Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan

The November 2024 election will determine the future of America and the free world. Donald Trump has chosen J.D. Vance as his vice president, and the pair continue to get increasingly “weird,” and lying seems to be ramping up if that is even possible. Conservative attorney George Conway has created the Anti-Psychopath PAC and has publicly called out the media’s failure to explain the dangers of ha...

With the election just a few months away and an unprecedented barrage of psychological warfare being leveled at Americans, as well as people around the world, we decided to reshare this podcast and blog from 2020. It features Dr. James Scaminaci’s expertise on psychological warfare and specifically something called Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW). Understanding psychological warfare is imperative...

With the 2024 election coming in November, Trump has been ramping up his rhetoric about using the DOJ to go after his critics who he considers his enemies. He has managed to enthrall millions to think God is on Trump’s side. All I can say is that no one has experienced more directly the weaponization of the DOJ using former AG William Barr, than Michael Cohen. His book Revenge: How Donald Trump We...

Kristy Norbert, co-founder and executive director of Empowered Network, is a licensed social worker with over 20 years of experience who has developed trauma-informed programs aimed at helping trafficking survivors achieve long-term stability and self-sufficiency. Her insights reveal the critical intersection between human trafficking and mind control, similar to the techniques employed by cult le...

Humans crave connection. This need for connection is a vital aspect of the psychology behind cults, coercion, and undue influence. Isolation makes people vulnerable and fearful and more likely to be influenced in harmful ways. Psychiatrist Ravi Chandra discusses the psychology of connection, how institutions can take action to encourage empathy and critical thinking, and how social media and fear-...

Did you know there are 8.6 million dedicated members of the Watchtower Society or Jehovah’s Witnesses, and supposedly, over 20 million people attend their annual big meeting (memorial attendance) worldwide? They are out on street corners, travel terminals in pairs. When I heard about a new book in Portuguese by a former elder, I wanted to learn more. António's new book, The Universe of Destructive...

This fascinating interview is with Dr. Eva Selhub who worked at Harvard with Herb Benson developing and understanding about the mind body connection to health. Dr. Selhub is an internationally recognized resiliency expert who has worked as a physician, author, executive coach, keynote speaker, and spiritual advisor. She has written many books, including Burnout for Dummies, Resilience for Dummies,...

I had the privilege of a second opportunity to talk with Michelle Dowd, a journalism professor and author of Forager: Field Notes on Surviving a Family Cult. I watched Michelle’s three-and-a-half-hour interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Joe was utterly fascinated by Dowd’s cult experience and asked many questions, including what a cult is. Michelle mentioned me and my BITE Model. Indeed, I was on Jo...

I read David Lipsky’s article in Rolling Stone last year on how the Moonies have been the center for global climate denial for 50 years through their Washington Times organization. I immediately bought his book, The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial and wanted to interview him. Well, the paperback is now out and we had a great interaction! This enlightening conversation delve...

For those who know Combating Cult Mind Control and my work, you know I was in the Moon cult. However, if you are under 50 years old, most people have no idea what the Moonies are about.  Allen Tate Wood was a four-year member of the Unification Church–aka The Moon organization. He was the Chief Political Officer of the Unification Church in the United States, commander for the state of Maryland, w...

One of the most publicized authoritarian cults is Scientology and the world’s leading authority is Jon Atack. Jon and I have been friends and colleagues He is the author of Let’s Sell These People A Piece of Blue Sky, considered the definitive book on Scientology, Dianetics, and L. Ron Hubbard. During our podcast, we discussed the new audiobook versions of Scientology: The Cult of Greed and Openin...

Jonathon Sawyer is urgently speaking out against involvement of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in education for a very clear reason. He stated, “More people need to know that those who are discriminated against [sometimes] become those who discriminate.” In psychology, we call this the victim, victimizer paradigm. It is the idea that without healthy self-reflection, people exteriorize or proj...

Anke Richter co-founded FACT (Fight Against Conspiracy Theories) and is organizing the first cult awareness conference in Australia, DECULT. Anke’s bestseller “Cult Trip: Inside the World of Coercion & Control” is about her ten-year investigation into sex cults –from tantra yoga to the Human Potential Movement to fundamentalist Christianity. She is a voice against cults, conspiracies, and undue in...

Mike tried to escape Scientology’s undue influence when he was 15. As punishment for trying to escape, he was isolated, sleep-deprived, and forced to do hard labor for over a year and a half. Mike reflects that he felt like a prisoner during this time. Mike finally escaped Scientology at age 27 and joined the military. He had little education and no credit history. Despite these odds, he was inspi...

Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof has been the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, WA, since 2011. He’s appreciated for his mind-altering sermons, compassionate soul, and social activism. Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism have traditionally been known as liberal religions, defined by their commitment to individual dignity and freedom of expression. They promote diversity and inclu...

A former British Police Detective and Undercover Operator, Julie Jones is the founder and CEO of Human-I Intelligence Services, an international consultancy specializing in cybercrime investigations and online open-source intelligence (OSINT). She is a recognized international expert in human trafficking. A bestselling author of the book How to Be a World Class Investigator, international speaker,...

My guest on this episode of The Influence Continuum is Pamela Ryckman, who wrote the book Candace Pert: Genius, Greed, and Madness in the World of Science. Science and health institutions can mimic cult-like behaviors and dysfunctional systems when the structures within them become overly competitive and focused on limited resources to obtain professional goals. Ideals of collaboration for the goo...

Empowering patients or clients to have authority and control over their medical experiences is vital to beneficial therapeutic care. Likewise, well-crafted use of professional communication skills in setting expectations about clinical procedures and outcomes can mean the difference between a traumatic medical visit versus one being remembered with gratitude. Clinical studies show that clinicians...

Russell Johnson is a former member of the Korean martial arts cult Chung Moo Quan. After much negative publicity, its name was changed to Oom Yung Doe. Now a professional security consultant, activist, and podcaster, Russell got involved with the cult as a teen and was involved for eight years. We first met in the early 90s when he contacted me after reading Combating Cult Mind Control. My book he...

“America right now needs some exit ramps,” Jason Van Tatenhove said as we discussed his former role as national media director for the Oath Keepers, a group known for its far-right anti-government militia. While Jason would ultimately decide to leave the group in 2016 due to increasing racism and Holocaust denial within their membership, the Oath Keepers would go on to participate in the United St...

As a Protestant, Matthew D. Taylor, Ph. D., is a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS), where he specializes in Muslim-Christian dialogue, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, religious politics in the U.S., and American Islam. ICJS produced a 30-minute documentary, Spiritual Warriors: Decoding Christian Nationalism at the Capitol Riot, featuring Dr. T...

Hypnosis is everywhere on the Internet- either covertly like ASMR or overtly, where people are enticed to learn hypnosis or NLP, a version of Ericksonian hypnosis. My guest is the lead editor of a comprehensive textbook on clinical hypnosis. Still, it also includes two chapters I co-authored with law professor emeritus Alan Scheflin on the dark side of hypnosis, which includes MK-Ultra. The newly...

In this enlightening episode, I speak to Ryan McBeth, an experienced military veteran and a recognized figure in cybersecurity, military analysis, and artificial intelligence, to explore a range of thought-provoking topics. Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge from his 20 years of service as an anti-armor and heavy weapons infantryman and his prolific work as a software architect, novelist, and YouTu...

Anthony Davis is a British broadcaster, journalist, and voiceover artist. He was born in London and has been based in Los Angeles since 2017, where he works remotely from his home studio with networks worldwide. Since November 2021, his collaborations with the MeidasTouch media network, including the Five-Minute News, The Weekend Show, and America Uncovered, have exploded his reach across the US a...

Analyzing online content and how people interact with that content is essential to understanding the process of online radicalization. Twitter/ X has been a major source of information for tracking QAnon and many bad actors from Russia as well as Christian Dominionists, Neo Nazis, and others. Bad actors worldwide use social media to post content to arouse emotions and create chaos. Distrust and po...