, and celebrate stuff? including their own Podcast Weirder Together.

 

@benleemusic on IG, fb, twitter, TikTok

@ioneskyelee on IG, @ioneskye1 twitter, @ioneskyeofficial TikTok

 

ROLLING STONE ARTICLE on Ben Lee

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Nikieta Lambert?s life was derailed by the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) ? a culty Evangelical tentacle of Christianity promising nothing short of a fiery eternity in hell for choosing any other lifepath. In this episode, Nikieta discusses how they converted her. She describes the grooming and gaslighting. And she reveals which scriptures they use to keep people in line. Lucky for us and for her, Nikieta got out and is sharing how she reclaimed her life and helps others do the same. Also, she takes as many naps as she damn well pleases. We can totally roll with that.

 

NOTES

Nikieta Lambert spent 15 years in the International Churches of Christ and eventually rose to leadership. Then, when the Pandemic stopped everything, she stopped too. She witnessed the global movement for black and brown lives juxtaposed with a silent ICOC. And it all unraveled. Now Nikieta speaks out against the ICOC in hopes of helping others reclaim their own power and autonomy. Check out her ICOC Series on YouTube. You can also find her on Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube, and her own website nikietalambert.com. 

 

In this episode we mention stories covered by Rolling Stone including one from the perspective of ICOC defectors and one on alleged ICOC abuse and pyramid schemery. There?s also mention of a 90?s era episode of 20/20 reporting on the ICOC.

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

We made you a mixtape of some of our fave segments from our full episodes with Daniel Shaw, LCSW,  Dr. Ramani, and Dr. Natalie Feinblatt. Think of this as our Chicken Soup for the Culty Soul power-medley. We?ve got Dan Shaw dropping knowledge on why traumatizing narcissists are so?traumatizing. We?ve got Dr. Ramani on how to recover from narcissistic abuse. And we?ve got Dr. Natalie Feinblatt on Trauma, Addiction & Cult-Informed Therapy. It?s practically a super group!  Pull up a box of tissues, and get ready for all the feels. If you?ve heard these chats before when they were first born as full ALBC episodes, we still think you?ll get some good nuggets out of them. And yes, we love the word ?nugget? in any form in a way that may border on problematic. We?ll be sure to talk to our therapist about that. 

 

NOTES:

Daniel Shaw, LCSW  is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City and in Nyack, New York. He originally trained as an actor at Northwestern University and with the renowned teacher Uta Hagen in New York City, and later worked as a missionary for an Indian guru. His eventual recognition of cultic aspects of this organization led him to become an outspoken activist in support of individuals and families traumatically abused in cults. Simultaneous with leaving this group, Dan began his training in the mental health profession, becoming a faculty member and supervisor at the National Institute for the Psychotherapist in New York. His book, Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation, was published by Routledge in 2014 and was nominated for the distinguished Gradiva Award. In 2018, the International Cultic Studies Association awarded him the Margaret Thaler Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence. Shaw?s book Traumatic Narcissism and Recovery: Leaving the Prison of Shame and Fear will be published by Routledge in 2021. Dan joined Sarah and Nippy to share his story, drop some knowledge about the shameless ways of traumatizing narcissists, and provide insights on the recovery process.

Dr. Ramani Durvasula is the author of two books on the subject: Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship with a Narcissist and Don?t You Know Who I Am?: How to Stay Sane in an Era of Narcissism, Entitlement, and Incivility. Her work has been featured at SXSW, TEDx, the Red Table Talk, the Today Show, and Investigation Discovery. You can also find her on her wildly popular YouTube channel where she dispenses wisdom on protecting yourself from hoovering, gaslighting and other narc trademarks. Or put her Navigating Narcissism podcast in your ears, on repeat: It?s good stuff.

Dr. Natalie Feinblatt is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Los Angeles, California who specializes in the treatment of addiction and trauma. And one of her trauma sub-specialties is working with former cult members. She received her BA from UCSD and her Masters & Doctorate from Pepperdine University, where she wrote her doctoral dissertation on psychotherapy with former cult members and has specialized in helping them ever since. She also does EMDR, Brainspotting, and other trauma-specific therapies. She was also featured on the series finale of ?Leah Remini: Scientology & The Aftermath.? Follow her on Instagram for tips, tools, and healing resources.  

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Just in case you?re thinking about joining that incredible business opportunity selling a life changing product?don?t give them your credit card info until you?ve listened to this A Little Bit Culty remix. We?ve put together a special Anti-MLM 101 Starter Kit episode with some of our favorite crusaders in the war on schemes, scams, and other internet flim-flams especially for you. Our upline on this one is pretty solid.

We dug into our archives and Roberta Blevins came out swinging, so a segment from our Season 2 episode with the LuLa Rich fan fave is at the top of the batting list. She chats with us about the dangers of moldy leggings, #bossbabe energy, pricey sea cruises, other MLM tomfoolery.

After Roberta, we move on to a clip from our more recent episode with Emily Lynn Paulson, an author and mother who believes that all MLMs?which form a $180 billion industry?are cults. Spoiler alert: We violently agree.

And last but not least, we go all the way back to our Season 1 chat with Douglas Brooks, an attorney and MLM-buster with insights on what it takes to seek justice for people who?ve been screwed over. Take heart: When prosperity gospel grifters write big checks that their sneaky asses can?t cash, there can be legal consequences.

NOTES:

Roberta Blevins was a Trainer with LuLaRoe, had a team of 75 women under her, and made over $65,000 in bonuses alone. But when she came to the conclusion that it was a rigged, losing game she didn?t just leave the business: she testified in the Washington State vs. LuLaRoe Pyramid Scheme lawsuit as a witness for the state. Since leaving MLM, the fan favorite from the LuLaRich series has educated herself on the systemic structure of the business model, the psychological manipulation, the seedy underbelly and governmental ties, the cult indoctrination, and the history of Multi Level Marketing. She educates daily on TikTok, and podcasts in her "free time" on her own podcast, Life After MLM, which explores the dangers of Multi Level Marketing through the eyes of the victims and survivors. Her work has been featured on Amazon Prime Video, Vice Media, Bloomberg News, Split, and Business Insider among others. Learn more on her website or find her on Instagram @therealrobertablevins

Emily Lynn Paulson is the author of Highlight Real: Finding Honesty and Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life, and Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing. She has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status quo of parenting, alcohol use, and feminism as we know it. Paulson has also been featured in major publications such as the Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Next Question with Katie Couric, and the Tamron Hall Show. She resides in Central Oregon with her husband and their five children.

 

Also?Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Writer: Jess Tardy

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Brandie Hadfield woke up from a good-then-ultimately-nightmarish tour through the MLM world, and today she?s telling us her story without naming the organization because, well, you know culty types: They are soooooo lawsuit-happy. She got out, and today she?s a self-described recovering wellness influencer on her way to becoming a Registered Psychotherapist. She?s also working on her cult memoir, titled The MLM Recovery Handbook. She?s on a mission to warn people, new moms especially, about the dark side of the wellness space. We?ll also chat with her about her take on influencers, recruitment, and wellness coaches - and what happens when those things come wrapped in a glossy celebrity seal of approval. And hey, we love a wellness supplement, and even have some show sponsors from that space that we trust and can really stand by. But we also have no problem with calling bullshit on the culty side of the wellness world, and the MLM we?re going to discuss in this episode has been on our radar for a while. Let?s do this. 

 

NOTES:
Brandie Hadfield is a mother, writer, speaker, and advocate speaking out about commercial cults, wellness scams, and legalized labor trafficking. She believes everyone deserves freedom of mind, so she speaks out about abuses of power and coercion perpetrated by MLM scams. Her memoir is forthcoming. In the meantime, you can read her writing on on Substack and find her profile on Instagram with especially relevant-to-us hashtags #commercialcult #MLMrecovery #igotout. 

 

Also? Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Dr. Robin Stern is not your average psycho-therapist ? she?s renowned for her work in emotional intelligence, relationships, and well being. And she?s the psychological sleuth who?s highlighted one particularly culty behavior: gaslighting. Fun fact: Dr. Stern actually coined the phrase ?the gaslight effect.?  

As we know, gaslighting is straight out of the culty charismatic coercive fuckwad playbook. But we want to get specific and don?t mean to merely call names. So in this episode, we go full CSI on gaslighting with Dr. Stern. We dissect the term with the expert who wrote several books on the subject: The Gaslight Effect and The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide.

 

NOTES - 

Dr. Robin Stern is co-founder and associate director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and is a licensed psychoanalyst who?s been in private practice for over 30 years. She hosts the Gaslight Effect podcast. She?s developed and co-created social emotional learning apps including HowWeFeel and OjiLifeLab. She writes and is interviewed regularly for her insight into socio-emotional matters for Psychology Today, The Hill, Time Inc., and Harvard Business Review. 

 

You can find her on Twitter and Facebook.

 

If you?re looking for more, here?s an early ALBC episode specifically about narcissism and gaslighting: Shameless: Dan Shaw on Gaslighting, Narcissists, & Recovering from Cultic Abuse

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

If you had a good Waldorf experience, we?re thrilled for you. Not all the schools are the same. Just like not all churches are the same. Don?t get your knickers in a knot. But if there are things about Waldorf that chap your ass, pour yourself some tea because we have just the guest for you.

In this episode Chloe Weise sheds light on her decade and a half in a Waldorf School before leaving for college and grad school. Now steeped in the scientific method and working in the tech industry, Chloe raises questions about Waldorf?s founder, Rudolf Steiner, and teachings openly called ?Occult Science.? 

Was Rudolf Steiner an early 20th Century German mystic, or an arrogant semi-Christian evangelist for things like astral bodies, clairvoyance, and overtly racist pseudoscience. We're here to find out what Chloe thinks. This is Chloe?s first time speaking publicly about her misgivings with Waldorf. We?re honored she trusted us with her experience. Without further adieu, here?s our chat with Chloe Weise.

 

NOTES:

Chloe Weise holds an MS in Evolutionary Biology and is a data analyst at Lumen Energy. Her research on paper wasps and logical reasoning was published in Proceedings B, the Royal Society?s flagship biological research journal. You can find links to Chloe?s research on Twitter.

 

Chloe?s Instagram: @chloeweise 

Chloe?s Twitter @WeiseChloe

 

Waldorf Watch: https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/welcome 

 

Jennifer Sapio, PhD on why she ?wouldn?t drink the kool-aid?: https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/waldorf-schools-are-inherently-racist-cults-91193d1fbef6

 

Please note, this series includes details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN?s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

 

Also?

 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

 

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

 

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

 

Support the pod and smash this link

 

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Here?s part two of our conversation with Jaime Mahler, MS, LMHC, who is the woman behind the popular Recollected brand on social media, as well as the author of TOXIC RELATIONSHIP RECOVERY: Your Guide to Identifying Toxic Partners, Leaving Unhealthy Dynamics, and Healing Emotional Wounds After A Breakup. 

If you didn?t listen to part one, pause and rewind so you can avoid being extremely confused. As a reminder, in the last episode we focused on Mahler?s past involvement with a ?cult-like version of Catholicism.? She explained some of the shame and guilt she experienced, her father?s ardent fasting, and how her OCD played a serious role in her spirituality. 

On today?s episode, we dive deeper with Jaime into her book, honing in on narcissism and the fact that?and get ready for this?you might actually be the toxic partner in your relationship. Or at least one of them. 

 

Find Recollected Self on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit their website

 

Purchase Toxic Relationship Recovery: Your Guide to Identifying Toxic Partners, Leaving Unhealthy Dynamics, and Healing Emotional Wounds after a Breakup on Amazon

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Mathias Rosenzweig

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Jaime Mahler, MS, LMHC, is a New York-based psychotherapist and mental health educator who recently published her book TOXIC RELATIONSHIP RECOVERY: Your Guide to Identifying Toxic Partners, Leaving Unhealthy Dynamics, and Healing Emotional Wounds After A Breakup.

She?s also the powerhouse behind the explosively popular social media brand, Recollected. Her podcast, ?Unlearned,? helps people of all sexual orientations and genders to heal from relationship trauma, narcissism, and beyond?certainly a lot of the BS we find ourselves tackling on this podcast. 

But today, in episode one of this two-parter, we?re focusing somewhat on Mahler?s past, which involved growing up with a self-described ?cult-like version of Catholicism.? She revists the types of shame and guilt she experienced within religious surroundings, despite their being a shade less extreme than others we?ve encountered on this show. Even Jaime?s OCD played a role in her religious fervor by tricking her brain into believing one is either purely good or purely evil?wholy faithful or 100% a sinner?eventually leading to semi-neurotic level praying on a daily basis. 

Ultimately, Jaime's odyssey of self-discovery and faith, coupled with her distinguished therapeutic training, makes her our favorite type of guest: a badass individual who has directly encountered some culty shit, complemented by a sophisticated educational background that not only helped her understand her own experiences, but those of others, too. 

 

Find Recollected Self on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit their website

 

Purchase Toxic Relationship Recovery: Your Guide to Identifying Toxic Partners, Leaving Unhealthy Dynamics, and Healing Emotional Wounds after a Breakup on Amazon

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Mathias Rosenzweig

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Jane Marie is the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and producer of This American Life. Now, she?s hosting the hit investigative podcast The Dream where she?s examined pyramid schemes and culty, late-stage, self-care capitalism. In season 3, she gives the side-eye to all the gurus and life coaches that promise new and improved secrets to living our best lives as they empty the pockets of working class people. Check out this podcaster-insider convo on the culty dynamics of selling the American dream via prosperity gospel.

 

If you missed ALBC?s shows on MLMs, check ?em out: 

Emily Lynn Paulson describes suburban mom-squad MLMs; 

Douglas Brooks represents victims of MLM schemers; 

and trainer Roberta Blevins testified against LuLaRoe. 

 

NOTES

Jane Marie and her partner ? former Modest Mouse guitarist Dann Gallucci ? started Little Everywhere, a podcast production house and recording studio renowned for Michelle Obama?s The Light Podcast and The Dream. Jane Marie?s forthcoming book Selling the Dream exposes the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class. It?s available for preorder at www.Jane-Marie.com.

 

Find Jane on social media: Twitter, Instagram & TikTok.

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

 

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Julie Bogart homeschooled her five children for seventeen years and participated in a Cincinnati homeschool co-op of 100 families with over 300 youngsters. But it wasn?t merely homeschoolers that were a little bit culty in her life. With experiences of missionary evangelical Christianity, the New Thought movement, Scientology, and four years as an  e s t  devotee, Julie Bogart?s got some culty notches in her belt. Now she?s helping cult-proof parents and their kids by teaching families to think well. In this episode, Julie shares insight into susceptibilities for cult-jumping, our perceptions of ?trusted? authority/expertise, and the power of wonder and curiosity.

We?re also reminded of the parental golden rule: seek therapy yourselves before subjecting your kiddos to any kind of psychotherapy. For a deep dive into those waters, rewind to our episode with Meg Appelgate who navigated the Troubled Teen Industry firsthand.

NOTES:

Julie Bogart has devoted her life to the triumvirate of writing, kids, and parents and is known for her common sense parenting and education advice on how to raise critical thinkers. She created Brave Writer, an online writing and language arts program that coaches folks to discover their own original thoughts. She has scores of professional writing credentials including a weekly column for United Press International, Brave Writer's Home Study Courses, and two books, The Brave Learner and Raising Critical Thinkers. Mother of five and grandmother to three, Julie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

You can find her on Twitter  and Instagram.

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Yasmine Mohammed attended Islamic schools and wore a hijab starting at the age of nine, all while living in Vancouver, BC. In this episode, she invites us into her childhood to get a taste of what it was like to live in two different worlds ? the West and extreme fundamentalist Islam ? while fitting into neither. She pulls back the curtain on the culty dynamics, indoctrination, and dehumanization characteristic of both worlds. We learn a little about her forced marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda at the age of 19. And she illuminates a Bill Maher moment with Ben Affleck that she believes exemplifies the West?s deeply problematic approach to radical Islam.  

Check it out.

 

NOTES:

Yasmine Mohammed is founder and President of Free Hearts Free Minds ? an organization devoted to those free thinkers in Muslim-majority countries whose lives are at risk for who they love or the words they utter. She?s a courageous and eloquent writer, podcaster, and human rights advocate as unafraid to criticize conversation police as she is to speak up against radical Islam. Yasmine is the author of Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam, a memoir/polemic that explores her own history and how Western liberalism gets in the way of actualizing liberation. She?s host of the podcast Forgotten Feminists that features inspirational women from restrictive religious backgrounds. And she speaks on Islamophobia and the Canadian motion against it to universities, organizations and major news agencies.  

Find her on these medes: Twitter , YouTube

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

The self-help book industry alone is expected to grow from $10.5 billion annually to $15 billion by 2025. Of course, with that kinda dough floating around, a raging demand for personal growth has led to a plethora of tools aimed at achieving it. Unfortunately, there are people that seek to take advantage of this, leading to dangerous?or even deadly?consequences. 

When Kirby Brown was only 38 years old, a man named James Arthur Ray pushed her to stick out an incredibly hot sweat lodge session in Sedona, Arizona. A self-proclaimed ?guru,? Ray allegedly urged participants to disregard their physical discomfort, even ignoring their pleas for help. Tragically, Brown and two other individuals lost their lives during the hellish experience. 

On today?s episode, we?re joined by two guests: Jean Brown, who is Kirby?s sister and the co-author of This Sweet Life: How we lived after Kirby died, a memoir she wrote with her mother about what happened to Kirby and its larger implications for the self-help industry. Joining her is Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle, a psychologist who has teamed up with Jean and the SEEK SAFELY non-profit org and podcast. Founded by George and Ginny Brown, Kirby and Jean?s parents, SEEK SAFELY is aimed at passing legislation within the self-help industry to prevent abuse in the future. 

 

You can follow Dr. Doyle on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

 

You can follow Jean Brown on Instagram and X.

 

You can follow SEEK SAFELY on Instagram, Facebook, and X. 

 

NOTES:

Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle is a licensed psychologist who works with people struggling with complex trauma and dissociative disorders, including survivors of coercive control, cult abuse, medical trauma, clergy abuse, religious trauma, and childhood abuse and neglect. 

Jean is a writer and work-from-home-mom to two young children. She has Bachelor's degrees in political science and writing from Loyola University Maryland, and a Master?s in Public Policy and Public Administration from Concordia University in Montreal. She is active in creating content for SEEK Safely Inc.?s website, social media, brand outreach, and legislative effort. Jean lived in Thailand and has traveled extensively, including treasured memories of traveling with her sister Kirby. She grew up in the US but has been in Canada since 2007.

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

OTHER LINKS:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Senior Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Let?s admit it. Despite the billions of people on earth, the world can be a friggin lonely place. And for the VIP-lonely among us, Jeff and Shaleia charge a mere $8888 for all the answers to life?s big love questions. If you?re seeking a first-person narrative about what it?s like to pay to play in Twin Flames Universe, check out Keely Griffin on ALBC. 

For this show, we features Alice Hines ? the Emmy-award winning investigative journalist and executive producer of Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe, a new docuseries chronicling the two kooky, creepy founders Jeff ? a real Keto Keith Raniere ? and his partner Shaleia as they go from run-of-the-mill influencers to building what Vice has called a ?cult empire?. 

Hines dives right into her curiosity around the creepy repercussions of internet culture on IRL relationships and how that led her to explore, report on, and be invited into Jeff and Shaleia?s home where she filmed the duo. You can watch that footage in the docuseries. 

For now, take a listen for the inside scoop on the culty couple.

 

NOTES 

Alice Hines is a writer, documentary film producer, and news correspondent that speaks truth to power and sheds light on unseen subcultures. She?s contributed to The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and New York Magazine, among others. She introduced the term ?Chads? ? the ideal, buff, white, manly man at the heart of incels? standards of attractiveness. And she won a News Emmy for her work on-camera for a Vice News series. Based on her reporting for Vanity Fair, Alice executive-produced the Amazon Prime docuseries, Desperately Seeking Soulmate.

Alice grew up in South Carolina, got her writing creds at Brown University, and even worked as an editor at the sartorial Vestoj, a research vessel with fascinating pieces that explore the bridge between fashion theory and sales ? that is, why we wear what we wear.  

If you really want to go down the word salad rabbit hole and you?re armed with many grains of salt, you can read Jeff and Shaleia?s response to Alice?s Vanity Fair exposé. 

 

Here?s Alice?s website, her Instagram, and her Tik Tok.

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Senior Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

 

Just before Netflix premiered its sensational docuseries ?Bad Vegan,? Sarma Melngailis spoke exclusively with ALBC about all the shit she endured with culty conman Mr. So-called Fox. Go back and check out that episode for the grisly details and now foreboding hope that Netflix would shed light ? not shade ? on the confounding circumstances that led to the demise of Sarma?s brand One Lucky Duck and her beloved restaurant Pure Food and Wine. If you didn?t already know it, Pure Food and Wine was hip, sexy, nutritious, and delicious. It was raw vegan food with style in Gramercy Park. Manhattan where, on any given night, you could run into Janet Jackson, Bill Clinton, Stevie Wonder, or Alec Baldwin. It was the shit. Until it wasn?t. 

 

Netflix was ready.

 

Through all the pomp and circumstance, we at ALBC can?t help but look into the dark side of cult survivor narratives turned entertainment. Now that the trauma-coaster of ?Bad Vegan? has slowed, we thought it important to let Sarma set the record straight. 

 

Check it out.

NOTES:
Sarma Melngailis is brilliant. She grew up in Newton, MA, graduated with two economics degrees including one from the Wharton School. She rocked the financial world at Bear Stearns and Bain Capital. And she dabbled in high-yield investment funds before realizing finance in late-stage capitalism fuckin sucks so she left to get a degree in feeding people from the French Culinary Institute. Thus began her life in the world of food. Upon discovering raw vegan food, she decided ? with a partner ? to open Pure Food and Wine; chronicled her transition from eating whatever/everything to eating only raw vegan food in Raw Food Real World; and then wrote Living Raw Food. Now, she lives in Harlem with her rescue dog, Leon. We love ?em both dearly.

You can find Sarma on Twitter, Instagram, and her own official website.

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Senior Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

 

As a teen, Meg Appelgate was gooned ? that is, legally kidnapped ? from her home in the middle of the night and taken to a lockdown facility in Idaho, then shipped to Montana where isolation, chemical sedation, and brainwashing were the norm?for a day of underage drinking. She survived and went on to develop and recruit for similar organizations. Then she woke up and channeled her indignation toward making positive change. 

Right now, anywhere from 120,000 to 200,000 or more young people are institutionalized as private equity firms rake in tens of billions of dollars from the ?Troubled Teen Industry.? Meg Appelgate shares her story and how Unsilenced, the organization she founded, can help. 

 

Note:

Meg Appelgate is a survivor determined to empower other survivors of institutional child abuse. She?s founder and CEO of Unsilenced, a non-profit org serving victims caught in the web of the Troubled Teen Industry. She?s also VP, Trustee, and Managing Director of the Gochnauer Family Foundation that provides financial help for families and children. She serves on the boards of a domestic violence shelter and a therapeutic riding center. When she?s not funding and implementing new ideas to help people thrive, Meg loves to explore new places with her husband and four children.

 

You can find her on the medes: Personal Instagram, Unsilenced Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter.

 

And, for more on the Troubled Teen Industry, check out the Season 2 episode featuring Elizabeth Gilpin here.

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

This episode is sponsored by Better Help. 

Have you seen Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets on Prime yet? Ooooof! We have and it?s really, really good. Also hard to watch. Also a bit infuriating. In other words: A culty docuseries. If you?ve already followed the Duggars, the reality TV mega-family behind the hit show 19 Kids and Counting, you know it?s all a lot to process. Shiny Happy People gets deep into the weeds of the story behind their story: Chock-full of disturbing insights into their scandals, their demons, and the radical organization underpinning the whole shitshow. That would be the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an evangelical Christian ministry on steroids. 

Lindsey Williams is featured in Shiny Happy People, and is here to talk with us in this episode about her experience as a former IBLP member, and her personal journey from dug in to ?fuck this I?m out.? Our chat covers IBLP founder Bill Gothard and his deranged dogma, what it was like living in the orbit of the embattled Duggar clan, and how Lindsey is doing now that she?s a self-proclaimed Shiny Happy Warrior for cult awareness. 

And just as a heads up, please know that this IBLP organization has some seriously shady philosophies on things like sexual abuse, so this episode may get into gritty territory. Listen with care. 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer: Mathias Rosenzweig

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitculty

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp and More Labs. 

Dr. Shefali is a renowned authority on family dynamics and personal development who has published four books (three New York Times best-sellers) and teaches classes and seminars across the globe. She has all the makings of a guru, but is the first to say she doesn?t dig guru culture - and in fact has some pointed thoughts on the personal transformation space, the patriarchy, the way society mindfucks mothers, and navigating the self-help path without it going all to hell. 

She?s not our typical guest but we like to mix things up, and we had so many questions for her. Like how do you know who is legit these days in the personal transformation world? If we?re wary of ?thought leaders? but looking for inspiration, where do we look? 

Learn more about her best selling books, courses, and the upcoming Evolve Summit at her website: http://drshefali.com

 

Notes:

 

You can register for Dr. Shefali Evolve 2023 Annual Summit, her 7th one, which will take place on October 6th-8th in Atlanta, Georgia. 

 

You can follow Dr. Shefali on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. 

 

Purchase Dr. Shefali?s The Conscious Parent or Out of Control, here 

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

 

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

 

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Mathias Rosenzweig

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This epiosde is sponsored by Better Help.

Hey Listener, you asked for a greatest hits medley of all our NXIVM related guests in one or two meaty episodes.And hear ye, hear ye we have delivered. This is our second NXIVM extravaganza, and we hope you dig it. We?ll be back soon with all new episodes, and until then you can always hang out with us on Patreon at patreon.com/alittlebitculty if you can?t get enough of our culty, culty content. 

But now?let?s dig into the main course shall we?

Keith Raniere?s trial was at the center of The Vow Season 2 ? and this episode is taking you even further into the courtroom circus.

 

We?re featuring insights from three people who had as close a look as one could get.

 

First, you?ll hear from Moira Kim Penza ? the prosecutor who brought Keith Raniere to justice. Her accomplishments are mighty: Like Keith?s conviction on all counts including racketeering and sex trafficking and a brisk 120 year sentence. Moira?s groundbreaking approach to the case has been credited with paving the way for other sex trafficking prosecutions against powerful individuals. In other words: She?s a total badass. In this episode, Moira sits down with Sarah and Nippy to talk about what it?s like to take on a world-class dirtbag (our wording, not hers) and what really chaps her ass about NXIVM?s Voldemort.

More about today?s guest: Moira is now in private practice as a litigator, and a partner at Wilkinson Stekloff. Crain?s New York business named her in the 40 under 40 list, she?s been ranked as one of Bloomberg Law?s 40 under 40, and her legal analysis has been featured in The NY Times, CNN, ABC, NPR and Daily Beast. 

 

Next you?ll hear from Robert Gavin.

Robert  has been a news reporter for 28 years, having also worked for two years as an editor. Originally from Staten Island, Gavin began his career by covering the New York City police and fire departments, the NYS Capitol, State and Federal Courts, various murder trials, and cases involving terrorism, the mafia, street gangs, and political corruption. And eventually, Robert?s role in the NXIVM trials and their coverage would play a crucial part in bringing down Keith Raniere.

 

Finally, you?ll hear from  Vanessa Grigoriadis, who is an award-winning longform journalist and podcaster, having published profiles on the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Lady Gaga, and Arianna Huffington. So how did she get tied up in NXIVM?s bullshit while also reporting on the cult? Well, the short answer is: anyone and everyone is susceptible to coercive control and persuasion, even members of the press. The long answer? Well, you?ll just have to listen to find out. 

 

Without further adieu. Here?s our NXIVM medley part two.

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This episode is sponsored by Better Help. 

Well hello there, A Little Bit Culty listener. How?d your summer go? What?s the haps?
This is actually our out of office greeting talking to you, because we?re away from the studio right now investigating some kickass episodes for our new season. But we didn?t want to leave you hanging?so we went through the archives to make you a veritable Dairy Queen Blizzard of culty goodness from some of our fan favorites.
We?ll be back soon with all new episodes, but until then you can also find us each week on Patreon where we?re serving up fresh episodes and content on the regular.

So today?s episode is?well?in our wheelhouse. If you?re a listener of this particular show, you?re already familiar with NXIVM ? but on today?s episode we are taking a closer look at the cult featured in the HBO series, The Vow, starring yours truly. (Whose got four thumbs and once helped bring NXIVM down? THESE GUYS).

Joining us are 4 people who understand the inner workings of NXIVM  better than almost anyone else.

First up is Mark Vicente. He?s The Vow?s Stone cold silver fox, a film-maker turned whistleblower, and an internationally renowned sweetheart. He?s the guy who originally recruited me, and the guy who raised hell to help bring it all down.  Also, he?s the lucky husband of the one and only Bonnie Piesse, aka, Bonfire.

Next is India Oxenberg, who went through hell and back in NXIVM?s darkest chapter: DOS. From forced starvation, and sleep deprivation, to multiple forms of mental and sexual abuse, to a devastating years-long separation from her family. God damn we?re glad she got out and that she?s THRIVING now. . 

 

Ater India, we?ve got Susan Dones?.The one-woman wrecking crew who served as her own legal representation in a series of court battles after she left the organization. Susan was way ahead of the curve on calling bullshit Keith Raniere and his flying monkeys. She also paid dearly for it. 

 

And finally, is Karen Unterreiner, who at only 18-years-old,  became romantically intertwined with Keith Raniere. Over the next 40 years, she?d go on to become a top level NXIVM trainer, a key figure of the Executive Success Programs? leadership committee, and an overseer of administration (bookkeeping) and IT.  Which is all to say: There is much tea to spill. So much tea.

So if you?re sick of hearing us talk about NXIVM, you better turn around now. You?ve been warned. Everybody else? Let?s rock.


Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

This epoisode is sponsored by Better Help.
Hey everyone! It?s ANOTHER remix episode of A Little Bit Culty because: It?s always good to take some time to look back and reflect. 
PLUS we?re currently working our tails off on a batch of all new, farm fresh episodes for a brand new season. Until then, you can always join us over on Patreon - that?s patreon.com/alittlebitculty for new weekly episodes, adfree, and other treats. 

But right now? We?re about to get in the weeds of one of our favorite topics with some of our fan favorites. 

On todays episode we are diving head first into the fucked up world of abstinence pledges, purity rings, and knee length skirts.

That?s right, we are going deep in the purity culture discussion and we aren?t pulling out.

 

Joining us are three powerhouse guests.

 

First is the most rockin? reverend we?ve ever met.

 

Nadia Bolz-Weber is an ordained Lutheran Pastor, and founder of House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver:  a progressive, queer-inclusive Lutheran congregation. She?s written three New York Times bestselling memoirs, including Shameless: A Sexual Reformation, which takes on what she sees as the harmful ideas about sexuality that Christianity has promoted throughout history. She?s the creator and host of The Confessional podcast, a pop-up prayer network called The Chapel, and a wildly inspirational Substack called The Corners. 

 

Next up is Alice Greczyn - an actress, author, and founder of Dare to Doubt. Her story includes a painful yet rewarding transition from Christianity to atheism, a journey that inspired her to found DaretoDoubt.org, a resource site for people detaching from belief systems they come to fnd harmful. 

 

And last, and probably least, Eric Skwarczynski is the host and creator of the Preacher Boys podcast, which is a platform for survivors? stories about a deeply disturbing pattern of sexual predation and abuse claims within the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement. 

 

You won?t want to miss a single second of todays show, so let?s get started with our personal Fuck You to Purity Culture, featuring Nadia Bolz Weber, Alice Greczyn, and Eric Skwarczynski.

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

We?re back with another greatest hits mashup this week, pulled together from the Little Bit Culty archives for your late listening pleasure because?well?we can?t quit you - not even for a short late summer, early fall hiatus. Can you believe some shows go on hiatus? LAMMMMMME! Not us. Breaks are for babies. 

For real though, while we?re working on fresh batches of cult-busting brand new episodes, we wanted to stir that proverbial pot a little more by revisiting one of our favorite culty topics?.Scientology.

AKA, the brainchild of L. Ron. 

You know it, you loathe it, or?maybe you just mock it. To be fair, unless you?re a Scientologist, they think you?re pretty silly too. So it?s all even-stevens

We are diving deep into the Danger Zone in this episode ? featuring 3 top guns who have taken on the Impossible Mission of exposing Scientology ? which we all know can be Risky Business.

Ok, enough Tom Cruise puns ? let?s introduce A Few Good Men ? and a super badass woman ? who you?ll hear from on today?s show.

First up is the patron saint of cult-busting, Leah Remini, who?s book Troublemaker chronicles her remarkable journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom from Scientology, both for herself and for her family.

Next is Mike RInder. Having spent his youth doing things like, for example, swabbing the decks of L. Ron Hubbard?s yacht, Rinder eventually made it into the elite sect of Scientology known as the Sea Organization, eventually becoming Scientology?s International Spokesperson and the head of its Office of Special Affairs. Then, he escaped and became a fearless and outspoken ex-member.

Last is Jon Atack ? one of the only court-appointed expert witnesses on Scientology, and his book: Let?s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky, about the early history of the church, is cited by academics all over the world. Jon was a ?public? Scientologist for nine years, trained as a counselor, and even did the secret ?OT? levels, but ditched it when he discovered appalling, aggressive behavior towards members. In addition to his work podcasting as a Scientology mythbuster  and using his Instagram account to help educate people on overcoming things like manipulation, destructive cults, and abusive relationships, he?s written several novels, including Voodoo Child (Slight Return), inspired by the life and downfall of Jimi Hendrix.

 

Without further ado?please enjoy this Scientology Sucks, Sorry Not Sorry, A Little Bit Culty Medley. 

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Hey everybody, hope your summer was frickin? great.  We?re working on all-new episodes of A Little Bit Culty, coming in hot ANY DAY now, but for this sultry, late summery time  we wanted to revisit our cool, culty archives and put together some mashups of our greatest hits for you.

We?ll be back soon with all new cult-busting content, and we?re dropping fresh new episodes every week on Patreon in the meantime. Until we meet in the feed again - here?s our first Summer Remix featuring some of our PERSONAL  favorite  interviews of all time.

So let?s do this shall we? 

??

If you?re a cult member, you hate them? but if you?re a fan of A Little Bit Culty, you can?t
help but love the three cult-busting guests we are featuring on today?s episode.

First up is the Amanda Montell, a writer, language scholar, and the author of two critically acclaimed books: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language (HarperWave).

Her books have earned praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and others, and Amanda is currently developing Wordslut for television with FX Studios. Amanda's writing has been featured in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, and Who What Wear, where she formerly served as the Features & Beauty Editor. She is also the creator and co-host of the comedy-cult podcast, Sounds Like A Cult.

Next is actor, activist, and epic badass Evan Rachel Wood whose impressive AF resume also includes: ?Most likely to be hideously trolled by the Marilyn Manson stans of the world.? If you?ve seen the HBO Max mini-series Phoenix Rising which chronicles her fight to break away from the rocker formerly known as Brian Warner, you?ve already seen the culty wafting offa that dude like a bad cologne. We caught up with Evan to talk about her journey to hell and back, how she?s doing now, and why she won?t ever stop blowing the whistle on complete fuckery.

As a note to our listeners, and our lawyers, Mr. Manson has repeatedly denied multiple sexual assault allegations from multiple women and is currently suing Evan for defamation over the accusations, claiming it?s all part of an elaborate organized attack. Please note that conversations like the one you?re about to hear can be traumatizing for abuse survivors. Listen to this episode with caution, and if you or anyone you know needs support, see our site for free resources. Also please note that we love Evan Rachel Wood and believe her without reservation. Sorry, not fucking sorry Manson Stans.

 

Finally - and perhaps most controversially ? is Ekhart Tolle ? who is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring spiritual leaders in the world. His international bestsellers have been translated into 52 languages. And we can?t verify this, but he might be one of the MOST quoted and/or misquoted contemporary spiritual gurus ever. Also, for the record, our listeners had a LOVE/HATE reaction to this guest. Can?t please everybody! 

 

Let us know what you think.

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

 

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Here?s Part 2 of our conversation with Guinevere Turner whose memoir When the World Didn?t End is drawn from fastidiously kept childhood diaries written while she was raised in a cult. If you haven?t listened to Part 1, back up and listen. In Part 2, Turner shares what it was like to return to ?normal? life, how her story became a thriller, and what?s helpful, not-so-helpful, and just plain weird about life post-cult.  

Please note, this series includes details of underage sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN?s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

 

Note:

Guinevere Turner is an acclaimed writer, director, and actor who?s worked in film and TV since her 1994 debut film Go Fish, which she wrote, produced, and starred in. She teamed up with director Mary Harron to write the films American Psycho; The Notorious Bettie Page; and the 2019 film Charlie Says. She was a writer, story editor, and played Gabby Deveaux on Showtime?s The L Word. She?s written and directed seven short films, two of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She can be seen in film roles including The Watermelon Woman, Chasing Amy, and American Psycho. Guinevere has taught screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, University of Georgia, UCLA and NYU. 

She can be found on Instagram. In these episodes, we reference the story she wrote for The New Yorker.

 

Also?

 

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Guinevere Turner recently published a memoir about being raised in a cult, being kicked out, and finding her way in the world. Her book When the World Didn?t End dives deep into her experience drawn from fastidiously kept diaries. Here on A Little Bit Culty Turner shares some off-the-cuff stories. We chat about writing craft. And Turner brings up questions about our collective obsession with the cultiverse.  

Please note, this series includes details of underage sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN?s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

 

Note:

Guinevere Turner is an acclaimed writer, director, and actor who?s worked in film and TV since her 1994 debut film Go Fish, which she wrote, produced, and starred in. She teamed up with director Mary Harron to write the films American Psycho; The Notorious Bettie Page; and the 2019 film Charlie Says. She was a writer, story editor, and played Gabby Deveaux on Showtime?s The L Word. She?s written and directed seven short films, two of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She can be seen in film roles including The Watermelon Woman, Chasing Amy, and American Psycho. Guinevere has taught screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, University of Georgia, UCLA and NYU. 

She can be found on Instagram. In these episodes, we reference the story she wrote for The New Yorker.

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Co-Creator & Managing Producer: Jess Tardy

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Rebecca Bender grew up in a small town, played varsity sports, made high school honor roll, and would have started college early except she got pregnant. She was a little ostracized. And a lot lonely. Then she fell in love ? kind of. She followed her knight in shining armor to Las Vegas only to be sold among three human traffickers. 

She was branded, thrown in jail, and hospitalized, her face broken in five different places. But she wasn?t kidnapped. And there was no duct tape involved. 

Now, Rebecca Bender is a mentor/survivor/expert flipping the script on who leads the fight to eradicate human trafficking. She?s blazing trails with the largest online school in the world for survivors. And, as an internationally recognized subject matter expert, she?s equipped the FBI, Homeland Security, and the US Department of Justice to spot this stuff before it gets any worse.

Check out the Rebecca Bender Initiative, the RBI Instagram, her personal Instagram and her book In Pursuit of Love: One Woman?s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant, 2020.

Please note, this series includes details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN?s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

 

Also?

Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

 

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

 

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

 

Support the pod and smash this link

 

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Co-Creator & Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

Today?s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. 

Last week, Alberta Mayne Bligh, Brooke Henderson, and Erin Boyes dove into what attracted them to Michèle Lonsdale-Smith?s acting classes ? the good, the bad, and the messy. Our three guests are ex-students, each with their own thriving careers in film, theater, television, directing, development and even art therapy. And they are among the 26 ex-students who recently spoke up about their experience under the tutelage of Lonsdale-Smith in a revelatory story published in The Cut. If you missed Part 1, go back and take a listen. Now, in Part 2, they share their tipping points: when they realized that they were in a toxic relationship and how it ended. 

Please note, this series includes details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN?s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

 

Notes: 

May 16, 2023 article published by The Cut about Michèle Lonsdale Smith.

Alberta Mayne Bligh can be reached on Instagram and Facebook.

Erin Boyes produced Three Days with her producing and writing partner, Dani Barker. It touches on the culty side of acting classes. Here?s Erin?s website: http://www.erinboyes.com/

Brooke Henderson is known for filmwork but she?s pivoted from acting and is now doing post-grad work in art therapy in Toronto. You can find her on Instagram.

 

Also?

Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that?

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody?s mad at you, just don?t be a culty fuckwad.

 

Other Links:

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ?A Little Bit Culty? on Patreon

Get poppin? fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

 

CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

Producer: Will Retherford

Senior Producer: Jess Tardy

Writer: Holly Zadra

Theme Song: ?Cultivated? by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin