Cult Hackers

A Weltanschauung is a 'worldview', a way of making sense out what we see and experience. Each person has a specific way of making sense of life and leaving a high control group means rewiring our worldview in many areas. Stephen also presents the case for understanding political and social angst in light of different people's Weltanschauung. Strap in, it's a philosophical episode of 'What should I...

A very special episode, John Elson is an old friend and fellow ex Jehovah's Witness. John is very important to us as he is our resident artist, producing the cool artwork we use to promote the podcast every week. A professional artist, he talks about his journey from very active Jehovah's Witness, elder and regular pioneer to stand-up comedian and then on to professional artist. Also our first eve...

What do we mean by perfection? How do cults use the concept? What is its connection to sin? Where does excellence and achievement sit within this conversation and why can it be tricky for leavers of high control groups? All this plus a couple of 'Tweets of The Week'. Why not become a patron for just £1 (or equivalent in your currency)?  https://www.patreon.com/join/whatshouldithinkabout   Vox arti...

In this series Stephen uses Organizational Psychological Theory to explore High Control Groups. In this episode Stephen explores whether high control groups (cults) respond favourably to external pressures to change their policies and behavior.

Ryan David Tuttle talks about his life growing up on the edge of the Jehovah's Witness congregation, his efforts to embrace what he saw as his community and his eventual disenchantment and leaving. He also discusses his ideas about an ecological model of cult involvement.

Today we review 'Unorthodox', the short series on Netflix, inspired by the book by Deborah Feldman. The story follows a young woman fleeing a closed community that restricts her freedom to make her own decisions about her life. We explore the remarkable way this story resonates with other experiences of people raised in High Control Groups. We also discuss some criticisms of the show and the poten...

Mark Jones is an ex Jehovah's Witness who has carved out a niche for himself in one of the most influential and read question-and-answer websites - Quora. Mark has over 14 thousand followers on Quora and has been able to help many people to learn the truth about the organization behind the name. He's a great interview and has his own story to tell.  Why not become a patron? https://www.patreon.com...

Stephen talks to Producer Bob about the research of Sofia Klufas, presenter at the International Cultic Studies Association convention, into the experience of second and third generation cult members, as they leave their group.  Why not become a Patron for just £1 (or equivalent) https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/  

Today we discuss our personal strategies to avoid falling into the 'pit of despair' - a feeling of anxiety about self and the world. Leaving an all encompassing groups can leave a person feeling overwhelmed and dad talks about that, but The News and making our way through a complex world affects everyone, so Celine talks about her ways of managing that. We hope you enjoy this very personal episode...

Geoffrey Wallis is a current Jehovah's Witness who has written a book about what it's like to be a Physically In, Mentally Out (PIMO) Jehovah's Witness. Geoffrey has a fascinating perspective coupled with well researched thoughts on religious trauma and other psychological effects of belonging to a captive organization. Why not become a 'What should I think about..?' patron https://www.patreon.com...

Stephen has a bit of a rant about the documentary 'Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests. Also, what are psychometrics? Do they say anything interesting? Are they all born equal? Is there a sinister side to them? Become a Patron for just £1 https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/   Interesting links The Vox article https://www.vox.com/2014/7/15/5881947/myers-briggs-personality-te...

A special episode of the podcast with a visit to Knaresborough, Yorkshire, the home of Mother Shipton, England's most famous Prophetess and the archetype of what we now think of as the traditional Witch. Come on holiday with Stephen and special guest on the podcast Celine's mum Sarah. What do we know about Mother Shipton? What were some of her prophecies? And what are the parallels with Biblical p...

So many cult escapees cite the movie The Matrix as a metaphor to describe the leaving process. Today we explore why, and how it can be interpreted as a way to make sense of the leaving process. Warning! Lot's of talk about The Matrix including spoilers. Why not become a patron for just £1 a month. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/   Lilly Wachowski on The Matrix https://www.youtube.co...

Elgen was born to a 'matched couple' in the Unification Church, better known as the Moonies. He talks to us about his experience growing up as a 'Blessed Child'. He explains the theology and philosophy and his experience breaking free and finding his sense of identity. This is such a powerful and fascinating story with many similarities to other cult experiences, but some unique elements too.  Elg...

Having to be happy for the benefit of others is one example of emotional labour. Cabin crew, sales assistants and carers are all expected to regulate their emotions to provide the right experience for the customer. But what about High Control Groups? Wearing a Kingdom smile and being happy was a requirement for Dad as a Jehovah's Witnesses - and is replicated in other groups. Is this the ultimate...

Just before her world premiere at the Galway Film Festival, Filmmaker and ex Jehovah's Witness Kamila Dydyna talks to us about Debutante, her short film about the experience of a young Jehovah's Witness having to endure a Judicial Committee, an internal hearing to determine whether she will be disfellowshipped and shunned. It's a powerful short film and Kamila talks about her motivation for making...

This bonus episode is a review of a lecture from the International Cultic Studies Association Convention that addresses the question of fundamentalist groups and the mental health of leavers who were raised into them.  Thank you to Producer Bob and Jordan for being guest panel members on this episode. 

Following on from our interview with Jill Adams, Celine and Stephen explore the trials and tribulations of finding love as a Jehovah's Witness and some of the challenges after you leave. Stephen opens up about his identity crisis upon leaving and some the effects it had upon his relationship. Tweet of the week looks at the Flood and the story of Noah and asks some tricky questions about the belief...

High Control Groups insert themselves into their followers sex lives and relationships. This has consequences both while part of the Group and upon leaving. We speak to Jill Adams, ex Jehovah's Witness activist and creator of the YouTube channel 'The Fig Leaf' about some of these issues and the journey leavers make once they leave the beliefs behind. We talk about life inside the group including a...

What are cognitive biases? Why do we have them? And how do cults manipulate them? We discuss heuristics and how they give rise to biases and delve into just a few of them including Essentialism, Conservatism, The Halo Effect, The Fundamental Attribution Error and the Self Serving Bias. We also talk about Daniel Kahneman's book 'Thinking fast and slow' and learn about the two system thinking model...

Bethan is an ex mormon blogger and writes about her experiences as a member of the LDS church. In today's podcast she talks about her beliefs and worldview as a Mormon, early happy times within the Group as well as her struggles to maintain her beliefs even after she'd left. She also discusses the Group's position on the role of women, sex and sexuality and how it affected her. A fascinating inter...

What is narcissism? How do people become narcissists? Is there a link between narcissism and leadership? What about cults are they led by narcissists? And what is malignant narcissism?  We discuss these questions by reviewing a lecture by Charles Zeiders and Peter Devlin author of the book Malignant Narcissism and Power: A Psychodynamic Exploration of Madness and Leadership. It's fascinating stuff...

Jeremy Howell, AKA Germ is the creator of the Mentally Diseased YouTube channel. He talks to us about his life as a Jehovah's Witness and why they think he's mentally diseased. We discuss his early years as, in his words, a "goodie two shoes", the quashing of his creative potential and his struggles with his realisation about his sexuality. He also describes growing up in a family with an abusive...

This Bonus episode is part of the 'Cults as Organizations' series I use Organizational Psychology to explore high control groups and compare them to other groups.   This month I look at Psychological wellbeing by using the ABCs of psychological wellbeing developed by lecturers of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. Reference article https://social.hays.com/2020/04/...

As a member of a high control group Stephen was taught that 'self-help' books and programs (that were not from the cult) were dangerous and wrong. When you leave there's a desire and a possible need for self development, but there's also a risk of getting sucked into another all-encompassing system of belief. We discuss this question and more in the latest episode.  Plus we have 'Tweet of the Week...