The Burros of Berea Podcast

Our new cast is in the studio for the first time and we come out with guns blazing! We decided to tackle The Acts of the Apostles.

Join us as we break down what we're getting into in this very important New Testament book!

We break down NXIVM by using the B.I.T.E. Model and use Allison Mack's rise and fall within the company to diagnose cult behavior and how someone can go from victim to predator.

In this episode we learn of what happened to the leaders of NXIVM and their sentences. We also listen to the survivors and their families. This trial and the investigators who gathered the evidence utilize all that they learn to make adjustments to law enforcement and judicial laws. Then we look at the most obvious questions, how did this happen, will this happen again, and most importantly, can it happen to anyone?

After a few whistleblowers from inside NXIVM go public, the pieces the Federal government needed to take down the cult come into place. This is about the intuitive FBI special agent, Michael Lever, who was able to connect the dots on their enterprise, as well as the Assistant U.S. Attorney, Moira Penza, who singlehandedly prosecuted NXIVM by trying it as a RICO case, much like she had with the Mafia earlier in her career, causing it to be the only case like it in U.S. history.

Rick takes you through a branding ceremony of the secret society of women inside NXIVM known as DOS. Then he breaks down how this once elite group began to crack and ultimately fall under the pressure of former members, Sarah Edmonson (pictured below) and Mark Vicente, as well as the mother of a NXIVM insider, Catherine Oxenberg.

Alison Mack had spent her life in front of cameras and was beloved by millions as the fun loving character, Chloe Sullivan, on the hit TV show, Smallville. Then she was introduced to Executive Success Programs. This is the story of an unassuming woman who longs to take the journey to find her authentic "self" and unearths a monster inside that she never knew existed. Get ready, folks. This is truly heart wrenching and is not safe for children to listen too.

Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman take Executive Success Programs and amp it up to NXIVM. This is where all the culty stuff starts taking shape.

Rick Welch delves into one of the most shocking American Cults. It isn't religious, but rather a corporate achievement system designed around executive success. Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman develop the Executive Success Program (ESP) that helps manipulate the mind to integrate reality at its fullest potential. The students who invested their time and money believed they were introducing a powerful tool from within to assist them in their careers. Instead, they found themselves in one of the most intoxicating mind cults ever produced that shocked the nation.

In our final episode (at least I thought it was) Elaine and I sat down with some of you over Zoom and discussed the study and what we all got from it. It was during that talk that several things from YOU helped me see even more in this amazing book of the Bible. So although this study has come to a close, I can see that there will be future episodes added randomly after further research. I appreciate all of you who joined us, and for those who could not make it, thanks for the messages letting me know. I hope you enjoy this episode!

If you have further comments or questions concerning, feel free to place them in the comments and we'll do our best to answer!

Lots of love to you all! And now the study of The Song of Songs will begin!

In our final episode of Rick and Elaine Discuss the Book of Job, we stand up with Job and gird ourselves alongside him as God speaks from the whirlwind. Beginning with creation itself, and all of the wild beasts out of man's control, God shows Job who He truly is. Then in a shocking ending, we see something that we never noticed before.

We are so thankful that you have been on this journey with us!

Lots of love from both of us to all of you!