Cult Hackers

Jolyn Armstrong is a certified trauma recovery coach and has an interesting personal perspective, having gone through the experience of a son becoming incarcerated for a serious crime and of overcoming her own religious trauma. During the conversation Celine and Stephen discuss the use of coaching in recovery, the difficulty of finding friends after leaving a cult and the similarities between inca...

Today Stephen briefly considers a week of hell, and then Cult Hackers revisits an episode from the archives exploring the supernatural, the Devil and the demons' interest in second-hand furniture. Celine and Stephen explore how upon leaving a religious Bible Cult long held beliefs about the spooky and supernatural are re-evaluated. There's also an example of a 'cold reading' from Derren Brown's bo...

Today Celine and Stephen explore a group they've not talked about before, Christian Science. Hilary Alexander was raised as a Christian Scientist and in this interview she talks about the process of leaving and making sense of the world afterwards. Christian Science – not to be confused with Scientology – is a religion that was started by Mary Baker Eddy in the late 19th century and as you’ll hear...

After leaving a cult or fundamentalist group with an all-encompassing belief system, it’s great fun to explore science and philosophy and it’s not long before the quantum world is likely to attract attention. Today Celine and Stephen have the company of a special guest to explore quantum physics and try to separate the science from the woo. You can support this podcast by becoming a patron for jus...

In this week's episode we explore how cults use power to ensure the obedience of their followers, drawing from French and Raven's Bases of Power and the work of Max Weber. To support the podcast you can become a patron for just $1:50 https://www.patreon.com/culthackers   French and Raven review on the six bases https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_56.htm University of Regina article http...

Assimilation, group identity and leaving is hard. In this bonus episode taken from our short series, Cults on Film, Stephen explores the science fiction favourite baddie, the Borg, from the movie Star Trek First Contact and the TV Series Star Trek Voyager, as a metaphor for cults and coercive control.  You can become a patron for just $1.50 https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts More about the...

Jennifer French has a Masters in the Psychology of Coercive Control and is host of the Project Hope Podcast. She was a member of a Christian Mystical Cult and as a result became estranged from her family for over a decade. She talks openly about her experience of joining and leaving her group and the long process of reconnecting with her family. It's an emotional episode. To become a Patron https:...

Celine and Stephen explore how cults use the promise of happiness to attract people and keep them on the hook. Also what is the science on happiness? Is happiness genetic? Is it dependant upon external factors? Does money make you happy? Are married people happier? All this and lots more in this week's episode. Become a patron for just $1.50 https://www.patreon.com/culthackers   Links Low expectat...

Sherrie D'Souza is the International Development Director and board member of 'Recovering From Religion' an organization that specialises in helping people deal with the effects of leaving damaging religious groups and making sense of life afterwards. Sherrie was raised as a Jehovah's Witness and speaks about her childhood, growing up and becoming an adult within the group as well as the difficult...

Welcome to the first official episode of Cult Hackers (formerly 'What should I think about..?') For our first show we have a wonderful and knowledgeable cult hacker, former cult member Nicola Ranson. The Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country became a worldwide hit with its fascinating story of a cultic group's strange journey from free love to bio terrorism. Nicola Ranson is now a mental he...

In the last ever episode of 'What Should I Think About...?' (soon to become Cult Hackers), Andrew Jasko, M.Div. joins us. Andrew is a Religious Trauma Coach with an MA in Counselling Psychology. On the podcast today he talks about his own experience of being the subject of prophecy within a Pentecostal Church, his struggle with his faith, his experience of religious trauma and his journey out of t...

Did Jesus have a work-life balance problem? What are the 'work' commitments for members of cults? As a former Jehovah's Witness Stephen reflects upon the work commitments of an active Jehovah's Witness? What may be the long-lasting psychological effects of being 'always on' for ex members?  These are all subjects explored in this week's episode, plus how organizational psychologists research the s...

Taking action against cults and spiritual abuse requires changes in law and policies often at the National or State level. How is this achieved? Today we welcome Lisa Kendall, herself a former member of a cult called 'The Move of God', and the Founder and Director of the Counter Cult Coalition. Lisa has a Masters in Public Administration from Portland State University. We also welcome Jake Giovati...

Prompted by a Tweet, Celine and Stephen explore the judgement that Jehovah's Witnesses literature can cause psychological damage and that it employs NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) in order to influence people. Lots of questions follow: What is the claim? How could we scientifically research it? What is NLP? Contact us https://www.evilsheep.co.uk/contact Become a patron https://www.evilsheep.co...

Darin Challacombe is a social scientist and researcher in the field of terrorism. He recently gave a talk at the ICSA conference about the synergy between cults and terror groups. Stephen grabbed the opportunity to speak to him about what the similarities and differences are. Darin also discusses some groups who morph from cult to terrorist as well as the strategies being deployed to disrupt radic...

Does it matter what cults believe? Or is it only what they do that matters? Should we respect beliefs that aren't true? How should we engage with beliefs? Should we challenge each others beliefs? And how should the podcast engage with cult escape stories that include finding a new set of religious or mystical beliefs? In today's podcast Celine and Stephen explore these questions by looking at some...

What function do heroes serve? Why were we not allowed to have posters of our heroes on our bedroom walls? Who are our modern day heroes? What happens when our heroes disappoint us or show us they are human? What cultural differences are there between the USA and the UK around heroes?               

On this special episode, author Ali Millar talks about the release of her wonderful new book 'The Last Days' and why she had to tell her story, growing up in, and eventually leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses. We explore with her the experience of childhood indoctrination and the lessons it teaches, Ali's leading a 'double life', her experience with an eating disorder and the harrowing experience of...

How many core emotions are there? How do we understand them? How do they come into play when people leave a high control group? We also review the Pixar movie 'Inside Out', a film all about emotions. Become a patron for just $1.50 a month.  https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout   Links Paul Ekman's website https://www.paulekman.com/about/paul-ekman/   Psychology Today - Modal Model of Emot...

Kat Wallace is a 4th generation ex Jehovah's Witness and speaker at the recent ICSA conference, who struggled growing up to fit into the mould of the submissive JW woman. She shares some of her story of leaving, coming to terms with her self, her sexuality and her analysis of a process she describes as '7 Steps to Unpacking Belief Systems'.  Become a patron for just $1.50 per month - there's only...

Did Google just create a conscious A.I.? If it has, what would that mean? Today Celine and Stephen explore the recent claims by a Google employee that they had created a machine that had gained sentience. If Google had, how could we know? What is a 'Turing test'? What would it mean for religious people who believe in the soul?  Links Transcript of a conversation with Blake Lemoine and LaMDA https:...

Two conference speakers, the winner of an award, and the conference attendee first-prize winner! Today's special episode  welcomes Daniel O'Brien, presenter of 'Pathways to Healing', award winning author Erika Bornman and Kacey from top podcast 'The Cult Vault'. We talk about legal questions around cults, recovery from coercively controlling groups, identity and the stories we tell about ourselves...

This week's episode looks at the question of abortion and the recent Supreme Court decision in the USA. It's a subject that we've planned to talk about for some time and recent events have made it absolutely time we did. Content warning: Obviously given the subject matter listener discretion is recommended. If you'd like to become a patron you can sign up for just £1 ($1.50) a month. https://www.p...

Ex Jehovah's Witness Alisha tried to simply leave the religion she was raised in and build her own life. The elders had other ideas. Become a patron https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout

The promise that you can be transformed into the person you've always wanted to be is a tempting one. This week Celine and Stephen explore the LGAT - Large Group Awareness Training industry and similar interventions. Can they deliver their promise? Are there risks associated with them? Are some of them cultic in their methods?