Let's Talk About Sects

The sentences just came down for OneTaste’s founder Nicole Daedone and her second-in-command Rachel Cherwitz – if you're unfamiliar with OneTaste you can listen to Let's Talk About Sects' deep dive in November 2020. From that episode, you may remember Ruwan Meepagala. When he spoke with LTAS five years ago, Ruwan had already been working on his memoir, which he finished writing and released last year. It’s called ORGSM: A Memoir. T...

Expanse is the ABC’s internationally award-winning podcast exploring big stories from across Australia, and it’s sixth season sees host Dominique Bayens investigate the unsettling circumstances surrounding the 2007 disappearance of four people from the town of Nannup in Western Australia: Chantelle and Leila McDougall, Tony Popic, and a man known as Simon Kadwill. Simon espoused a doomsday belief system in online forums and through...

Harry Robert Bruner was brought into Sri Chinmoy as a child, joining the organisation run by Chinmoy Kumar Ghose at the age of 12. Chinmoy claimed he lifted weights totalling 7063¾ pounds (or over 3,200kg) with one arm on 30 January 1987. He also faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with female devotees. Harry left at the age of 30, and wrote and performed a solo show about this experiences in Sri Chinmoy called ‘Nephew ...

Allison after NXIVM tells the story of Allison Mack: former Smallville actress, high-ranking NXIVM member, and convicted felon. With exclusive access following her release from prison, the series traces her astonishing path from Smallville fame to NXIVM’s inner circle – and her effort to rebuild a life in the wreckage.

Host, writer and executive producer Natalie Robehmed spoke with Sarah about the new podcast series, her impress...

Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult is Ellen Huet’s excellent new book, described as “a cautionary tale of sex and salvation for the wellness generation: how orgasmic meditation turned into a cult.” Let's Talk About Sects dived into OneTaste back in November 2020, and a lot has happened since then, including arrests, trials, and guilty verdicts. So it was the perfect time to speak with the journalist w...

Danny Rensch grew up in the Church of Immortal Consciousness, a cult he usually refers to as ‘the Collective’. Started by Steven and Trina Kamp, the group followed the teachings of a Dr Pahlvon Duran, whose spirit first visited Trina when she was 9. In trances, she would convey the teachings of Dr Duran, whose last lifetime was lived as an Englishman in the 15th century. The group lived communally dispersed across basic housing in ...

From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the centre of the world’s most shocking secrets and nefarious organizations. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes is a Crime House Original powered by PAVE Studios. Follow the show now so you don’...

The Logos Foundation was often described as ‘mysterious’ in media coverage, but became a part of the religious right that published full page newspaper advertisements encouraging the electorate to vote on ‘moral’ issues at Queensland state elections in the late 1980s. LTAS looked into the organisation in Season 5, and you can listen to that episode here.

'Fynn' (not their real name) was born into the Logos Foundation, and in thi...

Clare Heath-McIvor is the daughter of the leader of the City Builders Church, an organisation that she and others who know it feel confident fits the definition of a cult. Her marriage was arranged within the church to Patrick McIvor, a man who had survived gay conversion therapy. Since leaving, the now-happily-separated pair have become involved in a number of social justice issues, including the current Victorian Parliamentary In...

In 2011, an 18-year-old Liz Cameron joined a Bible study group she only knew as ‘Sarang Church’. Over the coming months, she lost more and more of her life and identity to the group that eventually revealed it was part of a larger South Korean organisation called Providence or JMS – which she was told not to google. Liz managed to find her way out of her indoctrination with the help of her family, and has just released her memoir a...

The Parliament of Victoria has launched an Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups, which is open for submissions until 31 July 2025. If you or anyone you know has been involved with a cult that has a presence in Victoria, Australia, you're highly encouraged to make a submission. There’s also an anonymous questionnaire option available for those who might not wish to make a full submiss...

Falun Gong is familiar to many as a spiritual exercise movement, and a sect that has been persecuted by the People’s Republic of China. In Sydney you'll often see practitioners demonstrating by Town Hall with flyers sharing stories of organ harvesting of wrongfully imprisoned members. But former devotees have come forward with stories of coercion and abuse, alleging that in one thing the CCP is correct: Falun Gong is a socially har...

In the wake of updates to Child Safety Standards emerging from Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Mirriam Francis wrote to Victoria’s Commission for Children and Young People outlining the ways in which she sees Scientology teachings and practices to be violating these standards. While concepts of religious freedom and choice can muddy the waters of certain discussions around coercive o...

Maria Esguerra escaped the Children of God at the age of 22 with her two children who have disabilities. Maria’s firsthand experience drives her passion to support fellow survivors of cults and institutions, advocating for specialised understanding, interventions and access to governmental schemes such as Redress. Maria has actively engaged in media and advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the challenges faced by people escapi...

Gerette Buglion holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and Special Education, and earned her ‘Master's Degree’ in cult awareness education from the school of life. She emerged from her 18-year cult odyssey in 2014 at age 52, and asked herself, "How did I, an educated, caring mother, wife, and business owner become that lost and for that long?" Gerette then set to work studying cultic dynamics, while reclaiming her autonomy with ...

Ewan Whyte's feature essay, ‘The Cult That Raised Me’ – about the United States based Community of Jesus and Grenville Christian College – includes the introduction, “When I was 11, my parents sent me to Grenville Christian College, a prestigious Anglican boarding school in Brockville. It turned out to be a perverse fundamentalist cult that brainwashed, abused and terrorized students. For decades, the school tried to intimidate us ...

When asked about the Hare Krishnas, most people will conjure images of dancing, chanting people with colourful robes and joyful dispositions. Members of the general public, whom Hare Krishnas refer to as 'karmis', may have encountered devotees through their vegetarian food offerings at music festivals or city restaurants. Their anti-LGBTQI+ and patriarchal beliefs, as well as the darker aspects of their history – including horrifyi...

When asked about the Hare Krishnas, most people will conjure images of dancing, chanting people with colourful robes and joyful dispositions. Members of the general public, whom Hare Krishnas refer to as 'karmis', may have encountered devotees through their vegetarian food offerings at music festivals or city restaurants. Their anti-LGBTQI+ and patriarchal beliefs, as well as the darker aspects of their history – including horrifyi...

Let’s Talk About Sects did a deep dive episode about the Two by Twos, also known as The Truth, in October 2020. In the years since we recorded, huge numbers of followers in the USA in particular have left as more and more allegations of child sexual abuse have been made against workers, and the FBI is currently investigating the organisation.

It was never Abbi and Mike Prussack's intention to become involved in advocacy work, bu...