A Little Bit Culty

Long before kale smoothies went mainstream, The Source Family was seducing Hollywood with vegan food, free love, and a guru who called himself Father Yod. This wasn’t just LA’s first vegan restaurant – it was a commune where long-haired devotees in white robes took ice-cold showers at dawn, meditated for hours, and followed strict spiritual rules under their bearded leader. Celebrities like John Lennon and Cher might h...

This week, we’re back with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov to finish what we started: unraveling the tangled web of brainwashing…past, present, and disturbingly future-facing.

In Part 2, we go deeper into the CIA’s infamous MK Ultra program and its many (many) spin-offs, asking what really went down with Charles Manson, Jack Ruby, and cult “consultant” Louis Jolyon West. From LSD to hypnosis to ...

This week, we’re diving deep into the mind games with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov, because if you’ve ever wondered whether brainwashing is real, the answer is a very unsettling yes.

In Part 1 of our convo, we’re cracking open the origins of brainwashing—from communist re-educa...

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: another bonus drop. And this one? It's got orgasms, criminal charges, and courtroom drama, so buckle up.

Award-winning journalist Ellen Huet joins us to dish on OneTaste, the orgasmic meditation company that sold itself as a path to sexual liberation but now finds its top brass convicted of forced labor conspiracy. Ellen’s been deep in the trenches covering the ...

This episode is sponsored in part by BetterHelp.

This week, we’re clipping in with Jess Rothschild to talk about SoulCycle: the high-octane, candlelit cardio craze that once had New Yorkers dropping $20k to ride front row. With $100M+ in revenue, instructors trained like pop stars, and a tightly curated sense of belonging (read: exclusivity), SoulCycle pedaled its way into cultural obsession—and, depending on who you ...

We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Jane Borden, author of Cults Like Us, where we pick up right where we left off – with the Puritans, of course. Because what’s more American than a doomsday cult in denial?

In this half, we explore how their legacy of moral perfectionism, isolationism, and a rigid “us vs. them” worldview continues to shape American institutions, politics, and even pop psycholo...

Were the Puritans America’s first cult? Our guest this week makes a compelling case for yes.

Jane Borden is a journalist and the author of Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, she joins us to unpack how Puritan beliefs—think apocalypse prepping, chosen nation syndrome, and the worship of wealth—laid the groundwork for the kind of culty thinking that ...

Welcome to another, unofficially titled, Bonus Drop. These episodes are our way of checking in midweek with extra thoughts, headlines, and conversations that keep the Cultiverse convo going strong. And remember: Patreon subscribers get them a day early because that’s how perks work.

In this drop, we’re digging into the overlap between religious trauma, emotional abuse, and the battle for language in the co...

This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting a little mystical—with our eyes wide open. Historian and occult scholar Mitch Horowitz joins us to explore the space where spirituality meets personal growth, and how easily it can slip into culty territory. His latest book, Practical Magick: Ancient Tradition and Modern Practice, helps make sense of mystical ideas while encouraging intentional belief.

We dig...

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.

We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Tamara Mathieu—and if you thought Part 1 was wild, just wait. This time, Tammy walks us through what finally pushed her family to leave the Twelve Tribes, including a hollow diet, some serious double standards, and a clandestine late-night escape from their Florida commune.

She shares what it’s lik...

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.

Twelve Tribes started as a Bible study in the 1970s. Today, it’s a nationwide network of high-control communities, often hiding in plain sight behind the homespun charm of Yellow Deli cafés. The group claims to offer a simpler, more spiritual life. But behind the braided bread and “family values” lies a world of control, corporal punishment, and deep-rooted ...

Welcome to the second in our new series of Bonus Thursday Drops—aka, your new favorite excuse to stay in on a weeknight. These episodes are an extra dose of A Little Bit Culty on the main feed every Thursday (Patreon subscribers get them a day early, because perks). Sometimes it’ll be a follow-up to a two-parter. Other times, like today, we’ll check in on the ever-expanding Cultiverse with a mix of headlines, hot takes...

Can religion ruin your sex life? This week on A Little Bit Culty, Sarah and Nippy are joined by psychotherapists and certified sex therapists Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema—co-hosts of the podcast Sexvangelicals: The Sex Education the Church Didn’t Want You to Have.

Together, they explore how religion, especially purity culture and fundamentalist gender roles, can cause lasting damage to relationships a...

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Amanda Rae, we pick up right where we left off—so if you haven’t heard Part 1 yet, go back and listen first. In this episode, Amanda shares the final breaking point that led her to leave the Kingston Clan, also known as The Order, and the harrowing events surrounding her dramatic escape at just 17.

We dive into...

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.

In this week’s episode, we chat with Amanda Rae, survivor of the infamous Kingston clan, a radical Mormon sect also known as “The Order.” If you’ve seen Escaping Polygamy on A&E, you might recognize Amanda from the show, where she helped others flee the same secretive and abusive group she escaped at just 17.

Amanda shares what it was like growi...

The beauty and wellness industry promises healing, glow-ups, and self-love—but what happens when those promises come wrapped in pseudoscience, toxic messaging, and culty marketing tactics?

This week, Sarah and Nippy are joined by culture journalist and author Hayley Krischer, whose latest novel You Belong to Me explores the power and peril of the wellness world—especially for women and teenage girls. Toget...

We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Mara Einstein, diving even deeper into the unsettling connections between cults, multi-level marketing (MLMs), higher education, and the digital world.

In this episode, we unpack how MLMs use tactics like love bombing, upselling, and deception to recruit and retain members — and how these same s...

You don’t have to join a cult to get manipulated—just log onto the internet.

This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re diving into the marketing matrix with Dr. Mara Einstein, professor, media critic, and author of Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults. From influencer culture and MLMs to “brand cults” and rage farming, Mara breaks down how modern marketing preys on fear, insecurity, and ou...

This episode is sponsored in part by BetterHelp.

New Age isn’t just sage bundles and Instagram affirmations. It can also be a fast track to conspiracy-laced belief systems, grifty gurus, and straight-up cults. In this episode, we’re joined by journalist and podcaster Leah Sottile, whose new book Blazing Eye Sees All takes a sharp look at how New Age ...