On Belief: A Podcast About Cults
On Belief is about why none of us are immune from coercive thought reform
About the show
We all would like to think that we're immune to being persuaded, but were that true, advertising wouldn't work, the best candidates would always get elected, and our personal relationships would always be equitable.
On Belief examines why, with so much information available to us to dissuade us from joining harmful groups. I ask people who have had first hand experience with harmful groups and sects how they were seduced, how they were tricked, and how they got out.
On Belief: A Podcast About Cults on social media
Episodes
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Episode 117: De-Programming With Mia Donovan
August 27th, 2019 | Season 1 | 16 mins 22 secs
brainwashing, cults, deprogramming, mia donovan, ted patrick
Director of Deprogrammed, Mia Donovan, joins me to talk about the Godfather of De-programming, Ted Patrick, who 'De-programmed' her step-brother when he was 14 years old.
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Episode 116: Jehovah's Witnesses Part 2 with Jerry Minor
August 20th, 2019 | Season 1 | 16 mins 1 sec
apostate, ex-jw, jehovah, jehovah's witnesses
Jerry Minor (SNL, Mr. Show, Arrested Development) joins me today to discuss his time in the witnesses and the rather unusual way he got out.
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Episode 115: Jehovah's Witnesses Part 1 with Dawn Wilburn-Saboe
August 13th, 2019 | Season 1 | 15 mins 28 secs
apostate, ex-jw, jehovah, jehovah's witnesses
If your only exposure to the Jehovah's Witnesses has been at your door when they've been recruiting, you might not know about the rather extreme belief system Witnesses are forced to adhere to under threat of Disfellowshipment. My guest today describes her live inside and out of the Witnesses.
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Episode 114: Quiverfull with Guest Heather Doney
August 6th, 2019 | Season 1 | 15 mins 46 secs
bible, biblical patriarchy, christians, evangelicals, fundamentalism, fundies, heather doney, quiverfull
Heather Doney was raised in the Quiverfull belief system while living in New Orleans and peeking out her backyard at the sights of Mardi Gras.
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Episode 113: Quiverfull with Guest Kathryn Joyce
July 30th, 2019 | Season 1 | 15 mins 36 secs
bible, biblical patriarchy, christians, evangelicals, fundamentalism, fundies, kathryn joyce, quiverfull
Quiverfull is more than just 'the fundies next door with a lot of kids.' The world view, based heavily on Biblical Patriarchy, is a high demand lifestyle for women and girls, and that sometimes has dire consequences.
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Episode 112: MLMs with Sasha Zazzi & Katie Young, Rachel Lloyd, and Fallon Morey
July 23rd, 2019 | Season 1 | 15 mins 45 secs
amway, katie young, lularoe, mlm, mlmfail, multi level marketing, quixtar, sasha zazzi
"Hey Hun, are you interested in a business opportunity?"
If you've ever had a random message from an old friend on Facebook, this episode is for you. -
Episode 111: Cult Hopping & NXIVM Trial Update With Guest EJ Dickson
July 16th, 2019 | Season 1 | 49 mins 31 secs
allison mack, belief, coercion, cults, ej dickson, karen geier, keith raniere, nancy salzman, nxivm, religions, rick alan ross, sects, yoga
EJ Dickson covered the NXIVM trial for Rolling Stone and discovered a phenomenon among those who leave cults: some of them move to other cults.
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Episode 110: Falun Gong With Guest Ben Hurley
July 9th, 2019 | Season 1 | 17 mins 20 secs
china, chinese government, falun dafa, falun gong, li honghzhi, organ harvesting, qiqong, self immolation, tai chi, terrorism
Ben Hurley was once a devout Falun Gong practitioner who worked for the sect's media arm The Epoch Times. Find out what drew him in and why he ultimately left.
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Episode 109: FLDS with Guests Leona Bateman and Briell Decker Blanchart
July 2nd, 2019 | Season 1 | 17 mins 11 secs
exmormon, flds, latter day saints, lds, lyle jeffs, mormons, rulon jeffs, short creek, utah, warren jeffs
Leona Bateman and Briell Decker Blanchart discuss what life is like for them out of the FLDS and how they've dedicated their lives to making the exit easier for others.
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Episode 108: FLDS with Guest Brenda Nicholson
June 25th, 2019 | Season 1 | 19 mins 57 secs
exmormon, flds, latter day saints, lds, lyle jeffs, mormons, rulon jeffs, short creek, utah, warren jeffs
Content warning: Contains discussion of suicide
Guest Brenda Nicholson joins us to discuss her time in and out of FLDS
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Episode 107: Hillsong with Guests Lea Ceasrine, Rick Alan Ross, and Tanya Levin
June 18th, 2019 | Season 1 | 15 mins 34 secs
bobbie houston, brian houston, carl lentz, child abuse, chris pratt, frank houston, fundamentalism, gay rights, hillsong, justin bieber, pentecostalism, vanessa hudgens
You may know Hillsong for its celebrity followers, or for the Instagram presence of its tattooed preacher Carl Lentz, but what you may not know about Hillsong is it has a very chequered past.
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Episode 106: Large Group Awareness Training With Guests █████, ███████, & █████
June 11th, 2019 | Season 1 | 21 mins 2 secs
alan smithee, belief, coercion, cults, group therapy, jane doe, karen geier, marty flipman, meditation, religions, sects, team building, yoga
What is Large Group Awareness Training? It's a form of group "therapy" that promises it can cure almost anything going wrong in your life. It's so ubiquitous, some major corporations pay for their staff to take the courses.
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Episode 105: Messianic Jews with Guest Rabbi Michael Skobac
June 4th, 2019 | Season 1 | 16 mins 11 secs
christianity, christians, evangelical, evangelism, fundamentalists, jeshua, jesus, jewish, jews, judaism, karen geier, rabbi michael skobac
Rabbi Michael Skobac from Jews for Judaism (https://jewsforjudaism.org/staff/rabbi-michael-skobac/) joins me to discuss what the heck Messianic Judaism means
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Episode 104: Aum Shinrikyo with Guest Sarah Hightower
May 28th, 2019 | Season 1 | 16 mins 37 secs
aum shinrikyo, biological weapons, chemical weapons, cults, dirty bombs, karen geier, poisoning, religions, sarah hightower, sarin, sects, shoko asahara, terrorism, yoga
The story of the Aum affair may seem like a uniquely Japanese event, but the reality is that it could have happened anywhere. Sarah Hightower joins us to explain why.
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Episode 103: The Family with Guest Chris Johnston
May 21st, 2019 | Season 1 | 50 mins 27 secs
belief, child abuse, chris johnston, coercion, cults, deprogramming, karen geier, lsd, metaphysicd, religions, scientology, sects, yoga
UNLOCKED EPISODE TO COMMEMORATE ANNE HAMILTON-BYRNE'S DEATH
Chris Johnston, journalist and author of the book The Family joins us to discuss this dark chapter in Australian history. -
Episode 102: NXIVM With Guest Brock Wilbur
May 14th, 2019 | Season 1 | 1 hr 3 secs
allison mack, belief, coercion, cults, karen geier, keith raniere, nancy salzman, nxivm, religions, rick alan ross, sects, yoga
UNLOCKED FULL EPISODE.
Content Warning: Episode contains frank discussion of sexual and other forms of abuse.
Brock Wilbur joins me to discuss when he was inadvertently recruited by a division of NXIVM and how that lead him to investigate the cult.
Little did he know what he would encounter.
Brock discusses his unique insights into the trial of Keith Raniere.