The Deeper Pulse with Candice Schutter

Candice is back on the main feed with a final #gotv reminder and a deep-dive into this thing we call 'hope' - what is it, really? She shares about her pre-election anxiety and how she's actualizing hope in the face of so muchness. Various definitions of hope are offered, then she digs into the groundbreaking work of her late mentor, C.R. Snyder, 'the hope guy', sharing what she learned in the late '90s torturing freshmen in his research lab at The University of Kansas. What's the real-deal difference between positive psychology and magical thinking? How can we use positive psychology to make our experience of hope more tangible? And what can we learn from activists and those who refuse to give up? Also, a reminder that hope doesn't have to be about a higher power and Candice's post-election promise to you, no matter who wins.

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

The main feed of the pod is on hold indefinitely, but solo episodes continue rolling out over on Patreon. In this one-off drop, Candice offers a summary of recent content, sharing why she's taking sides in the upcoming U.S. general election and offering perspective re: the cognitive dissonance that reluctant-yet-resigned MAGA voters are likely experiencing in the final weeks leading up to Nov 5th.

And then, politics aside, you'll hear last week's unscripted drop from over on Patreon, where she shares more personally about:

• New age apostasy - the liberating (and terrifying) feeling of life without dogma; and why 'healing' from moral injuries is never really done.
• Spiritual high-talk - it's moving into the mainstream & despite the sugar-coated lip service, is it demonstration of true unity? Not so much.
• The power-player problem - it won't be remedied with whack-a-mole focus on leadership alone; we've got to re-invent the systems that breed them.
• Is Social Media radicalizing us? - Candice shares how she's been losing agency to the high-demand influence of her smartphone & what she plans to do about it.

Patrons of The Deeper Pulse have unlimited access to over 70 hours of bonus content in exchange for their support of the podcast. Patreon donations help keep the main feed of this pod ad-free. Sliding-scale membership starts at just $5 month.

Referenced In This Episode:

• I Will Vote - confirm &/or register to vote
• WCDHT episode with Dr. Mariel Buqué
• Zadie Smith on The Ezra Klein Show

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Right around the time Candice was puzzling over how to wrap the 'cult'ure series, regular contributor Tracy Stamper reached out to ask: Hey, Can I Q Her A? The result is the series finale where Candice responds to a long list of listener questions like: What's it been like carrying on in the face of backlash? How has this project been impactful on a personal level? Were there any unexpected surprises? And what's next? Also: Tracy offers up a somewhat surprising personal revelation. Candice speaks to the personal code of ethics she developed while producing this work. They speak candidly about the appeal of high-arousal states (vs. the maybe-middle ground), then Tracy asks Candice if she's willing to predict what might happen next at ‘the Org.’ Recovery from reflexive people-pleasing is discussed, which leads Candice to an ah-hah around the word "spiritual" and why it's so over-used. When asked about leadership, she gets fired up around outdated definitions and shares why she's made such an effort to ensure the series *not* become another cult-personality led movement. Plus, many other A’s to your Q’s! And be sure to listen to the end; Tracy's final question goes somewhere unexpected and speaks to the very heart of this work.

Thanks for tuning into the 'cult'ure series. If you'd like to keep your finger on The Deeper Pulse, consider joining the growing community over on Patreon where Candice will continue to rollout monthly bonus episodes indefinitely.

Referenced in this episode:

• DD#62 - Good Girl’ Intervention (Patreon bonus)
• But It’s Not A Cult - social media post 
• Shame Persists Because - follow-up rant
• Solo Episodes referenced - Ep.39 & Ep.40
• DD#42 - The Tired Goose (Patreon bonus)

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Candice is proud to welcome New York Magazine's Cover Story: Power Trip producers Lily Kay Ross & David Nickles to the pod. Lily & Dave share about the behind the scenes events that led to the 2021 launch of their investigative podcast series and about the backlash they’ve experience researching and reporting on abuse in psychedelic communities. Topics touched upon in this episode include: how trauma shapes our experience of psychedelics, the way in which harm mitigation is often perceived as a threat to 'the movement', and the neoliberal gaslighting of victims. Lily & Dave share why the rush to medicalize psychedelics is problematic, due in part to a lack of credible research when it comes to mental health outcomes, and then remind listeners why it’s important to be cautious when exploring psychedelics in communal and therapeutic settings. The roots of 'psychedelic authoritarianism' are discussed, as well as alternatives for folks who’d like to explore psychedelics without suggestive oversight. Lily speaks to why the word ‘power’ itself can be a red flag and why 'resistance' is something we should celebrate. Dave shares why he loves psychedelics and the political tensions they force us to confront. In what may be the final deep-dive convo of the series, Candice finds solace in the fact that - come hell or high water - people like Lily & Dave are working hard to expose injustice and enable collective change.

Lily Kay Ross, MDiv, PhD is a journalist, harm reduction advocate, and independent scholar advancing the field of Critical Psychedelic Studies. She’s Creator and Producer of New York magazine’s Cover Story: Power Trip podcast. She’s interested in queer, feminist and neurodivergent perspectives, peer-reviewed research, and science journalism that centers patients and people with lived experience. She has her Masters of Divinity from Harvard, and her PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Otago.

David Nickles is an underground researcher, harm reduction advocate, and journalist. He’s Creator and Producer of New York magazine’s Cover Story: Power Trip podcast. As a forerunner of Critical Psychedelic Studies, his work has focused on the intersection of radical politics and the sociocultural implications of psychoactive substances, research and clinical ethics, and novel phytochemical analysis of psychoactive materials. He is a vocal opponent of psychedelic commodification and blows glass in an idealistic attempt to avoid monetizing his psychedelic work. Dave is the former Managing Editor of Psymposia.

Referenced In This Episode:

• New York Magazine - Cover Story: Power Trip 
• The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, by Ursula K LeGuin

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Welcome to the second half of a two-part exposé on the NAR movement in America. Candice continues her conversation with former insider, Nikki G, who shares more about the strategic aims of this belief system and how dominion theology has long been carving out a space in US politics. They touch a bit more on the Heritage Foundation’s presidential playbook (Project 2025), specifically its focus on unitary executive theory; in other words, the doing-away with checks and balances. Then Nikki courageous shares about the years she spent on the front lines of the pro-life movement. She takes us behind the scenes of ‘TheCall’ anti-abortion marches - the red ‘LIFE’ tape she wore, the 12-hour prayer and fasting sessions she attended, and how she believed she was “on the right side of history.” Nikki reveals how her views have since changed, sharing her more nuanced understanding of the right to choose as well as retroactive realizations she's had as a Black cult survivor. Inspired by both personal experiences and professional expertise, Nikki offers TDP listeners some timely advice on how to navigate relationships with friends and loved ones who are under the influence of this radical ideology. The episode wraps with a reminder that knowledge is power. Candice & Nikki don't have a solution to the current political crisis, so they instead share how they are staying informed and taking good care in equal measure.

Nikki G. is a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach  who helps survivors recover and thrive after Religious Trauma & Cult involvement. She is also survivor of multiple narcissistic relationships, religious trauma, and several cultic communities. Nikki is the CEO of Nikki G Speaks LLC, which provides survivors with individual coaching, online community, and psychoeducation related to religious trauma, narcissistic abuse, and cult involvement. Nikki is a co-host of the podcast “Surviving the Black Church” where she and her co-hosts delve into conversations regarding religious trauma in the Black Church. She is also the co-founder of The Black Religious Trauma Recovery Network and she sits on the board of directors for Tears of Eden, a non-profit organization that supports survivors who have experienced abuse in the evangelical community. nikkigspeaks.com | @nikki_g_speaks

Referenced In This Episode:

• Politico Article - Christian Nationalism & Trump
• The New Republic - NAR & ‘Political Takeover’
• Daily Kos - NAR is ’Stalking Democracy’
• André Gagné - for more on religious violence

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

American democracy is hanging on by a thread. But how did we get here? Today's episode offers an insider's peek into Christian nationalism. You may remember Nikki G from Ep.77; she was on the pod back in January, sharing about her work as a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach who specializes in spiritual and religious abuse. In early March, Candice invited her to sit down again for this two-part conversation. Nikki is a former devotee in the evangelical movement whose passion at the time was "governmental intercession." In Part 1 of this dialogue, she peels back the curtain on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) Movement and how its decades-long perversion of Christianity has infiltrated US politics. Nikki lays out the bones of the movement's history and gives us a feel for what it’s like inside NAR's apostolic hubs, all working in coordination toward the same end-game. She walks us through Lance Wallnau’s 7 Mountain Mandate, a strategic plan to impose religious order on the masses and shamelessly colonize every aspect of American culture. Nikki tells us what it was like, watching evangelical leaders embrace Trump prior to the first election; then she and Candice discuss why he’s actually the ideal point man for the movement. This episode lays a critical foundation for the Heritage Foundation's far-right playbook (Project 2025) and where this conversation will be headed next week, in Part 2.

Nikki G. is a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach  who helps survivors recover and thrive after Religious Trauma & Cult involvement. She is also survivor of multiple narcissistic relationships, religious trauma, and several cultic communities. Nikki is the CEO of Nikki G Speaks LLC, which provides survivors with individual coaching, online community, and psychoeducation related to religious trauma, narcissistic abuse, and cult involvement. Nikki is a co-host of the podcast “Surviving the Black Church” where she and her co-hosts delve into conversations regarding religious trauma in the Black Church. She is also the co-founder of The Black Religious Trauma Recovery Network and she sits on the board of directors for Tears of Eden, a non-profit organization that supports survivors who have experienced abuse in the evangelical community. nikkigspeaks.com | @nikki_g_speaks

Referenced In This Episode:

• God & Country - documentary
• Power Worshippers, by Katherine Stewart
• Conspirituality Episode #187 - Project 2025
• Mindshift Podcast - Exposing Project 2025

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Welcome to a brand new chapter in the ‘cult’ure series. We'll be moving away from the wellness world and onto broader culture war topics in the coming weeks. To kick things off, Candice is showing up solo. Opening with an anecdote about an awkward interpersonal interaction from a few weeks ago, she then continues in the vein of storytelling, pulling from the pages of her unpublished memoir. Through a series of intimate flashbacks, she examines how an over’bear’ing family system shaped her people-pleasing persona early in life and what it may have taught her about the social costs of speaking up. The episode then circles back to an early theme in the ‘cult’ure series convo - don’t poke the bear - riffing on how (because patriarchy) social systems reward bullying behavior and sometimes confuse everyday allies with villains. She touches upon some hot-button topics; all the while speaking about why doing so feels so damned edgy - especially in the digital age. Also, she introduces TDP listeners to some of the folks that she's been watching closely in order to learn more about everyday activism, and why she's become a little obsessed with refreshing responses to trolls and haters.  Learn what Candice considers 'bully backlash bingo' as well as what her ongoing fascination with whistleblowers has been teaching her. Then (sorry-not-sorry) things get political as she paves the way for where the ‘cult’ure series is headed next. 

Referenced In This Episode:

• Robert Jay Lifton
• John Lewis - Good Trouble
• Brittany Voie & The Wonder Woman video
• Alok Vaid-Menon on Instagram
• One Way Back: A Memoir, by Christine Blasey Ford
• Doppelganger: A Trip Into The Mirror World, by Naomi Klein

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Beginning next week, we'll be shifting the conversation here on the main feed away from wellness 'cult'ure convos. But first, back in early February, Candice invited Tracy Stamper to record a last-minute release for Patreon, and it soon after became one of this pod's most downloaded bonus episodes to date. Flying monkey is a term popularized in cult recovery spaces.  Borrowed from the storyline of the Wizard of Oz, it describes a high-demand group dynamic wherein hardcore loyalists reinforce ideology and allegiance to the group by policing behavior, expression, and dissenting opinions. But the thing is, in the world of new age wellness, flying monkey behavior isn’t always easy to suss out. It often masquerades as concern and/or sugar-coated redirections that are directed toward those who are wavering in their devotion; aka no longer 'all-in.' And in more extreme instances, it can look like victim shaming (see Ep.59). Shrugging off good-girl conditioning, Candice & Tracy share never-told stories about what's been happening behind the scenes, and how dogma placed in service to good intentions can actually do more harm. You'll hear what it's been like fielding ongoing criticism from Org loyalists. They take a critical look at “the high road” - what is it, really?... offer a closer look at 'soft-power coercion'... and also at how gaslighting can get dressed up in holy garb. Also, is there a razor thin line between compassion and complicity? Candice references how the groundbreaking work of Regina Jackson & Saira Roa has been helping her to wake up to her own blindspots and moral complacency. And Tracy reflects on her own flying monkey behavior back in the day, and then offers a compelling counterargument to those who'd rather we STFU because "what about my business?!" Which leads to an in-real-time reality check around why - despite their shared desire to move away from the subject - they're still talking about the Org. (Can we be done now, pretty please?!)

Referenced In This Episode:

• Bounded Choice: Who Is Accountable? w/ Dr. Janja Lalich
• White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better, by Regina Jackson & Saira Roa
• Deconstructing Karen - Apple TV documentary

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

Welcome to another Patreon Sampler. Over a dozen conversations have dropped while Candice has been on break from the main feed (that's here), and there are currently 60+ ‘cult’ure series related bonus episodes now streaming over on Patreon. Episode #78 features some of the best moments from recent releases. 

Listen to excerpts from recent discussions:

On activism, diet 'cult'ure, & self-care >>

• Aimee Van Ausdall shares about her very-public exit from ‘the Org’, how she's been standing up to bullies her whole life, and a tough-love reality check for those still straddling. Also, her plus-sized perspective on recent diet 'cult'ure convos. (From DD#57 - Leaving Loudly: Bullies, Paper Tigers, & A Size Stigma Reality Check - total run time: 53min over on Patreon)
• Dr. Melissa Durfey joins Candice to share about firsthand experience with medical fat-phobia, how intuitive wellness saved her life, and why self-care is so important. (From DD#53 - Surviving Anti-Fat Bias & Discovering Intuitive Wellness - total run time: 60min on Patreon)
• Sara Avery speaks candidly about growing up fat, her commitment to volunteer activism, and what 'allyship' really means to her. (From DD#56 - What My Body Is For: Self-Acceptance & Embodied Activism - total run time: 66m on Patreon)

On what it takes to call out legacies of abuse >>

• Noa Kadman shares how she spent years devoted to a yoga-inspired dance modality that was created by two former 'Org' trainers; only to suffer moral injury and betrayal. (From DD#55 - ‘Spiritual’ Self-Sacrifice: A Cautionary Tale & Cult-Hopping Heads Up! - total run time: 1hr, 47m on Patreon)
• Whistleblower Update - Candice shares about recent pushback to this here pod, how Naomi Klein's book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World is helping her to understand the polarizing times we're living in, and where the ‘cult’ure series is headed next. (From STC 3/14/24 - The Bully Pulpit: A Whistleblower Reality Check & Naomi Klein’s 'The Mirror World' - total run time: 38m on Patreon)

If you would like to hear full-length conversations of these and 60+ other episodes, consider becoming a patron of the pod for as little as $5 a month. Patreon donations keep the podcast editorially independent and ad-free. A free 7-day trial is available to all new subscribers.

Learn more at patreon.com/thedeeperpulse.

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates. 

This week’s Patreon Preview features an excerpt from a solo episode in the Subject To Change series with Candice, released exclusively on TDP Patreon. The following clip is from a 47-minute episode entitled Spiritual Capitalism: The Trouble w/ Turning Meaning Into Money. 

If you like what you hear in this sample clip, you can access the full-length episode on Patreon - which touches upon the following topics:

• An important reminder not to weaponize 'cult'ure series content.
• Spiritual Capitalism; the monetized rebellion against self-sacrifice.
• Idealism, misinformation, & exchanging meaning for money.
• Spiritual Meritocracy; a love&light spin on a capitalistic lie.
• Is 'spiritual' really even something that we can be?
• Soft-power coercion in marketing & what to look out for.
• Reality check re: the social determinants of health AND well-being.

Patrons of The Deeper Pulse have unlimited access to weekly extras in exchange for their support of the podcast. Patreon donations help keep the main feed of this pod ad-free. Sliding-scale membership starts at just $5 month.

Support the show

The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

Join The Deeper Pulse at Patreon for weekly bonus episodes + other exclusive bonus content. Follow The Deeper Pulse on IG @thedeeperpulse + @candiceschutter for more regular updates.