Cults to Consciousness

Melanie and Cory grew up in the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) at the Montana compound. They wouldn’t  meet, however, until long after leaving the cult and all their family behind. Almost a polygamous wife, Melanie had a horrible arranged marriage at a young age and did whatever it took to get out and become free. Now, we look at what happens when a funeral brings them both back to the compo...

One of the polygamous offshoots of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) where the famous Kody Brown and Sister Wives come from. Melanie grew up in this group with 4 mothers and 34 and counting siblings. Her Father was an apostle when she was growing up, but would go on to become the prophet. A position that is said to commune directly with God and...

Shannon Foley Martinez was a vict*m of CSA at age 14.  Never quite able to meet her parent's expectations, Martinez sought out other angry teens. By 16 she was a sk*nhead spouting white supremac*st rhetoric, giving stiff-armed N*zi salutes and tagging public property with swast*kas. Fortified by the love of an adopted family, Martinez left the sk*nheads behind, and today is committed to devot...

Shannon Foley Martinez was a victim of CSA at age 14.  Never quite able to meet her parent's expectations, Martinez sought out other angry teens. By 16 she was a skinhead spouting white supremacist rhetoric, giving stiff-armed Nazi salutes and tagging public property with swastikas. Fortified by the love of an adopted family, Martinez left the skinheads behind, and today is committed to devot...

Christian Picciolini found himself stumbling through high school, struggling to find a community among other fans of punk rock music. There, he was recruited by a notorious white power sk*nhead leader and encouraged to fight with the movement to "protect the white race from extinction." Soon, he had become an expert in rac*st philosophies, a terror who roamed the neighborhood, quick to throw fists...

A Happy Mother’s Day to everyone tuning in! This is an honest conversation between a mother and daughter about the crippling expectations placed on mothers in high control groups. Lisa explains her experience growing up in Mormonism which shaped her view of her options after high school and directly led her to becoming a young mother leaving her dreams behind. Shelise chimes in about what she reme...

From a desperate mother in poverty to an American Romani family, Amanda had no trace of who she was. All of her documents were either destroyed or hidden and any trace of her biological mother was gone. Her life was a paradox of luxury coupled with ab*se and isolation. Kept out of school and othered for being adopted, she felt completely alone. Amanda was pushed into an arranged marriage which tur...

In our previous interview, Gina exposed many ways in which she was trained from birth to scam as a fortune teller. Some of the schemes her family ran on unsuspecting or vulnerable people garnered over $100k. Gina explained how the American Romani family she was a part of, was not living up to the beautiful culture of her persecuted people, but were greedy, ab*sive and scammers. Forced to become on...

Gina Merino grew up in California with a very strict family which identifies as “Gypsies”. Her life was strictly controlled and she experienced harsh ab*se at the hands of her step mother. At elementary age, before being pulled out of school, she would begin telling fortune, understanding she was lying to people, but had no other choice. She uncovers ways in which her and her family scammed people...

Born a Romani girl in the US, in a very insulated group, Paulina Stevens had her future laid out for her. She was set in an arranged marriage to her cousin at 14 years old and after her dowry was paid, her new family claimed they “owned her”. Things got dark and possessive very quickly and no one would help her. After having chiIdren and realizing she needed to escape, she would spend years fighti...

Today we are joined LIVE by former Independent Fundamental Baptist Eric, of the show @preacherboys, to discuss the Bible Baptist Church. It has a decades-long history of hiring, supporting, and protecting individuals credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse and other serious crimes, especially against children. The church’s leadership, particularly Pastor Doug Duffett, has repeatedly minimize...

CW:  CA, ED.  What happens when religion and power collide in the wrong hands? At Grenville Christian College, once one of Canada’s most prestigious private religious schools, the result was thousands of broken lives.  Once ranked amongst Canada’s elite boarding schools, the impressive facade hid a far darker truth. Just three years after its opening, the college fell prey to the “M...

The Institute in Basic Life Principles, run by the predatory Bill Gothard, would turn thousands of families into their own isolated cults. Matthew Castle was trapped in his own family until his mid twenties. Shielded from the outside world and musically stifled, his talent on the violin was so impressive, multiple colleges including Juilliard tried recruiting him as a young teen. However, without...

Louise Roberts grew up in a strict LDS (Mormon) household where the messages of apostles’ quotes would echo throughout. One of them being “if you are ever in a position to be r*ped, ask to be k*lled.” Her mother was not aware that she had already been h*rmed as a chiId. This led to feelings of worthlessness and shame which had her seeking love and acceptance from boys in her school. When she found...

After 25 years of being a devout Mormon, when Lexi started questioning her faith, she had no support other than the online content made by ex-Mormon creators.  When her father saw that she responded to and agreed with an ex-Mormon social media post, he snapped at her to keep her mouth shut about her opinions.  This was the moment that fueled her to start her own ex-Mormon YouTube channel...

In a church that requires confessions from ages as early as 8, to an untrained, inexperienced, randomly appointed man, it leaves a lot of room for a potential ab*se situation. In Taylor’s case, she developed scrupulously (religious OCD) and felt compelled to repent of every single thing that would be seen as a sin by the LDS church. Her bishop further took advantage of her, asking for explicit det...

Join us with the amazing husband and wife team, Sam and Melissa from   @GrowingUpinPolygamy   as they blind react to plot points of the Handmaid’s Tale and tell us all the ways some of these exact things were and ARE still happening in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Click here to watch on YouTube YouTube:   @GrowingUpinPolygamy  ...

Learn about the shocking similarities between the “Shiny Happy People” documentary cult which is the Institute in Basic Life Principles and the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)! Joining the conversation is husband and wife team Sam and Melissa from Growing Up in Polygamy.  Click here to watch on YouTube YouTube:   @GrowingUpinPolygamy   Website: http...

An expert witness for Amish and Mennonite court cases, Lizzie explains the rules of her intense settlement before taking us through her unbelievable story of disaster, lethal betrayal, tragedy, abandonment and perseverance. She even gives us a glimpse of the strange dating practice which takes place in the woman’s bedroom. Decades later she seeks justice against the Bishop who groomed and ab*sed h...

Former Amish, Eli Yoder, broke the news that several Amish men contacted him after being outed by the Emergency Test Alert. Some Amish communities allow cell phones, while other more strict communities still forbid them.  Eli, is known for helping smuggle phones into these communities to better connect them with resources and help. He stated, "Some Amish men got shunned by the Amish Church fo...

Having left the Old Order Amish 27 years ago, Eli Yoder, has helped 200+ people flee the Amish community.  In today's episode, we discuss the consequences of leaving the Amish, how his mother demanded he never return, and ultimately how his fan base helped soften his mother, and the discussion they recently had when he paid her a visit.   Click here to watch on YouTube Eli’s 1st int...

Rachel Clinesmith found herself in Los Angeles in the middle of an entire scene dedicated to Vampyres; a lifestyle she would come to love. Head of the Vampyres is a man who named himself Father S, making custom fangs for his followers. Father S established a Vampyre religion, with him as prophet who claims to syphon energy from his Vampyre balls and offer it up to an entity. Becoming part of his i...

Growing up in what she would describe a misfit lifestyle, Rachel found comfort in the goth scene. Her makeup artistry took her to Los Angeles where she found an entire scene dedicated to Vampyres; a lifestyle she would come to love. Head of the Vampyres is a man who named himself Father S, making custom fangs for his followers. He established a Vampyre religion, with him as prophet who claims to s...

As a child, Michelle Dowd grew up on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest. She was born into an ultra-religious cult—or the Field as they called it—started in the 1930s by her grandfather, a mercurial, domineering, and charismatic man who convinced generations of young male followers that he would live 500 years and ascend to the heavens when doomsday came. Comfort and care are sins, Michelle...

After an incredible interview with former gang member, Sosa Henkoma, we are going LIVE today with him to further discuss his time in prison.  We're diving into how he was repping the gang who betrayed him while in prison, how he navigated the system as a gang member, and how he found out through therapy that he was groomed. Further discussing the ways he had to deconstruct his past and s...