jon atack, family and friends

award-winning psychiatrist Steve Moffic discusses the potential crisis in the US and Scientology's war on psychiatry. Steve criticises the pharmaceutical bias of psychiatry, while defending the proper use of medicines. Both the US and the UK have struggled with understaffing for the treatment of mental disorders. Steve and Jon talk about the drift from a caring society into social media doomsc...

Since Scientology gave birth to Silva Mind Control, Leadership or Mind Dynamics and est, in the 1960s, there has been an industry in 'large group awareness trainings' (LGATs), including The Forum, Landmark Education, Lifespring and Tony Robbins. Wikipedia tells us LGATs 'may compromise participants' mental wellbeing'. Dr John Hunter realized that the LGAT he attended at his bos...

Cult expert Joe Szimhart discusses Cosmism, the bizarre set of fairy tale ideas that underlie Putin's 'neo-Traditionalism' and the creation of a vast Eurasian state. The relationship between these ideas and other forms of fascism - including Nazism - showing the occult notions that remain unknown to the true believers in authoritarianism. link to the paper Joe mentions More on Russian Cosmism on J...

Actor, documentarian, and cult survivor Hoyt Richards discusses the danger of former members engaging before they have healed. Hoyt is concerned about the infighting in the wide world of survivors. Jon adds reflections from his four decades of work with former members. Many people leave an authoritarian group and deny the harm it did to them and the harm they did to others because of their cult be...

Jon and Dustin share some positive ideas about AI and a few cyber security tips to keep Scientology agents out of your computer. Links: Dustin's website Dustin's dissertation Pew Research Center survey on Americans' views of AI Article mentioning improved performance on the International Mathematics Olympiad qualifying exam AI Medical licensing exam performance ChatGPT passing the bar...

Jon and Spike continue their discussion on Hubbard, ritual magick, the slaves that Hubbard made, and the slaves still kept captive by Scientology to this day. Links: Survey of atheists who believe in the supernatural More on the four humors

Hubbard's oldest son, L. Ron Jr., aka "Nibs," once said, "The same man who gave the magick to Hitler gave it to Ron Hubbard." Is this an accurate assessment of Scientology? Jon and Spike talk about this and about ritual magick, Nazism, Theosophy, and other subjects. It's a wild ride and you'll want to listen in. Links: The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard Read the Paper, Never Believe a Hypnotist...

The New York Times best-seller list was topped by Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health almost forty years after it was first published through Jefferson Hawkins' marketing savvy. A turgid, repetitive, contradictory text, whose own author labelled its method 'hypnotic' only a year after release, reached the top of the most significant book list because Jeff ignored everything Hubbard had...

Thanksgiving brought gratitude to Dr Moffic's attention. As he points out, gratitude is an important aspect of our psychological health. The good doctor asks if gratitude is relevant to cult involvement. Perhaps sociopathy can be seen as a lack of gratitude? Note: From Abraham Lincoln Online : "Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New Engla...

Madam Blavatsky was a fascinating woman. She travelled throughout Europe, the Middle East, India and the US gathering every last secret from the Sufi, Sikh, Masonic and Rosicrucian groups she met and published them in her Secret Doctrine. Many groups have their origins in her work - including Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Church Universal and Triumphant, various American fascist groups, and the Or...

Jon has a few things on his mind about the connection between Scientology, the Nazis, and the occult. Was L. Ron Hubbard Jr. right when he said that his father “was given the magic by the same person who gave it to Hitler"? Just what is the link between the Nazis and Scientology? Read Jon's paper, Possible Origins of Dianetics and Scientology or watch the videos: part one part two And read Jon's p...

Spike's been researching movies and TV shows featuring "cults" and has found an ... ahem... interesting pattern. Join Jon and Spike as they discuss the good, the bad, and the just plain cringe.

Explore the pressing question of our time: How do we counter authoritarianism without falling into dogma ourselves? In this thought-provoking conversation, John Atack and Jeremy Sherman tackle the rise of absolutist movements, the role of irony and curiosity in challenging dogma, and the existential challenges facing humanity in an increasingly complex world. 🔹 From the psychology of Trumpism to...

As a member of Dustin's PhD committee, Jon became familiar with his research into public awareness of psychological manipulation. Dustin describes the motivation for his work and the survey he used to estimate public understanding of manipulation. This breakthrough research will hopefully encourage other graduate students to work in this vastly under-researched area. Links: Dustin's dissertation T...

Hoyt shares his experience as a long term member of a group with a base in astrology. He was recruited at age 16. He studied at Princeton University and became internationally successful but stayed in the group for 20 years. Why do we accept conspiracy theories and magical ideas? To what extent do limitations in perception and interpretation inhibit our reasoning. A discussion about authority, cer...

Dr Ethan Russo has been involved in cannabis research for many years. He dispels some of the myths and talks about recent breakthroughs in the treatment of anxiety and dementia. Dr Russo focuses on current research into limonene and cannabigerol. A fascinating conversation with a true expert. Links: Ethan's site: https://ethanrusso.org Acute effects of cannabigerol on anxiety, stress, and mood htt...

Jeremy is anxious to prevent a dissociation death spiral in our culture. We explore further his approach to Trump supporters and Jon offers some portmanteau words - Jeremy's speciality - including Magavellian, utopiates and fascilitators. Links: Jeremy's videos: " Ruin A Trumpist's Day The Nice Way " and " How to Stage Interventions With Trump Addicts "

The social science that supports our work with cults has been questioned in the last decade. We discuss the complaints about Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment, Stanley Milgram's Yale shock machine studies, and Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment. Note: this was recorded a few days before Dr. Zimbardo passed. He was truly a titan of our field and will be sorely missed. Links: Dr. Zimbardo's Heroic...

Many of us in the counter-cult world are alarmed at the prospect of a Trump presidency. Trump has proved himself to be an authoritarian. His following accept the vague promises of greatness and the lack of policy, despite hundreds of leading Republicans declaring for Harris. Buy the NEW edition of Steven Hassan's Cult of Trump !

Spike joins Jon to discuss the books, movies, and documentaries that can help people wean themselves from Scientology's problematic beliefs. Please leave your own viewing/reading recommendations in the comments below! As always, please be kind and respectful of others' viewpoints. Links: Jon on Andrew Gold Jon on LadBible Secret Lives: L. Ron Hubbard The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard Scientolo...

in his "How to roll trolls and stump Trumpists", Jeremy has outlined his own approach to disappointing Trump's followers. Jeremy lays out his fascinating analysis of the 'herobot' the follower who avoids self-doubt by attaching to the 'dumbergogue' Trump. As usual, Jeremy is eloquent and spills over with ideas that will make you smart. Jon suggests an approach to deconverting Trumpsters. Watch for...

Christian is an expert on those groups most often called 'cults'. He explains his own less emotive description of such groups. As usual, Christian dispenses with psychobabble and offers a useable and useful model for the better understanding of the 'cult' experience. Spike's note: Zoom cut this discussion a bit short; we apologize for the abrupt ending. Spike's other note: usually there are links...

Belief doesn't simply evaporate when we leave a group. Hoyt and Jon talk about their own experiences on the road to claiming authority for their own beliefs. Jon suggests an easy way to kickstart the process. To the outside world, Hoyt seemed to exemplify success - a sports star, Princeton graduate who earned a fortune as the first man ever called a supermodel. In reality, his life was a mess...

Chris Kilham talks about a lifetime searching the world for health-giving plants. Not only has he travelled across continents and helped to establish local production, he has also been consulted by many pharmaceutical companies that are finally moving towards the use of tried and tested natural remedies. Chris talks about his own legal cannabis crop, the mind-altering aspects of chocolate, lemon b...

Steve is a lifelong jazz fan. He even used to write a column under the name Dr Jazz. Jon and Steve both believe in the redeeming qualities of music. Steve expresses his enthusiasm at finding that a current presidential candidate shares his love of jazz. The usual wide-ranging conversation about jazz and music in general peppered with fascinating facts and opinions about such topics as cultural app...