Speaking of Cults

This week I am once again joined by therapist Rachel Bernstein, a long-time friend and associate who has been on the show many times and helps us this time dissect our emotional needs and how these relate to getting involved in cults and other unsavory ventures. There’s a lot packed in to this episode. If you haven’t checked out Part 1, watch it first! Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #332: Cults and Emotional Needs (Part 2) appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome guest Anna Dau who has a story to tell of abuse and escape from an ultra-conservative family situation involving coercive control through religious belief. This is all too common across all landscapes, not just religion, and we hope that getting her story out there will help others in similar circumstances. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #331: Being Raised by a Narcissist appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I thought I should deliver a rundown on what exactly it was I have been studying for the last 1.5 years in the Psychology of Coercive Control program and what I got out of it as a sort of summary of the whole thing and what this means for my channel. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #330: The Psychology of Coercive Control appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by therapist Rachel Bernstein, a long-time friend and associate who has been on the show many times and helps us this time dissect our emotional needs and how these relate to getting involved in cults and other unsavory ventures. There’s a lot packed in to this little episode. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #329: Cults and Emotional Needs (Part 1) appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined again by Jen Kiaba, a second-generation survivor of the Unification Church (the Moonies) and a fellow student on the same psychology of coercive control program I am currently finishing up. We had a great chat this week about cults, the rigors of an academic education and a lot more. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #328: Cults, Education and Controversy appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week Jon Atack and I had a critical conversation on the topics of critical thinking, what it is and isn’t and the pros and cons of thinking it’s more than it is; along with human predators, a topic both of us are keen to educate about because we feel this is the way we can help prepare anyone to avoid not just cults but all kinds of trouble in life. Enjoy! Predator poster: https://jonatacksopeningourminds.wordpress.com/home/infographics-and-posters/ The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #327: Critical Thinking and Human Predators appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I did a rare live show to discuss some of the thoughts I had based in the research I’m doing for my Masters thesis about Scientology, confessionals and surveillance culture. In this show I walk through some basic Scientology principles that have a vast influence on its members and setup a mental framework of morality and control. In other words, this is how some of the brainwashing really works. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #326 (LIVE): Thought Policing in Scientology appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week we are doing our annual Year in Review episode to cap off 2021 and begin 2022. It’s almost pure Scientology as we walk through the events and changes, good and bad, that took place this year and look forward to what comes next. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #325: 2021 Scientology Year in Review appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by my beautiful wife Melissa to first share our Holiday Crack (a tasteless and yet tasteful joke inspired by Delicious Dish) and the mainline of our chat (at 6:26) about scientific literacy and our thoughts on what that has to do with our current and future situations and where we think we might improve. Happy Holidays and enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #324: Scientific Literacy for the Holidays appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back cult survivor Jen Kiaba, who also happens to be doing the same Masters program I am in the psychology of coercive control. Jen and I talk about walking away from a cult and what that takes, as it’s not as easy as some seem to think. We go into what keeps people in and also I get to talk more about critical thinking. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #323: Walking Away From a Cult appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome Sarah Edmondson – actress, author, podcaster and survivor of NXIVM – to talk turkey about her experiences and the aftermath of having helped put away the cult leader of NXIVM, Keith Raniere. She was on the front lines of the FBI investigation that resulted in Raniere’s extradiction from Mexico and ultimate sentence of over 100 years in federal prison, as well as his primary aides at the top level, all of whom we discuss in the show. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #322: NXIVM and Its Aftermath with Sarah Edmondson appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I do a little compare and contrast between the ethics and core purpose of counselling versus Scientology auditing and offer some insights from my graduate thesis research into why Scientology auditing can be so bad for people. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #321: Why Scientology Auditing is So Destructive appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week we suffered the death of our cat, Seven, and this brought about some reflections about the five stages of grief and how they relate to my cult recovery which I thought important enough to share. I hope you agree and I hope that sharing my experience might help others with theirs. Here’s the article I read from during the show. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #320: Cult Recovery and Stages of Grief appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Jon Atack for another wide-ranging and important conversation about “stupid people” joining cults, thought reform and “mind control”, sociology, critical thinking and a lot of commentary on what all this has to do with you and me. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #319: Critical Thinking or Death! ft. Jon Atack appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome Jen Kiaba, a woman who grew up in the Moonies, escaped and is now doing the same academic coercive control program I am doing at Salford. We have a very wide-ranging discussion about her own experience in the Moonies, how education has helped her in recovery and a lot more on coercive control. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #318: Dealing with Cults ft. Jen Kiaba appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week we give some updates on Scientology on the legal front which happened this week and then we get into the subject of “leadership” in Scientology and how authoritarian attitudes are baked in to its DNA. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #317: Scientology “Leadership” Training appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week is the beginning of a slightly new direction in my fight against cults and what may end up being a fight I continue into the future. That battle is against the outright refusal on the part of certain important social sciences and scholars to listen to or even consider the testimonials and information provided by former cult members such as myself, resulting in cult disinformation being propagated throughout academia. I feel this is important enough to share with everyone because I believe it affects everyone and is directly related to Scientology as well as a number of other high-control group. I did my best to make this interesting and I hope I succeeded. Enjoy! Papers I cited in this show: Kent and Swanson paper on apostates Seeing Apostates Clearly by Michael Thorne The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #316: The Rise of the Apostates appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by Ciprian Ivanof to discuss critical thinking and how it is that conspiracy theorists say they are using good critical thinking skills when they clearly are not. We dive into why this happens and what is going on in their heads. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #315: Conspiracy Theories and Critical Thinking appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I took a break from interviews to discuss something important that I wish someone had talked to me about when I first got out of Scientology and which I’ve had to learn (as every other ex-cultists does) and that is navigating the world of the ex-cult community. It’s not for the faint of heart! I hope this podcast will help anyone who has ever felt estranged and alone in a community of like-minded people. I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who has had these issues. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #314: Navigating the Ex-Cult World appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week, Aaron Smith-Levin joins us to discuss his race for Clearwater City Council and why he is doing it, as well as what he expects to accomplish. He is taking on the Church of Scientology in their own backyard and daring them to stop him. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #313 – Aaron Smith-Levin for Clearwater City Council! appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Ciprian Ivanof to help me talk about the long-term effects of continuous stress in the world of Scientology and how this creates complex PTSD and other damaging effects. This is the article we discussed in the show The post Sensibly Speaking #312: Scientology, Stress and cPTSD with Ciprian Ivanof appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined again by Steven Tiger, author and speaker on the subject of the Bible and Christian apologetics, to discuss more about this topic and the illogical and even irrational ways that many Christians engage with their faith and the justifications for it. This is not an indictment of belief or even religion in general, but is a commentary on the more extreme versions of religious belief and how this informs abusive and even destructive actions. Steven’s book on Amazon The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #311: Deconstructing Christian Apologetics appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined again by Ciprian Ivanof to plumb the depths of Scientology’s organizational madness and anxiety-inducing culture, this week going into more detail about some of the irrational policies and anxiety-inducing practices which occur to this day in the Sea Org. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #310: Scientology is Always at War ft. Ciprian Ivanof appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by author Steven Tiger to discuss his book and ideas concerning Christian apologetics and how trying to find logical and even scientific reasons to have faith is a bit of a fool’s errand, as well as what the point of apologetics is in the first place, which is not to convince unbelievers. We had a far-ranging discussion and I hope you enjoy it. Steven’s Book on Amazon The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #309: A Hard Look at Christian Apologetics with Steven Tiger appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome Gavin Fox to help explain more about the origins of QAnon on 4chan/8chan and the jump to mainstream social media. We have a wide ranging discussion about this and hope it helps bring some more clarity to what is a very unclear and bizarre movement. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #308: The Origins of Qanon appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back channel favorite Jon Atack to discuss more aspects of Hubbard and Scientology as well as get an overview of Jon’s new book, Opening Our Minds and some thoughts on predators and critical thinking. Enjoy! Jon’s book on Amazon The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #307: Jon Atack is Opening Our Minds appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I’m giving a sort of QAnon 101 for my viewers. It may be that we’ll do more episodes about QAnon depending on the feedback to this one. Here I talk about QAnon’s origin story, the fascinating mechanics behind how it evolved and some of the more obvious cultic aspects of how it is organized and how its followers have become extremists. I cover a lot of territory. Enjoy! Washington Post article The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #306: The Cult of QAnon appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Ciprian Ivanof to help me dissect Scientology’s organizational and personnel craziness. This week we offer some commentary on Hubbard’s most advanced lectures on administration and then get into some war stories I have about how we used Scientology in handling staff and Sea Org members. We cover a lot of territory. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #305: Scientology Personnel Craziness appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome special guest Zara Kay, founder of Faithless Hijabi and a woman with a story to tell about her persecution as an ex-Muslim in her homeland of Tanzania last year. She is now safe and back home in Australia, but little thanks to the Australian government. We go over all the details of her ordeal and what she is doing as a hands-on activist to help ex-Muslims. Enjoy! Faithless Hijabi website The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #304: Zara Kay and Faithless Hijabi appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Ciprian Ivanof to help me discuss Scientology’s kind of nuts management culture and organization. This week we focus on sleep deprivation and stress and we had a lot to say. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking #302 – Sleep Deprivation and Stress in the Sea Org appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Aaron Smith-Levin so we can give some updates on Clearwater and Scientology including some future campaigning Aaron himself will be doing for the City Council later this year. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking #300: Scientology, Clearwater and the City Council appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome Hannah Prosser, a survivor of childhood domestic and religious abuse who was involved with the Haldeman Mennonites in Muddy Pond, Tennessee. Her story is at times heartbreaking and horrifying but is ultimately a survivor’s story of escape and recovery which she now wants to share with the world in her first-ever interview about her life. She has just published a book about her life, Beat and is now working on how to best move forward to prevent this sort of abuse from happening to others. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #300: Beat with Hannah Prosser appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome returning guest and friend of my channel Ciprian Ivanof for the first in what we expect will be a short series of podcasts about Scientology’s leadership and management theories and the gross inefficiencies that really do keep the organization from growing or becoming even more prosperous for real. Of course, we aren’t doing this to give Scientology advice, but to show up just how inefficient and even destructive authoritarian systems like Scientology are and how they preach one thing but do the very opposite every single time. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #299: Scientology and Loyalty ft. Ciprian Ivanof appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Jon Atack to discuss Scientology, recovery from cults, enlightenment, history and a whole lot more in this very wide-ranging discussion. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking #298: Jon Atack appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome former Congressman Joe Walsh, a Tea Party conservative and former Trump supporter turned protestor who believes the GOP has gone off the rails and the reasons for that pre-date Trump. We go into all these details and more in this wide-ranging conversation. Enjoy! We reference Joe’s radio talk show in this podcast, but within the last 24 hours, Joe announced the unfortunate news that his show was pulled. The reasons for why this is happening to conservatives who are not praising Trump are something we actually talk about in this show. The post Sensibly Speaking #297: Joe Walsh on Trump, Cults and Washington appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

Matthew Sheffield is a conservative-turned-progressive political pundit, podcaster, author and media personality. He started his first conservative website in 2000, dedicating it to criticizing Dan Rather. He then went on to help create NewsBusters and became the founding online managing editor of the Washington Examiner. He now hosts a politics and technology podcast called Theory of Change and is writing a memoir about growing up in a strict Mormon family. We talk about all of this and more in this week’s show. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking #296: Matthew Sheffield on Religion, Cults & Politics appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week, I welcome Ariela Sarai, a 21-year-survivor of Avatar, to discuss her experiences being recruited into and working for this destructive cult which has so many similarities to L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology that Avatar has been called “Scientology Lite.” I think you’ll see from Ariela’s experiences that there was nothing “lite” about the abuses she endured for years trying to “save the world” before she just recently escaped and is now exposing this cult for what it is. The post Sensibly Speaking #295: Avatar – Scientology’s Wicked Offspring appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week, I discuss the just-breaking story of Hollywood producer Scott Rudin, who according to reports has serious anger management issues and has allegedly abused assistants and co-workers for decades. The patterns of behavior and even specific actions and words Rudin reportedly used are so amazingly similar to what we know about David Miscavige and Sea Org executives at every level, I simply had to dedicate a podcast to discussing the similarities as I experienced them as a Sea Org member. Enjoy! Hollywood Reporter article Vulture article The post Sensibly Speaking #294: Rudin & Miscavige: Two Peas in a Pod appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist channel and podcast and an all-around great guy. In this wide-ranging discussion, we take up issues with religion but spend a lot more time describing our issues with the atheist side of the coin and problems we want to see rectified in how atheists approach believers. There’s a lot more too including some Scientology references. I hope you enjoy all of it. Seth’s YouTube channel The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #293: Extremism, Atheism and Other Controversies with Seth Andrews appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I talk from a psychological perspective on the surprising power of gratitude and how this helps us maintain perspective. I share some very personal experiences of this in my own life as well. Enjoy! Harvard Medical School article Dr. Summer Allen article The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #292: The Power of Showing a Little Gratitude appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome neuroscientist Tom Beakbane to the show to discuss his book “How to Understand Everything” and the subject of consilience, a word Tom has used as a foundational idea for a multi-faceted approach to looking at our relationships, our biology and even consciousness itself. If nothing else, we certainly had an interesting conversation. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #291: How to Understand Everything with Tom Beakbane appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am offering something a little different: an interview I did for Paganicon 2021 on the subject of cult indoctrination and radicalization and how this might also apply in groups and relationships. We had a great time, even if I was a little chatty, and I hope you enjoy it. My earlier interview with Penny The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #290: Indoctrination and Radicalization in Cults appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week, there was a bit of a kerfuffle in Clearwater over the Scientology and the Aftermath reunion and Cult City Tours which happened on Hubbard’s Birthday on March 13th. In this podcast, I go over the city council meeting that happened two days ago and my opinions and commentary on the entire matter as it relates to Clearwater and Scientology. Enjoy! Clearwater City Council Meeting video The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #289: Scientology, Cult City Tours and Protests appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

About two years ago, Melissa and I did a podcast about mental health, suicide and treatment, talking intimately about our own experiences as well as what we have learned. This week we tackle this subject again, especially some of the issues we’ve encountered or learned about in getting help and some ideas we had about how we can help one another despite these issues. Enjoy! #MentalHealth #Scientology The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #288: Let’s Talk About Mental Health, Part 2 appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by my wonderful wife, Melissa, to discuss the psychological principle of double binds and how these are control mechanisms used to deceive, manipulate and control people in not just cults like Scientology but also in domestic partnerships. We talk about what these are, where the ideas come from and I give a lot of examples from my own Scientology experience. I hope that this is truly an educational video for people about a topic that is not discussed nearly enough. Enjoy! Psychology Today article The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #287: Scientology and Double Binds appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I talk somewhat intimately about what has been happening in my own recovery from Scientology and how my recent education has really ramped up that process in both good and not-so-good ways, and what this has taught me firsthand about cult recovery. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #286: Recovering from Scientology – Another Layer appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome Curt Jaimungal and Desh Amila, two filmmakers who have produced Better Left Unsaid, a new documentary about the rise of Left-wing extremism in the United States and across Western nations. We discuss various points from the documentary and our mutual concern about what we see as radicalized behavior on the part of some on the extreme Left. There is a lot to unpack and learn from this and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Better Left Unsaid is an independent documentary that explores the dangerous tactics of extremism across the Western political landscape. For many, extreme right-wing ideologies are easily recognized by overt racism, ethno- nationalism, white supremacy, and the like. The extreme left, on the other hand, takes on a more philosophically nuanced position, which some argue is no less harmful, but often takes on a more understated form in public discourse. Confronting, impactful and reflective, Better Left Unsaid leads viewers on a nuanced exploration of the West’s past and current political disposition, which is often overlooked in classrooms and the mainstream media alike. Better Left Unsaid film website Desh Amila’s Website The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #285: “Better Left Unsaid” and the Radicalization of the Left appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Anthony Magnabasco to discuss the growing conversation/inquiry method called Street Epistemology. We talk about what it is and what it isn’t and how when used properly, it can be a great tool to increase understanding and tolerance in our increasingly divided times. Enjoy! Anthony’s Social Media: https://linktr.ee/magnabosco Street Epistemology Resources: https://tinyurl.com/abm-se-resources Street Epistemology Communities: https://tinyurl.com/abm-se-community Street Epistemology Discord Server: https://discord.gg/sKap3zM (recommended) The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #284: Street Epistemology – What It Is and Isn’t appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome back Aaron Smith-Levin to give us an update on what is what with Scientology in Clearwater, including a fresh and different perspective on what life there is really like with Scientology as a neighbor and some detailed talk about the Clearwater city council and how it can and should best deal with the “Scientology problem.” Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #283: Clearwater and Scientology: A Fresh Perspective appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I welcome licensed therapist and cult recovery counselor Rachel Bernstein back to the channel to discuss the unique problems and techniques of talking to people in extremist belief sets such as those of QAnon. This reckless and all-consuming conspiracy has created radicalized extremists, making this much more than “just another cult.” It’s time we all had some information about how to deal with people in this mindset and hopefully bring them back. The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #282: Talking to QAnon ft. Rachel Bernstein appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.