Was I in a Cult?
Hosted by Tyler Measom and Liz Iacuzzi, Was I In A Cult? is a documentary-style podcast showcasing individuals who have been in, and most importantly, successfully left a cult. Told first-hand by the experiencer themself, these are raw, riveting and inspirational tales of what it means to be a survivor. Using levity and info-tainment, the show humanizes the cultic experience and may leave some of our listeners asking themselves "Wait, Was I In A Cult?" If you or someone you know has been in a cult and want to share your story, contact us at info@wasiinacult.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Episodes
By high school, church wasn't just Shannon McElroy's faith, it was her community and her future. She was going to be a Christian counselor.
Then her youth group took her to something called "Acquire the Fire": a massive Christian youth conference that was part rock concert, par...
Daniella Mestyanek Young was born three generations deep into the Children of God and today, she finally gets out.
At 15-years-old, she lands in Texas with no real education, no money and no friggin' idea how life on the outside works.
But true to form, she badasses her way through it. And excels.
Somehow, the girl who escaped one extre...
Daniella Mestyanek Young was born three generations deep into the Children of God, yet somehow, that was only the beginning.
She would go on to become a US Army intelligence officer, help make history for women in combat, become Harvard educated in organizational psychology, and write two books.
But first, she had to surviv...
At 21, Stephanie Vaughn wanted to make some extra money. Then she won a "raffle" at her gym for a free case of energy drinks.
Lucky her, that free case won her entry into one of the biggest and most influential MLMs in the world...
AMWAY.
And the Amway lead her to the LTD, the Amway-affiliated training organization Stephanie says would eventually take over nearly every part of her life.
For nine years, Stephanie chased t...
Everyone gathered on the deck the day Yo promised the mothership was finally coming. They waited… but alas, it never came.
In PART 2, the magical fairy tale capsizes. Laurien becomes one of Yo's chosen women, and soon finds out exactly what that costs.
And when she finally tries to leave, they abandon her at a foreign train station with a stolen passport, no money, and 25 cents f...
Laurien had already been in one cult before she was old enough to understand what a cult was.
At 22, she was invited onto a fleet of white "pleasure" yachts traveling the rivers of Europe, not knowing the warm, beautiful, angelic fairies gazing deep into her eyes would become her new family. And then she met the 60-year-old Frenchman leading this pleasure cruise who called himself "Yo." Yo claimed he ...
Before Stevie Nicks. Before Lindsey Buckingham. Before Rumours.
There was another Fleetwood Mac. And one of its lead singers was a young guitarist named Jeremy Spencer.
This week, we goes deep into a strange, dark, and almost unbelievable chapter of rock-and-roll history involving early Fleetwood Mac, Los Angeles in the '70s…
And, of course, a cult.
Oh, and F-you,...
In 2007, at 19-years-old, Hella had a boss who molested her at work, and no one to turn to. Then one day, walking through her university square in Amsterdam, she met a group of people full of conviction. Passionate about the injustices in the world. And passionate about doing something about it.
T...
Hoyt Richards, a "Was I in a Cult?" legend, is back.
After our original three-part series, Hoyt returns to talk about Bring Me The Beauties, the new HBO documentary about his life inside, and eventual escape from, the cult known as Eternal Values.
It's a conversation about what happens after your story is out there for all the world to see. What the doc captured, what still haunts him, and how love, family, and hard-won accountabil...
A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible sto...
A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible sto...
A dear friend of the show, Hoyt Richards, who we had on the show back in 2023, has a new HBO docuseries "Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult" featuring his story. We caught up with Hoyt to discuss everything. But before we air that, we're going to re-releasing our original three-parter we did on his incredible story.
As Cassie on Skins and Gilly on "Game of Thrones," Hannah Murray spent years stepping into other people's pain, other people's stories, other people's worlds. But after shooting a brutal scene for a film that left her body wrecked, Hannah went looking for relief.
A trainer suggested a healer. And that healer became the doorway into a world that promised magic, ancient wisdom, secret knowledge, and above all, a way to finally h...
*CONTENT WARNING: *This episode contains discussions of child marriage, sexual assault, domestic abuse, homelessness, parental abandonment, and religious trauma. Please take care while listening.*
Married off
*CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions of child abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, child marriage, neglect, religious trauma, and family trauma. Please take care while listening.*
Born into the Hare Krishna Movement aka ISKCON, Vilas was supposed to be part of a "pure" new generation of devotees.
Instead, she was sent away at three years old, ...
NOTE: This episode discusses sex, sexual exploitation, coercion, and sexual abuse.
What happens when female empowerment, Silicon Valley startup culture, spiritual enlightenment, and clitoral stroking walk into a fluorescent-lit conference room?
You get OneTaste.
In this episode, we sit down with Bloomberg investigative journalist Ellen Huet, author of Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult...
CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses sexual assault. Not in graphic detail, but please listen accordingly.
For 19 years, Lizzie Ens lived in one of the most conservative Amish sects in America: the Swartzentruber Amish. Last week you learned about her upbringing and all facets of living a life off the grid with no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and very little autonomy over her own life.
In Part 2, the horse-and-buggy postcard...
Many people picture a peaceful, technology-free life of butter churning, candle making, and horse-drawn buggies. But for today's guest, the reality behind the plain dresses and pastoral image was far more restrictive, and far more dangerous.
Lizzie grew up in one of the strictest Amish sects in the country: the Swartzentruber Amish. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No music. No photographs. No Rumspringa. And absolutely no prepa...
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