jon atack, family and friends

"Pretendians" falsely claim to be members of Native American or Canadian First Peoples. Famous examples are folk singer Buffy Sainte Marie and Little Feather - who accepted an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando. As Joe points out, cult leaders are often Pretendians in the sense that they pretend to be enlightened or part of a spiritual heritage. Jon suggests that cult members become Preten...

Mirriam Francis asked Jon to put some questions to Mike Rinder. Here are his responses. Links: ChildUSA The Australian Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse - Scientology testimony Lisa McPherson's death Mike Rinder's blog The Aftermath Foundation

documentarian and cult expert Hoyt Richards joins Jon to talk about how to develop healthy skepticism when our natural inclination is to trust. The conversation ranges through groupthink, confirmation or myside bias and our cognitive dissonance when presented with ideas that conflict with our own feelings of knowing.

Jon and Spike discuss the plight of the few thousand people who are living as slaves in Scientology's Sea Organization. Links: The Foster Report When men sold their wives at market Report Scientology to the IRS, here (US Citizens only) Upload "The Truth about Scientology" pamphlet (scroll down to bottom) more on Spike's Xenu window - seriously, Spike would love to find it a good...

Jon met Callan when they were two. Through elementary (primary) school, they were close companions. They have recently reacquainted themselves after two decades. Callan is an Anglican minister and a theologian who has advised archbishops. He talks about his spiritual development in his teens and shares his view of God. Callan and Jon also talk about Taoist and Buddhist beliefs. Willoughby Britton&...

Redeemed predator Shawn McCraney quizzes Jon about life, the universe and everything. A conversation about reason and emotion, and how sociopaths feel. Shawn shares valuable insights that help to identify and understand human predators.   Links:   Study on Red Enhancing Competitive Athletic Performance   The Mendota Study   Jon's Tao   Note from Spike: turtles may not be able to sing, but in r...

Spike has made a career out of helping Jon and other experts educate people about cults, authoritarianism, and mind control. But how did she get into the field? It’s a long and bizarre journey that starts with an over-imaginative child raised without a religion, takes us through a dangerous and destructive “magickal order” operating at a small Ohio university, and leads, through contact with the e...

Alec's Astounding is a brilliant account of the 'golden age' of science-fiction when John Campbell, jnr, brought together the writers who would thrust s-f into the public arena - Heinlein, Asimov, Van Vogt and, of course, Ron Hubbard. There is much to be learned from Hubbard's stint at Astounding. Without Campbell, Dianetics might never have seen the light of day. Find how those ar...

Psilocybin, LSD, cannabis and MDMA are among the banned substances that have been shown to have potential benefit in therapy. Eminent psychiatrist Steven Moffic talks with Jon about the potential benefits and dangers of psychotropic drugs. A wide-ranging discussion about changing attitudes towards these substances and the need for caution and robust evidence. Links: Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Re...

documentarian, actor and cult expert Hoyt Richards talks with Jon about ending a toxic relationship, whether with an authoritarian cult or an abusive or unsuitable partner.

Shawn used to be a full-blown human predator. He discusses Jon's model of the predator as it applied to him. This is one of the most important videos on our channel. upload your own copy of the predator poster from here: https://jonatack.co.uk/resources/

veteran cult expert Joe Szimhart suggests that many authoritarian cult leaders may actually suffer from a mental disorder that he has provisionally called 'cult leader syndrome'. Comparing this to imposter syndrome and with references to temporal lobe epilepsy, Joe and Jon discuss the maladies of Ron Hubbard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Osho, Rajneesh and various other leaders.

Dr. John Hunter shows how authoritarian cults and large group awareness trainings (LGATs) create and then relieve stress to generate euphoria. John talks about his upcoming book and adds new insight to the processes of recruitment and the fervor induced by cultic involvement. Links: more on the Bear-Fedio index More fascinating material from John Hunter: John Hunter, PhD's website John’s docto...

Shawn is both by nature and nurture a human predator. He lived an utterly selfish life until an epiphany resolved him to learn how to care for others. Shawn changed from a violent, sex-addicted, entitled predator to a considerate and positive human being, but he still wrestles with his temperament every day. One of the most fascinating interviews on this channel! Links: Matt Bywater's intervie...

Shawn is both by nature and nurture a human predator. He lived an utterly selfish life until an epiphany resolved him to learn how to care for others. Shawn changed from a violent, sex-addicted, entitled predator to a considerate and positive human being, but he still wrestles with his temperament every day. One of the most fascinating interviews on this channel! Links: Matt Bywater's intervie...

Janis joined Hubbard's crew at age eleven in 1968. She was a founder of the Commodore's Messenger Organization at age 12 and worked for Hubbard for the next eleven years. Janis has just returned from a group trip to some of the ports Hubbard's navy docked in fifty years ago and reflects on her experiences and the camaraderie she still feels with her comrades. Janis no longer believes i...

Celebrated psychiatrist Professor Steven Moffic gives his concerned and compassionate view of the Gaza conflict. Steve and Jon talk about the use of culture to bring people together and the use of propaganda to tear them apart. We believe it is time to bury the hatchet and to bring the guilty to trial rather than the present assault by Hamas on the Israeli people and the Israeli Defence Force on t...

actor and documentarian Hoyt Richards joins Jon to talk about the need to tell our story so that we can digest our experience and make something useful of it. With a short digression about the meanings of love.

Anthony Spurgin's parents joined a Traditionalist Catholic group when he was 12. At the age of 14, rather than going to high school, Anthony became part of a Traditionalist Catholic home-schooling co-operative. He talks about the traumatic effects of involvement with the group and especially the focus on sex as sinful. This talk shows how important it is to assess groups to see if they are aut...

A talk that will be very useful for anyone who suffers from bipolar disorder or for friends and family. John describes the symptoms of the different forms of bipolar disorder, and tells us how he manages his own condition. John explodes popular myths about bipolar disorder in a fascinating conversation. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are feeling suicidal, help is available! It's no shame to reach out...

Joe Szimhart shares his remarkable knowledge of religious belief and helps Jon to assess the value of 'being here now.' Observations about Scientology, Ron Hubbard's childhood, Jon's brief time in a Zen monastery and Joe's experiences in the Church Universal and Triumphant. With reference to the origins of karma as a teaching, the separate 'bodies' of CUT as compared to...

It can be very hard to take responsibility for your actions if you blame the manipulations of a cult for them. As Hoyt says, it is vital to take responsibility for your own story: it is a lot easier to fool someone than to persuade them they've been fooled. Some people blame themselves entirely for their negative behavior and others shrug it off because of 'mind control'. To recover fr...

Before creating Scientology, Ron Hubbard performed a ritual to incarnate the Wh*re of Babylon. Is Scientology itself perhaps an elaborate magic ritual? Hubbard also admitted to addiction to barbiturates in a Scientology lecture. At twelve, Janis was one of the original 'Commodore's Messengers' and spent time with Hubbard almost every day for eleven years both on ship and ashore. She ta...

John Hunter PhD continues his fascinating explanation of the processes used in Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs). We begin with the ominously named Elaboration Likelihood Model, which explores how likely it is that someone will think before acting. John touches on Daniel Kahneman's System One - quick thinking - and System Two - considered thinking. He talks about the 'philosophically...

A look at group psychosis, mass sociogenic illness, and the folie a plusiers with the eminent social psychiatrist Dr Steven Moffic. How groups can come to share absurd fantasies that can lead to atrocities. Recorded on 9/11 and especially relevant to the events of that day in 2001. Truth and Reconciliation and how music can help to integrate disparate communities. links: The Tulip Craze: A Smithso...