Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

Steven Hassan, PhD, is one of the leading experts on cults and undue influence in the world. A former member of the right-wing Moonie cult, Hassan was deprogrammed 45 years ago and has dedicated his life to helping people out of cults and destructive situations. Dr. Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and has written four books, including The Cult of Trump and the seminal book Combating Cult Mind Control. On this podcast, Steve will explain HOW mind-control works, and how to protect yourself from its grips. He will also address ethical influence as the podcast will address the entire Influence Continuum. He’ll interview the biggest names in this field.

Episodes

"We Will Dance Again: Documenting the Nova Music Festival Terror Attack by Hamas Terrorists." with Yariv Mozer

August 18, 2025 • 49 mins
Watching the Emmy award-winning documentary We Will Dance Again was really really difficult. This 2024 documentary captures Hamas terrorists brutally attacking the Nova music festival attendees on October 7th, 2023, and shows the horrifying events that followed, including hostages taking. Documenting a Terrorist Attack by Hamas from Multiple Perspectives is not an easy task. “I think that this is a terror attack that you can see fo...
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Strategic Cultural Communications: Competent Messaging to Latino Communities With Evelyn Pérez-Verdia

August 11, 2025 • 65 mins
Words matter, and how words or phrases are used may present completely different meanings to diverse cultural demographics depending on topics like history and associated symbolic language. That’s why having a leading bilingual female strategist such as Evelyn Pérez-Verdia on the side of truth in messaging is vital to organizations seeking to break down barriers with Latino communities. She is the Founder and Chief of Strategy for ...
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Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity With Sander van der Linden Ph.D.

August 4, 2025 • 62 mins
“Misinformation spreads like a virus,” explained Sander van der Linden, Ph.D., a Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He asked the question, “Is there a way to inoculate or immunize people?” His award-winning book Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity explores this topic u...
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Ending Corporate Harm: Undue Influence Within Corporate Product Health and Safety with Dr. Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH

July 28, 2025 • 64 mins
Did you know that environmental factors, rather than hereditary factors, are taking the lead in driving illness and early mortality? That shift is primarily due to the harm caused by corporations and their products, says Dr. Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services at the University of California, San Francisco, and Director of the Program on Reproductive Health a...
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How the International Church of Christ (ICOC) Preys on Hispanic Communities with Tania Díaz

July 21, 2025 • 82 mins
There has been a huge increase in Christian “Bible” Cults over the past 40 plus years- especially ones that do “Shepherding or Dicipling” in an authoritarian structure. The public doesnt understand how millions of people are deceptively recruited and indoctrinated into these groups and why they are called “cults.” One such cult network started in Massachusetts in 1979 as “the Boston Church of Christ” and are not to be confused with...
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Without the Guru: How I Took My Life Back After Thirty Years with Mike Finch

July 14, 2025 • 56 mins
Mike Finch has a Doctorate in Math and Theoretical Physics. He is also a Fellow of the International Society for Philosophers. Like many people I know, he was on a meditation journey and ended up with an Indian guru, then called “Guru Maharaji,” then just “Maharaji,” and later only by his given name: Prem Rawat. Mike was able to leave Rawat in 2000. Since then, Mike’s interests have included the exploration of why he surrendered t...
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The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes with Filmmaker Yariv Mozer

July 7, 2025 • 62 mins
Hannah Arendt’s 1963 book, “The Banality of Evil,” is actually wrong. It portrayed the lie Eichmann told when he was on trial. He said that he was “just following orders.” Arendt got conned. Eichmann was a true believer in Hitler’s final solution and a committed Anti-Semite. On this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I spoke with accomplished Israeli filmmaker Yariv Mozer about his award-winning series The Devi...
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Deconstructing Christian Nationalist Upbringing, Alt-Right Doctrine, and Abusive Religious Parenting With Monte Mader

June 30, 2025 • 61 mins
Monte Mader grew up in a Christian Nationalist family where indoctrination and abuse were ever-present. I became a fan of her powerful voice as she eviscerated the lies of Christian Dominionism, Christian Nationalism, and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) using her knowledge of scripture and Christian ideologies. She has over a million followers on Instagram as a “former alt-right Christian nationalist,” sharing her artistic tale...
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Social, Forensic, and Media Psychology: Law and Reform in Current Practices Surrounding Influence With Brian L. Cutler, Ph.D.

June 23, 2025 • 63 mins
The law is out of date on topics regarding how the mind works and how much social influence can sway people to do and believe things that are not common sense. Dr. Cutler has done cutting edge work in forensics and law enforcement analysis. He serves at Fielding Graduate University as both a Professor and Program Director. Social Psychology is one of the pillars of the Mental Health profession. In our current world, so many people ...
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Rapid Advancements in VR and AI: Understanding Opportunities and Necessary Boundaries With David Christopher Lane, PhD

June 16, 2025 • 64 mins
“Our brain is a like a VR headset. That’s what it is. It renders incoming data streams to interpret different worlds,” David explained. He proposed that we already live in a symbolic universe, such as the trash can on a desktop being merely a symbol of an action taken on a computer. “VR is a much better model to explain what our brains do,” he continued. David Christopher Lane, PhD and I discussed his experiences with the worlds of...
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In the Shadow of Enlightenment: A Girl’s Journey Through the Osho Rajneesh Cult with Sarito Carroll

June 9, 2025 • 61 mins
The highly watched Netflix 2018 documentary Wild Wild Country for people “in the know” was terribly biased. There were no former members. No cult experts. The two people featured were still “true believers in the cult leader, Rajneesh–who was rebranded after his expulsion from the United States as Osho. This cult took over the small town of Antelope, Oregon through deceit and the commune was the relocation from Pune India, where th...
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The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains With Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L

June 2, 2025 • 58 mins
The future of Public Health depends on protection against unrestrained corporate power. A sicker humanity means increased pain and suffering at large. In the past, we have identified numerous exposures that have made us sick, many of which are addictive, and created shield laws to protect the corporations that peddle them. We also know it’s our most toxic addictions that are killing the planet and its people currently, whether due ...
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Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World with Elle Hardy

May 26, 2025 • 60 mins
In this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I discussed the steady rise of Pentecostal Christianity with award-winning journalist and author Elle Hardy. Her 2022 book, Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World, details how the charismatic movement has become a global phenomenon, with currently (2025) an estimated 900 million followers worldwide. As I wrote in the Cult of Trump, a key b...
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Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America with Jane Borden

May 19, 2025 • 54 mins
One of Jane’s most striking points in her book and our conversation is that cults aren’t just something “other people” get involved in. Cults can deceptively recruit anyone and work in many different spheres of influence. “I just started pulling the thread,” Jane recalled, “and traced it back to the Puritans.” She explains how the theological worldview of early American settlers, particularly the Puritans, established a pattern of ...
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The Echo Machine: How Right-Wing Extremism Created a Post-Truth America with David Pakman

May 12, 2025 • 52 mins
Right-wing extremism, post-truth America, and media literacy converge in my conversation with David Pakman. Pakman is a prominent political commentator and the host of The David Pakman Show, with over three million YouTube subscribers. Known for his insightful arguments and approachable style, Pakman tackles complex social issues, educating us on the complex and nuanced sociopolitical landscape. Disclosure: I watch his show regular...
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Cults, Authoritarian Control, and the Fight for Democracy with Sociologist Dr. Stephen A. Kent

May 5, 2025 • 59 mins
Cult influence can be found everywhere online, including the political sphere we see when we scroll on social media. Understanding how authoritarian control operates is critical in preserving our autonomy and individuality. In this new episode of The Influence Continuum, I talk with Dr. Stephen Kent, professor emeritus of sociology, who taught courses on alternative and sectarian religions. His research concentrates on issues relat...
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Shadow Diplomacy: Lev Parnas and his Wild Ride from Brooklyn to Trump’s Inner Circle

April 28, 2025 • 50 mins
On this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, we spoke with Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American businessman and former Trump insider turned whistleblower. He has withstood intimidation, threats, and time in prison to present evidence and help America better understand the truth about the cult of Trump. His book, Shadow Diplomacy: Lev Parnas and his Wild Ride from Brooklyn to Trump’s Inner Circle, is the story of a se...
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From Supermodel to Cult Survivor: A Story of Purpose and Healing with Hoyt Richards

April 21, 2025 • 72 mins
“You were involved for over 20 years with an apocalyptic, survivalist UFO-like cult. Before joining the cult, you were a bright 16-year-old who later attended Princeton and played football for them as a cornerback. Looking back, you were essentially a bright, educated, charismatic young man who happened to meet the wrong person at the wrong time.” Hoyt describes his upbringing as “normal,” growing up in an affluent family outside P...
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Terror Love and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems with Alexandra Stein PhD

April 14, 2025 • 61 mins
“I do feel we have an obligation to speak up,” Alexandra Stein, PhD said on this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, “and it’s tough for people to resist these systems when there is total silence, and that’s what these systems kind of rely on.” Alexandra exited a ten year stint in a left wing political cult when she was 36 years old. Alexandra is a writer and educator specializing in the social psychology of ide...
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Betrayal of The Spirit: Krishna, Cults and Healing with Nori Muster

April 7, 2025 • 63 mins
 Cult survivors often have the instinct to want to save as many people as possible from the cult they survived. However, healing from the things they encountered while in the cult is often a first step before a survivor can help others escape. Cult survivors usually seek to heal with some form of therapy and move on. Nori was a member of ISKCON from 1978 to 1988. As a member of the PR office, Nori lived in a bubble with some of the...
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