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Let's Start A Cult
Let's Start A Cult episodes
- The Lafferty Brothers' School of Prophets | A Family Cult
When Allen Lafferty walked into his home on the evening of July 24, 1984, he never expected to find the carpet and drapes soaked in blood. Nor did he imagine that he would be the first to find the corpses of his beloved wife and daughter.
Staring at their remains, Allen soon came to realize that those responsible for destroying his family were none other than his older brothers, whom he had looked up to all his life.
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Sources for this episode include “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer, The Deseret News, The Detroit Free Press, True Crime Daily, Kuer 90.1, Grunge, CBS News, KSL TV, The Salt Lake City Weekly, the State of Utah v. Ronald Watson Lafferty (2001), and a Medium article titled “Brenda and Erica Lafferty: Revelation and Death” by Madeline O’Brien.
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43 min - Saul Newton and The Sullivan Institute
After graduating from Harvard University in the early 1970s, Paul Sprecher decided to head to the Big Apple, in search of exciting opportunities.
Instead, he stumbled upon a group led by an increasingly erratic authoritarian, who sought to impose his views about sex and the nuclear family on his hundreds of devotees.
Surprisingly enough, its ranks included prominent celebrities from that decade, as well as other high-profile figures, most of whom were only too happy to give up their salaries to fund their leader’s various whims.
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Mr. Bunker's Conspiracy Time Podcast:
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Sources for this episode include Ranker, The Journal News, The New York Post, Gothamist, Penn State University, and the website “I Love the Upper West Side.”
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54 min - Multi-Level Marketing | The Cults Of The Business World
In today’s episode of Let’s Start a Cult we will be discussing Multi-Level Marketing companies or pyramid schemes. From leggings to essential oils and kitchen knives, these predatory brands have manipulated countless individuals, causing them to destroy personal relationships and lose their life savings.
With tactics reminiscent of actual religious cults, the way MLMs operate is definitely disturbing.
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TV Trivia Pod:
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Reddit On Wiki:
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Sources from this episode include the Management Study Guide, Fundera, Investopedia, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, the subreddit “anti-MLM,” BBC News, The Snapping Point, Bustle, Vice, Go Banking Rates, Behind MLM, and The Balance (Small Business).
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
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59 min - The Church of Almighty God | China's Most Dangerous Cult
The Chinese government is often criticized for its harsh policies against groups that undermine it. However, many have welcomed the measures that it has taken to repress the Church of Almighty God, due to the cult’s involvement in dozens of controversies, including riots, a stabbing at a primary school, and a vicious murder that was caught on camera.
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Today's promo: Killer Fun Crime and Entertainment on Apple Podcasts
Sources for this episode include The Daily Beast, CNN, Bitter WInter Magazine, a text titled “Protestant Continuities in the Church of Almighty God” by Holly Folk and published in the Journal of CENSUR, the EU Reporter, Sixth Tone, Got Questions, Lonely Planet, and CenSAMM.
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22 min - Colonia Dignidad | Chile's Secret Nazi Cult
In today’s episode of Let’s Start a Cult – the story of Colonia Dignidad, a religious commune established on the foothills of Chile’s Andes Mountains.
To outsiders, it seemed like a self-sustaining Christian community that strived to give back to the locals. However, it would later be revealed that it had ties to both Nazi Germany and the Pinochet government, which killed over three thousand people while a thousand more remain missing to this day.
Sponsored by Db Journey: https://bit.ly/37cP8YP
- 01:00 - Introduction
- 03:34 - Paul Schäfer
- 08:39 - Life In Colonia Dignidad
- 26:36 - Sponsor
- 28:06 - Colonia Dignidad and Pinochet
- 30:05 - The Unraveling of Colonia Dignidad
- 35:00 - Conclusion
- 36:36 - Cult Critique
- 39:09 - Outro
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Ye Olde Crime:
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Sources for this episode include The American Scholar, The Washington Post, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Bustle, The International Business Times, The Telegraph, the Deutsche Welle, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, and Al Jazeera English. Sources for this episode include All That’s Interesting, a Medium article by Lisa Marie Fuqua titled “The Ripper Crew Satanic Cannibal Cult Murders,” Listverse, Murderpedia, Windy City Ghosts, The Chicago Tribune, and CBS Chicago.
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44 min - The Ripper Crew | Chicago's Satanic Cult
The Ripper Crew, a group that terrorized Chicago with a series of abductions and horrific killings between 1981 and 1982. Later, it would be revealed that they would eat the amputated breasts of their victims as part of their sickening Satanic ritual.
They may have committed these horrific murders but one of the cult’s members has since been released from prison. Even their leader will be eligible for parole in a few years’ time, despite the authorities describing him as worse than the infamous Charles Manson.
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Shots And Thoughts:
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Sources for this episode include All That’s Interesting, a Medium article by Lisa Marie Fuqua titled “The Ripper Crew Satanic Cannibal Cult Murders,” Listverse, Murderpedia, Windy City Ghosts, The Chicago Tribune, and CBS Chicago.
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1 hr 2 min - The Family An Australian New Age CultIn this episode, we are talking about an Australian New Age Group called The Family. This group forcefully adopted children and raised them on a compound in Australia.
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Reddit On Wiki:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/redditonwiki
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redditonwiki/
Website: https://www.spreaker.com/show/reddit-on-wiki
Sources for this episode include Rolling Stone Magazine, “Unseen, Unheard, Unknown” by Sarah Moore, The Guardian, CBS News, a research paper titled “Anne Hamilton-Byrne and the Family” written by Carole Cusack of the University of Sydney and published in the Nova Religio journal, 60 Minutes Australia, BBC News, ABC Australia, and The Age
Research by: Kayla Deleon
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LetsStartACult)Mentioned in this episode:
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45 min - The Cult Of Podcasts Presents: Exercise TigerThank you everyone for such a huge success in our first week! Keep the reviews and tweets coming, they help blow up our egos. For today's episode, we will be discussing Exercise Tiger, a WWII training exercise for D-Day that resulted in over 1000 deaths!Follow us on social media on Instagram and Twitter @redditonwiki. Follow us as well on major podcast platforms such as Apple, Spotify, and Podchaser. Don't forget to leave a 5-star review if you enjoy what you hear. All links here! https://linktr.ee/redditonwiki (https://linktr.ee/redditonwiki)Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Tiger)https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Exercise-Tiger/ (https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Exercise-Tiger/)https://www.history.com/news/d-days-deadly-dress-rehearsal (https://www.history.com/news/d-days-deadly-dress-rehearsal)https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1944/exercise-tiger.html (https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1944/exercise-tiger.html)37 min
- The Children Of ThunderIn this episode of Let’s Start a Cult – the story of the Children of Thunder, a trio led by a fanatic who believed that it was his mission to kill the leaders of the Mormon Church.
To carry this out, he brainwashed his younger brother and his roommate to carry out a horrific murder spree that left even the presiding judge reeling from its bloody details.
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Reddit On Wiki:
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Website: https://www.spreaker.com/show/reddit-on-wiki
Sources for this episode include the San Francisco Gate, Turner Entertainment, Murderpedia, The Independent, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and the Cult Education Institute.
Research by: Kayla Deleon
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LetsStartACult)Mentioned in this episode:
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53 min - The House Of DavidUnlike the majority of other cults, the House of David didn’t isolate itself from the rest of the world. In fact, its members even opened their commune to visitors, welcoming up to half a million of them during peak season. They also formed their own baseball team that went on to compete with the nation’s best, making headlines across the United States and contributing significantly to how the game has evolved throughout the centuries.
Perhaps the most bizarre thing about the devotees of the House of David was how the men refused to shave and cut their hair. Photos show them wearing baseball outfits, with full beards and hair streaming down their backs.
But as odd as their appearances were, the residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan, where the commune was located, held nothing but love for them.
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Hush Hush Society Conspiracy Hour:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HHSConspiracy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hushhushsocietyconspiracyhour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhsconspiracyhour/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBHJv6RWJxDaHMbEKfCb_og
Website: https://www.hushhushsociety.com/
Sources for this episode include:
Southcottian Studies, The Guardian, Owlcation, the Detroit Free Press, Mashable, The Chicago Tribune, a Medium article titled “The house of David: The Midwest Cult that Was Really Good at Baseball” by Lauren Modery, the Cult Education Institute, The Detroit News, The Chicago Reader, the Michigan Radio, The Detroit Free Press, and Atlas Obscura.
Photograph: Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Research by: Kayla Deleon
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LetsStartACult)Mentioned in this episode:
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51 min
About Let's Start A Cult
From the publisher's feed
Join me (not in a cult sense), Josh Schell, as we dive into the dark and interesting world of cults! I will take you on a journey of how cults form, who their leaders are, and how they almost always…
come to an end.