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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

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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57:29

Speaking of Cults...The Threat of Pseudoscience in...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/08/17

This week I welcome Dr. Jonathan Stea, a clinical psychologist and author of the new book Mind the Science, to discuss pseudoscience in physical and mental health fields and how this can create even more problems for those of us seeking real help. In this show we cover what some of the big and obvious red flags are of this kind of scammy nonsense and what you can look for that might tell you that something is legit as a cure/remedy. Enjoy!Jonathan's site: https://jonathanstea.com

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01:22:08

Speaking of Cults...Project 2025 and Christian...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/08/10

This week I welcome Dr. Clint Heacock, a former Evangelical minister who has spent years taking apart the Christian Nationalism movement and efforts by various political groups to turn the US into a theocracy. The roadmap to do that is Project 2025 and we break down what this is about here. Enjoy!

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01:22:56

Speaking of Cults...Christian Fundamentalism is a...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/08/03

This week I welcome Tia Levings, author and survivor of very serious abuse at the hands of not only her Christian Fundamentalist ex-husband but by the entire "purity culture" mindset she was raised in which permeated every aspect of her life. Tia describes very clearly how this is a destructive cult environment and is purposefully created to enforce extreme ideas of gender roles, sexual morality and compliance. Tia's website: https://tialevings.com

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02:00:04

Speaking of Cults...Staying SAFE After a Cult

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/07/20

This week I welcome Reverend Doctor Kenneth Garrett, a Portland-based minister who not only has his own survivor story as a former cult member but who has worked to help setup a community support group for former cult members which has had great success and which anyone can do in their own area. We discuss all of this and more. Enjoy!

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01:36:38

Speaking of Cults...Diving Deeper into the 2x2s

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/07/13

This week I welcome Pamela Bowen, a third-generation survivor of the 2x2s, the "cult with no name" which has been appearing in media lately, and rightfully so as it's a religious cult that has enabled a great deal of sexual abuse. This is a harrowing episode but ultimately a successful escape from a destructive cult. Enjoy!Pamela on Twitter/X: @PamelaHuanani

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01:45:05

Speaking of Cults...Foundations of Cult Recovery ft....

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/07/06

This week I welcome Christian Szurko, a cult recovery consultant who has been helping people in their post-cult life for as many decades as I've been alive! Christian and I discuss key principles of cult indoctrination and recovery in this episode. Enjoy!Christian's website: https://dialogcentre.org.uk/

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47:58

Speaking of Cults...The Blame Game and "Being Cause"

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/06/29

This week I am talking about how responsibility, causation and blame are used by cult leaders/predators to psychologically enslave their targets with guilt and gaslighting and how this can create not only unrealistic expectations or goals but can trap a person in a prison of belief.

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02:25:36

Speaking of Cults...Are LGATs Really Just Cults?

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/06/22

This week I welcome Dr. John Hunter, a psychologist from South Africa who has done some amazing and detailed research on the neurological and psychological factors at play in Large Group Awareness Training systems (such as Est, Landmark and many others) going all the way back to the 1970s to now. We cover a lot in this podcast about how these LGATs were started, what they are doing to the participants and why this is deceptive as a practice. Enjoy!Dr. Hunter's website:

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01:52:12

Speaking of Cults...Bringing an End to Coercive...

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/06/15

This week I welcome guests Rod and Linda Dubrow-Marshall, who created and run the Masters program at the University of Salford in the psychology of coercive control. We had a great deal more to discuss than just the program and dived deep into the legal and ethical problems with cults and how coercive control touches on so many aspects of our lives. Enjoy!Salford University site: https://www.salford.ac.uk/

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01:45:03

Speaking of Cults...Jonestown: Paradise Undone

Speaking of Cults ·

2024/06/08

This week I welcome guest Annie Dawid, author and professor of creative writing here in Colorado. In this very wide-ranging episode we discuss the history, psychology and life of Jim Jones and the People's Temple as described in a historical fiction novel that Annie wrote. Enjoy!Annie Dawid's website: https://www.anniedawid.com/

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392 results

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