A vaccine for your mind? The story of the Zion cult takedown and how we can guard against brainwashing and harmful groupthink

Dr. Judy tackles one of our greatest challenges as a social spieces – the phenomenon of brainwashing and harmful groupthink – with law enforcement expert Mike King and Zion cult survivor Andrea Lithgow. As we continue to battle the pandemic, a lesser known yet pervasive phenomenon – the Infodemic - can take hold of our minds and hearts and wreak havoc on our decision making and peace of mind. To guard against this, we must develop a vaccine for our minds – and Dr. Judy explores how by delving deep into the story of the Zion polygamous Cult takedown and how Mike as lead investigator rescued Andrea and many others from a life of captivity, indoctrination, and unspeakable trauma when she was a teenager. Three decades later, Mike gathered the survivors in an unprecedented and heartwarming reunion where they can commune and heal. With the help of government and private donor benefactors, Mike provided important resources to these individuals, and Andrea has learned with therapy and education to recover and rebuild a fulfilling, meaningful, and inspiring life.  Dr. Judy introduces the concept of Inoculation Theory and how we can provide ourselves with a vaccine for our minds in order to safeguard against a deluge of harmful information. Along with Mike and Andrea, they share tips on how we can arm ourselves with the skills needed to filter the truth from myth, and to prevent manipulation and harmful groupthink from taking over our lives and the lives of those we love. Pick up a copy of Mike’s new book, Deceived: An Investigative Memoir of the Zion Society Cult by going to his website at https://www.profilingevil.com.  Check out Andrea Lithgow’s jewelry line at https://dandyjewelry.com. If you have a problem or issue that relates to today’s topics, download and subscribe today and Supercharge your life now! And if you have questions you need answered, follow and DM Dr. Judy on Instagram @drjudyho and she will get to as many questions as possible on her next episode of Ask Dr. Judy! To submit questions for Dr. Judy to answer anonymously, go to this link: https://www.menti.com/e7uhobi3sf   In this episode, we discuss: 1.    What’s an infodemic? Surprising stats about the vaccine debate (1:00)  2.    Inoculation Theory: A vaccine for your mind (2:10) 3.    How Mike became the lead detective in the ultimate takedown of the Zion cult (6:45) 4.    Andrea’s childhood in the Zion cult: The lies she was made to believe and harrowing stories of survival (12:20) 5.    How Mike and Andrea reconnected after decades: Making sense of the past (21:45) 6.    Vicarious trauma of first responders and Mike’s tips to stay balanced (24:45) 7.    Stockholm Syndrome: Why trauma victims try to survive by normalizing their experiences and shutting down (28:00) 8.    Building community 30 years later: Reliving, healing and starting anew (32:20) 9.    Andrea and Mike’s best tips on how to inoculate yourself against harmful information and fake news (40:20) 10.Andrea’s heartfelt message to Mike (43:30) 11.Profiling Evil: Mike’s YouTube channel, his book, and his take on law enforcement (46:00) 12.Supercharged Secret of the Day: How to safeguard our mind against misinformation and the current infodemic (49:00)   https://www.profilingevil.com https://www.youtube.com/profilingevil https://www.facebook.com/profilingevil   https://dandyjewelry.com https://www.drjudyho.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drjudyho/ https://twitter.com/drjudyho             https://www.facebook.com/doctorjudyho   https://www.instagram.com/stage29podcasts https://twitter.com/stage29podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices