Cults I'd Join

Amish. Commune. Amish-commune! AMISHCOMMUNE!!! Or close, anyway. What percentage do you think Jesse is in on this one? Is a million percent a real number? Is Ameran packing her plain black bags? Welcome to the Hutterites, another branch of our good friends the Anabaptists, who have been living fully communally since the 1500s. A peaceful religion, a time-tested community of goods, and some FABULOU...

It's fictional utopia time and this season we're joining... The Village! M. Night Shyamalan, we see you. And you see our love for super sweet bustles, window-pane fabric, and suspicious locked wooden boxes lurking in the shadowy corners of the world's coziest houses. Get on the bus friends, this week we're hand-knitting some GORGEOUS shawls, strenuously avoiding the bad color,...

Another doomsday cult who has it all figured out and isn't going to burn like the rest of us. YAWN. But this one has a kick: it's made up of only a handful of people and a few of them are the walking embodiment of everything a cult might call evil. Trigger warning for all things child-related in this one, and an extra trigger warning for anyone fully overwatching pretty girls LITERALLY G...

Oh hey, FLDS! Did you think we wouldn't stop by for a visit? We think your PERFECT hair (we're not kidding), your sweet prairie dresses (again, LOVE), and your drama-drenched communal history are exactly how we want to spend an afternoon, if not an eternity. Also, at least one of us is all about the sister-wives, but no one still likes all the blood-atonement. See you on the compound, FL...

Don't tread on me! Posse comitatus! God is my authority! Where is your postmaster?!?! All these code phrases and more are about to be available to make you free too, for the low, low price of... one hour of your life listening to this podcast! If you've been wanting to start driving without a license committing tax evasion while insisting that the U.S. is secretly a giant post office, th...

You may or may not have heard of IBLP, but you've definitely run into some of their famous adherents in the media... 19 kids and a smattering of criminal charges, anyone? IBLP has it all—matching bib dresses, swimming costumes that make the 1800s look lewd, and abuse cases far and wide. Come join us at the giant dinner table and let's talk IBLP, where the boys are well taken care of and...

It's a wrap on Season Two, and in lucky episode 13, we take a little stroll back through all the groups we covered and the best and worst take-aways from the lot of them. Has Ameran changed her mind about joining any? Can Jesse choose just one to contract her soul to? Find out by listening, then chime in with your thoughts on the FB discussion page... and don't get to comfy during the br...

One of us considered just posting her wedding pics for this one, but decided against it. They make her miss her Golden Retriever. CSA has it ALL... end of the world, concerning weaponry issues, really great dresses, and home made bread. Come on down the dirt road with us (unless you're the feds) and meet the people who were hosting standoffs with the government before it was cool! Love Cults...

Female orgasm... ever heard of it? Turns out, it's not a myth, and these folks are REALLY into it! By which we mean they found a way to monetize it, cultify it, and really wring every bit of joy out of an otherwise pretty great thing. Come along with  us, as we enter One Taste, the commune you don't have to pack your things to join (because they'll provide the matching t-shirts and...

Golden tablets, oddly communicative angels, sacred undies... We at CIJ LOVE a new religion, and the LDS church continues to evolve and find its feet a scant century-plus after its birth. Yes, they have some History with a capital H to contend with, and yes, even their current scene is... a lot at times. And no, you can't have any coffee here. Still, the LDS church has the arts of ritual and s...

A Pentecostal cult of Karens turned Goddess worshiping murdery Cat Cult? YAAAAAAS this is our JAAAAAAAM. Get over here and pump this pod while we SPILL. THIS. TEA!  Love Cults I'd Join? Want to join all the communal fun with us?  *Subscribe to the pod on all pod platforms! *Rate and review us on Google (please and thank you)! *Follow us on the social medes... we're @ cultsidjoin.com,  an...

This one is all Ameran all the time! Jesse is taking the back seat to learn all about Young Living from the girl who lived it (and we can only assume smelled great the whole time)... Ameran, the former YL sales rep/unintentional cult member. There are essential oil turf-wars, sneaky mean-girl recruitment tactics, and triangle shaped shady dealings as far as the eye can see. Join us, won't you...

Each season we choose one fictional cult to join, and this time we're signing our lives over to The Path, a Hulu original populated entirely by super hot people with great clothes. But wait... there's more! A culty underbelly? Characters for whom Jesse is sympathetic and Ameran is not? Enlightened people doing unenlightened things (in this cult and in real life)? And that's just the...

You don't have to be on your Rumschpringe to know a good party when you see one... and talking about the Amish is ALWAYS a great party with CIJ! This one comes with a lot of personal stories, which is how we like it—inside looking out is our favorite view! Leave the world behind for this one, as you settle into your rocking chair, grab your quilting squares, and hit play on that smartphone yo...

Ever stare into the depths of space while wondering "What if Mean Girls became an actual religion"? If so, wonder no more, friends! Welcome to the weird, and arguably dangerous, corner of the world that is Teal Swan! Have we made some similar fashion choices? Sometimes, yes. Do we advocate implanted memories and cutting all family ties? Generally, no. Buckle up for this one, and we'...

There are smocks. There are balloon pants. There is circle dancing and hibiscus tea, name changes and matching headbands... Listen, we haven't spent a moment at the Twelve Tribes that we haven't loved—although it does seem others have. Let's get into it! And let's grab a head scarf and an AMAZING tofu sandwich while we do it! Seriously, go get that tofu sandwich. We'll wai...

TikTok it's cult o'clock! Actually it's more TikTok and less cult, so this is a story of how communes and social media meet... and that produces a LOT of different results. See you on this twisty road, and yes, it does involve former pets being worn as pelts, and a lot of lovely communal dinners. Shout out to TCO for coining cult o'clock, we had to borrow it for this one! Love...

Hello, Friends... It's nigh unto the Sabbath and you know what that means... quiet reflection, or high-stakes rabble-rousing if you're down with the Quakers through the centuries! Join us on the scenic and twisty ride that is the path of Quakerism, and keep in mind that the light in us recognizes the light in you. Love Cults I'd Join? Want to join all the communal fun with us?  *Sub...

Season Two is starting out with a bang—or more with the sound of a comet playing a  theremin. Heaven's Gate is forever tied to an ending we all know, but the journey was a long and twisty one. Let's join the members for a bit and step inside the threshold of Heaven's Gate Community on this inaugural episode of Season Two.   **** Trigger Warning: Please note that this episode feature...

Season one is a wrap and we are having SO MUCH FUN! Here's the plan: Cults I'd Join will give you 12 episodes and a bonus recap every season. We're talking about all 12 groups we've covered in this first recap episode, and we would love to hear your thoughts. What group was your favorite? Which party would you join? Who is your hard no? Which set of matching outfits is the one...

Welcome home! At the Rainbow, all ways are free, and you are perfect just the way you are! Will you get sunburned, lightly poisoned, dysentery, and more naked man hugs than necessary...? Sure, yes, at least one of these. Will you also get covered in glitter, all the love you can soak in, free food and gifts and bliss, and an aching face from uncontrollable smiling? Also yes. We're at The Rain...

Sometimes we talk about cults we would NOT join. Sometimes even a group we would never join still poses a lot of questions that need answers, and often the groups that we wouldn't join need a light shined into their center. Strife and injustice grow in the places we are not willing to look, so let's talk about some Christian Identity—what they believe, what they plan for, and how we all...

If you know about Ruby Ridge, you know two things—it is not a cult and it is not a happy ending. However, the Weaver family living at Ruby Ridge did belong to a dangerous cult that is thriving today: the church of Christian Identity. Before we talk about the group itself, we're taking the time to talk about the human face of an ugly religion and everything spins out of that space. We are also...

I know we say this a lot but... this is a major favorite! Love communal living? Love matriarchal sex decrees? Love trench digging? Aggressive road-tripping? Rationed food? Truly epic parties? Putting the letter Z on everything? Then say hello to your new favorite hang spot... Zendik Farm!!! Get to know this major player in the history of the American commune scene, it's a great ride! Love Cul...

Sure, you've seen Wild Wild Country and who doesn’t love a good sex cult dressed entirely in orange. But who were the Rajneeshees before all that? And what about after? What did their kids have to say? And would A&J join them? Okay, so you know J would... Love Cults I'd Join? Want to join all the communal fun with us?  *Subscribe to the pod on all pod platforms! *Rate and review us o...