Cult Hackers

This emergency podcast comes out on the day Russia launches an attack upon Ukraine. It's natural to feel some anxiety and for ex members of all-encompassing groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, who interpret world events in very specific ways, it can be quite disturbing. How to think about these events is the theme of this discussion as well as a reality check for religious groups who claim to be able to identify and interpret Bible prophecy.

Celine and Stephen review Midsommer, a movie released in 2019, directed by Ari Aster and starring Florence Pugh. There are a number of readings of this movie but one that is often overlooked is the most obvious - that of recruitment and indoctrination into a cult.

Jake Vaughn from the Alt Worldly YouTube Channel talks about his waking up process from the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the difficulties associated with it, as well as his health challenges, complicated by his faith as a youth. The second half of the episode takes a different tack as we look at what could controversially be described as "the funny side of growing up in a cult".

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Jake's Channel Links 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfHydnkPDgYNCZiviuVVrkw

My Craziest JW Field Service Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjqCRwlTEk8

Do some born-in cult members experience greater harm than others because they happen to have certain personality traits?

Psychology suggests that we inherit at least some of our personality traits through our genes. What are the implications for people raised in a cult? How does the presence of certain traits affect how we respond to cult indoctrination? This week Celine and Stephen look at how we research and understand individual differences, how much of these differences are down to our genes or environment, what this means for personal agency and how different traits might mean some cult 'born-ins' have a much worse time than others. 

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Bike and Psych 

https://youtu.be/Q1k7G3Mt5ns

References

Miell, D., Phoenix, A., & Thomas, K. (2002). Mapping psychology 1. The Open University.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/big-5-personality-traits

Erika Bornman, author of Mission of Malice talks to us about her life growing up in Kwasizabantu, a non-denominational Christian Group she describes as a cult. As a child and a young woman she endured physical and mental abuse, was groomed by her church 'counsellor' and witnessed horrendous abuses. In her early twenties she managed to escape but at great personal cost. Erika's story is emotional, touching and at times harrowing but at the heart of her story is a message of hope and of finding a way to make sense of life outside the confines of a controlling and damaging ideology.

If you would like to become a patron you can for just $1:50 through our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/posts

Erika's Book Mission of Malice

https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Malice-My-Exodus-KwaSizabantu/dp/1776096231

Two completely different topics today on the podcast. 

Time Stamp 00:00: Segment 1. The medical condition and psychological impact of serious acne and Stephen and Celine’s experience of this as children and adults.

Time Stamp 25:00: Segment 2. The Wasted Years: After leaving a cult or other high demand group it’s easy to look back and feel angry at the wasted years. Is there a way to work through this feeling?

https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/

Acne information

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/acne/

Mental Health information

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/

The guest today is Min Grob from CCChat Magazine. Min experienced a coercively controlling relationship and talks about the behaviours and methods used by perpetrators. This is a companion piece to this week's Gaslight episode. 

https://coercivecontrol.co.uk/

Book referenced by Min

Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trauma-Recovery-Aftermath-Violence-Political/dp/0465061710/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=11RG8FD38EYAX&keywords=trauma+and+recovery+judith+herman&qid=1644101397&sprefix=trauma+%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1 

The 1940's film Gaslight about the systematic attack by a man on his wife's psychological wellbeing, provided us with the phrase gaslighting. Today Sarah joins Stephen to review the movie and to explore how this tactic is used in coercively controlling relationships and in cults. 

Darren Slade has a fascinating story. Although not raised in a religious household as a young person he loved religious studies and his ambition was to become a pastor and Christian apologist. An ambition he achieved until he started to doubt his beliefs. Today he is the President of The Center for Religious Research and an atheist. He talks about his life and his research into religious trauma as well as some of his other interests such as miracles and the ethics of a God who allows suffering.

Would you like to support our podcast for just $1:50 per month? Get early access on many episodes and exclusive video content. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout

Global Center for Religious Studies

https://www.gcrr.org/

Darren M Slade Website

https://darrenmslade.academia.edu/

What is science? How does it work? Can we trust it? Who does it? And can we trust the scientists? All this and more in today's big subject discussion. Plus a short and slightly bizarre Tweet of the Week.