Rachel Bernstein is an LA-based therapist 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 support to cult survivors. Over the years she has made many media appearances as a cult expert and is also the host of IndoctriNATION, a weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control, where she h...
Nov 14, 2023•54 min•Season 6Ep. 43
Xenos was originally set up as a leaderless group that rejected the structures and trappings of mainstream churches. Springing forth from the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, it focused on meeting in people’s homes and embracing members from the youth counter-cultures. So why does the church’s own website admit to a history that involves cult-like behaviour? And how did it come to face allegations of manipulation and control that have been made by people who joined and left in c...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Xenos was originally set up as a leaderless group that rejected the structures and trappings of mainstream churches. Springing forth from the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, it focused on meeting in people’s homes and embracing members from the youth counter-cultures. So why does the church’s own website admit to a history that involves cult-like behaviour? And how did it come to face allegations of manipulation and control that have been made by people who joined and left in c...
Oct 12, 2023•57 min•Season 6Ep. 42
In many ways, this theatre troupe and Fourth Way school became the most secretive this podcast has looked into yet. Most members didn’t know each other’s jobs, marital status, or even surnames. They didn’t see each other outside of what they referred to as ‘the work’, they didn’t know the classes they were going to each week had anything to do with the teachings of Russian philosophers, and they didn’t tell anyone outside what it was they were attending two nights each week. Full research source...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Andrew Pledger was raised in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement, and after completing his homeschool education, attended Bob Jones University. He is the creator of the limited podcast Surviving Bob Jones University: A Christian Cult . His podcast explores the school’s history, the psychology of fundamentalism, the criteria for cults, and survivors’ experiences. Full episode page here . You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with a one-off donation , or grab some merch . Sarah Steel'...
Aug 22, 2023•2 hr
Sarah is a cult survivor, domestic violence survivor, and a survivor of trafficking and modern slavery. She wouldn’t have been able to name these things as she was experiencing them, or even for some time in the aftermath. Like many cult survivors, Sarah can draw a line between the coercive behaviours that she experienced in the high-demand organisation she was brought up in, KwaSizabantu , and the coercive behaviours of those who abused and exploited her later in life. Now Sarah uses her experi...
Aug 15, 2023•48 min
Carol Merchasin spent many years as an employment lawyer. She has also been a partner in the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and director of Morgan Lewis Resources. She has conducted dozens of workplace investigations and taught investigative techniques to human resource professionals at many Fortune 50 companies. She has since joined McAllister Olivarius, where she heads up a practice covering sexual misconduct in religious, faith-based and spiritual communities. Later in her...
Aug 08, 2023•53 min
Lisa Kendall spent the ages of 9-19 in The Move of God, Sam Fife's apocalyptic cult. Today, she devotes her time to working on policy changes that will help former cult members and children in high-demand organisations. For International Cult Awareness Month 2023, she updates us about her work with Counter Cult Coalition and the work of others in the counter-cult space. Full episode page here . You can buy Joe Gould's LTAS soundtrack album Nobody Joins a Cult here . You can support us on Patreon...
Aug 01, 2023•47 min
Guinevere Turner grew up in The Lyman Family, a group she now understands was a cult, but at the time was the only family she knew. Guinevere has recently released her memoir When the World Didn't End . In it, she recounts her childhood experiences, including the abusive family situation she found herself in when she was pulled out of the cult. She spoke with Sarah about her book, as well as the work she's doing now to help others who have exited cults. Full episode page here . You can buy Joe G...
Jun 13, 2023•1 hr
Gloriavale Christian Community has been in the news recently in New Zealand for court cases around labour and servitude, and there are further cases happening as well. To understand more about the history of the organisation, you can listen to our 2-part episode about the group . Rosanna Overcomer recently celebrated 10 years out of Gloriavale, at the end of March 2023, and shares some of her story and the work she does now to help support others. Full episode page here . You can support us on P...
Apr 27, 2023•51 min
Divine Madness Running Club boasted some spectacular results in ultramarathons and became known for their excellent support teams and low-impact style of running. But the Boulder, Colorado based group was also notorious for their strange ways, whereby members were expected to follow the directions of their teacher in all aspects of their lives. UPDATE: Deru Youmans had a more recent experience with Marc Tizer (Yo), through a listing for 'The Retreat' they came across on the WWOOF (Worldwide Oppo...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 40
Carolyn Millemon learned about a form of meditation called ‘Ascending’ at a weekend workshop in Western Australia when she was 21. A couple of years later, in North Carolina, she decided to dedicate her life to the teachings. A decade later, some of the behaviours of her own teachers weren’t sitting so well with her. Full research sources listed here . You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with a one-off donation , or grab some merch . Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on aud...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 5Ep. 39
Matthew Klein’s story is featured on the podcast Inside the Tribe, and Matt sat down with LTAS for a chat about what he learned from his time in the Twelve Tribes, and what he thinks society could be doing about organisations like this. Full research sources listed here . You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with a one-off donation , or grab some merch . Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now . Thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 5 of Let's Ta...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Brisbane Christian Fellowship sounds like a fairly innocuous name for a church. But the BCF and its network of organisations across Australia have been the subject of a Four Corners investigation and a detailed book, speaking with former members who have numerous stories of families being torn apart as a result of their involvement. Author Morag Zwartz wrote that this ‘church’ “is every bit as pernicious and harmful as the Exclusive Brethren.” Full research sources listed here . You can support ...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 5Ep. 38
MOVE Philadelphia made headlines in 1978, when police and MOVE members ended up in a prolonged siege and a gunfire exchange that left a police officer dead. They hit the headlines again in 1985, when a confrontation with the authorities became even more deadly after an explosive device was dropped on their property. The events led many to understand the organisation as a Black liberation group who were the victims of a racist system. The latter is hardly debatable, but credible stories from a mu...
Jan 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 5Ep. 37
There’s a group in regional Queensland that claims to have no name. Members meet in each other’s homes on Wednesdays and Sundays. They don’t have any of their beliefs written down, though they do sing hymns from a particular hymn book. A lot of what they follow sounds incredibly similar to a group that also claimed to have no name but was often referred to as the Two by Twos or The Truth. This one doesn’t have pairs of ‘workers’ who travel around and stay with community members, however. That jo...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 5Ep. 36
Daniella Mestyanek Young was born into the Children of God, as was her mother before her. She left as a teenager and put herself through school and university, then decided to join the military. Her fantastic book Uncultured explores many of the parallels between the cult and the armed forces. The New York Times called it, “A painful and propulsive memoir delivered in the honest tones of a woman who didn’t always think she’d live to tell her story." You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with...
Nov 29, 2022•59 min
Many people around the world would have come across the food produced by the Twelve Tribes through their Common Ground market stalls and bakeries or their Yellow Deli cafes. A post from 2011 on the popular Weekend Notes website says, “The Common Ground Café has had its share of media-related controversy as it is run by a religious community, whose mysteriously stand-offish ways freak some people out. Do not be deterred by that, as no one will try to convert you and the food is truly delicious. I...
Nov 22, 2022•34 min
The Logos Foundation was often described as ‘mysterious’ in media coverage, but became a part of the religious right that published full page newspaper advertisements encouraging the electorate to vote on ‘moral’ issues at Queensland state elections in the late 1980s. Its embrace of the Shepherding Movement led many to consider it incredibly cult-like, and certain facets of the religious right today can trace a direct lineage to its teachings. Founder Howard Carter’s hard-line approach to sinful...
Nov 15, 2022•58 min•Season 5Ep. 35
Anke Richter is an international journalist and author based in NZ. Over time she’s found herself covering more and more cults, to the point where she recently published her first book about the subject: ‘Cult Trip’. Anke is also a member and co-founder of FACT Aotearoa (Fight Against Conspiracy Theories). Full research sources listed here . You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with a one-off donation , or grab some merch . Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now ...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 20 min
Kathleen Oh is a rare breed: a wellness coach who is cynical about wellness and the coaching industry. She works with clients across integration and psychedelics education. Kathleen is trained in Internal Family Systems (also known as IFS Informed or IFSCA), which is a trauma-informed approach, and comes from a background of trauma herself. Kathleen was once an anti-vaxxer, and her community embraced all kinds of magical thinking and conspiracy theories. Over time, she realised that her own coac...
Nov 01, 2022•1 hr 49 min
Dr Janja Lalich is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University, Chico. She has written multiple world-renowned books on cultic studies, and is soon to launch the non-profit Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion . Dr Lalich offers resources to help survivors of coercive groups, as well as courses for therapists and social workers to help them understand the issues involved in treatment. She was once a member of a cult herself, and rose to a leadership rank. She has spent her lif...
Oct 21, 2022•53 min
When widespread abuse is uncovered at a New Zealand cult, a family must turn to the legal system in an effort to save themselves and their community from the all-powerful leaders. Filmmakers Noel Smyth and Fergus Grady documented the impact of the civil action, and of the cult itself. Their gripping expose on New Zealand’s most infamous and secretive religious group, founded by Australian evangelist Neville Cooper, has quickly become New Zealand’s highest grossing local documentary. It is out in...
Oct 15, 2022•40 min
Twin Flames Universe promises devotees a path to ascension through finding their ultimate lover, and building a permanent, harmonious union. But former followers have accused the organisation of exploitative labour, encouraging people to stay in abusive relationships, and pressuring members to undergo gender reassignment. Guest: Kara Brodsky Full research sources listed here . You can support us on Patreon or Acast+ , with a one-off donation , or grab some merch . Sarah Steel's debut book Do As ...
Oct 08, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 34
In January 2018, Avi started seeing a new psychologist in Melbourne, Australia. She'd experienced childhood trauma, and wanted to get some help with managing panic attacks. The registered psychologist she found seemed to be a great fit. But a couple of months into the 2020 lockdowns, Avi realised that her life had become completely entwined with her psychologist’s. Over time, Avi came to understand that her psychologist had been trying to groom her into a cult. Full research sources listed here ...
Oct 02, 2022•1 hr 24 min
Samael Aun Weor claimed that he could remember his own birth, and had identified the only true path to spiritual development. Crucial to his religion was a sexual practice that involved couples never reaching orgasm. Though many who follow his belief system understand sickness to be a result of one’s own karma, their master died of stomach cancer in 1977. He claimed that when he died, he would be resurrected. Guest: Lynn Short Full research sources listed here . You can support us on Patreon or ...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 5Ep. 33
Sarah Edmondson is an actor, voice over artist and activist who spent 12 years in NXIVM , rising from student to coach to eventually running her own center in Vancouver, Canada. After becoming involved with its secret society, DOS, she managed to escape and alongside her husband Anthony ‘Nippy’ Ames, became a whistleblower on the cult and worked with the FBI to expose Keith Raniere’s crimes. Today Sarah and Nippy make the fantastic podcast A Little Bit Culty , in which they speak with some incre...
Jul 26, 2022•54 min
Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is published by Pan Macmillan Australia, and out on 28 June 2022. It will be available in audiobook , ebook and paperback . This is chapter 1, read by Sarah for the audiobook release. "In times of uncertainty when you long for simple answers and have a deep desire for community, you can find yourself incrementally handing over your agency to a charismatic but authoritarian and manipulative leader or group-think. In this book Sarah Steel has brilliantly charte...
Jun 08, 2022•31 min
Lisa Kendall spent the ages of 9-19 in The Move of God, Sam Fife's Apocalyptic cult. Today, she devotes her time to working on policy changes that will help former cult members and children in high-demand organisations. For this bonus episode she speaks about her work with Counter Cult Coalition, the organisation she founded alongside spiritual abuse expert Kent Burtner. From its Facebook page : “Counter Cult Coalition's mission is to raise awareness of issues related to involvement in coercive ...
Apr 19, 2022•49 min
KwaSizabantu means “the place where people are helped” in Zulu. Erika Bornman spent most of her childhood years at the KwaSizabantu Mission. Her memoir Mission of Malice is about her childhood, and about her life since leaving. It’s an incredible read. Daniel Schricker is a composer and writer based in Adelaide, South Australia. He also spent his childhood and teenage years in KwaSizabantu, and has written a series of articles entitled Scaring the Hell Out of You, “A 4-part examination of the ro...
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 43 min
