IndoctriNation

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⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

https://youtu.be/U27pZDhKY_0?si=MUNjGwqa4q8yWDB1

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The Oracle's Daughter with Sarah Green Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

In this gripping episode, Rachel sits down with Sarah Green, the daughter of a former cult leader, to explore her harrowing journey growing up in a paramilitary religious organization known as the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps. Sarah shares her firsthand experiences of the chaos and unpredictability that defined her childhood, from moving 54 times before the age of ten to being subjected to the whims of her mother, who claimed to receive divine guidance.

As Sarah recounts her struggles for autonomy, including a daring attempt to enroll herself in high school, listeners gain insight into the psychological toll of living in an environment where love and acceptance were conditional. Sarah's story highlights the profound effects of growing up in a high-control group, where questioning authority often led to severe repercussions.

Throughout the episode, Rachel and Sarah delve into themes of resilience, agency, and the complexities of familial relationships in the face of manipulation and abuse. Sarah's journey to reclaim her identity and create a nurturing environment for her own children serves as a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit. Join Rachel and Sarah as they navigate this remarkable and emotional tale of survival and healing.

Listen to our previous episode on Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps with Harrison Hill:

The Oracle's Daughter: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult:

https://a.co/d/04Tsxjze

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Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

What Now? Reconstructing Identity After Cults with Chris Shelton Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Chris Shelton, a former Scientologist and author of the new book, What Now? They dive deep into Chris's experiences, discussing the complexities of recovery from high-control groups and the importance of understanding one's own moral framework. Chris shares insights from his extensive studies in coercive control and introduces his REM model, which explores the layers of consciousness, morality, emotions, and rationality that influence human behavior.

Chris reflects on his journey of escaping Scientology, the challenges of grappling with guilt and moral injury, and the transformative power of education in recovery. He emphasizes the significance of self-compassion and the idea that most people are well-intentioned, even when caught in harmful systems. As they navigate these profound topics, Chris offers practical advice for those seeking to rebuild their lives after cult experiences, highlighting the necessity of agency in the recovery process.

Join Rachel and Chris for a thought-provoking conversation that sheds light on the path to healing and the tools needed to foster a fulfilling life post-cult.

Chris’s Links:

Website: https://chrissheltonmsc.org/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisSheltonMsc

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

BONUS EPISODE PREVIEW - The Power of Consent: Navigating Boundaries in Healing Spaces Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

This is just a preview of our Patreon-exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this exclusive Patreon bonus episode, Rachel shares her reflections on the importance of agency and consent in our interactions with others. Drawing from a seemingly casual conversation with a yoga instructor at a music festival, Rachel explores the deeper implications of how we communicate and engage with each other, particularly in contexts that involve personal boundaries.

Through this insightful dialogue, listeners are encouraged to recognize their own boundaries and the importance of being asked for consent in all areas of life. Rachel urges everyone to be vigilant about the dynamics of their relationships, especially when faced with pressure from others who may not prioritize their well-being.

Connect with us on social media:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Manifestation Myths: A Deep Dive into the Law of Attraction with Andrew Jasko Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein welcomes back Andrew Jasko, a religious trauma and cult specialist, for a thought-provoking discussion on the potential pitfalls of the Law of Attraction, also known as manifestation. Andrew delves into the historical roots of this philosophy, tracing its connections to the New Thought Church movement, and examines how its teachings can lead to psychological harm and victim-blaming.

As they explore the nuances of spirituality and personal responsibility, Rachel and Andrew address the dangers of magical thinking and the misconceptions surrounding the idea that one's thoughts alone can shape reality. They discuss the implications of this belief on mental health, including the pressure it creates for individuals to take sole responsibility for their circumstances, often leading to denial and shame when things go wrong.

Through this engaging conversation, listeners will gain insight into the complexities of manifestation, the importance of critical thinking, and the necessity of acknowledging all emotions—both positive and negative. Andrew emphasizes the value of integrating various aspects of our experience to foster genuine healing and empowerment, rather than succumbing to the oversimplifications of the Law of Attraction.

Andrew’s Links:

Website: https://lifeafterdogma.org/

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Navigating the Complexity of Cult Recovery with Elise Heerde Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Elise Heerde, a mental health practitioner and co-director of the Religious Trauma Collective in Australia. Together, they delve into the complexities of religious trauma, cult recovery, and the ethical considerations surrounding exit counseling. Elise shares her journey and insights gained from her work with survivors, emphasizing the importance of agency and choice during the recovery process.

Elise discusses the evolution of terminology in the field, moving from 'deprogramming' to 'exit counseling,' and the implications of these terms on the approach to helping individuals leave high-control groups. They explore the nuanced dynamics involved in supporting both survivors and their families, highlighting the need for long-term scaffolding and community support to facilitate healing. The conversation also touches on the potential pitfalls of media portrayals of cults and the importance of trauma-informed practices when sharing survivor stories.

Join Rachel and Elise as they navigate these vital topics, providing valuable insights for practitioners and families alike, while advocating for a compassionate and ethical approach to recovery.

Elise’s Links

Website: https://www.eliseheerde.com/

Religious Trauma Collective: https://religioustraumaandcults.com/

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

BONUS PREVIEW: The Courage to Stand Alone Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

This is just a preview of our Patreon-exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this Patreon bonus episode, Rachel Bernstein discusses how difficult it can be to be the lone dissenting voice when others admire a narcissistic partner or cult leader. She describes serving on a jury involving an unhoused African American man accused of a store break-in based on grainy security footage, where other jurors argued the evidence was “close enough” and pushed for a quick unanimous verdict to avoid discomfort. When Rachel insisted there wasn’t enough evidence, they faced shunning and personal attacks, which strengthened their resolve. The experience is used to illustrate scapegoating, social pressure, and how crucial it is for friends and family to reassure isolated people in controlling or cultic situations that they’re not alone and safe to change their minds.

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Book: https://www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/holy-disobedience/

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Holy Disobedience: Inside the Seventh-day Adventist Church with Melissa Duge Spiers Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein speaks with Melissa Duge Spiers, who talks about growing up inside the Seventh-day Adventist Church — and the hidden cost of its end-times, high-control culture. Her book, ‘Holy Disobedience: Sex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows,’ traces Adventism's roots back to the 1840s Millerite movement and the visions of prophet Ellen White, whose experiences Spiers connects to traumatic brain injury and temporal lobe epilepsy.

Melissa unpacks how information control, purity culture, and anti-LGBTQ teachings shaped her patriarchal, fear-based upbringing, and how those same dynamics played out in the church's boarding academies. She shares what it took to leave at 18, the devastating discovery that followed about her own father, and how that truth cracked open a much deeper reckoning with everything she'd been taught. This conversation covers religious trauma, institutional betrayal, and how social media is helping ex-Adventists find each other and speak out.

Melissa’s Links

Substack: https://melissadugespiers.substack.com/about

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.glory.whole/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theglorywhole

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Recovering from Religious Trauma with Andrew Jasko Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of IndoctriNation, Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSEd, welcomes back Andrew Jasko, psychotherapist and comparative religion scholar, for a deep and honest conversation about growing up inside evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity — and the long road to recovery from religious trauma.

Andrew grew up as a minister's son, immersed in a world of intense devotion, purity culture, missionary ambitions, and fear of eternal punishment. What he didn't yet have language for were the lasting psychological effects: shame, anxiety, religious OCD, sexual repression, thought policing, and hell trauma. Through therapy, he came to understand these not as personal failings, but as predictable outcomes of a high-control, fear-based system — one that functions much like narcissistic abuse.

Rachel and Andrew also explore the broader cultural forces that sustain spiritual abuse, including biblical mistranslations, harmful theological ideologies, and evangelism as a guilt-driven form of religious imperialism. Their conversation closes on the themes at the heart of cult recovery: reclaiming agency, rebuilding self-trust, learning to set boundaries, and finding wholeness within lived experience.

Andrew’s Links

Website: https://lifeafterdogma.org/

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook:

https://education.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restart-and-restore-campaign

Download a Free Chapter from Restart and Restore:

Journal App:

https://rachelbernsteintherapy.com/restore-journal-app.html

Download Rachel’s Video Lectures and Webinars here:

IndoctriNation is edited by The Podcast Consultant:

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

BONUS PREVIEW: A Model Cult Exposed Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

This is just a preview of our Patreon exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this Patreon bonus episode, Rachel Bernstein reflects on cult survivor and former supermodel Hoyt Richards and provides background on the high-control group at the center of HBO's 'Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult.'

The group was led by Frederick von Mierers, a self-styled Manhattan socialite claiming authority from alien beings. He recruited through Studio 54, high-society circles, seminars, and media. Members endured public "slamming" sessions, strict behavioral control, financial exploitation, and apocalyptic preparation at a North Carolina compound.

Richards joined in the late 1970s, spent nearly two decades inside, and became one of the group's primary financial backers. His exit in 1999 contributed to the group's collapse. He has since spoken publicly through the BBC and the HBO docuseries and has worked with Rachel on cases. Hoyt Richards will return for a future episode.

Connect with us on social media:

Support IndoctriNation on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes and more:

Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link:

⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAi0T2hzH9dM029dkTfj635PzuXl67jS⁠⁠

Watch full video episodes of IndoctriNation here:

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation:

Restart and Restore: Companion Notebook: