Should we be outraged that Roger Waters has been accused of anti-Semitism for a dramatic piece that shows the downfall of an authoritarian leader? We believe with John Stuart Mill's On Liberty which insists that we should never close our ears to disagreeable ideas and always be open to discussion.

The Roger Waters video Jon mentions

Joe and Jon have both spent their lives delving into belief systems, fascinated by the twists and turns that convince people to behave in benevolent or malevolent ways to those around them. A wide-ranging discussion about human perception of the divine that will doubtless unsettle some of the devout.

documentarian, actor, and activist Hoyt Richards talks with Jon about Sebastian Junger's Tribe: Homecoming and Belonging and how ways in which authoritarian cults are tribes where recruits mistakenly believe they indeed found their home and feel they belong.

Professor emeritus Steven Moffic shares insights from his discipline of social psychiatry in a wide-ranging discussion about the prevalence of sociopathy in our society and the need for highly trained professionals to take a role in helping us to evolve towards better solutions and outgrow warfare. Including ideas about political leaders and the various forms of narcissism and anti-social behavior encouraged in our society.

Chris Shelton explains the model of behavior he is developing to understand cultic involvement. As ever, a lively discussion!

Nick Child spent his working life as a family psychiatrist. He has turned his attention to the prevention of parental alienation with the international Two Wishes Foundation. The aim of Two Wishes is to replace the adversarial approach to parental separation and focus on the needs of the children involved. Nick and Jon start by talking about aspects of coercive control as they relate to parental alienation, but, because this is our channel, the conversation cannot stick to one topic, and they move into education, history, AI, and the meaning of life.

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Anke Richter is one of the few journalists who has seriously researched authoritarian cults. Her own positive experience with a neo-tantra group helped her to understand the devastations caused by three very different cults: Centrepoint and Gloriavale in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Agama Yoga in Thailand. Centrepoint was a free-love cult whose leaders were eventually imprisoned for sexual abuse and child sexual abuse. Gloriavale is a contemporary pseudo-Christian cult with bizarre sexual mores. Agama Yoga has been called the 'rape cult' and belongs to the neo-tantra movement - which promotes the notion of bliss or even enlightenment through sex. Anke gives readings from her well-researched and shocking book. A must-read that will become a classic.

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If you have experienced sexual abuse and need help:

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If you are feeling suicidal:

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Fight Against Conspiracy Theories

Portugal sex abuse findings

Australian Royal Commission

For this part of Mark's story, he and Jon do a deep dive into Scientology's financial systems and the intricate rules of how staff are paid - if and when they are paid at all.

GPT-4 has caused a storm, including a petition signed by Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak for a moratorium on research while we ponder the ethical implications. Chris and Jon react to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's excellent comic take on AGI, Big Bug, and delve into the deeper issues, including Microsoft's admission that GPT-4 'hallucinates'.

Bad Cadet is an excellent addition to the welter of biographies by former members. Katherine Spallino was born into the Sea Org in Los Angeles and gives a vivid description of her childhood and coming of age. I had intended to skim the book before talking with Katherine, but found the material so compelling that I read from cover to cover. Katherine reads a few passages and tells us about life after Scientology.