Dr Tabitha Chapman is the founder of The Freedom Train Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides crucial services for individuals exiting cults or coercive environments. One initiative of the project is International Cult Awareness Month (ICAM) which just concluded its third annual instalment in August 2024 with a focus on policy and cults. In this episode, Tabitha shares some highlights of ICAM, thoughts on policy, and how we can all help to effect change.

Tabitha’s personal journey and struggle within NXIVM deeply influenced her resolve to create a support system for others facing similar situations. Her firsthand experience provided unique insights into the needs of victims of coercive control and cultic abuse. This drives the mission and services of The Freedom Train Project.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation or merch purchase.

Links:

• The Freedom Train Project
• ICAM 2024 Webinars

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).

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Dr Caroline Ansley is the founder of Centrepoint Restoration Project, a website that serves as a connection point, archive of information and safe landing space for former children of New Zealand’s notorious Centrepoint cult – with which Caroline has personal experience. She is also a General Practitioner, with over 20 years' clinical experience in community medicine, and 10 years' experience working in clinical leadership in the Canterbury Health System. As Senior Clinical Editor of Canterbury and West Coast Community Healthpathways, Dr Ansley is uniquely positioned to help health practitioners navigate the complexities around healthcare when it comes to current and former cult members.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation or merch purchase.

Links:

• Centrepoint Restoration Project
• Cult Chat podcast — with Dr Caroline Ansley, Lindy Jacomb and Liz Gregory
• Decult Conference — 19-20 October 2024 in Christchurch
• Heaven and Hell – The Centrepoint Story — Warner Bros., 2021
• An Open Letter Calling for Restorative Justice for the Children of Centrepoint Community — 2021
• HealthPathways: A Canterbury tale - From paper tiger in Christchurch to asset in consult rooms globally — by Fiona Cassie, New Zealand Doctor, 18 August 2023
• Olive Leaf Network
• Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust

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You may recall the name ‘Esther Rockett’ from episode 2, season 3 of this podcast, which was all about Universal Medicine – Serge Benhayon’s esoteric healing cult in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. Esther has been blogging about the more alarming elements of Serge’s ‘modalities’ since 2012, and he sued her for defamation in 2015. The case went to trial in 2018, and in an incredible David and Goliath tale, Esther’s defence proved that the bulk of the defamatory claims found to have been conveyed in her writings were true. Esther's new book 'Universal Predator' is out now and it's all about this battle. It is riveting reading.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation or merch purchase.

Links:

• Universal Predator — by Esther Rockett, 2024
• Esther Rockett's official website
• Universal Medicine Cult Exposed and Universal Medicine Accountability — Esther Rockett's blogs
• Benhayon v Rockett (No 8) [2019] NSWSC 169 — Supreme Court New South Wales judgement, 6 December 2018

With thanks to our episode sponsor, The Finance and Property Survival Guide podcast. 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, or with the International Cultic Studies Association.

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

Tore Klevjer has been involved with the volunteer charity organisation Cult Information and Family Support (CIFS) since its very formation almost three decades ago, in 1996. Avid listeners of this podcast will know that the end of every episode mentions CIFS. We’re lucky in Australia to have this incredibly dedicated group of volunteers who support those impacted by cults and offer a variety of assistance to both former members and the loved ones of those affected. Find out what CIFS does, what it sees as the biggest obstacles facing leavers, how to support its work, and what drives Tore to keep at it after all these years.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation or merch purchase.

Links:

• Cult Information and Family Support — official website
• Starting Out in Mainstream America — by Livia Bardin (available for free online via the ICSA)

With thanks to our episode sponsor, The Finance and Property Survival Guide podcast. 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, or with the International Cultic Studies Association.

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.

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

Cecilia Peck and Inbal B. Lessner are the director/producer/editor team behind the award-winning Escaping Twin Flames, a three-part documentary series for Netflix about Twin Flames Universe – a cult you may remember from season 5. This powerhouse duo has turned their talents to investigating high-control groups over their last couple of projects, with Cecilia and Inbal also behind the Starz series Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult. Their filmmaking takes a trauma-informed approach with deep care for its subjects, and they share more about this as well as what they found out about Twin Flames for this interview episode.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

Links:

• Escaping Twin Flames — Netflix, 2023
• What "Escaping Twin Flames" teaches us about the anti-trans nature of a supposedly loving cult — by Melanie McFarland, Salon, 11 November 2023
• Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult — website for the docuseries including resources for cult survivors and loved ones
• Brave Miss World — website for the documentary film where rape survivors can also share their stories
• This YouTube School Promised True Love. Students Say They Got Exploited Instead — by Sarah Berman, VICE, 6 February 2020
• Accused Cult Leader Threatened Ex-Members After VICE Investigation — by Sarah Berman, VICE, 12 March 2020
• Cecilia Peck's Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn

With thanks to our episode sponsor, The Finance and Property Survival Guide podcast. If you've been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, head to Cult Information and Family Support or the International Cultic Studies Association.

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.

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

For his 2017 PhD, John Hunter put forward a hypothesis that offers insights into both the “transformational” experiences associated with large group awareness training (LGAT) participation and the common claims of psychological harm and problematic behaviour associated with participation. Dr Hunter presented his work at the 2023 International Cultic Studies Association conference, and for this episode, he breaks down some of his findings – including where LGATs may or may not intersect with cults and cult-like behaviour.

Full episode page here. You can support us on Patreon or with a one-off donation.

Links:

• John Hunter PhD website
• Stress-induced hypomania in healthy participants: the allostatic “manic-defence hypothesis” — Dr John Hunter’s 2017 PhD Dissertation
• Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (Dr Albert Ellis)
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Dr Aaron T. Beck)
• Robert J. Lifton’s Eight Criteria for Thought Reform
• The Book of est — Kirkus Reviews
• 'We're Gonna Tear You Down and Put You Back Together" — by Mark Brewer, Psychology Today, August 1975
• Mindbreakers — by Roland Howard, The Daily Mail, 23 July 2001
• Cults in Our Midst — by Margaret Singer, 1995
• Psychiatric disturbances associated with Erhard Seminars Training — by L. L. Glass, M. A. Kirsch & F. N. Parris, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1977
• Psychological effects of participation in a large group awareness training — by Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., Klar, Y., & Zagieboylo, C., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1989
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion — by Richard E. Petty & John T. Cacioppo, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Vol 19, 1986
• Thinking, Fast and Slow — by Daniel Kahneman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011
• The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping — Fishbowl Films, 2024

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A little update from Sarah about what to expect with Let's Talk About Sects now that we're winding up the sixth season of the show. Don't worry, we're not going anywhere! But there are a few small changes to make sure that this project remains sustainable.

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/ltaspod

https://www.ltaspod.com/supporters

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In the last episode of season 5, we looked into a Boulder, Colorado community then known as Divine Madness and led by Marc Tizer, usually referred to as 'Yo'. Its members were recognised for some amazing results in ultramarathons. At the time of researching that episode, updates about the current status of the group were hard to come by.

Deru Youmans came across a listing for 'The Retreat' in the Gila National Forest on the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) website, and it sounded amazing. Their recent experience in this remote community had them very concerned for others who might come across a similar listing in the future.

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

Thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 6 of Let's Talk About Sects.

Links:

• Teachings of Value — website for The Retreat and other current activities of Marc Tizer's group once known as Divine Madness
• Scenic, secluded farm in the Gila National Forest — WWOOF listing for The Retreat
• Inner Journeys Wilderness Camps — Summer overnight camps for girls at The Retreat
• Inner Journeys Wilderness Camp for Girls — a new listing for the girls' camp, accessed after this episode was recorded
• Highland Intentional Community — Foundation for Intentional Community listing for the group's Boulder, Colorado farm
• A Running Club Is 100 Miles Outside of the Mainstream — by Jere Longman, The New York Times, 28 July 1997

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Journalist Emma Lehman is the creator of the independent podcast Gooned, which dives into the Troubled Teen Industry or TTI – a network of for-profit congregate care facilities for youth ranging from wilderness programs to therapeutic boarding schools. In the podcast, Emma interviews survivors, parents, staff members, experts and activists.

Across the USA, young people are funnelled into this $23 billion industry not only by their caregivers but by government agencies. While these places advertise themselves as solutions to everything from troublesome conduct to mental illness, Emma shares through Gooned that they are ground zero for emotional, physical, and psychological abuse with lasting traumatic impacts on the teens they say they serve. And a number of the dubious and damaging methods many of them use can draw a straight line to a cult.

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

Thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 6 of Let's Talk About Sects.

Links:

• Gooned — podcast, website and TikTok
• Unsilenced — US non profit organisation that serves past, present, and future victims of institutional child abuse
• Emma Lehman — Emma's website where you can find out more about her work

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Harry Palmer created Avatar after his presidency of the Church of Scientology's Elmira Mission ended in the mid-1980s, as a result of legal proceedings around trademark infringement. Avatar says that it aims to create an 'enlightened planetary consciousness' or EPC through its courses, which are expensive and numerous. Former students say they have been left with massive debts as a result of their attendance.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon or Acast+, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now, and you can order Joe Gould's LTAS soundtrack album here.

With thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 6 of Let's Talk About Sects. Head here to enter our competition to win a pair of ATH-SQ1TW Wireless Earbuds!

Links:

• Who is Harry Palmer? — archived founder bio on former Avatar website, May 2006
• Living Deliberately: The Discovery and Development of Avatar — by Harry Palmer, Star’s Edge International, 1994
• Harry Palmer’s Scientology Mission, Star’s Edge, and Avatar — special report series by Lisa Bennett, Elmira Star-Gazette, 2-7 February 1988
• We'd like to welcome you to 'enlightenment' — by Russell Blackstock, NZ Herald, 17 August 2014
• Interview with Margie - Ex-Scientology / Avatar | The Origins of the Avatar Course - Part 1 and Part 2 — Avatar Uncovered YouTube channel, 15 & 19 January 2018
• Avatar Uncovered — website maintained by former Avatar Master Amanda Reed, accessed January 2024
• An Interview With Harry Palmer — by Matt Ding, HP Magazine, 1996, interview excerpt archived from About Harry Palmer website
• Avatar: Scientology-style sect causes concern in Netherlands — by Anna Holligan, BBC News, 31 March 2018

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