Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Episode 43: Lola & Meagan chat with a woman named Kathryn about her experiences as a follower of the charismatic social media guru Teal Swan... who is often accused of being a cult leader. They discuss Teal's online presence and appeal, how she conducts her workshops, controversies of plagiarism, and a concerning story of what happened to one member. If you have your own story about cults, hig...

Episode 42: Executive producer of Netflix's How To Become a Tyrant (and friend of the show!) Jonas Bell Pasht joins Lola & Meagan to talk about the behaviors of infamous dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, and Saddam Hussein, the parallels between tyrants and cult leaders, and how dictators prey upon societies' wants and needs. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups,...

Episode 41: In part two of their conversation with activist / Amish Girl in Manhattan author TORAH BONTRAGER, Lola & Meagan discuss the abuse Torah suffered in her family, escaping the community, graduating from Columbia University, and Torah's involvement with the fight against the Supreme Court case, Wisconsin v Yoder. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation...

Episode 40: No cars, electricity, or indoor bathrooms - think you could do it? Activist / Amish Girl in Manhattan author TORAH BONTRAGER shares about her upbringing in an Amish community in Wisconsin, speaking the Amish language, the real meaning of Rumspringa, her tumultuous family relationships, the use of corporal punishment in Amish culture, and some of the abuse she experienced firsthand. If...

Episode 39: End time prophecies? Memorizing the bible? Required church vacations your family can't afford? Snap Judgment host and creator Glynn Washington shares his experiences growing up in the apocalyptic religion the Worldwide Church of God. He tells the girls about believing the end of the world was imminent, the white supremacist roots of the group and how he was forbidden from dating outsid...

Episode 38: What do you model your life after? For producer, actor, and former supermodel Hoyt Richards, it was the teachings of a charming man from Nantucket who spoke about the impending apocalypse and a distant star named Arcturus. Hoyt shares how he was indoctrinated into the Eternal Values cult as his modeling career was taking off, what he describes as "cultic relationships," and how Fabio (...

Episode 37: In part two of Trust Me's first interview with a former Scientologist, April Snow shares her thoughts on how the church treats drug and alcohol addiction, the fallout from her appearance on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and the division it caused within her family. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an em...

Episode 36: This one is sure to stimulate your thetans. Trust Me's first former Scientologist guest, April Snow, talks about growing up in the church, living in the LA Celebrity Centre as a child, and joining the infamous Sea Organization at age 15—and what it was like when her loved ones disconnected from her. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of...

Episode 35: Can delusional beliefs be passed on to others? Forensic psychiatrist Brian Holoyda discusses the science of shared psychotic disorders (also known as folie à deux), how cult beliefs can mimic this phenomenon, and why Qanon doesn't necessarily count as a delusion. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepo...

Episdoe 34: From the Burmese mafia to Nigeria's Black Axe, journalists and hosts of The Underworld Podcast Danny Gold and Sean Williams compare the world's mafias, cults, and organized crime groups. They discuss their most harrowing reporting experiences, what groups they've been the most fascinated by, and the parallels between mafias and cults. If you have your own story about cults, high-contro...

Episode 32: Charisma. Grand Ideas. Unchecked narcissism. What's stopping the world's tech CEOs from becoming our new 21st century cult leaders? Former corporate executive Taylor Brown joins Lola & Meagan to discuss all things WeWork, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, group retreats - and the psychology of corporate culture. If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or a...

Episode 31: Lola and Meagan dive deeper with Dianne Lake, aka “Snake,” the youngest member of the Manson family, and her co-author Deborah Herman. They discuss the LSD-fueled lifestyle on Spahn Ranch, Charles Manson's connection to the Beach Boys, his obsession with an impending race war, and how Dianne learned about the Tate-LaBianca murders--and the legal and psychological repercussions she endu...

Episode 30: You’re a teenage girl in the late 60s, bouncing between communes, when a charismatic man and his group of young women welcome you with open arms. You were looking for a family, and now you’ve found one. In part one of an incredible interview, Dianne Lake, aka “Snake,” and her co-author Deborah Herman discuss growing up in 1960s counter-culture, the dark side of the sexual revolution, a...

Episode 29: How far would you go for your ideals? Sociologist and author Janja Lalich chats with Lola and Meagan about her time in the 70s as part of a radical Marxist-Leninist group called the Democratic Workers Party, how she became a high-ranking member, and the toll it took on her personal relationships. They discuss how to tell the difference between a legitimate political group and one that’...

Episode 28: Traditions! Are they helpful customs that keep us connected to our history? Or can they become too rigid and hinder the personal and intellectual growth of those who observe them? Comedian/actor/director Avital Ash joins Lola & Meagan to dive into what it was like growing up practicing Orthodox Judaism, internalizing shame about her womanhood, and forging her own path as an adult....

Episode 27: You've only met your dad twice, but you know he's the prophet. You live in abject poverty, forced into child labor. And you often have to move your entire household in the middle of the night, for reasons you don't understand. Anna LeBaron joins Lola & Meagan to talk about the trauma of living in a polygamist cult and the murders perpetrated by her father, Ervil LeBaron aka the "Mo...

Episode 26: Kilian Aulenbacher went from a German kid who spoke zero English to harvesting crops and hanging out in bomb shelters on a Montana commune, as a member of the Church Universal and Triumphant. Typical childhood, right? Meagan & Lola dig into what brought Killian's family to Montana, what it was like believing the world was ending, and the Christian cult leader who claimed she receiv...

Episode 25: In part 2 with former MS-13 member Gerardo Lopez, Lola and Meagan discuss how he left the gang, the harassment he experienced by the LAPD in the era of the Rampart Scandal, and how one of the Chicago Seven took him under his wing. Then: How he started a new life in Colorado, only to be suddenly arrested on a federal warrant, accused of starting a new MS-13 chapter in Colorado, and wron...

Episode 24: Meagan & Lola interview Gerardo Lopez, gang interventionist and former member of gang MS-13. In part 1, he tells the ladies about growing up in gang territory in LA in the 80s and 90s, getting jumped in to MS-13, and what life was like in the gang. They discuss getting arrested, gaming the system, and how being approached by an interventionist began to change things. In part 2, the...

Episode 23: Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth continue to interview Frank Lyford, former member of Heaven's Gate. In part 2, they discuss the growing number of red flags he began to notice after one of the leaders died, including talk of castration, and what led to his decision to finally, after 18 years, break away. He also tells the girls what it was like when he heard about the mass suicide on...

Episode 22: Lola & Meagan interview Frank Lyford, survivor of Heaven's Gate who left after 18 years--just a few years before discovering his friends and loved ones in the group had died by suicide. In part 1, he tells the girls how he began following the leaders Ti and Do, what it was like living a nomadic lifestyle with his "check partner," and what happened when they all settled in one place...

Episode 21: Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth interview speaker and sex educator Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti. She tells the girls about being the only Black woman in an all-white Christian cult in college, the racism and bullying she experienced, and why autistic people like herself are uniquely susceptible to coercive control. They also discuss the life change that helped her realize she needed to lea...

Episode 20: Meagan Elizabeth and Lola Blanc interview M.E. Thomas, author of Confessions of a Sociopath, and her girlfriend Arya--two sociopaths who are dating each other. They talk about how they met, what love is like for a sociopath, and how for them it has included blood play. They also discuss whether psychopaths can be rehabilitated, how malignant behaviors are not necessarily inherently cau...

Episode 19: Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth interview Elana Auerbach, former follower of sexual wellness company OneTaste--elsewhere deemed the Orgasm Cult--in its early years. Elana discusses being the founder's right hand woman as the program developed, and how the sexual practice involving stimulating a woman's genitals evolved into what's now called Orgasmic Meditation. They discuss how Elan...

Episode 18: Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth interview sex therapist, sexologist, and Sluts and Scholars podcast host Nicoletta Heidegger about all things BDSM! They discuss the basics of consensual play, Armie Hammer (and why cannibal fantasies are not the problem), red flags to look out for, making check-ins sexy, and how to tell the difference between kink and abuse. Think you might be in an abu...