How can someone so intelligent end up with a cult like mindset? Someone who otherwise seems to have their life together? Seems to be so grounded?

Anyone can fall into a cult, and even those who are deeply indoctrinated can get back out.

Dr. Steven Hassan is a leading expert in cults, mind control, and undue influence, best known for transforming his own traumatic experience in a high-control group into a lifelong mission to help others recover from coercive persuasion. Born in Queens, New York, Hassan was raised in a Jewish family and, at age 19, was recruited into the Unification Church (commonly known as the “Moonies”). He quickly became a zealous member, working long hours and cutting ties with family and friends. After a serious car accident in 1976, his family organized a deprogramming intervention, which helped him leave the group and sparked his determination to understand how such manipulation occurs.

Hassan earned a Master’s in counseling psychology from Cambridge College and later completed a Ph.D. from Fielding Graduate University. Over the following decades, he dedicated himself to developing non-coercive methods of intervention, eventually creating what he calls the Strategic Interactive Approach. He also founded the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, which provides education, counseling, and expert support for individuals and families affected by cults, extremist groups, human trafficking, and political radicalization.

Hassan is widely recognized for his development of the BITE Model (Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control), which helps identify the key mechanisms by which authoritarian groups manipulate people. He also created the Influence Continuum, a framework for understanding the difference between healthy and destructive influence. His published works—including Combating Cult Mind Control, Releasing the Bonds, Freedom of Mind, and The Cult of Trump—have become foundational texts for understanding psychological manipulation and authoritarian control, not just in religious cults but in political movements and abusive relationships as well.

He has helped thousands reclaim their autonomy and continues to shape the conversation on cult dynamics, political extremism, and mental freedom in the digital age. There's always hope that even someone who was raised in a cult or lost their way in one can find their way back out.

As RFK Jr. removes all members of the CDC panel advising on vaccines we are faced with the question, is all this making America healthy again?

Dr. Knurick has a PHD in Nutrition Science, is a registered dietitian and a mom of 2. And in this episode we break down the facts and fictions of the MAHA movement and what the real concerns for America's health are.

The "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement is merely a loosely connected health and wellness movement that gained traction specifically after covid. It merges anti-vaccine, anti-mask, and natural health rhetoric with far-right political ideologies and is deeply aligned with Christian nationalism. Despite its name, the movement often spreads misinformation under the guise of “freedom” and “bodily autonomy.”

• Core Beliefs: Promotes “natural immunity,” distrusts vaccines and pharmaceutical science, and often embraces conspiracy theories about government control, the CDC, and the World Health Organization.

• Pseudoscience: Opposes public health measures like vaccines, fluoride, mask mandates, and school-based health education. Spreads debunked claims about detoxes, supplements, and “Big Pharma.”

• White Supremacist Roots: Echoes long-standing themes in white nationalist circles, including “purity of the body,” distrust of multicultural institutions, and framing public health as globalist overreach.

• Overlap with Christian Nationalism and MAGA: Often intertwined with right-wing evangelical and MAGA politics, promoting the idea that “real” (white, Christian) Americans are under attack by progressive, science-driven agendas.

• Undermines public health with disinformation.

• Targets marginalized communities by resisting inclusive care (e.g., trans health, reproductive health).

• Wraps racial and political extremism in the language of wellness, liberty, and holistic health.

The MAHA movement exploits the language of health and freedom to push anti-science, far-right ideology. Beneath its surface lies a deeper current of white supremacy, Christian nationalism, and resistance to modern medicine rooted in fear, control, and exclusion.

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Andrew Seidel is a constitutional lawyer, author of books "The Founding Myth" and "American Crusade", and works full time defending the 1st amendment and every Americans right to true religious liberty.
On Flipping Tables we have a discussion about the Christian Nationalist myth that America is a "Christian" nation and the dangers it poses to true individual freedom.

Across platforms the most common question I get is "What does the Bible say about homosexuality and trans people?" Christian nationalists main talking point is a direct opposition to gay rights. But does the Bible really say that?

Today we meet with pastor and theologian Brandan Robertson to talk about that, break down the "gotcha" passages of the Bible and see what it really says. It turns out, there's space at the table for everyone.

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Buy Brandans new book Queer and Christian!: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/queer-christian-9781250321343/

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In a world of cult like beliefs, propaganda, and manipulation its important to become experts on how these tactics work so that we can avoid them and so that we understand whats happening in the world around us.

A little true crime break from the norm but an important discussion we have to continue to return to.

HOW DO PEOPLE BELIEVE THIS? By using tactics we see everywhere.

The Children of God, founded in 1968 by David Berg, was a sex cult that disguised itself as a Christian missionary movement. Berg, who called himself “Moses David,” claimed divine authority and used it to manipulate and control his followers through apocalyptic teachings and a series of writings known as “Mo Letters.” Under his leadership, the group promoted sexual “freedom” that included disturbing practices like “flirty fishing,” where women were encouraged to use sex to recruit new members. Even more sinister, Berg endorsed and participated in the sexual abuse of children, normalizing pedophilia within the group’s teachings. He lived in hiding for much of his life to evade legal consequences, but continued to exert control over the group until his death in 1994. Berg’s legacy is one of extreme psychological, spiritual, and sexual abuse, with many former members coming forward to expose the deep and lasting trauma they endured under his cult leadership.

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THEY'RE TAKING THE CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS!!!! Why do christians continuously feel like they are being persecuted? Why do they believe that anything other than special treatment is "persecution"?

Because fundamentalists don't believe in the separation of church and state, and many of them don't believe in religious liberty for anyone but them. They also don't believe in religious pluralism, or secular education. They also believe that Christians should rule every facet of society, even if by force.

These ideals come from Dominion Theology and the 7 Mountains Mandate. Two unbiblical but highly propagandized theologies that pose a direct threat to religious freedom in America. Lets meet its founders and it's teachings to learn more

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When I was sent a video of this guest... I judged a book by its cover and assumed I was going to get really upset. BOY was I wrong. Bryan Andrews is a country singer from the south who blew my mind with his vibrant and powerful personality... and opinions.

How are we so far apart? In the world of current politics it feels like we are light years apart. That decency and common sense and respect for humanity are so far out the window.

Yet, common ground can come in the form of a country singer from the south. A singer who never left his small southern town but also sees a way forward, and a glimmer of hope that maybe we aren't as far apart as we have been led to believe.

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TW: Sexual assault, child abuse.

I've gotten quite a few messages both here and on IG about my story and how I started to walk away and how I did eventually deconstruct.
Did I always have questions? Was there a defining moment or series of moments?
Little of both actually. This is a bit longer version (though not complete) of my story. I've never really laid it out before in this way. I'm not sure if I will release this episode publicly or not but I figured I would share it here.
I want to share my story in a book I'm writing as people ask but for now, this will do

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The trans population in the US has been a hotly debated topic the last few years. Fundamentalists believe that this group of people is a symptom of some kind of moral failing in the US, even though trans people have existed as long as we have had human history. The conservative movement acts as if about 1% of the population is somehow "the problem", with over 700 anti trans laws proposed or passed since 2021.

But so few people have even met a trans person to have these kind of opinions about. So why don't we ask what being trans is like?

Alyson Blake Dellinger is the lead vocalist, bassist and founding member of the band Flummox. She was raised deeply fundamentalist, in church, christian schools, and something was always just... off. Now, shes a musician, deconstructed fundamentalist, an LGBT ally and.. she's trans. And today we are going to discuss her life, her experience and what faith looks like in her shoes.

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Tia Levings is an author and advocate who writes and speaks about the realities of Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, was released on August 6, 2024.

In her memoir, Levings recounts her journey into and out of the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement. Married at 19, she was indoctrinated into a belief system that emphasized strict discipline, isolation, and the submission of women as "keepers of the home." Her husband exerted extreme control over her life, dictating everything from her clothing to her daily activities, and subjected her to physical and sexual abuse—all sanctioned by their church. Levings details how she was taught to be more submissive and to accept abuse as part of her role. One night, when she realized she and her children wouldn't live, she fled.

Levings' story sheds light on the hidden abuses within certain fundamentalist Christian communities and serves as a testament to resilience and the pursuit of freedom. Her work continues to educate and empower others who have experienced similar forms of religious trauma