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

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The law is out of date on topics regarding how the mind works and how much social influence can sway people to do and believe things that are not common sense.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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Neural Surfing: Consciousness, Meditation, and Mystical Manipulation in Spiritual Organizations With David Christopher Lane

March 31, 2025 • 67 mins
For many, practices like meditation and yoga are among the most thrilling avenues for deepening spiritual awareness. At their best, these techniques can serve as a neurological and biochemical reset—enhancing self-awareness and empowering transformation. But at their worst, they can cause a loss of personal grounding, leaving individuals vulnerable to exploitative relationships or mental, physical, and even sexual harm under unethi...
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The Time Cure: Overcoming PTSD with the New Psychology of Time Perspective Therapy by Dr. Philip Zimbardo with Rosemary Sword

March 24, 2025 • 64 mins
Those who have experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) will often report the profoundly painful experience of being thrown into past trauma by a particular trigger. Common examples include war veterans who may experience full body activation following a loud explosive noise. Another example is victims of violent crimes being shown content about similar circumstances that ...
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Make it Meaningful: How to Find Purpose in Life and Work: Leaving the Kabbalah Centre Cult and Becoming a Scholar in the World of Corporate Social Responsibility With Debbie Haski-Leventhal, PhD

March 17, 2025 • 59 mins
Power can be rapidly stripped away from individuals, or it can be taken away layer by layer. Not everyone makes it out of a cult, but life can become particularly meaningful when they do. A new purpose can arise for the person, more substantial than the grasp of mind control. Leaving an authoritarian cult is the experience that Dr. Debbie Haski-Leventhal, PhD, shared with us on this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Cont...
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The Hidden Influence of Occult Beliefs on World Politics with Joe Szimhart

March 10, 2025 • 63 mins
“How did I get to the point where I am upset with this current administration?” Joe Szimhart asks at the start of this week’s Cult Conversations: Influence Continuum episode. His journey from a self-described “cult believer” to a leading expert on esoteric religious movements offers invaluable insights into how authoritarian influence takes hold in both spiritual and political spheres. Like Joe, I transformed my experience in my ...
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The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley with Marietje Schaake

March 3, 2025 • 47 mins
Marietje Schaake is a Fellow at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. As a Dutch politician, she also served as a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands between 2009 and 2019. She was appointed to the United Nations High-Level Advisory Body on AI in 2023. With the announcement that Donald Trump would seek peace talks with Russia first without i...
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Tools, Methods, and Political Games in the Age of Musk with Stuart Shulman, PhD

February 24, 2025 • 60 mins
Elon Musk, a corporate billionaire and private naturalized American citizen born in South Africa, has taken an extraordinary amount of power in government since Donald Trump took office as President less than a month ago. Musk is seeking to interfere with elections in Germany and other countries around the world. Vance recently told European leaders to allow more “free speech” but what that means is use of social media and media to...
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Invisible Threads: Weaving Mental Health and Democracy in Trump Times with Kate Woodsome

February 17, 2025 • 70 mins
Kate Woodsome is the founder of The Invisible Threads Project, which studies the relationship between mental health and democracy. We talked about the recent election of Trump and the support for that process from the Heritage Foundation, Opus Dei implications, and Project 2025. She was part of The Washington Post team who won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in coverage of the January 6th Capitol attack. Woodsome left The Washi...
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