Speaking of Cults - podcast cover

Speaking of Cults

Chris Sheltonwww.speakingofcults.com
A podcast about cults, coercive control and recovery. Formerly called the Sensibly Speaking podcast, in this weekly show host Chris Shelton interviews cult survivors, psychologists and other professionals and specialists about the topics of cult recruitment, retention and recovery. This also includes non-religious cults and extreme political movements including the more divisive elements of MAGA and left-wing culture war issues. There is nothing off-limits but we always try to be respectful of the people involved even if we do not respect the beliefs or actions involved.
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Episodes

Speaking of Cults...Scientology is the Cult of Greed

This week I welcome Jon Atack back to my podcast, this week to discuss blow-by-blow his written work called Scientology: The Cult of Greed. We cover a lot of territory in a short time and I think you'll really get something out it. Enjoy! Jon's website: https://jonatack.co.uk

Apr 27, 20241 hr 29 minEp. 432

Speaking of Cults..."You'd Have to be a Moron to Join a Cult!" Debunked

This week I decided to tackle one of the most common and objectively false comments I've seen over the years about cults: the idea you have to be a moron or otherwise intellectually challenged to join a cult. This is simply not true and in this episode, I break down exactly what cults do to take advantage of new recruits and members. Enjoy! CHRIS'S LINKTREE (ALL SOCIAL/SUPPORT LINKS) https://linktr.ee/chrissheltonmsc

Apr 20, 202441 minEp. 431

Speaking of Cults...Off-the-Grid Cults with Kate Gale

This week I welcome cult survivor and author Kate Gale to discuss her work as a writer and poet and her experiences growing up on an off-the-grid farm run by a religious fanatic. She had no access to the outside world until almost an adult but picked herself up and made a life and she shares that story with us today. Enjoy! Kate's website: https://kategale.com

Apr 13, 20241 hr 14 minEp. 430

Speaking of Cults...What is Coercive Control and How to Stop It?

This week I offer a short but complete breakdown on coercive control, how to spot it, why it happens and how to stop it. This is a vitally important topic for people in not just cults but relationships and work situations too.There's a lot in this one. Enjoy!

Apr 06, 202440 minEp. 429

Speaking of Cults...The Politics of Fear with Arthur Goldwag

This week I welcome author and editor Arthur Goldwag to my show to discuss his new book, The Politics of Fear, and his body of work as it relates to destructive cults, politics and our current world situation. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy!

Mar 30, 20241 hr 16 minEp. 428

Speaking of Cults...The Science Fiction of Scientology

I really do apologize for the lateness in getting this posted. We went live mid-week to breakdown in one episode all the major science fiction beliefs that exist throughout Scientology's dogma and it's a lot. I hope you have as much fun with this as I did putting it together. Enjoy!

Mar 29, 20241 hr 25 minEp. 427

Speaking of Cults...The Tolls of Taking on Your Abusers

Sorry for the delay this week in posting this, but we did a live podcast this week to discuss the toll that it can take to challenge or try to expose your abuser, whether a cult, domestic partner, gang or something else. I hope you'll give this one a watch as it was really from the heart and I think there's something in here for every cult survivor. Enjoy!

Mar 17, 20241 hr 22 minEp. 426

Speaking of Cults...Recovery and Support Groups

This week we are very happy to feature Ashlen Hilliard, a fellow alumni of the Salford Coercive Control program and fellow cult fighter. She has a lot to share about her own motivations for doing this work, what our education did for our work, what ICSA is (and isn't) and forming support groups for ex-members. Enjoy! Ashlen's website: https://peopleleavecults.com

Mar 09, 20241 hr 31 minEp. 425

Speaking of Cults...Cyberstalking and Cults

This week we are covering the topics of cyberstalking, cyber-harassment and digital coercive control, all very real and related activities that occur daily on the internet and especially in destructive cults. We're covering some of the key points of research and statistical information and what the problems are in dealing with these things in the real world. Enjoy!

Mar 02, 202448 minEp. 424

Speaking of Cults...Growing Up a Shiny Happy Person

This week I am joined by Chad Harris, a man who grew up under the religious homeschooling program of Bill Gothard and the IBLP, infamously connected to the Duggar family and featured on the recent documentary Shiny Happy People. Chad has quite a bit to share with us about how religious homeschooling can be done very wrong, how this can lead to other abuses and how he broke away. Enjoy! Chad Harris on TikTok: @archradish

Feb 24, 20241 hr 24 minEp. 423

Speaking of Cults...Scientology in Australia 2024

This week I am joined by Cass Filetti, aka Theta Novis, a very recently escaped ex-Scientologist from Brisbane, Australia who has a lot of updates and an interesting story to share of her experience with Scientology in Australia and its connections to the US and Sea Org. Enjoy! Please consider supporting this podcast and helping me to offer more and better content. Venmo: @shelton1492 Patreon: https://patreon.com/chrisshelton PayPal: https://paypal.me/ChrisJShelton Click the blue Support button ...

Feb 17, 20242 hr 10 minEp. 422

Speaking of Cults...Little Treatments, Big Effects

This week I am joined by Dr. Jessica Schleider, a Harvard-trained clinical psychologist, to discuss her new book, "Little Treatments, Big Effects" and how single session interventions and recognizing the power of psychoeducation and epiphanies may help revolutionize mental health care. Enjoy! Dr. Schleider on Twitter: @jschleiderPhD Her book on Amazon: https://shorturl.at/itV69 Some of Dr. Schleider's work: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcpp.12811 https://www.sciencedirec...

Feb 10, 20241 hr 14 minEp. 421

Speaking of Cults...What was L. Ron Hubbard's Problem?

This week I am joined by Dr. Yuval Laor to discuss in detail the symptoms and characteristics of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and why we believe that L. Ron Hubbard (as well as many other cult leaders and historical figures) suffered from this condition. We go deep in this one because this has more relevant and importance of cultic studies than most people realize. Enjoy! Yuval Laor: YuvalLaor(@)gmail.com Here are some academic research papers on TLE: Temporal lobe seizure https://www.mayoclinic.org/d...

Feb 03, 20241 hr 56 minEp. 420

Speaking of Cults...Trauma Awareness and Recovery with Emily Ragland

This week I am joined by Emily Ragland, trauma facilitator and coach, to discuss how to recognize trauma in others, how to deal with that and help rather than make it worse. As part of this podcast, we go into detail about an incident of SA which is part of Emily's own story. This is a tough one but if you want to know more about these issues, this show is for you. Emily Ragland on social media: Instagram: (at)em_ragland LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyragland...

Jan 27, 20241 hr 26 minEp. 419

Speaking of Cults...Post-Cult Trauma and Conflicts

In this week's episode, I am joined by Dr. Laura Anderson, a religious trauma specialist who has written When Religion Hurts You and who treats clients overcoming difficult experiences with religion. We discuss post-cult trauma and how this can affect ex-cult communities as well. Enjoy! Dr. Anderson's websites: https://drlauraeanderson.com/ https://www.traumaresolutionandrecovery.com/

Jan 20, 20241 hr 8 minEp. 418

Speaking of Cults...Scientology’s Rocky Future

For our second episode of Speaking of Cults, I am joined by Alexander Barnes-Ross aka @ApostateAlex, fellow YouTuber and former Scientologist for a deep dive discussion on how David Miscavige has been recycling the same "weird trick" for decades now and one way or another, things are going to come to a head with his most important supporters if something doesn't change. Enjoy! [We apologize for having uploaded the wrong audio file today. This is fixed now!]

Jan 13, 20241 hr 59 minEp. 417

Speaking of Cults...Let’s Go Over Cult Basics

Welcome to the first episode of the rebranded Sensibly Speaking podcast, now re-titled and re-purposed as the Speaking of Cults podcast. This podcast remains on the same website and RSS stream as the previous one, so you shouldn't have to change anything as an audio subscriber. This week we review all the basics of what a destructive cult is (and isn't) and how coercive control plays a part, plus we clear up common misconceptions about cults. Enjoy!

Jan 06, 20241 hr 22 minEp. 416

This Podcast is Ending (kind of)

This week I am talking about the fact I'm taking a break for December on a bunch of my work, including this podcast and that when it comes back in January it will have a new name and branding. Details of this and a lot more personal stuff that's been going on recently are gone over. Enjoy!

Nov 25, 202332 minEp. 415

Scientology, Coverups and Real Crimes ft. Mirriam Francis

This week I am joined by former Scientologist Mirriam Francis, whose story was featured on Scientology and the Aftermath, to discuss her experiences being raised in the Sea Org, escaping and what recovery has been like for her, including her involvement with the justice system for the abuse she endured at the hands of a family member. This is a tough but educational story about the lengths a cult will go to in hiding up its crimes.

Nov 18, 20231 hr 27 minEp. 414

Overcoming Childhood Religious Trauma ft. Dr. Darrel Ray

This week I am joined by Dr. Darrel Ray - psychologist, researcher, author and President of the Recovering from Religion Foundation - to discuss childhood religious trauma, why it exists and why it can be so life destroying. This is not an anti-religious screed - it is a psychological fact and one that we have to deal with if we want happy, successful children. Enjoy!

Nov 11, 20231 hr 20 minEp. 413

BONUS - Scientology Protest in the UK

We are posting a special bonus podcast episode this week as we didn't want to wait to get this interview out. Here we talk about the big protest staged by Apostate Alex with the help of Jeff Beaumont (PTS for Life) and others, what happened over the three days and why Scientology and David Miscavige definitely took notice. Enjoy!

Nov 07, 20231 hr 26 minEp. 412

Psychedelics, Jolly West and Scientology ft. Jon Atack

This week I am joined by Jon Atack to finally have that talk about psychedelics, cult recovery and the drugs which can help bring about extremely altered states of consciousness. This was another wide-ranging discussion where we go deep on the dangers and potentials of drug therapy in moving on from an abusive/cultic experience. Enjoy!

Nov 04, 20232 hr 9 minEp. 411

The Scientology Experience in Canada ft. Jeff Beaumont

This week I am joined by Jeff Beaumont, known in the SP TV community as PTS for Life, who has quite a story to tell as a second generation Scientologist raised in a broken home and in and out of the Sea Org more than once. We had an insightful time discussing his experiences and comparing notes on our time in the Sea Org. Enjoy!

Oct 28, 20232 hr 8 minEp. 410

The Cult with No Name ft. River Wood

This week I am joined by River Wood to discuss their upbringing in what is known as 2x2s but really is an extremist Christian cult with no official name and hiding in plain sight. We cover a lot of territory and I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. Enjoy!

Oct 21, 20232 hr 5 minEp. 409

The Process Church, Manson & Scientology Lore w/Jon Atack

This week I am joined by Jon Atack to discuss and debunk the conspiracy theories surrounding the Process Church, the Son of Sam and Scientology. And when we're done with that, we get into the real facts about Manson's involvement with Scientology. This is a wild one. Enjoy!

Oct 14, 20231 hr 32 minEp. 408

#407:Cults and Religious Trauma w/Dr. Laura Anderson

This week I welcome Dr. Laura Anderson, psychotherapist and religious trauma expert, to discuss how trauma works, how it is treated and what this has to do with cult members and everyday folks in our day to day life. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy! Find out more about Dr. Anderson at https://drlauraeanderson.com and check out her new book, When Religion Hurts You.

Oct 07, 20231 hr 7 minEp. 407

#406: Catholicism’s Culty Problems with Anthony Spurgin

This week I am joined by former "tradcat" (Traditional Catholic) Anthony Spurgin to discuss his experiences and abuses growing up in a family practicing pre-Vatican II Catholicism. We cover what "tradcats" are, how sexual and child abuse is not dealt with in Catholicism and why this is absolutely unacceptable. Link to YouTube video of this podcast: https://youtu.be/5iKIszlTS4Y

Sep 30, 20231 hr 1 minEp. 406

#405: Our Biggest Barriers to Critical Thinking w/Melanie Trecek-King

This week I am joined by educator Melanie Trecek-King to discuss the real barriers and problems people have with engaging in critical thinking and we dived into cult thinking, belief and a bunch of other stuff. This was another fun and insightful conversation. Enjoy! aj6tr7m7 The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #405: Our Biggest Barriers to Critical Thinking appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast ....

Sep 23, 20231 hr 37 minSeason 1Ep. 1

#404: NXIVM, Scientology and Beyond w/Mark Vicente

This week I am joined by Mark Vicente, NXIVM survivor and film maker who joins me to discuss our cult experiences and life beyond that, including his most recent project interviewing psychopaths and where that is going. This was a fun and insightful conversation. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #404: NXIVM, Scientology and Beyond w/Mark Vicente appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast ....

Sep 16, 20231 hr 16 min

#403: Scientology Finances in the UK with Apostate Alex

You're currently a free subscriber. Upgrade your subscription to get access to the rest of this post and other paid-subscriber only content. Upgrade subscription The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #403: Scientology Finances in the UK appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast ....

Sep 09, 20231 hr 11 min
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