Let's Talk About Sects

With the recent investigations into ‘The Reformers’, the secretive right-wing Christian sub-faction of the New South Wales Liberal Party, as well as the inquiry into the Redeemer Baptist School – also in New South Wales – Former Tangara School for Girls student Claire Harris and former Redfield College student Tim Pocock spoke with LTAS about their experiences in the brother-and-sister Opus Dei affiliated NSW private schools that they believe need some serious reforms of their own.

Links

• Purity: An Education in Opus Dei — Four Corners, ABC, first broadcast 30 January 2023
• The Truth Will Set You Free: Growing Up Gay in Opus Dei — by Tim Pocock, Hachette Australia, 2025
• Opus: dark money, a secretive cult, and its mission to remake our world — by Gareth Gore, Scribe Publications, 2024
• I went to an Opus Dei school. What I was taught was unbelievable — by Claire Harris, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 August 2026
• 'Men are like dogs': what I was taught about sexual assault at my Catholic private school — by Claire Harris, The Guardian, 6 March 2021
• Beyond Purity: The Story Behind the Four Corners Investigation — by Claire Harris, National Secular Lobby, 12 May 2023
• Purity, hypnosis and hiding — how a gay teen survived Opus Dei — Conversations with Richard Fidler, ABC Radion National, 1 July 2025
• Sydney schools linked to conservative Catholic group Opus Dei investigated over 'broad' curriculum concerns — SBS News, 30 January 2023
• Redeemer Baptist School Inquiry — Parliament of New South Wales, 2026
• Allegations concerning possible offences under the Electoral Funding Act and other matters (Operation Rosny) — NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Investigation related to 'The Reformers', 2026
• An Open Letter to the Principals of Opus Dei Schools in Sydney — by Pared Alumni, Medium, 25 March 2023
• Tim Pocock — Tim's IMDB profile
• How I Left the Opus Dei — TV miniseries, 2025
• The Good Spirit: Behind the Doors of the Opus Dei — TV miniseries, 2026

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. Sarah will be appearing at the Decult Conference on 25 October 2026, more info about that here. And Joe Gould who you'll know as the composer of this podcast is touring with his band The Crooked Fiddle Band for their 20th anniversary – they count Brian Eno amongst their fans. More info about that here.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Victorian Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee has published their final reports from the Parliamentary Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups, which commenced in April 2025. There are two parts, Volume 1: ‘Crossing the line’ and Volume 2: ‘In their words’. They set out 39 Recommendations which the Victorian Government now has six months to respond to. In this interview episode, lead author of the Beyond Belief submission and advocate Patrick McIvor shares his insights into the landmark report which includes a recommendation of criminalising group-based coercive control, and what the next steps will be.

Links

• Reports from the Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups — Parliament of Victoria
• Patrick McIvor — Patrick's website
• Beyond Belief — Inquiry submission, 31 July 2025 (plus Sarah's submission here, 29 July 2025)
• SOCCHG — Survivors of Coercive Cults and High Control Groups
• Stop Religious Coercion Australia — website, Facebook group, TikTok and Instagram
• Australian Cult Survivors Network — Facebook group

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. Sarah will be appearing at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on Saturday 22 August, chairing Anke Richter's session which also features Laura McConnell, more info about that here. And Joe Gould who you'll know as the composer of this podcast is touring with his band The Crooked Fiddle Band for their 20th anniversary – they count Brian Eno amongst their fans. More info about that here.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a sleepy Canberra suburb, Bek Condello was raised in a strict patriarchal Pentecostal movement. The influence of the Geelong Revival Centre extended deeply into the lives of the congregation, promoting discipline and dictating how girls and women behaved, who they socialised with and who they would marry. After finding her way out and discovering her own identity, Bek has written a memoir, out on 14 July, called Can You Handle a Girl Like Me. Through her story she hopes she can inspire others to rebuild and thrive after deep loss.

Links

• Can You Handle a Girl Like Me — by Bek Condello, Penguin, 2026
• Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder — Richard Baker's podcast about the Geelong Revival Centre

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. Sarah will be appearing at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on Saturday 22 August, chairing Anke Richter's session which also features Laura McConnell, more info about that here. And Joe Gould who you'll know as the composer of this podcast is touring with his band The Crooked Fiddle Band for their 20th anniversary – they count Brian Eno amongst their fans. More info about that here.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carol Merchasin is the newly appointed President of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). Drawing on decades of experience in law, investigations, and survivor advocacy, Carol has led inquiries into allegations of misconduct within prominent spiritual and religious organisations and has worked extensively with survivors of coercive control and abuse. Through her legal practice, public education efforts, and leadership at ICSA, she has become a leading voice on cultic abuse, human trafficking, labour exploitation, and the protection of vulnerable individuals within high-control environments.

In this interview episode, we chatted about the role of ICSA, where Carol sees the organisation going next, what's upcoming at the 2026 ICSA Conference in July, and some of the trends and shifts the organisation is seeing with coercive groups, holding them to account, and the media landscape.

Links

• International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) — official website
• ICSA Conference 2026 — 1-4 July, San Diego USA

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hoyt Richards spent over two decades in Eternal Values, after first meeting the man who called himself Frederick von Mierers on a beach at the age of 16. Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult, out now on HBO Max with episodes releasing weekly, explores Hoyts’ journey alongside other actors and models of the era, and Hoyt has spent the years since his exit dedicated to educating people about the red flags to watch out for so that they don’t ever have to go through the experience that he did.

When Hoyt finally left Eternal Values, at the age of 37 and years after Freddie himself had died, it wasn’t because he had realised it was a cult; he had hit rock bottom, felt like he wasn’t up to the group’s work and was letting everyone down. Until he reconnected with fellow former member, actor and filmmaker Dar Dixon, and they started examining their experiences more deeply together, he really didn’t know exactly what had happened to him – even though cult accusations had been brought against the group for years.

Links

• Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult — HBO Max
• Hoyt Richards — official website, including Hoyt's cult education work
• East Side Alien — by Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair, March 1990
• Hoyt Richards IMDB profile

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we talk about cults, we tend to picture the ones that make headlines: isolated compounds, charismatic leaders, dramatic exits. But what about the church down the street? The one with the worship band and the small groups and the Instagram presence? In this episode, Sam Sellers and Elise Heerde, co-founders of the Religious Trauma Collective, talk about what happens when coercive control operates inside institutions that look, from the outside, like ordinary community. We also touch on evangelical support for Trump in the USA, and how Australia is not immune from those who would like to see a theocracy here.

Links

• Religious Trauma Collective — official website
• RTC Annual Online Event — running 19-21 June 2026
• Sam Sellers — Anchored Counselling Services
• Elise Heerde — official website

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sphinx Spiritual takes instruction from a council of entities that includes Leonardo da Vinci, Lady Di, Sir Francis Bacon, Mahatma Ghandi, an alien called Zootor, and married Mornington Peninsula couple Ian and Pearl Rogers. Forum posts dating back to 2012 allege that the organisation is run as a cult. And the operation goes back long before this – but it’s only now that former members have started speaking out.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

Credits:

Written and hosted by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

Links:

• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 4, Session 1988-92
• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 3, Session 1988-91
• ‘To strike a balance’: A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme, 1985–2010 — by Marianna Stylianou, Monash University, June 2011
• WorkCare funds $2m lawsuit against ABC — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 17 November 1991
• Lengthy defamation case draws to close — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 22 March 1992
• ROUX AND OTHERS v AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION [1992] 2 VR 577 — BYRNE J., 13 Mar 1992, Victorian Reports
• Public Service ‘spy’ wins compo claim — by Gay Alcorn, The Age, 2 December 1990
• Who are the Council? - more than 7 Historical icons! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 31 March 2023
• Inside the Sphinx Spiritual School — A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• Inside the controversial spiritual school run by former detectives — by Sam Cucchiara, A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• The 11 Spiritual Values - Revealed! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 17 February 2023
• The Wisdom of Crazy Horse — Ian Rogers’ blog with posts dating back to April 2012, visited April 2026
• sphinxspiritual.com.au Ian and Pearl Rogers — Cult Education Institute forum posts dating from 22 September 2012
• Spiritual LoveMatch — various archived versions of the Sphinx Spiritual dating platform website between 2015 and 2018
• Pythagoras Investing — archived versions of the official website
• Stock Nostradamus — archived versions of the official website
• Everything you must know about Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning — by Amelia Swan & Brooke Grebert-Craig, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• Former student of Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning speaks after leaving controversial sect — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 5 January 2026
• The mystical Mornington Peninsula sect drawing in wealthy, single women — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• FYI - THIS IS VERY RARE! If you want to see a true High Maintenance relationship at work - look at Ian & Pearl! — Sphinx Spiritual Facebook post attributed to Ian Rogers, 21 May 2016
• Anyone come across the Sphinx Spiritual cult? — Reddit thread dating back to 13 January 2022
• A warning about a widespread, local "Spiritual School". — Reddit thread dating from 2 November 2025
• Posts by Jamie123 — Cult Education Institute forum posts about Sphinx Spiritual dating from 24 March 2024
• Sphinx Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning Facebook video, 4 July 2025
• Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning page about the modality, visited April 2026
• Parenting Spiritually: In support of your child — by Ian & Pearl Rogers, 2013

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spiritual school in Victoria teaches that we each have a spiritual guide who we can rely on to help us through life, and that the couple who run the school – Ian and Pearl Rogers – sit on a council alongside entities who have lived many lifetimes before this one. Students are lucky enough to gain access to incredible knowledge through this council, which boasts Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, and Lady Di amongst its members. But forum posts dating back to 2012 allege that Sphinx Spiritual has been operating as a cult for many years. It’s only now that former members have started speaking out.

Part 2 is already available to Patreon supporters, and will be released on the main feed on Wednesday 27 May.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

Credits:

Written and hosted by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

Links:

• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 4, Session 1988-92
• Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 3, Session 1988-91
• ‘To strike a balance’: A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme, 1985–2010 — by Marianna Stylianou, Monash University, June 2011
• WorkCare funds $2m lawsuit against ABC — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 17 November 1991
• Lengthy defamation case draws to close — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 22 March 1992
• ROUX AND OTHERS v AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION [1992] 2 VR 577 — BYRNE J., 13 Mar 1992, Victorian Reports
• Public Service ‘spy’ wins compo claim — by Gay Alcorn, The Age, 2 December 1990
• Who are the Council? - more than 7 Historical icons! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 31 March 2023
• Inside the Sphinx Spiritual School — A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• Inside the controversial spiritual school run by former detectives — by Sam Cucchiara, A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
• The 11 Spiritual Values - Revealed! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 17 February 2023
• The Wisdom of Crazy Horse — Ian Rogers’ blog with posts dating back to April 2012, visited April 2026
• sphinxspiritual.com.au Ian and Pearl Rogers — Cult Education Institute forum posts dating from 22 September 2012
• Spiritual LoveMatch — various archived versions of the Sphinx Spiritual dating platform website between 2015 and 2018
• Pythagoras Investing — archived versions of the official website
• Stock Nostradamus — archived versions of the official website
• Everything you must know about Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning — by Amelia Swan & Brooke Grebert-Craig, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• Former student of Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning speaks after leaving controversial sect — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 5 January 2026
• The mystical Mornington Peninsula sect drawing in wealthy, single women — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
• FYI - THIS IS VERY RARE! If you want to see a true High Maintenance relationship at work - look at Ian & Pearl! — Sphinx Spiritual Facebook post attributed to Ian Rogers, 21 May 2016
• Anyone come across the Sphinx Spiritual cult? — Reddit thread dating back to 13 January 2022
• A warning about a widespread, local "Spiritual School". — Reddit thread dating from 2 November 2025
• Posts by Jamie123 — Cult Education Institute forum posts about Sphinx Spiritual dating from 24 March 2024
• Sphinx Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning Facebook video, 4 July 2025
• Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning page about the modality, visited April 2026
• Parenting Spiritually: In support of your child — by Ian & Pearl Rogers, 2013

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, or ACMTC, is a hardline fringe religious cult that was led by a former hippie who went by the name Deborah Green. In The Oracle’s Daughter, author Harrison Hill tells the story of the group through the experiences of three women: Deborah, the self-proclaimed oracle; Maura, who nursed Deborah’s ailing brother and became one of her first followers; and Sarah, the oracle’s daughter of the title.

The group’s practices included harsh punishments of children and extreme forms of exorcism, and its crimes included kidnapping and abuse. Through his book, Harrison examines the dwindling gap between the fringe and the mainstream in the United States, and shows how we may be much more vulnerable to extremism than we think.

Links

• The Oracle's Daughter — by Harrison Hill, Scribner, April 2026
• The Oracle’s Daughter: Sarah Green escaped her mother’s cult 22 years ago. She still thinks about those she left behind. — by Harrison Hill, The Cut, 8 June 2021
• harrisonhill.me — Harrison's website

Credits:

Produced by Sarah Steel

Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ABC’s internationally award-winning podcast Expanse, exploring big stories from across Australia, looked at the mysterious case of the Nannup Four for its sixth season. Host Dominique Bayens investigated the 2007 disappearance of Chantelle and Leela McDougall, Tony Popic, and a man known as Simon Kadwill from the town of Nannup in Western Australia. Simon was actually a name taken on by a man called Gary Felton who led a doomsday group called The Truth Fellowship. Dominique spoke with Let’s Talk About Sects about the series in March, and is back to give us an update and a way that listeners may be able to help the families and loved ones left behind.

Links

• Help find the Nannup Four — Barry McIntosh's fundraiser
• Last chance for answers in Nannup Four cold case as police admit search error — by Dominique Bayens, ABC News, 21 April 2026
• Expanse: The Nannup Four — Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2026

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.