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    Society & Culture

    Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

    Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.

    Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

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    Copyright: 2025 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

    • Apple Podcasts
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    Latest Episodes:
    Anne Speckhard - How Terrorists Are Made Mar 30, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 71: Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown, discusses her interviews with members of Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and white supremacist groups, how she gets people to open up, the factors that drive people to terrorism, and what to do if someone you know is falling prey to extremism.

    Learn more about Anne's work at https://www.icsve.org/

    SUPPORT LOLA'S FILM: bit.ly/pruningfilm

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Terra Newell, Part 2 - Killing Dirty John Mar 23, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 70: Terra Newell shares why her mom took John back after they broke up (despite his criminal history), not being able to file a restraining order, how John started to stalk the family, how Terra was able to defend herself and kill John when he attacked her, and what the recovery process has been like.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Terra Newell, Part 1 - Meeting Dirty John Mar 16, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 69: Terra Newell, life coach and animal lover who survived an attack from the now-infamous con man and manipulator Dirty John, shares how her mom met John on a dating app. In part one, they discuss how he claimed to be a doctor, some of his bizarre behaviors, and how he isolated her mom from the family. Plus: the grey rock method of communication, a tool for dealing with narcissists and abusers.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Sinasta Colucci – Romance, Racism, & Cover-Ups in Twelve Tribes Mar 09, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 68: In part two of their conversation with Sinasta Colucci, Lola and Meagan dive into the dramatic forbidden romances he experienced while in Twelve Tribes, the racist doctrines that were kept from him until he was already committed to the group, and a big secret that the community leaders covered up.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Sinasta Colucci - Twelve Tribes, Farm Life, and The End Times Mar 02, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 67: In part one of his conversation with Lola & Meagan, Better Than a Turkish Prison: What I Learned From Life in a Religious Cult author Sinasta Colucci shares his experience living in the Twelve Tribes communities. He talks about growing up poor in Detroit, living on a hippie Christian fundamentalist commune, the practice of giving up your personal assets, and how their end times prophecies shaped his daily life.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    The Airborne Toxic Event's Mikel Jollett - My Childhood in Synanon Feb 23, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 66: Rockstar and Hollywood Park author Mikel Jollett shares how he spent his childhood in the drug rehab cult Synanon, how it impacted his family relationships from a young age, leaving the group only to live in poverty, incidents of violence committed by Synanon, and the residual impact on his adult life.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Jillian Lauren, Part 2 - Return to Brunei and Meeting a Serial Killer Feb 09, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 65: Author Jillian Lauren shares what brought her back to Brunei after leaving the first time, her relationship with the Prince, meeting the Sultan, smuggling money out of the country, and how she became acquainted with the most prolific serial killer in American History.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Jillian Lauren, Part 1 - Life in a Harem Feb 02, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 64: You're young and struggling to make ends meet. Then you get invited to live in the lap of luxury in a place far away... with no guarantee of your safety. Writer Jillian Lauren recounts the events from her book Some Girls: My Life in a Harem as the guest of the Prince of Brunei, including how she was first recruited, how what she went through was similar to the Bachelor and the Hunger Games, the level of sadism she experienced, and the backlash received from her family for writing the book.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Banachek, Part 2 - Critical Thinking vs Skepticism Jan 26, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 63: Mentalist and magician Banachek shares how he exposed a scam by televangelist and debunked faither healer Peter Popoff in the 80s, why he fights against funding pseudoscience, and the difference between critical thinking and skepticism. Plus: he performs a trick on Lola and Meagan.

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


    Banachek, Part 1 - Mentalism vs Psychic Ability Jan 19, 2022
    Show notes

    Episode 62: World famous mentalist and magician Banachek joins Lola & Meagan to discuss the difference between mentalists, magicians and psychics, how he became involved in a parapsychology research project called Project Alpha, and how you can become emotionally invested in something that you know is an illusion!

    If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

    FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

    @trustmepodcast

    @oohlalola

    @vibehigherbitch

    OR TWITTER:

    @trustmecultpod

    @ohlalola

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


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