Speaking of Cults
A podcast about cults, coercive control and recovery. Formerly called the Sensibly Speaking podcast, in this weekly show host Chris Shelton interviews cult survivors, psychologists and other professionals and specialists about the topics of cult recruitment, retention and recovery. This also includes non-religious cults and extreme political movements including the more divisive elements of MAGA and left-wing culture war issues. There is nothing off-limits but we always try to be respectful of the people involved even if we do not respect the beliefs or actions involved.
Episodes
This week I welcome Ewan Whyte, a man who grew up in an incredibly abusive Christian Nationalist group called the Community of Jesus and who was sent to Grenville College - a boarding school under the ownership of this cult. His story has a happier ending than most and he had difficulty talking about some aspects of his experience but I hope this podcast will still be informative of his experience and a cautionary tale about giving...
Imagine being born into slavery in Mexico as a female in a Mormon polygamist cult that treats all women like chattel, not good for anything but doing what they are told and making babies. That's what my guest, Pamela Jones, escaped from after being raised amongst seriously violent religious extremists (who are still operating their cult in Mexico and are richer than ever). As an adult, she got out with all nine of her children and ...
This week I am bringing back Jason Horvatic, a former Scientologist who came out publicly about two years ago and had some contentious views and statements to make about me, Scientology and his own views about his experiences. Well, the road to recovery has many pitfalls and dark alleyways that people can go down, but they can also come right back out again. This podcast is a pretty plain English discussion about all of this and wh...
This week I am welcoming back Dr. Maurice Turmel aka "Dr Moe" to discuss religious trauma and his new book on the subject. We go over a number of key principles underlying religious trauma which I think might help anyone who is overcoming an abusive religious background. Hope this one helps!
Dr. Turmel's website: https://drmoe2000.bandcamp.com
I'm posting this bonus podcast mid-week since I didn't want to delay getting this information and interview with Dr. Clint Heacock out to you. Project Esther is one part of a series of actions being taken by the White House to repress free speech and demonstrations and curtail our rights. Current events are running at a lightning pace and I want to do my part to help inform you what is actually going on in the US right now.
Links d...
This week I welcome Patrick Ryan, a cult intervention specialist who has been working in the field for 40 years and definitely knows what he's talking about, having helped thousands of people one-on-one to leave destructive cults and abusive situations. In today's show, we go right to the heart of what it takes to engage with and help cult members and it's not any easy walk in the park, yet it's also so simple that it's kind of har...
This week I welcome back Dr. Jonathan Stea, author of "Mind the Science" and a real pleasure to talk to about the harms and pitfalls of science denialism, health fads and pseudoscience. In this age of post-truth nonsense all over social media and in our government, this is a vital topic for us to do something about. I hope you'll give it a listen. Enjoy!
Jonathan's website: https://jonathanstea.com
This week I welcome back cult intervention specialist Ashlen Hilliard to discuss the perils and vagaries of cult interventions, deprogramming, the background of all this and what we do to help extract people from destructive cults. We go pretty deep into what this is about in just an hour's time. Enjoy!
Ashlen's website: https://PeopleLeaveCults.com
This week I welcome Jura Glo, a survivor of a group called Radical Honesty, which takes honesty to an extreme level that is more suited to the needs of predatory personalities than personal transformation and growth. We take a hard look at this group and its ideas and the effects of what they can do. Enjoy!
Jura Glo on Substack: https://juraglo.substack.com/
Following on last week's podcast abut the Troubled Teen Industry, this week I am joined again by Bryce Blankenagel and Shannon Grover to go deep on what the Mormon church's position is on the LGBT+ community, why there is so much hate and bigotry for same-sex marriages and how "conversion therapy" is still very much alive and well all over Utah and the US. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy!
Glassbox podcast: https://gl...
This week I welcome Meg Appelgate, founder of Unsilenced.org and a survivor of the "troubled teen industry" - a loose network of abusive labor trafficking and cultic control groups which focus their efforts on abusing children and teens to "manage and control them" so they will somehow stop being so "troublesome." It's truly sick and disgusting work and it's being done to the tune of $23 billion in government and private funding, a...
This week I welcome back Dr. Clint Heacock, a former Evangelical minister turned whistleblower and we discuss the current White House administration, the people guiding strategic and policy-making decisions for Trump and the danger they present to America. There are many parallels to cultic activity and techniques in what these folks are doing.
Clint's Dismantling Doctrine podcast: https://mindshiftpodcast.podbean.com/
This week I finally welcome back Jon Atack for his first appearance in this version of my podcast. We had a lot to discuss with the May 9th anniversary of the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard and the legacy of its pseudoscientific nonsense. We cover a lot of territory including a look at the modern world which may surprise you. Enjoy!
This week I welcome back Shannon Grover and Bryce Blankenangel to discuss the typical Mormon experience, leading (of course) to us diving right into the mysterious Mormon undergarments and what that's all about - there's a lot to uncover there - as well as some much darker components of the Mormon church's overreach into their member's mental health and personal lives. Enjoy!
Glassbox podcast: https://glassboxpodcast.com/
This week's show is meant for cult survivors and those who care about them. It's a short and hopefully educational discussion of some things I've learned recently about philosophy and how useful it can be to us in recovering from coercive control and trauma. Nothing super flashy or insane this week - just an effort to share some info. Enjoy!
This week, I welcome Cara Cordoni, a sex-positive coach, and Dave Booda, to discuss how groups such as the tantric sexual healing group ISTA use the same cult-like tactics known as Large Group Awareness Training. We go into a lot of detail on this. Enjoy!
Cara's website: https://caracordonicoaching.com
Dave's article: https://boodaism.com/ista/
3SC Community: https://3sc.community
NY Magazine article: https://archive.md/SxPTQ
This week, I welcome cult survivor, author and consultant Gerrette Buglion to discuss her work, cults in general, and the healing power of writing. This is a wide-ranging conversation which I hope you'll check out. Enjoy!
Gerette's website: https://www.gerettebuglion.com/
This podcast was meant to be posted on March 22 but somehow disappeared from the audio lineup, so I'm re-posting it now. This very short episode focuses on an important point in today's self-help-filled world: the myth of instant personal transformation. You may feel you're above such obvious cons, but why do self-help gurus make billions every year peddling life coaching and personal transformation? Someone believes this stuff! E...
This week, we are back to a very short show as I decided that I would put my expertise to work to try to give some very practical advice on what to do in our current outrageous social/political environment here in the US. I hope it helps. Enjoy!
One thing I know my audience appreciates is the fact we are not afraid to go deep into the details of what goes on in cults and today is a big one. We are looking at the problem of cult leader succession, so let's look at how the Mormons did it. Bryce Blankenangel and Shannon Grover join me and provide a wonderful and nuanced insight into the full history of this topic. Enjoy!
Glassbox podcast: https://glassboxpodcast.com/
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