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PODCAST

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. This also includes non-religious cults and extreme political movements including the more divisive elements of MAGA and left-wing culture war issues. There is nothing off-limits but we always try to be respectful of the

education

All Episodes

01:40:19

Speaking of Cults...What is Mormonism?

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/02/08

This week I welcome Bryce Blankenagel and Shannon Grover, two former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They not only have personal stories to tell but have dived deep into the details of the Mormon church itself, past and present. In this podcast, we take a broad look at the Mormon Church as a destructive cult and see how there are many layers of deception, unaccountability, political meddling and financial shenanigans that should give anyone pause. Enjoy!Find Bryce and

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01:13:30

Speaking of Cults...Healthy Sex after Leaving a Cult...

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/02/01

This week I welcome Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema, certified and licensed sex therapists on the East Coast who help me understand honesty, openness and healthy boundaries in romantic/sexual relationships after leaving an abusive relationship or destructive cult. We covered a lot of territory in a short amount of time. Enjoy!J&J's website: https://Sexvangelicals.com and https://LetsHealTogether.org Contact: info@LetsHealTogether.org

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31:49

Speaking of Cults...The Post-Truth World is Making Us...

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/01/25

This week I am breaking down the exact reasons why we are living in a post-truth crisis that is quite literally tearing apart the social fabric of our society and institutions. This has allowed populist, dictatorial types like Donald Trump to rise to power and start to destroy everything that has made America great. In addition to defining and explaining how this problem came about, I also offer some ideas of what we can and should be doing about it. It's not a good picture but it's not all doom and

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01:06:36

Speaking of Cults...Parasocial Relationships and...

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/01/12

This week we posted the audio stream a little later than usual because we did something special - a live podcast. This particular subject of parasocial relationships with audience members is not a unique problem of YouTube but I thought there was never a subject that deserved an interactive approach with my audience as much as this one. Enjoy!

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01:06:36

Speaking of Cults...Parasocial Relationships and...

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/01/12

This week we are doing something special - a live podcast. This particular subject of parasocial relationships with audience members is not a unique problem of YouTube but I thought there was never a subject that deserved an interactive approach with my audience as much as this one. Enjoy!

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16:18

Speaking of Cults...What Mice Teach Us about Our Purpose

Speaking of Cults ·

2025/01/04

This week we take a dive into the work of ethnologist John B. Calhoun and the very unexpected results of his experiments, and most importantly what this means to us personally. It's a big-picture look, but that's what we do here, so enjoy!Here is the full script of the episode: Hello and welcome back to the Speaking of Cults podcast. I am your host, Chris Shelton. Usually on my podcast we circle around obvious cultic behavior and interviews with former cult members but lately we’ve been taking some

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33:40

Speaking of Cults...Does our Economy Create Cults?

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/12/28

This week I have some economic issues to bring up which I believe help explain not only current ideological divides but also why there has been an apparent rise in cults for the last many decades. It's a big-picture look, but that's what we do here, so enjoy!EPI article cited: https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/

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01:01:05

Speaking of Cults...Recovering from Religious Trauma...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/12/21

This week I welcome Helen Greene, a volunteer worker at the Freedom from Religion foundation and a wonderful guest to talk about the experience of religion (traditional and otherwise) on our psyche and what some people experience when they try to leave religion behind. Enjoy!I'm trying out a new thing this week of including a summary of the podcast. Religion, Spirituality, and Deconversion Journey In the meeting, Chris and Helen discussed their experiences with religion and spirituality

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01:14:48

Speaking of Cults...Scientology, Auditing and the Sea...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/12/14

In this show, I welcome again Julie McKernan to take what I hope you'll agree is a much deeper and more nuanced conversation about what it's like to be in a cult like Scientology than you'll usually find. We cover a lot of territory in this show about how Scientologists and the Sea Org relate. Enjoy!

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57:54

Speaking of Cults...Can Fiction Work Help Expose...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/12/07

We are back from our November hiatus with an interview about cult fiction by author Sadie Hoagland. This is particularly important to the ex-cult space because there are tools of exposure available to fiction authors that can help inform and raise awareness about cult phenomena that non-fiction work can miss or ignore. Enjoy!Sadie's website: https://sadiehoagland.com

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02:23:41

Speaking of Cults...Scientology's Repeating Pattern...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/11/02

This week's show is an interview with 2nd gen, former Scientologist Julie McKernan, a woman who has a long and fascinating tale to discuss about her growing up in Scientology, what it meant to her and what happened to her including a shockingly horrible incident that occurred to her as a minor which the Church of Scientology enabled and covered up. Unfortunately, this is a pattern this cult continues to engage in up to now. We cover a lot of territory in this show.Julie can be reached at

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01:14:50

Speaking of Cults...A Reformed Sociopath's Origin...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/10/19

This week I welcome Shawn McCraney, artist, pastor and someone with a story to tell of an abusive upbringing, a violent past and a reformed mental state due to the influence of religion and learned empathy. We talk about a wide range of issues and go deep on some religious issues as well. Enjoy!Shawn's website: https://ShawnMcCraney.com

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01:20:53

Speaking of Cults...Not So Shiny or Happy People with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/10/12

This week I welcome author and former Evangelical pastor Dr. Clint Heacock to share his new work, Not So Shiny Not So Happy People about his upbringing and early adult life in the Evangelical world where physical and spiritual abuse were not only part of the picture but were mandated activities. Clint answers a lot of my questions about this and his escape from it and how we can discuss it now. Enjoy!

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02:34:24

Speaking of Cults...Growing Up a Child of Scientology...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/10/05

This week I welcome author and former Scientologist Pamela Nickel Williams to discuss her upcoming memoir, Clearly Lies are True about her life growing up in and around Scientology and the Sea Org. It's a harrowing tale and we go into a lot of detail about the beginning days of the Sea Org here. Enjoy!Pamela's website: https://clearlyliesaretrue.com

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01:04:25

Speaking of Cults...What Does it Take to DeCult?...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/09/28

This week I welcome Anke Richter, journalist, author and organizer of the DeCult Conference in New Zealand on Oct 20, 2024. Anke and I have a very informative and interesting conversation this week about cults around the world, her own experience in a sex cult and what she has been doing to educate about and get regulations enacted for cults. Enjoy!Anke's website: https://AnkeRichter.net DeCult conference: https://decult.net

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01:59:25

Speaking of Cults...Where Neuroscience and Cults Meet...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/09/21

This week I welcome Ann Betz, author and coach, who has not only had her own experience with a cult-like Large Group Awareness Training but has also done graduate work in neuroscience and has a lot to say in helping explain why we can all be susceptible to coercive control. Enjoy!Ann's website: https://BEaboveLeadership.com

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01:40:28

Speaking of Cults...Is Traditional Catholicism a...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/09/14

This week I welcome back Anthony Spurgin, a man who previously shared his story of growing up as a Traditional Catholic, to discuss the movement in more detail, how its loosely structured and whether this is actually a cult or not. Enjoy!Anthony's YouTube channel: @TheDragonsofVictory

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01:33:35

Speaking of Cults...What You Don't Know About...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/09/07

This week I welcome back educator, author and amazing guest Melanie Trecek-King to discuss critical thinking, her work as an educator and we go deep on the aspects of critical thinking that do not get talked about enough anywhere, including in the ex-cult spaces. Enjoy!Melanie's website: https://ThinkingIsPower.com

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01:00:23

Speaking of Cults...Overcoming Child Abuse in...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/08/31

This week I welcome Dr. Maurice Turmel, a clinical psychologist with decades of experience treating religious trauma syndrome and author of Breaking the Spell of Religion. We discuss the negative attitudes and behavior that are often present in deeply religious households and dealing with that later in life. Dr. Turmel brought some great points to this conversation. Enjoy!

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01:50:18

Speaking of Cults...Religious Extremism in America...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/08/24

This week I welcome Reverend Benjamin Cremer, a Christian pastor and religious influencer who has some very positive Christian messaging to fight back against the more extreme versions of Christianity that are trying so hard to take away the rights of all Americans to worship the way they want or to not worship at all. Rev. Cremer was a true joy to speak with and brought some great points to this conversation. Enjoy!Reverend Cremer's blog: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page

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