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.
Episodes
This week I welcome Jon Atack back to my podcast, this week to discuss blow-by-blow his written work called Scientology: The Cult of Greed. We cover a lot of territory in a short time and I think you'll really get something out it. Enjoy!
Jon's website: https://jonatack.co.uk
This week I decided to tackle one of the most common and objectively false comments I've seen over the years about cults: the idea you have to be a moron or otherwise intellectually challenged to join a cult. This is simply not true and in this episode, I break down exactly what cults do to take advantage of new recruits and members. Enjoy!
CHRIS'S LINKTREE (ALL SOCIAL/SUPPORT LINKS) https://linktr.ee/chrissheltonmsc
This week I welcome cult survivor and author Kate Gale to discuss her work as a writer and poet and her experiences growing up on an off-the-grid farm run by a religious fanatic. She had no access to the outside world until almost an adult but picked herself up and made a life and she shares that story with us today. Enjoy!
Kate's website: https://kategale.com
This week I offer a short but complete breakdown on coercive control, how to spot it, why it happens and how to stop it. This is a vitally important topic for people in not just cults but relationships and work situations too.There's a lot in this one. Enjoy!
This week I welcome author and editor Arthur Goldwag to my show to discuss his new book, The Politics of Fear, and his body of work as it relates to destructive cults, politics and our current world situation. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy!
I really do apologize for the lateness in getting this posted. We went live mid-week to breakdown in one episode all the major science fiction beliefs that exist throughout Scientology's dogma and it's a lot. I hope you have as much fun with this as I did putting it together. Enjoy!
Sorry for the delay this week in posting this, but we did a live podcast this week to discuss the toll that it can take to challenge or try to expose your abuser, whether a cult, domestic partner, gang or something else. I hope you'll give this one a watch as it was really from the heart and I think there's something in here for every cult survivor. Enjoy!
This week we are very happy to feature Ashlen Hilliard, a fellow alumni of the Salford Coercive Control program and fellow cult fighter. She has a lot to share about her own motivations for doing this work, what our education did for our work, what ICSA is (and isn't) and forming support groups for ex-members. Enjoy!
Ashlen's website: https://peopleleavecults.com
This week we are covering the topics of cyberstalking, cyber-harassment and digital coercive control, all very real and related activities that occur daily on the internet and especially in destructive cults. We're covering some of the key points of research and statistical information and what the problems are in dealing with these things in the real world. Enjoy!
This week I am joined by Chad Harris, a man who grew up under the religious homeschooling program of Bill Gothard and the IBLP, infamously connected to the Duggar family and featured on the recent documentary Shiny Happy People. Chad has quite a bit to share with us about how religious homeschooling can be done very wrong, how this can lead to other abuses and how he broke away. Enjoy!
Chad Harris on TikTok: @archradish
This week I am joined by Cass Filetti, aka Theta Novis, a very recently escaped ex-Scientologist from Brisbane, Australia who has a lot of updates and an interesting story to share of her experience with Scientology in Australia and its connections to the US and Sea Org. Enjoy!
Please consider supporting this podcast and helping me to offer more and better content.
Venmo: @shelton1492
Patreon: https://patreon.com/chrisshelton
This week I am joined by Dr. Jessica Schleider, a Harvard-trained clinical psychologist, to discuss her new book, "Little Treatments, Big Effects" and how single session interventions and recognizing the power of psychoeducation and epiphanies may help revolutionize mental health care. Enjoy!
Dr. Schleider on Twitter: @jschleiderPhD
Her book on Amazon: https://shorturl.at/itV69
Some of Dr. Schleider's work: https://acamh.onlinelib...
This week I am joined by Dr. Yuval Laor to discuss in detail the symptoms and characteristics of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and why we believe that L. Ron Hubbard (as well as many other cult leaders and historical figures) suffered from this condition. We go deep in this one because this has more relevant and importance of cultic studies than most people realize. Enjoy!
Yuval Laor: YuvalLaor(@)gmail.com
This week I am joined by Emily Ragland, trauma facilitator and coach, to discuss how to recognize trauma in others, how to deal with that and help rather than make it worse. As part of this podcast, we go into detail about an incident of SA which is part of Emily's own story. This is a tough one but if you want to know more about these issues, this show is for you.
Emily Ragland on social media: Instagram: (at)em_ragland LinkedIn: ...
In this week's episode, I am joined by Dr. Laura Anderson, a religious trauma specialist who has written When Religion Hurts You and who treats clients overcoming difficult experiences with religion. We discuss post-cult trauma and how this can affect ex-cult communities as well. Enjoy!
Dr. Anderson's websites: https://drlauraeanderson.com/ https://www.traumaresolutionandrecovery.com/
For our second episode of Speaking of Cults, I am joined by Alexander Barnes-Ross aka @ApostateAlex, fellow YouTuber and former Scientologist for a deep dive discussion on how David Miscavige has been recycling the same "weird trick" for decades now and one way or another, things are going to come to a head with his most important supporters if something doesn't change. Enjoy!
[We apologize for having uploaded the wrong audio file ...
Welcome to the first episode of the rebranded Sensibly Speaking podcast, now re-titled and re-purposed as the Speaking of Cults podcast. This podcast remains on the same website and RSS stream as the previous one, so you shouldn't have to change anything as an audio subscriber.
This week we review all the basics of what a destructive cult is (and isn't) and how coercive control plays a part, plus we clear up common misconceptions ...
This week I am talking about the fact I'm taking a break for December on a bunch of my work, including this podcast and that when it comes back in January it will have a new name and branding. Details of this and a lot more personal stuff that's been going on recently are gone over. Enjoy!
This week I am joined by former Scientologist Mirriam Francis, whose story was featured on Scientology and the Aftermath, to discuss her experiences being raised in the Sea Org, escaping and what recovery has been like for her, including her involvement with the justice system for the abuse she endured at the hands of a family member. This is a tough but educational story about the lengths a cult will go to in hiding up its crimes.
...This week I am joined by Dr. Darrel Ray - psychologist, researcher, author and President of the Recovering from Religion Foundation - to discuss childhood religious trauma, why it exists and why it can be so life destroying. This is not an anti-religious screed - it is a psychological fact and one that we have to deal with if we want happy, successful children. Enjoy!
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.