Mike and Abbi grew up going to something they called "the truth" or "the way" or sometimes it didn't have a name at all. But it wasn't a church. A church was something the other kids attended. They went to "meetings" at people's houses and had leaders called "workers" who stayed with them. After they got married and left the religion, or whatever it was, they felt isolated from friends and family, which was understandable -- they, too, had broken contact with people who left when they were in it...
May 23, 2025•38 min•Season 4Ep. 11
We're dropping back in with a Special Film Edition as Generation Cult's Season 4 draws to a close! For this bonus episode, we're bringing back our old friend and former Season 3 co-host Ashlen , who's been hard at work helping people recover from controlling groups through her LLC People Leave Cults , and has become a source of education on the topic in the media. In addition to appearing on the latest Hulu docuseries " How I Escaped My Cult ," Ashlen is now an executive producer on the film " B...
Mar 05, 2025•26 min
Brenda was "mentored" by the former leader of Students of Light, a Toronto-based esoteric group inspired by teachings by Carl Jung and H.P. Blavatsky, from the age of 11 to almost 17. She pursued legal action against him in 1997, and he was eventually arrested in 2019 and extradited to Canada to be charged with rape and assault of a minor. Her case was plagued with delays and procedural mishaps from the get go, and her abuser went free in 2023 on a technicality. Now Brenda is due back in court t...
Jan 03, 2025•51 min•Season 4Ep. 10
We've brought back a fan favorite from Season 3 for an update on litigation cult survivors can bring against their abusers, and this time we're also tackling the dreaded topic of defamation. Carol Merchasin , an attorney with the firm McAllister Olivarius , has had some success bringing lawsuits on behalf of people who were sexually abused in Buddhist, yoga and cult-like groups. Her focus has expanded to other types of organizations and litigation, so we're ready for an update. Do you want to sp...
Dec 23, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Estrangement is a traumatic topic, no matter your family of origin, but it feels unavoidable when you reject your tribe’s religious ideologies. Lynn knows this well. She was raised in Salt Lake City on a Mormon pedestal: the great-great grand-niece of Joseph Smith , founder of the Mormon Church . It was a bit like being royalty. But then she rejected the whole thing. No one of her family status had done that before. Everyone was shocked. It was even more surprising when the big, whole divided fa...
Nov 26, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Jesse grew up in " the perfect church ," or so he was told. The small, albeit pushy congregation his life centered around in the town of Oregon, IL seemed almost ideal as a small child. But then the immortal leader died. She didn't come back to life like she was supposed to. And the new leader liked restrictions. There were so many restrictions. Jesse found himself trapped in a cycle of punishment, abuse and humiliation that made his teen years a prison -- both literally and figuratively. Althou...
Oct 27, 2024•54 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Most people have heard of Christian Science and passed by the reading rooms, but how much do you know about it? Hilary grew up as a radical reliant Christian Scientist, which meant her family avoided medical intervention in favor of prayer to try to cure ailments. She lived to talk about it, but others weren't so lucky. As an adult, Hilary became an atheist and started the Leaving Christian Science Podcast on YouTube . Join us to talk about the history of this group, which is primarily made up o...
Sep 29, 2024•53 min•Season 4Ep. 6
When Susan was 13, her stepdad brought her into what was then known as the Divine Light Mission, an organization led by Prem Rawat (aka Guru Maharaj Ji, aka The Boy Guru, aka Lord of the Universe, aka The Perfect Master. ... etc.) She became a believer and eventually moved into one of the ashrams while she was still a teen. By that time, Susan was grappling with a disturbing incident she and another young girl had experienced. And they weren't the only ones who had problems with a certain mahatm...
Sep 03, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Philip and Stacie wrote about a recent reparations program meant to address complaints made for decades against 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization), led by the late Yogi Bhajan, who started Kundalini Yoga. Join us for a discussion with these two writers about the second generation of 3HO. The children of those who joined the organization felt like they were screaming into a void about the abuses they had suffered, especially when they were sent off to boarding schools in India. The complaint...
Jun 24, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 4
We're rebroadcasting an episode from 2019 to remind you about a guest from Generation Cult's first episode of Season 2. Narangkar is an artist who grew up in 3HO (Healthy, Happy Holy Organization), which is connected to Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma. Narangkar and her two sisters navigated a troubling childhood during their time within the group that included neglect, child-swapping, violence and a traumatizing stay at a harsh boarding school in India. *This episode contains disturbing descript...
Jun 21, 2024•55 min
Kate grew up in the secluded High View Church Farm where children worked and lived in militant conditions, rarely saw their families, and had little contact with the outside world. She left with only a couple of dollars in her pocket and no idea if that was a lot of money or not. Education was a lifeline but it's also pretty expensive. Kate lived in her car some of the time to save money. Now she advocates for housing for students . She's also the co-founder and managing editor of Red Hen Press ...
May 10, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The church Amanda grew up in was started by a man known for his ejection from the KKK for being too militant. The tight and secretive community that revolved around the church valued white supremacy, male dominance, and obedience. Amanda had a lot of questions. A girl with questions wasn't valued in this community. Neither were women who wore pants or got educations. She did a lot of things that made her congregation mad, including learning how to not be racist. Join us for a very interesting di...
Apr 30, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Yes, we are back! We're kicking off Season 4 with a conversation with Grace. She grew up in a little-known Christian fundamentalist group referred to as the Geftakys Assembly and, although her family left when she was young, she was impacted greatly by leadership's harsh rules regarding women and children. So greatly was Grace impacted that she dove into a years-long history/research project and created her own podcast about it called " In God's Name: An Unseen Cult ." New episodes are being rel...
Mar 27, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 1
We're back with yet another special literary edition! For this bonus episode, we're celebrating the recent launch of the book "Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult." It's out now in bookstores and on Amazon . The author, Michelle, was raised in an end-times group that was started by her grandfather in the 1930s. As survivalists in an organization referred to as “The Field,” her family lived in isolation on a mountain, where they foraged for food and viewed basic comforts as a sin. Mi...
Oct 20, 2023•42 min
Generation Cult is dropping back in with a bonus edition to celebrate today's launch of Liz Ianelli's new book called "I See You, Survivor: Life Inside (and Outside) the Totally F*cked-Up Troubled Teen Industry." In it, Liz details her years left at a program within the Troubled Teen Industry, a network of expensive residential programs, wilderness camps, and religious-affiliated establishments meant to set your child straight. Join us as we discuss Liz's time in one of these programs, how she r...
Aug 29, 2023•49 min
Tamara grew up in a Sufi polygamist organization in the US and England. Her father joined the group when she was 5 and she soon found herself torn between a somewhat "normal" life with her mother and a bizarre, hard-working communal lifestyle with her dad. Deemed a "special child" by her father's group, she was sent to live with the leader, who put her to work caring for young children and cooking and cleaning in his mansion alongside his multiple wives. At age 12, Tamara got married -- a spotty...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Rhonda's parents joined the Holy Order of MANS (standing for Mysterian, Agape, Nous and Sophia in Greek, or mystery, love, mind and wisdom in English) when she was a year old. The San Francisco-based group held classes and meetings studying a mix of religions, initially leaning heavily on New Age concepts and Christianity. Children were not allowed to live with parents, so she was raised on a farm with other kids as her parents moved through the ranks of the organization. The Holy Order changed ...
Mar 31, 2023•51 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Sarah grew up in a bible-based group in Ohio with about 400 members, many of whom are related to her. She was sexually abused throughout her childhood, something she reported to leaders of her organization, who not only didn't stop the perpetrators but told her she was one who had sinned. Sarah left in her early 20s struggling with mental health issues as she got her education, traveled the world and started her own business. Along the way, she searched for a new, healthy community where she cou...
Mar 24, 2023•37 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Will grew up devout in an evangelical community and attended Christian schools, camps and mission trips. His beliefs were so strong in his youth that he describes himself as becoming radicalized and isolated from the rest of society. But in his teens he began to question his church's strict guidelines regarding who can be saved or even considered a Christian. After conversations with people from other faiths and failed attempts to have his questions answered within his community, he left his chu...
Mar 10, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 11
While listening to the stories on Generation Cult, do you ever wonder at what point people can take legal action against their abusers? Do you want to know what charges have been brought against coercive groups and taken seriously in the courts? In this episode, Dhyana interviews attorney Carol Merchasin , who has brought successful lawsuits on behalf of people who were sexually abused in Buddhist, yoga and cult-like groups. Join us as we discuss the most effective ways to approach cases against...
Feb 24, 2023•53 min•Season 3Ep. 10
****Bonus episode! Dhyana chats with Tim Elliott, host of the new podcast called "Inside the Tribe," which takes a deep dive into controversial religious sect the Twelve Tribes. This short interview is a great companion to our Ep. 9: "Finding Freedom from the Twelve Tribes with Suvav," which released to the public on Feb. 10. Suvav also appears on "Inside the Tribe," which you can find on most podcast platforms. Elliott, an investigative journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, first became acq...
Feb 21, 2023•14 min
Suvav grew up in the Twelve Tribes, a controversial religious organization founded in the 1970s that has since been accused of systemic child abuse, medical neglect, labor violations, arson, murder, and even more. In 2019, Suvav -- now an adult with three children -- left with his wife and kids, and are still struggling to find housing and stability in the world outside the Twelve Tribes community. On this episode, we chat with Suvav about growing up in the group as a hard-working, misunderstood...
Feb 10, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Emily was raised on a secluded farm in the Midwest with her six siblings before her family moved to the Pacific Northwest. Her parents were convinced that the world was going to end in 2012 and taught the children about survival, encouraged them to stay away from "outsiders," kept them minimally homeschooled, and controlled their day-to-day lives. Emily began a tough acclimation to the rest of the world after 2012 came and went, and she was allowed to attend school. When the pandemic began, her ...
Jan 27, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Welcome back to Generation Cult and Happy New Year! We are kicking off 2023 with this episode about Jolyn, who grew up in the Mormon Church. While her experiences weren't as extreme as some of the other stories we've had here, she describes a sort of "whisper campaign" she experienced as an unenthusiastic member who then left, and the harm that even subtle group pressure can do. After experiencing upheaval in her family involving the criminal justice system, Jolyn -- now a trauma recovery coach ...
Jan 13, 2023•58 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Welcome to Part II in our two-part series about the Children of God (aka the Family International), the infamous group created in the late 1960s that became known for the sexual exploitation of its members. Amy grew up in the Children of God (COG) and was coerced away from her parents to be trafficked as a child entertainer through many countries to promote the COG. She was also sent to live with the group's founder David Berg. Finally, as an adult with her own children, she able to escape to th...
Dec 16, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Christina grew up in the Children of God (aka The Family International), a group founded in 1968 by the late David Berg. As the organization grew, its members moved all over the world and were coerced into prostitution and other labor to bring in more money and support. Many children were born overseas, moved around contently, exploited and sexually abused. Christina lived a controlled, isolated existence and was trafficked through many countries well into adulthood. Finally, as a mother herself...
Dec 02, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Chris, a former classmate of Dhyana and Ashlen in the Psychology of Coercive Control graduate program, grew up in Scientology. He stayed through adulthood, marrying another Scientologist, working for Scientology, joining the Sea Org. ... until he couldn't put up with all the lying anymore. After Chris left, he wrote a book about his time in Scientology and went on to amplify his voice through his YouTube channel and podcast Sensibly Speaking. Join us as we hear Chris' story and discuss his maste...
Nov 25, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 4
When Megan was young, her mom introduced her to Gwen Shamblin and her Weigh Down Workshop diet seminar. Gwen taught that God wanted them to be thin and helped Megan and her mom lose weight by cutting their food intake. Megan's life became steadily more controlled as Gwen, who also started the Remnant Fellowship, demanded absolute obedience to herself and the group. Megan stayed under the control of her mother, the diet workshop, Gwen and the Remnant Fellowship until she was a young adult. Now a ...
Nov 11, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Want to know more about the host of Generation Cult? Join us as co-host Ashlen Hilliard interviews Dhyana Levey.
Nov 04, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! We are so excited to be back, and also thrilled to welcome Ashlen Hilliard as a co-host. Since you'll be hearing her voice throughout the new season, we wanted you to get to know her better, so she's also our guest for this episode. Ashlen grew up in the conservative Church of Christ while living in the midst of Utah's Mormon culture. Mormons were constantly trying to convert her, while she was trying to convert them. When the strict rules handed down by...
Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 1
