Were the Puritans America’s first cult? Our guest this week makes a compelling case for yes.

Jane Borden is a journalist and the author of Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, she joins us to unpack how Puritan beliefs—think apocalypse prepping, chosen nation syndrome, and the worship of wealth—laid the groundwork for the kind of culty thinking that still thrives in America today.

We dig into the legacy of American exceptionalism, the allure of authoritarian leaders, and the ways our pop culture heroes reflect Puritan values more than we realize. Jane also walks us through the tragic case of the Love Has Won cult and explains how power warps empathy, especially when paired with a doomsday mindset.

It’s a wild ride through history, psychology, and politics, with heavy cult undertones.

Check out Jane’s book Cults Like Us and more of her work at janeborden.com, and stay tuned for Part 2 next week.

Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS: 

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Writer: Kristen Reiter

Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media  

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin