On Belief: A Podcast About Cults

Latest Episodes:

Episode 207: Steve Hassan Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

Steven Hassan was once in the Unification Church, helping recruit and spread their thought reform. He was exit counselled and has since dedicated his life to the study of thought reform. He created the BITE model which explains how thought reform occurs and now counsels survivors and families on how to heal after leaving cults.

Steve joins me for an hour to discuss:

How the CIA went about trying to build a Manchurian Candidate in the 1960s
How Trump's parental ties and upbringing made him into an ideal person to lead a cult
How Trump found himself controlled by the only people who would lend him money after his business failures
How Evangelicals and Fundamentalists can support a man who has been immoral most of his life
What significance NLP played in Trump's election strategy
How groups like The Family will ensure that candidates like Trump will be there for them
And more...

Special Guest: Steve Hassan.

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Episode 205: Soka Gakkai International with Juana Castanheira Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

This week, former member of Soka Gakkai International, Juana Castanheira, joins me to talk about her time in the group.

We discuss:

How she and her brother were recruited
How she knew she was all in
What is the significance of the 'scroll?'
What demands were put on her as she rose through the ranks
Why she never once complained
When she decided to leave
And more...

Special Guest: Juana Castanheira.

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Episode 204: OneTaste With Ellen Huet and Ruwan Meepagala Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

Ellen Huet of Bloomberg Businessweek joins me to discuss her coverage of OneTaste: once a darling of Silicon Valley, now an organization with an ousted founder, cancelled classes, and looking to pivot.

Ruwan Meepagala joins me to discuss his time in the organization.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why women wanted to join OneTaste
Why the group deliberately marketed their courses to Silicon Valley
What Orgasmic Meditation is
What drew participants to work for the organization
What kinds of Quid Pro Quo were encouraged in the office
How consent lines were blurred for many
And More...

Special Guests: Ellen Huet and Ruwan Meepagala.

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Episode 203: Munchausen By Proxy With Dr. Marc Feldman and Judy Tienken Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we explore Munchausen By Proxy, a disease that, while not fully understood by doctors, is having a pop culture moment.

Dr. Marc Feldman, Psychiatrist and author of DYING TO BE ILL: TRUE STORIES OF MEDICAL DECEPTION joins me to discuss the clinical side of Munchausen By Proxy, while Judy Tienken joins me to explain her survivor story.

In this episode, we discuss:

The profile of a Munchausen By Proxy perpetrator
Whether perpetrators know they're abusing their children
What the prognosis is for helping victims of a Munchausen By Proxy perpetrator
What other forms of abuse Munchausen By Proxy can take
Why Munchausen By Proxy might be an under reported issue
The connection between some SIDS cases and Munchausen By Proxy
How often is Munchausen By Proxy mis-diagnosed?
What needs to be done to help victims of Munchausen By Proxy perpetrators to get justice
And more...

Special Guests: Dr. Marc Feldman and Judy Tienken.

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Episode 202: Cult Therapy with Rachel Bernstein Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

In this episode Rachel Bernstein lifts the veil on what Cult Therapy is about.

We discuss:

What types of services cult therapists provide
Why she must observe subtle cues from her patients
What families can do to cope with waiting for family members to leave
How to be a supportive family member when a loved one does leave a cult
What the unique challenges are for cult survivors
How to access resources if you need a cult counsellor
And more...

Visit Rachel Bernstein's website

Find out more about the IndoctriNation podcast

Special Guest: Rachel Bernstein.

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Episode 000: Cross Post: Hear the first episode of On Grief: a Podcast about Death Free Now Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

Please note: this episode is not intended to endorse the use of substances that are illegal.

In this episode, we explore what it is like to die. I discuss this with Neurosurgeon and Bestselling Author Dr. Eben Alexander (The Map of Heaven) who tells me about his Near Death Experience.

I also discuss how we can simulate a Near Death Experience through a drug called 5-MeO DMT ("The toad" or "Bufo") with Hilary Agro, a researcher and anthropologist who studies psychedelics, and I take 5-MeO DMT and describe my induced Near Death Experience.

Please note that for legal reasons, I am unable to discuss sourcing of 5-MeO DMT

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Episode 201: Hate Groups with David Neiwert Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

David Neiwert joins me to discuss White Supremacist Hate Groups and how their recruitment, control, and proliferation are cult-like. In this episode, we discuss:

How easy it is to recruit people with the internet
Why White Supremacists go for young people
How White Supremacist ideas spread
Why your child could be getting radicalized when they play games online
What the threat level of White Supremacist terror is
Whether White Supremacist terror can be contained
The role the mainstream media and law enforcement have in spreading White Supremacist ideas
How to get a loved one out of these groups
And more...

Follow David Neiwert on Twitter here

Special Guest: David Neiwert.

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Episode 200: ***SPECIAL TEASER FOR ON GRIEF: A PODCAST ABOUT DEATH*** Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

It's the one thing we're not supposed to talk about.

Each week on On Grief, I talk to people involved with death, the dying, or the grieving to discover what they know about death that we don't.

Coming this week with interviews with:

A mortician on what happens to your body when you're embalmed
An expert on the history of why we grieve the way we do
Caitlyn Doughty, author, Funeral Director and partner in The Order of the Good Death
And many, many more.

See you soon

Visit https://ongrief.fireside.fm/ or patreon.com/ongriefpod for more information

Find us on social media at ongriefpod or https://twitter.com/ongriefpodcast

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Episode 118: Catherine Oxenberg on Cults and Families Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Catherine Oxenberg candidly reveals details of her daughter's time spent in NXIVM and assisting the FBI in bringing down NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere, who earlier this year was convicted on all counts after a jaw-dropping trial.

In this episode, we discuss:

Catherine's initial objection to ESP (the training that would become NXIVM)
What the 'therapy' part of NXIVM's training looked like
Why she eventually stopped taking classes
What happened when Catherine realized India was in over her head
How Catherine snapped into action to deliver a plan that would not only pull her daughter out, but would put Keith behind bars
What Catherine learned for the first time watching the trial
And more...

Special Guest: Catherine Oxenberg.

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Episode 117: De-Programming With Mia Donovan Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Mia Donovan discusses with me: