Growing Up Culty: Jonathan Hirsch on a Lifetime of Cults (Part 1)
Summary
Jonathan Hirsch, host of "Dear Franklin Jones," recounts his childhood in the Adidam cult, led by the charismatic yet abusive Franklin Jones. He describes Jones's evolution from a guru to a self-proclaimed "avatar" who controlled followers through psychological manipulation, including damaging "Oedipal sessions." Hirsch delves into the unique challenges faced by children raised in cults, the emotional toll of seeking parental approval within such a system, and his personal journey to process this generational trauma.Episode description
Jonathan Hirsch is an award-winning podcaster and journalist who grew up in the Adidam hippie cult. His podcast, “Dear Franklin Jones”, is about that experience. Today, he’s here to discuss the less famous, but equally culty, Jones and what it’s like for children who grow up with religious abuse.
And for more of Jonathan's work, Be sure to check out his latest podcast, “Scary Terri”, which unravels the chilling story of Terri Lee Hoffman—a spiritual leader in Dallas whose followers faced a series of mysterious deaths. Listen now: The Binge on Apple Podcasts.
Trigger warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual abuse and may be disturbing to some listeners.
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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.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Amphibian.Media
Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Associate producers: Emma Diehl, Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media
Audio production: Red Caiman Studios
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin
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