IndoctriNation

Rachel Nelson, Chelle Swierz, and Melissa Longfellow were all teachers and leaders for many years in the Baptiste Yoga organization - a high-control yoga system led by Baron Baptiste that claims to be changing the world through its “methodology.” During that time they dedicated their careers and much of their personal lives to the group and the leader, believing that what they were doing was heali...

Rachel Nelson, Chelle Swierz, and Melissa Longfellow were all teachers and leaders for many years in the Baptiste Yoga organization - a high-control yoga system led by Baron Baptiste that claims to be changing the world through its “methodology.” During that time they dedicated their careers and much of their personal lives to the group and the leader, believing that what they were doing was heali...

Kelly Thiel is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant to families and organizations regarding high-demand groups, cults, and narcissistic personalities. She is dedicated to helping people reclaim their freedom and begin their own healing journeys. Kelly has experience as a member of the Executive Success Program/NXIVM, a high-demand group whose leader was convicted of federal crimes, includi...

India Oxenberg is a successful film producer, writer, and actress. India is a national ambassador for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. She is also the daughter of our previous guest Catherine Oxenberg who Rachel worked with while India was involved in NXIVM, the infamous multi-level marketing company that was later expos...

India Oxenberg is a successful film producer, writer, and actress. India is a national ambassador for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. She is also the daughter of our previous guest Catherine Oxenberg who Rachel worked with as a client while India was involved in NXIVM, the infamous multi-level marketing company that was...

Jitarth Jadeja is a former QAnon follower and current moderator of a Reddit group with over 200K followers called QAnon Casualties. Residing in Sydney, Australia, Jitarth has been covered in many major news publications in the U.S. and beyond, providing important insight into the perplexing world of Q. Since leaving Qanon behind, Jitarth has become an invaluable resource not only to high-profile j...

Jon Sawyer was raised in two homes influenced by both high-demand religion and secular worldviews. Prior to his parent's divorce at the age of four, his family was involved with both Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Christian Science. Shortly after his parent's divorce, his mother took a secular route, while his father converted to Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity. While Jon'...

Jon Sawyer was raised in two homes influenced by both high-demand religion and secular worldviews. Prior to his parent's divorce at the age of four, his family was involved with both Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Christian Science. Shortly after his parent's divorce, his mother took a secular route, while his father converted to Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity. While Jon'...

Emily is a former member of C3 NYC where she endured three years of pastoral abuse. Her account @C3ChurchWatch on Instagram was created in June 2020 as an effort to stop the harassment she was experiencing. She did not think anyone but her pastor would notice it, but soon found herself with plenty of followers and supporters privately and publicly citing harm or abuse from C3 churches all over the...

Mark Potok is an internationally renowned expert on the American radical right, who, for 20 years helped lead the legendary Southern Poverty Law Center in exposing hate groups, right-wing terrorism, and the rapidly increasing infiltration of extremist ideas into the political mainstream. In that role, Potok faced numerous death threats from white supremacists and constant vilification by leaders o...

Mark Potok is an internationally renowned expert on the American radical right who, for 20 years, helped lead the legendary Southern Poverty Law Center in exposing hate groups, right-wing terrorism, and the rapidly increasing infiltration of extremist ideas into the political mainstream. In that role, Potok faced numerous death threats from white supremacists and constant vilification by leaders o...

Jacob is a socialist community organizer living in Philadelphia. He helps run the Community Action Relief Project (CARP), a mutual aid organization committed to sharing resources and redistributing wealth throughout the Kensington neighborhood and broader Philadelphia. In addition to hosting political reading groups and building relationships with neighborhood groups for CARP, his creative pursuit...

Jacob is a socialist community organizer living in Philadelphia. He helps run the Community Action Relief Project (CARP), a mutual aid organization committed to sharing resources and redistributing wealth throughout the Kensington neighborhood and broader Philadelphia. In addition to hosting political reading groups and building relationships with neighborhood groups for CARP, his creative pursuit...

Anna grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family as part of the Quiverfull movement. She and her 6 siblings were not allowed to attend school and were very isolated from the outside world. Everything about her childhood was strictly controlled, from the clothes she wore to the media she had access to. She was expected to teach herself from primarily religious texts as well as teaching and caring...

CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of Sexual Assault Anna grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family as part of the Quiverfull movement. She and her 6 siblings were not allowed to attend school and were very isolated from the outside world. Everything about her childhood was strictly controlled, from the clothes she wore to the media she had access to. She was expected to teach herself from primarily r...

Returning this week is Roberta Blevins, a former "Hun", who left the MLM world in 2017 and began publicly educating and speaking out against it. In her time in MLM, she was involved as a consultant for 3; It Works!, LuLaRoe and Modere, and a customer of many. Since leaving MLM, she has educated herself on the systemic structure of the business model, the psychological manipulation, the see...

This week's guest, Roberta Blevins is a former "Hun", who left the MLM world in 2017 and began publicly educating and speaking out against it. In her time in MLM, she was involved as a consultant for 3; It Works!, LuLaRoe and Modere, and a customer of many. Since leaving MLM, she has educated herself on the systemic structure of the business model, the psychological manipulation, the s...

Lola Blanc is a singer/songwriter, filmmaker, actress, and cult survivor. Her single “Angry Too” has over 20 million streams on Spotify, and as a songwriter, Blanc has also written for other artists including Britney Spears. Blanc’s work as a filmmaker has been spotlighted by BILLBOARD, FANGORIA, FUNNY OR DIE, and the prestigious short film channel OMELETO. Much of her work is inspired by her chil...

Returning this week is Thomas who grew up in Denmark with a covert narcissist mother who kept him socially isolated, emotionally abused him, and manipulated his sense of reality. For most of his life, he didn’t realize that anything was wrong, because of the covert nature of the emotional abuse, control, and gaslighting he was exposed to. A year ago he started to get a better grasp of his own real...

Our guest this week, Thomas, is from Denmark, and grew up alone with a covert narcissist mother who kept him socially isolated, emotionally abused him, and manipulated his sense of reality. For most of his life, he didn’t realize that anything was wrong, because of the covert nature of the emotional abuse, control, and gaslighting he was exposed to. A year ago he started to get a better grasp of h...

Our returning guest, Claire Headley was born and raised in Scientology and joined Scientology's "Sea Organization" at 16, including signing a billion-year contract. In the Sea Org, Claire was quickly promoted to Scientology's international headquarters in Hemet, California, where she worked for 14 years, including working as an executive in their Religious Technology Center under D...

This week's guest, Claire Headley was born and raised in Scientology and joined Scientology's "Sea Organization" at 16, including signing a billion-year contract. In the Sea Org, Claire was quickly promoted to Scientology's international headquarters in Hemet, California, where she worked for 14 years, including working as an executive in their Religious Technology Center under...

This week's guest, Spike Robinson was born in the wilds of New Jersey and raised in bustling, metropolitan Vermont, she began her educational career in literary criticism before deciding to go for broke (literally) and study music theory and composition. One completed degree and three years in a “ritual magick” cult later, she found a new life path educating others about coercive control, mani...

This week we are proud to present a crossover episode with Dr. Clint Heacock, of the MindShift podcast. Dr. Heacock is an ex-evangelical pastor and Bible college teacher of over 20 years. After deconstructing his former Christian faith and leaving it behind more than a decade ago, he’s used his podcast platform to educate and help those who have left religion to rebuild their lives. In this first...

This week's guest, Marilyn Mayo, is the Research Fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism. Marilyn is an expert on right-wing extremists in the United States, ranging from white supremacists to academic racists to anti-immigrant groups. She has been with the ADL for 24 years, having previously served as the Associate Director of Investigative Research. Marilyn shares he...