For 10 years Brandie Hadfield found herself on the hamster wheel of her MLM, trying to make sense of it all. It wasn't until the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic and seeing the disgusting predatory nature of MLM with her own eyes that she decided to ask more questions and look for the answers herself. In our chat we discuss the seldom recognized unfair advantages in MLM, your MLM cult identity and the healing journey to getting yourself back. Show Notes Connect with Brandie : Instagram | Substack...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 212
Are you enjoying Holiday Magic so far? Today we're headed to Church with The Reverend Jen and King James of the wildly popular YouTube channel Fundie Fridays! In our chat we talk about the similarities between our missions, our thoughts on the Duggars, Sister Wives, Purity Culture and all the MLM parties they've been to. Plus we chat a bit about some of the history, loopholes and economic implications of Multi Level Marketing for a little sneak peek into next season's focus! Show Notes Connect w...
Dec 17, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 211
After 14 years in Amway, Meggan decided this year, that she needed to leave. Spending her young adult years in Amway had a profound impact on Meggan and her ability to "adult" and function in normal society outside of the cult. It wasn't until a tragic accident, and the resulting behavior of the higher ups in her LOA that Meggan found herself questioning the motivation of authority and the demand for a dittos autoship she didn't need. Show Notes Amway & The Younger Generation MLM Meets GenZ ...
Dec 13, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 210
Have you met Ashley? She's a lot in the best way, and since we both have podcasts about cults and scams, I thought she might wanna come on and make some content together. We talk about everything under the sun, from our own f*cked up experiences to creepy holiday festivals and the cult of being a Swiftie. This episode is a little all over the place and has a bit of something for anyone that's ever thought "That's SO f*cked up!" Show Notes Connect with Ashley : Instagram | TSFU IG | Website That'...
Dec 10, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 209
Welcome to Day 1 of Holiday Magic! And what better person to help welcome in the month long of fun, than The Dream's Jane Marie! I know the impact that The Dream and Jane's work had on my journey out of MLM, so I can only imagine what the movement has experienced! Jane and I have a fun chat about the early days of AntiMLM, her time at This American Life, The DSA & The BIG Baddies of MLM, and what we really think about Robert FitzPatrick. Show Notes Connect with Jane Marie! Instagram | TikTok...
Dec 03, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 208
Sending out Cultvember in STYLE! Have you seen the two new docuseries on Twin Flames Universe? They are a must watch for anyone who is a fan of cults getting exposed. The shows follow some of the victims of TFU as they tell their stories from their time inside the community and the dangerous advice being given inside the organization. Being familiar with this sort of thing, I decided to join the Facebook group to see what it was all about and what the members were saying about the group, the bel...
Nov 29, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 207
*Content Warning : In this episode we discuss excommunication, death and suicide. Please use discretion when listening.* Liz Gale was born a 3rd Generation Scientologist. In fact, her family was into Scientology, before it was ever called Scientology. From the moment Liz's grandmother picked up that copy of Dianetics, it set her family on a tragic trajectory until Liz herself decided to break the generational trauma that L. Ron Hubbard created. In our chat we discuss what excommunication looks l...
Nov 26, 2023•55 min•Season 3Ep. 206
*This episode discusses many heavy topics, including child abuse; including descriptions of abuse, starvation, sexual assault and suicidal ideas and actions. PLEASE use discretion when listening.* When I first started looking into Scientology stories that needed to be told, Michelle asked me if I knew about Liz Ferris and the story of her dad Bob Ferris. You see, Scientology is really good at a couple things; disconnection, abuse and lies - but I was WHOLLY unprepared for the story that Liz had ...
Nov 22, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 205
Our first Scientology episode of the Cultvember season! Meet Alex, who was previously the Director of Public Book Sales at the Church of Scientology London, until he was kicked out and labeled a ‘Trouble Source". Which works perfectly because I have a lot of questions and Alex is here to let us know what's up with the whole MLMy side hustle of book sales in CoS. Along the way we break down Alex's own story, and some of the more complicated policies of L. Ron Hubbard. Show Notes Connect with Alex...
Nov 19, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 204
*Content Warning : This episode discusses topics such as death, cult indoctrination and child abuse. Please use discretion when listening.* As we move out of Evangelicalism and into Scientology, Marilyn Honig is the perfect guest to bridge the gap. Raised in trauma, Marilyn started her life as a Lost Child, falling between the cracks in the systems put in place to help her. She ended up being adopted by a large Pentecostal family, entrenched in the bells and whistles of the tent revival movement...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 203
*Content Warning : In this episode we discuss child abuse openly, sharing our personal experiences and stories. Please use discretion when listening.* In continuing our evangelical education for Cult Month, I couldn't leave out a discussion about Bill Gothard, IBLP and the normalization of child abuse at his hands. And there was no other person who came to mind to discuss this topic besides Lindsey Williams, one of the stars from the documentary Shiny Happy People. As one of "Gothard's Girls" Li...
Nov 12, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Season 3Ep. 202
We're LIVE from Dallas, Texas! Come hang out with us and meet Kathy, a woman who answered an Instagram post and ended up sitting next to me on stage, recording this podcast in front of a live audience! Talk about being put on the spot! But Kathy is an incredible sport as she tells us about growing up Baptist, joining the ICoC in grad school, and trying her hand at Beauty Counter, all before facing some had truths and admitting what she had known deep down all along. It's a coming out story that ...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 201
*In this episode we discuss evangelical deconstruction, church abuse, white supremacy and misogyny. Please use discretion when listening.* Did you happen to catch either of the Hillsong docs? Because I have questions, and I couldn't think of a better person to ask than Janice Lagata. As one of the founding members of Hillsong NYC, Janice remembers a time before Carl Lentz. Before NBA players, and Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez and 6 sermons a Sunday. Before the crowds of fans flocked to church t...
Nov 05, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 200
After a heavy month of True Crime, we are starting off Cult Month with the lovely April Ajoy to discuss Purity Culture, Christian Nationalism and detoxing from Evangelicalism. From her days of wearing a purity ring and answering phone calls at Pat Robertson's 700 Club, to her personal experiences deconstructing her beliefs and having the hard conversations, April never loses her sense of humor. Show Notes Connect with April : Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Threads Evangelicalish The Non Binary M...
Nov 01, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 199
*This episode includes details of sexual assault, and discusses the topics of consent, purity culture, identity and trauma. Please use discretion when listening.* 20 year ago, Emily Ragland was a freshman at Guilford College in North Carolina, playing on the softball team and studying to enter the field of civil rights. The Quaker based college appealed to her as a Christian, POC woman looking to make her place in the world for the first time in her life. But on October 31st, 2003 a violent atta...
Oct 29, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 198
*This episode talks about the details in a current murder case. As of publication, this case is still ongoing.* Today is full of bonuses! We've got 3 hometown hauntings, some details on an ongoing MLM-adjacent murder case, and a chat with the host of Murderish, Jami Rice! Jami and I talk about ethical true crime, what it's like to be a podcaster in this space, and her thoughts on Fyre Festival. The LIVE taping of this episode is available on Patreon as a member exclusive live show! Show Notes Th...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 197
*This episode contains depictions of violence including murder. Please use discretion when listening.* What's going on?? At the age of 12, Collier Landry helped solve his mother's murder, at the hands of his psychopathic, narcissist father. And if that wasn't incredible enough, he spent the next decade giving his mother a voice and finding the peace he needed to move on in his true crime documentary, A Murder in Mansfield. Collier and I also go deeper into the ethical true crime debate and talk ...
Oct 22, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 196
In a military career that spans her entire adult life, over the years Claire has witnessed a lot of strange behavior that caused her to pause and ask questions. Whether an obsessive classmate, a company draped in red flags, or a scummy dad at the park, her hackles were always up. In an anthology of true crime stories that Claire has been oddly close to, we learn how she navigated these encounters and the importance of trusting your gut. Show Notes Diane Zamora ViSalus Wiki Garrison Courtney Garr...
Oct 18, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 195
Terra Newell might be best known for taking down Dirty John, but she's definitely more than that! As a True Crime Survivor, Terra is an advocate for victims and survivors, as well as hosting a podcast called Survivor Squad. I've been a huge fan of Terra for a long time so I couldn't wait to chat to her about her story, her healing journey and her thoughts on "Ethical True Crime". Show Notes Connect with Terra : Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube | Survivor Squad Bloody Mary Lore Dirty John P...
Oct 15, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 194
From the moment I heard about Fyre Festival, I was hooked. And not because I wanted to go, I was leaving my own scam at the time but because of the scammer at the forefront, Billy McFarland. It may seem odd to have a "favorite fraudster" but Billy takes the cake, from his earliest scams in childhood to his Fyre Festival 2 vision for "making it right", he's the GRIFT that keeps on GRIFTING. After speaking with Gina and starting our conversation about Fyre, I felt it was necessary to dive into the...
Oct 11, 2023•53 min•Season 3Ep. 193
After making lots of Billy McFarland content on TikTok, Gina reached out to me with a story I had never heard before. After the disaster, Gina who was there to help fun the event, and her team of 40 employees were stranded on Great Exuma for way too long, without any insight or solid plan for getting home. From the Lord of the Flies style pandemonium, flaming mattresses, sharp rocks, dusty cheese sandwiches and guests black out drunk from pallets of tequila, not all of the story was told in the ...
Oct 08, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 192
It's Halloween Season! Welcome back to PART 2 of both our Bodie Curse Ghost Story, and the ending of Amber's story with Bomb Party! After we got a bit into her rise throughout the company and the countless hours of labor exploitation in the name of building trainings in Part 1, in Part 2 we dive move into the passive aggressive bullying aspect of her experience and the downfall of her Bomb Party Empire. As a "load bearing brick", there is a lot of pressure put on you to perform and fall in line,...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Season 3Ep. 191
Happy October! We've got holiday bonuses, starting with a story of a cursed ghost town in the high desert of California to accompany our MOST cursed episode to date! Audio issues are common in interviews, and most can be fixed in post... but it took 3 different recording sessions for this chat with Amber of Bomb Party to take. I've experienced Fair Gaming before but Kayla agreed, this felt otherworldly! Luckily, we were able to get it done and bring it to you in 2 parts! In part 1 we meet Amber,...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 190
Lianne is a French Canadian living in New Brunswick who's been in more MLMs than she can keep track of. From a couple of solid US-based standards, to some exclusive Canadian brands even I had never heard of, Lianne paints us a picture of a young woman trying to find her place in the world with the limited resources available to her. Past abusive relationships, the uncertainty of Military life, and working emotional baggage made Lianne resilient and strong, so a couple of Pyramid Schemes aren't g...
Sep 24, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 3Ep. 189
*This episode discusses topics that may be triggering to some including, purity culture, sex and sexuality. Please use descretion when listening.* Sam reached out to me to add another level of understanding to the complicated topic of Purity Culture and how those teachings in our childhood affect us and our choices as adults. Our conversation leads us down a path filled with soapboxes, empowerment, and laughing through the trauma as we unpack the here and now. Show Notes The Princess and The Kis...
Sep 17, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 3Ep. 188
Steve joined Amway over 20 years ago, as a young naive man, looking for a steady income. Back then he was focus on building his products business, eventually making it to Emerald, but not seeing the same profits from others around him who had more of a "Tools" focus. It wasn't until Steve started asking questions nobody wanted to answer that he started taking a closer look at where the money was coming from. Show Notes Amway Systems - https://www.amwaywiki.com/Active_Amway_Business_Support_Syste...
Sep 10, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 187
Growing up in the Grand Rapids Michigan area, Amway is a part of every day normal life. Even if you're not a fan, it's almost literally impossible not to support the company in some way. From the medical research facilities, to the concert halls and arenas, the Devos/Van Andel family have made their mark on West Michigan in more ways than one. Emma shares some of her experiences growing up surrounded by Amway, and some interesting inside looks into the lives of MLM billionaires. Show Notes Grand...
Sep 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 186
*This episode includes conversations about Purity Culture, sex and the AIDS crisis and is considered 18+ in content. Please use discretion when listening.* I never thought in a million years that I would be making an episode on Life After MLM about sex, but when Pastor Rob reached out to me to agree with my takes on the dangers of Purity Culture and how he can use the bible to prove it, I jumped at the chance. I mean sex is the only reason any of us are here, and to demonize it and twist scriptu...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 185
If you know your LuLaHistory you know Courtney Harwood, the first "mentor" to leave featured in both LuLaRich and the Vice Documentary. A sit down with Courtney is probably one of my most requested interviews and it wasn't until recently that we could really find the time to make that happen. It's been almost 2 years since LuLaRich dropped and I wanted to catch up, put some rumors to rest, get the tea that was TOO HOT for Amazon and see what she was up to. And in TRUE Courtney fashion, she did N...
Aug 20, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 184
As a self proclaimed "MLM Addict in Recovery", Cindy Adams has jumped through a lot of hoops in the name of Boss Babery. From attending to many in-home parties to count, to traveling internationally across the country, she's made a lot of Hunbot level choices. So when she reached out with a story about almost getting roped into Amway as a teen, (and that's just the beginning!) I knew we had to chat. Cindy brings the shock, the cringe and the belly laughs as we recount her time in MLM. Show Notes...
Aug 13, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 183
