The Cult Next Door - The Cult Next Door

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Ep.80: "Gratitude Helped Bring My Soul Into The Conversation" Aug 05, 2026

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About Today's Episode: Our 2nd episode with guest Trisha Wilkerson, a former member of Mars Hill Church, a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch, founded in 1996 by Mark Driscoll, Lief Moi, and Mike Gunn in Seattle Washington.
She is an author, a certified nutrition & health coach, registered yoga instructor & co-founder of The Aftermath Agency. Trisha helps people heal from diet culture & disordered eating and rebuild peaceful relationships with food, their bodies & themselves.
Drawing from her experience at Mars Hill, she also supports people healing from harmful religious systems.
You can visit Trisha's website here: https://www.trishawilkerson.com
The Aftermath Agency: https://www.theaftermathagency.com/
Cited: The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill (podcast by Christianity Today)

Ep. 79: "Gritty, Scrappy, Bold & Intense" Jul 29, 2026

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Leave us a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/TheCultNextDoor
Join our Patreon: patreon.com/TheCultNextDoorPodcast
About Today's Episode:
Our guest is Trisha Wilkerson, a former member of Mars Hill Church, a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch, founded in 1996 by Mark Driscoll, Lief Moi, and Mike Gunn in Seattle Washington.
She is an author, a certified nutrition & health coach, registered yoga instructor & co-founder of The Aftermath Agency. Trisha helps people heal from diet culture & disordered eating and rebuild peaceful relationships with food, their bodies & themselves.
Drawing from her experience at Mars Hill, she also supports people healing from harmful religious systems.
You can visit Trisha's website here: https://www.trishawilkerson.com
The Aftermath Agency: https://www.theaftermathagency.com/
Cited: The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill (podcast by Christianity Today)

Ep.78: "Nobody Knows The Nature of Reality" Jul 01, 2026

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Join our Patreon: patreon.com/TheCultNextDoorPodcast
About Today's Episode:
Our guest is Margarit Davtian, a social science researcher and content creator passionate about social change innovation. She actively works to raise consumer awareness about cult of personalities in the media, high-control group dynamics, unethical marketing practices, medical misinformation, and other dangers that live at the intersection of politics, business, and mental health.
Margarit shares her story about joining, living in and eventually leaving the infamous Osho Cult. She goes on to share the “yellow flags” that she saw along the way & how many of today’s wellness and self-help leaders display these same flags.
You can find Margarit & her work here:
Substack: seekwithser.substack.com
Instagram: @seekwithser

Ep.77: "I Changed My Name" Jun 24, 2026

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Ep.76: "Coming Home to Yourself" Jun 17, 2026

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About Today's Episode:
In this episode, Mitzi and Jordan dive into the messy reality of leaving high-control religious environments and the "rot at the core" of systems that prioritize conformity over people. They reflect on the absurdity of purity culture—specifically revisiting a bizarre 1990s abstinence film—and how those teachings instill a deep-seated fear of "true freedom."
The conversation shifts into the personal work of deconstruction: learning to trust your own "lizard brain" again, the speed of self-forgiveness, and the importance of refusing to stay inside the "fucking little box" religious leaders build for you. From critiques of creationist logic to the healing power of art and self-acceptance after a cancer diagnosis, the episode is a raw look at what it actually takes to "come home to yourself" and live a life no longer defined by shame.

Ep.75: "Falling in Love with Uncertainty" Jun 10, 2026

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About Today's Episode:
In this episode, Mitzi and Jordan open up about the painful reality of leaving their church and the "gut punch" of realizing they could no longer belong to that system and themselves at the same time.
They discuss the heavy silence that follows walking away, the struggle of deconstructing "Boss Babe Christianity", and the journey of finding a new sense of community through art and shared interests.
From navigating a stage four cancer diagnosis to learning how to "fall in love with uncertainty", this conversation is a raw look at reclaiming your own life, trusting your intuition, and finally stopping the cycle of "shoulding" yourself.

Ep.74: "Just Enough to Keep You Up at Night" Jun 03, 2026

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About Today's Episode:
Jordan and Mitzi return to share the exhausting reality of living under the constant surveillance of church leadership, where every personal choice—from the music you listen to, to the "wrong kinds of kids" you attract to your youth group—is subject to an invisible social scorecard.
They pull back the curtain on the "engineered exhaustion" of a lifestyle that demands you over-spiritualize every tiny aspect of your existence until you are left policing your own thoughts just to stay in line with the mission. The conversation dives deep into the specific pressures of the "pastor’s wife" identity, with Mitzi reflecting on the era when she was expected to be an "over-nurturing" extension of Jordan’s career while her own successful boudoir photography business was viewed as a problem to be defended to the elders.
Jordan recounts the intellectual and emotional breaking point of trying to maintain a "perfect" ministry image while navigating the trauma of purity culture.
Jordan and Mitzi describe the profound relief found in walking away from the pressure to be a "little version of God" and choosing instead to live a life that is finally, authentically theirs.

Ep.73: "Your Self-Trust Atrophies" May 20, 2026

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Leave us a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/TheCultNextDoor
Join our Patreon: patreon.com/TheCultNextDoorPodcast
About Today's Episode:
Jordan and Mitzi open up about the brutal physical and mental toll of full-time ministry, and what happens when your entire life is graded on an invisible social scorecard. They don't hold back on the reality of that world—from the "Monday migraines" that hit after a weekend of masking as the perfect pastor’s wife, to the exact moment Jordan realized he was burying his own creative dreams to build a version of eternity he doesn't even believe in anymore.
The conversation digs into the exhausting purity culture politics they grew up with, and a ministry lifestyle that drains you so completely you lose the ability to trust your own instincts. Jordan also looks back on his "debate bro" days at Ozark Christian College, sharing the intellectual breaking point where trying to force rigid, half-truth theology into the real world just stopped working.
It’s a raw, honest look at what happens when you finally stop policing yourself, drop the pressure to have every answer, and realize how much relief there is in just saying, "I don't know."

Ep.72: "I Researched Cults to Prove I Wasn't in One" May 13, 2026

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In this episode, Ashleigh & Mattie sit down with Mitzi and Jordan to explore the complex layers of growing up in high-control religious environments. Mitzi shares her journey from a fundamentalist upbringing in Alberta and Missouri—where horror movies were banned but Enya was "safe"—to her current work as a portrait photographer and coach helping others find their authentic selves.
The conversation dives deep into the psychological toll of "fitting in" to religious roles, discussing how the relief of finally belonging can often mask the reality that the environment is "killing you inside".
Jordan, an ex-pastor, provides a unique perspective on the "calling to ministry," revealing how it often stems from a genuine desire to be a refuge for others while simultaneously seeking parental and community approval.
The duo shares both poignant and humorous anecdotes, from the sleep-deprived "Cry Nights" at youth conventions to the absurd moment a youth pastor used The Matrix to warn them about the devil. Together, they navigate the "uncertainty" of life post-cult, offering a raw look at deconstruction, the search for stability, and the spiritual experiences that shaped their path toward authenticity.
Find Mitzi here: https://www.mitzistarkweather.com/

Ep.71: Coffee, Cheese, and Existential Dread May 06, 2026

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We’re back! After being on break since last Halloween, we’re finally jumping back in to "get our feet wet" and remember how our microphones work.
In this episode, we catch you up on our seven-month hiatus, from finishing a master’s in counseling to our travels in Paris and the culture shock of returning to the U.S.
We also have a real conversation about the "felt sense" of navigating high-control patterns in today’s world and share the lifelines keeping us grounded—like baking two dozen baguettes and our new obsession with "thinking putty".

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