Loading...

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

73:14

Speaking of Cults...The Scientology We Dug Up in...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/10/07

We have a bonus podcast episode this week with the release of Tom Cruise's new movie Digger and our take on the Scientology ideas and themes we see in it. To help us in our analysis, we invited professional movie critical Luke Y. Thompson on board and he provides some fun insights to what we hope is an entertaining episode. Enjoy!Luke Y. Thompson https://MortalCinema.com @lytrules on Bluesky, Instagram, X, Substack @lytrulz on Facebook

en-us

65:54

Speaking of Cults...Dark Messiah and Fictionalized...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/10/03

This week I welcome author Sara Carson to discuss her recently published fiction story Dark Messiah, a tale based on the real-life tragedy of the Jonestown massacre at the order of cult leader Jim Jones. Sara and I have a far ranging discussion about the power of fiction, cult dynamics and Jonestown itself. Her book is now out for you to buy as well.Sara's website: https://sarazcarsonauthor.com Dark Messiah on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GVZMLYCR

en-us

53:05

Speaking of Cults...Using Art for Recovery & Growth...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/09/26

This week I welcome film maker and cult survivor Grace Sims to discuss a recent project of hers and some of her experiences growing up in a high control group. Enjoy!Grace's website: https://gracesims.com

en-us

79:20

Speaking of Cults...Does Religion Belong in Therapy...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/09/19

This week I welcome therapist and author Veronica Thompson, a self-labelled "Christian therapist" who shares her work and opinions about where religion does and doesn't belong in the therapy space. I know people have strong opinions about this and I believe we had a very nuanced and understandable conversation about it. Enjoy!Veronica's website: https://VeronicaThompson.com

en-us

66:48

Speaking of Cults...Healing from Narcissistic Abuse...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/09/12

This week I welcome therapist, author and narcissist specialist Dr. Tina Paone to discuss the psychology of narcissism and recovery from it. She is the author of a recently released book on recovery from narcissistic abuse titled Unbroken: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Reclaiming Me. Enjoy!Dr. Paone's website: https://drtinapaone.com Dr. Paone's book: https://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Healing-Narcissistic-Abuse-Reclaiming-ebook/dp/B0GRPNKDS6?ref_=ast_author_mpb

en-us

76:14

Speaking of Cults...Scientology and the Brain with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/09/05

Today I welcome back Jon Atack to continue our series of podcasts to debunk the "basics" of Scientology, one bit at a time. This week we didn't make a lot of progress in our book review as we kept it short and mainly addressed Hubbard and his very outmoded ideas about the human brain. Enjoy!Roehampton University in London is conducting a survey into the effects of mandated shunning—or enforced disconnection—with the aim of introducing new legal provisions to the UK's existing coercive control law

en-us

107:38

Speaking of Cults...Why You Hate Those People

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/09/01

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted this week. In this week's special live podcast episode, I am exploring where we derive meaning and order and morality, which are not ivory tower concepts relegated to an academic education but are in fact, the stuff of our daily lives. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

en-us

86:22

Speaking of Cults...Things All Cults Do with Anne...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/08/22

This week I welcome Anne Peterson back to have a very loose discussion around the things that all cults do or the beliefs/ideas that seem to echo from one to the other. This being our first time on this topic, we cover a lot of diverse ideas rather than have a bullet list of things to discuss, but I hope you find this as fun as we had doing it. Enjoy!Anne's channel: @ConfrontingTheLine The workshop page: https://ilumn8.life/op/reclaiming-your-mind-and-life-chris-shelton/

en-us

70:48

Speaking of Cults...Leaving Mormonism

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/08/15

This week I welcome back Bryce Blankenangel and Shannon Grover to help me understand what happens when people want to leave the faith of the LDS Church in terms of repercussions both personally and/or professionally. As always, we go wide on this topic and hope it brings some more clarity to why cults like the Mormon Church act the way they do. Enjoy!Glassbox podcast: https://glassboxpodcast.com

en-us

82:32

Speaking of Cults...Scientology Basics Debunked with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/08/08

Today I welcome back Jon Atack to continue our series of podcasts to debunk the "basics" of Scientology, one bit at a time. This week we are taking on some of the very basic ideas of Scientology with theta and the simpleton approach of Scientology's philosophic foundations. This is a wide-ranging and hopefully interesting discussion where we pull no punches on how we see Scientology. Enjoy!

en-us

69:58

Speaking of Cults...Christian Nationalism and the...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/07/25

This week I welcome NY Times bestselling author and investigative journalist Michael Blanding to discuss his new book, The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby, a surprising and even shocking expose of the hidden agenda behind Hobby Lobby and its owners, the Green family. When religious fanaticism is rewarded with hundreds of millions of dollars in liquid cash, what happens to our rights, laws and freedoms? Hobby Lobby is a lot more than a chain of craft stores and what your money is being used for when

en-us

68:14

Speaking of Cults...Dealing with Religious Trauma ft....

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/07/18

This week I welcome Anna Clark Miller, LMC, a licensed therapist who specializes in religious trauma syndrome and also has her own background of an abusive religious upbringing. Yet Anna hasn't let her own experience bias her views on religion or how she does her treatment and in this podcast we frankly discuss the difficulties on both sides of the therapy relationship when religious abuse is part of the picture. I hope this is as educational and informative for you as it was for me. Enjoy!Anna's

en-us

89:40

Speaking of Cults...The Violent and Horrible Origin...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/07/11

This week I welcome back Bryce Blankenangel and Shannon Grover to help me understand first the financial rapaciousness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an organization that clearly values money over morality or good works. In explaining why this is, Bryce and Shannon break down the violent origin story of the Mormon "faith" and how Joseph Smith went from one calamity to another as he conned people over and over again, committed criminal acts against children and had more than a

en-us

111:37

Speaking of Cults...The Children of Landmark/Forum...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/07/04

This week I welcome Lindsey Hartzel, who is sharing her experience growing up in a family connected heavily with Landmark Worldwide (formerly Landmark Education) and the large group awareness training format of human transformation. This was not a positive or helpful experience for her as a child and young adult and we cover exactly why from her perspective. Landmark comes from Est, which was taken directly from Scientology so there's a lot of compare and contrast in this episode too. Enjoy!

en-us

83:12

Speaking of Cults...The Psychology of Narcissism with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/07/01

This week I welcome therapist, author and narcissist specialist Dr. Tina Paone to discuss the psychology of narcissism and adjacent topics. She is the author of a recently released book on recovery from narcissistic abuse titled Unbroken: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Reclaiming Me. We cover a lot of territory. Enjoy! Dr. Paone's website: https://drtinapaone.com Dr. Paone's book: https://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Healing-Narcissistic-Abuse-Reclaiming-ebook/dp/B0GRPNKDS6?ref_=ast_author_mpb

en-us

113:08

Speaking of Cults...Scientology Games and Abuse ft....

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/06/27

Today I welcome back Jon Atack to continue our series of podcasts to debunk the "basics" of Scientology, one bit at a time. This week we are taking on self-determinism, pan-determinism and "games" theory in Scientology. This is a wide-ranging and hopefully interesting discussion where we pull no punches on how we see Scientology. Enjoy!

en-us

100:01

Speaking of Cults...The Struggle of Scientology with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/06/20

This week I welcome former Scientologist and Sea Org member Matt Pesch, someone who joined up in the 1970s, was early friends with Marty Rathbun and had decades of experience in Scientology at its highest levels. This is the first of a series of interviews with Matt to discuss not only his own time in Scientology but also the flavor of the subject and the times in which it has existed. In this episode, we cover Miscavige's early days and how he rose to power, who Marty Rathbun was and how he got

en-us

108:13

Speaking of Cults...Scientology, WISE and Delphi with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/06/13

This week I welcome back former Scientologist Natalia Hirsch, originally from Ecuador but who had a wide-ranging life and Scientology experience she is sharing with us. In today's final episode, we cover her experience in WISE and at the Delphi School in Oregon, both Scientology front group operations which are just satellites of Scientology churches. Natalie's story has been fun to feature and I hope you enjoy this one.Join me for my book workshop starting this month

en-us

76:54

Speaking of Cults...The Scientology Experience with...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/06/06

This week I welcome back former Scientologist Natalia Hirsch, originally from Ecuador but who had a wide-ranging life and Scientology experience she is sharing with us. In today's show we cover what life and belief is like for Scientologists who are broke or in the lower bands of the socioeconomic ladder. This level of cult membership is a whole different thing from what the rich Scientologists experience.

en-us

71:06

Speaking of Cults...Carlos Castaneda the Guru Cult...

Speaking of Cults ·

2026/05/30

This week I welcome Ru Marshall, author of the new book American Trickster which is on sale now, about the infamous 1970s cult guru Carlos Castaneda, a man who is still fooling professional academics at major universities with his schtick about Native American spiritualism. This was a sexual predator who gained an outsized amount of influence despite not ever really showing up in public. Ru Marshall breaks it all down for us. Enjoy!Ru Marshall's website: rmarshallstudio.com American Trickster book:

en-us

426 results

Similar Podcasts

Daily Facts

Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones.

Les dents et dodo

BFMTV

Edutainment Learning

Ralph Krauss

Education Futures

Svenia Busson & Laurent Jolie

Out In The Hall

NHSA