It can be as hard to talk with your well-meaning yoga-world friend about their COVID-conspiracy beliefs as it is to talk with a family member about their devotion to Donald Trump. This isn’t an accident — but it’s not exactly by design, either. Both figures can seem trapped in filter bubbles of jargon that hypnotizes and cancels critical thinking.

In this episode, we talk with pre-eminent cult researcher Steve Hassan about his new book, The Cult of Trump, and explore the overlaps between the cults of personality that destroy political, wellness, and spiritual cultures. We discuss changes in cultic technique in the age of lockdown, and how best to maintain contact with a person transformed by manipulation. The interview with Steven begins at the 37-minute mark.

Show Notes

Troy Casey video

UFO Conspiracy Theorists Offer ‘Ascension’ From Our Hell World for $333

The Prophecies of Q

How the ‘Plandemic’ Movie and Its Falsehoods Spread Widely Online

Anatomy of Delusion: How Otherwise Conscious People Descended into the Darkness — Stephen Dinan

Shift Network courses

Matthew on the Shift Network

The Cult of Trump Media Page

Steven Hassan’s BITE Model

Influence Continuum

“I Am Not Your Guru” — Tony Robbins documentary

“Hacking the Consumer’s Brain” — Moran Cerf

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