Speaking of Cults

By Chris Shelton

A podcast about cults, coercive control and recovery. Formerly called the Sensibly Speaking podcast, in this weekly show host Chris Shelton interviews cult survivors, psychologists and other professio... more

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FAQs about Speaking of Cults:

How many episodes does Speaking of Cults have?

The podcast currently has 507 episodes available.

Speaking of Cults episodes:

October 06, 2018 The Three Apostates take on Cult Control Methods
This week, former Mormon Jonathan Streeter and former Jehovah’s Witness Lloyd Evans and I reunite as the Three Apostates to discuss the cult control techniques that are used to retain members. We compare and contrast the sayings, methods and social controls across our former groups such as how members are made to feel they’ll fail if they leave the cult, etc.
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #161: The Three Apostates take on Cult Control Techniques appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 51min
September 29, 2018 Prosecuting Cults like Scientology (RICO, etc.)
This week, Dr. Jeff Wasel and I discuss the specifics of what it takes to prosecute a crime family or a destructive cult (often the same thing) including delving in to the mysteries of the RICO statues and how they are used. Enjoy!
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast 160: Prosecuting Cults Like Scientology (RICO, etc.) appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 18min
September 22, 2018 Traumatic Narcissism ft. Dan Shaw
This week I am joined by Daniel Shaw, an expert on narcissism and cult recovery who has his own story to tell and then answers a lot of questions about how narcissism manifests itself, where it likely comes from and how we can be aware of narcissistic characteristics in those we meet.
Dan Shaw’s book, Traumatic Narcissism, is available on Amazon here: https://goo.gl/ABaj7R
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #159: Traumatic Narcissism ft. Daniel Shaw appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 11min
September 15, 2018 Let’s Talk about Depression
This week, my wife Melissa and I engage in a very personal discussion about depression, anxiety and mental illness in general. We talk about what it’s like to live with and experience these, Scientology attitudes about this and the role of psychiatry in the past and present, how others react badly to mental issues and what people can do differently.
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #158: Let’s Talk about Depression appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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57min
September 08, 2018 Why Trump in in a Lot of Trouble

This week I’m doing something a little different from my usual podcasts. I’ve gone through the entire history of Trump’s election and presidency and the various actors/players in his administration and I break down in detail, event by event, what has been going on with who and when that has led to Trump’s current very serious legal woes.
Timeline
1987
Trump went to Moscow to find a site for luxury hotel; no deal emerged.
1996
Trump sought to build a condominium complex in Russia; that also did not succeed.
2000
Allen Weisselberg named a vice president at Mr. Trump’s Atlantic City, N.J. casino company following an accounting scandal that resulted in it eventually agreeing to a Securities and Exchange Commission cease-and-desist order.
2004
Paul Manafort first began to establish connections in Ukraine – ground zero in the geopolitical struggle between Putin’s Russia and the West – in late 2004. His reputation as a masterful political strategist and fixer was earned over decades hopping planes to the Congo, Philippines and elsewhere to advise authoritarian rulers friendly with the United States.
By the end of that year, the former Soviet republic of Ukraine was paralyzed by widespread protests amid allegations that Yanukovych, the prime minister in a government rife with corruption, had won the presidency in a rigged election. What became the Orange Revolution persisted until another, internationally monitored vote was held and rival Victor Yushchenko was declared the winner.
2005
Donald Trump signed a one-year deal with a New York development company to explore a Trump Tower in Moscow, but the effort fizzled.
Paul Manafort and a partner formed Davis Manafort Partners Inc. in early 2005 and opened offices in Kiev.
Manafort’s first client in Ukraine was Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man and a key funder of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. Deripaska introduced Manafort to Akhmetov, who hailed from Russia-leaning Eastern Ukraine. In the summer of 2005, Akhmetov tapped Manafort to help Yanukovych and his party in the 2006 elections, according to an American consultant based in Kiev, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid damaging relationships. The multimillion-dollar political consulting deal was sealed at a meeting in an elite Moscow hotel attended by Manafort, Akhmetov and a half dozen other wealthy Ukrainians.
Manafort spent the next several years advising Deripaska, Akhmetov and other Ukrainian oligarchs and giving the gruff-talking Yanukovych a makeover down to his hair style and attire.
2007
“Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment,” Trump said in a 2007 deposition. “We will be in Moscow at some point,” he said.
2008
“Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump’s son told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.” Trump Jr. noted that he traveled to Russia six times in 18 months, and “several buyers have been attracted to our projects there and everything associated therewith.” But he added: “As much as we want to take our business over there, Russia is just a different world…. It is a question of who knows who, whose brother is paying off who… It really is a scary place.”
2010
Victor Yanukovych wins the presidency of Ukraine.
Even after the February 2014 fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, who won office with the help of a Manafort-engineered image makeover, the American consultant flew to Kiev another 19 times over the next 20 months while working for the smaller, pro-Russian Opposition Bloc party. Manafort went so far as to suggest the party take an anti-NATO ...
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2h 6min
September 01, 2018 Let’s Talk About Human Rights
This week, my wife Melissa and I have a fairly informal discussion about the topic of rights in our world, specifically human rights and civil rights. We discuss the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the consequences, troubles and issues with implementing them around the world and especially here at home in the United States. Enjoy!
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #156: Let’s Talk About Human Rights appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 16min
August 25, 2018 Scientology, Drug Abuse and Recovery ft. Nathan Rich
This week I talk to third-generation former Scientologist Nathan Rich about not just his history in Scientology as a teen, but his incredible journey of recovery since including a seven-year stretch of horrific drug abuse.
Nathan’s book is available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GC685LL
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #155: Scientology, Drug Abuse and Recovery ft. Nathan Rich appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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2h 26min
August 18, 2018 Love, Terror and Brainwashing ft. Alexandra Stein
This week I have Dr. Alexandra Stein, social psychologist and author of the book Love, Terror and Brainwashing. We discuss various aspects of cult behavior and psychology.
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #154: Love, Terror and Brainwashing ft. Alexandra Stein appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 27min
August 11, 2018 Debunking All the Bullshit ft. SciBabe
This week I have the sometimes crass, sometimes downright vulgar but always informative Yvette d’Entremont, aka SciBabe, with me to talk about the nonsense of Gwenyth Paltrow’s Goop, David Wolfe’s avocados and all the rest of the health woo and other pseudoscience out there that trips people up and takes their money and their time without giving anything substantial back. We also go over how to protect yourself and find out what you need to know when visiting the doctor so you get the kind of treatment you need and deserve.
You can find Yvette’s site here: http://scibabe.com
The Cochrane website is here: http://cochrane.org
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #153: Debunking all the Bullshit ft. SciBabe appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 4min
August 04, 2018 Scientology, Sales and Shelly ft. Ron Miscavige Snr.
This week I talk with Ron Miscavige Snr, former Scientologist and Sea Org member and also the father of Scientology’s current leader, David MIscavige. We discuss life on the Sea Org base in Riverside as well as his impressions of Shelly Miscavige, his history as a salesman both in and out of the Church and more.
Ron’s website is here.
The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #152: Scientology, Sales and Shelly ft. Ron Miscavige Snr. appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.
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1h 3min

FAQs about Speaking of Cults:

How many episodes does Speaking of Cults have?

The podcast currently has 507 episodes available.

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