Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Today our guest is Andrea Dunlop, novelist and host of the podcast Nobody Should Believe Me, which is all about Munchausen by Proxy. She talks about Munchausen by Proxy, or medical child abuse, from a new point of view: what it’s like being related to the perpetrator. She’ll tell us about what her sister was like growing up, how she had exhibited Munchausen behaviors from a very young age, making herself seem to be sick before she had children, and how common that and other forms of deception are among people who later develop Munchausen by Proxy. We discuss how her sister faked a pregnancy and miscarriage, how the discovery of that messed with Andrea’s reality, the overlap of characteristics with people who exhibit signs of narcissism and psychopathy, and how actual medical misogyny complicates the whole thing.

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Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

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Today our guest is J. Wesley Boyd, psychiatrist, professor, and the director of education at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. He joins us to talk about Physician Health Programs, (or PHPs) which are under-the-radar programs that most states have. They're supposed to be a place where doctors who are struggling with substance abuse or mental illness can go to recover. But Wes shares how a shocking number of doctors who do *not* have a substance use disorder are coerced into for-profit inpatient treatment that rips them away from their lives and costs them tens of thousands of dollars of their own money. And if they don’t comply with every demand, they’ll very likely lose their medical licenses. We’ll talk about the benevolent origin of PHPs, the profit motives that corrupted so many them over time, examples of folks who experienced this coercion at the expense of their mental health and career, and how no one believes people who were victims of them - which is why it’s important for people like Wes, who worked for one as a psychiatrist, to speak out. And as always, we will discuss the exceptions, because of course there are people who have been helped by them too.

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Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

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Today is part two with R. Derek Black, former white supremacist turned anti-racism advocate, and author of The Klansman's Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism. Today we discuss how and when Derek’s identity became exposed to their friend group, including drastically different reactions from fellow students, how they were invited to Shabbat dinner by some Jewish friends, and how over time the cognitive dissonance of believing in ideology that was dangerous to people they care about began to wear on them, eventually leading them to denounce white nationalism.

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Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

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@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

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@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

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Today our guest is R. Derek Black, former poster child for white supremacy (now turned antiracist advocate) and author of the new memoir The Klansman’s Son. Derek, who came out as trans in this book, walks us through the white supremacist movement, where it stands now, what it was like growing up in a white nationalist family, being close to prominent neo-Nazi David Duke, how they were taught that the whole world misunderstood their "scientifically correct" ideology, and speaking to the press and becoming a public-facing figure of racism as a child. They’ll tell us about hosting a white nationalist radio show, going off to college, and how they began hanging out with a Jewish girl there who had no idea about this double life they’d been leading.

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Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

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@oohlalola

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@baberahamhicks

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In part two with Ian Rafalko, we go deeper into how he left Scientology, what that meant for his family life, and how his dad's lucrative online presence and supplement company tows the line of multi-level marketing. Ian will talk about the viral TikTok video he posted in which he said he was going to end his own life, why he decided not to, how his family reacted, and the paranoia he felt after going public.

Get new episodes of Murder: True Crime Stories every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

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@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

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@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK

@TrustMeCultPodcast

Today is part one Ian Rafalko, a former scientologist from a prominent scientologist family AND son of a prominent YouTube health guru. We explore how his family joined Scientology, what it was like growing up in a group where children are treated as adult spirits in small bodies, whether Scientology creates little sociopaths, and some of the more detailed ins and outs of the system and beliefs. We’ll also talk about Ian’s experience as an auditor, how his rebellious nature started getting him in trouble, the ubiquitous culture of snitching, and how he started to deconstruct his upbringing.

Check out our great sponsors!!

Pretty Litter: Go to PrettyLitter.com/trustme and use code "trustme" to save 20% on your first order AND get a free cat toy!

Quince: Need quality essentials? Go to Quince.com/trust for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!

Shopify: Run a business? Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/trustme 

BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

INSTAGRAM

@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

TWITTER

@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK

@TrustMeCultPodcast 

Subject of the new Neil Strauss podcast "To Die For", Aliia Roza shares about her childhood in Russia, her father who worked for the government, the training school and how she was coerced into joining a secret program for sex operations, the seduction and manipulation techniques she learned, how she was sexually abused in school, how she used those skills to survive, what her first missions were like... and of course... whether she ever killed anyone. Plus, how she wants to use her knowledge now to help women who are struggling to find love.

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BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

INSTAGRAM:

@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

TWITTER:

@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK:

@TrustMeCultPodcast 

Lawyer, advocate, podcaster, writer, and the reason you know about Adnan Syed from Serial, Rabia Chaudry, talks about her experience advocating for him, what it was like entering the true crime world, why Adnan is free now, what disappointed her about the coverage of his story, her work in CVE (countering violent extremism), how any group or religion is capable of becoming fundamentalist or extreme, why extremism is not a strictly Muslim problem, and the power of story to change people's minds.

Check out our great sponsors!!

Quince: Get warm weather ready at Quince.com/trust for free shipping on your order AND 365 day returns!

ZocDoc: Find and book a top-rated doctor at Zocdoc.com/trustme and download the Zocdoc app for FREE!

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Aura: Get a 14 day trial PLUS a check of your data ALL FOR FREE at Aura.com/trust

BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

INSTAGRAM:

@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

TWITTER:

@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK:

@TrustMeCultPodcast 

Today we chat with Jessica Kahn, former member of a group we're calling "The Narrow Road." She'll tell us about being born into this isolated fundamentalist Christian sect that was originally formed as an addiction treatment program, the leader's connection to the founders of AA, how every part of life was strictly controlled, how they believed that the end of the world would happen on Y2K, the leader's systematic physical abuse, and the violent incident that finally led her to leave.

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Care for your hair with PROSE! Get 50% off your first subscription order at Prose.com/trust PLUS get your FREE consultation!

Trust Me is sponsored by BetterHelp! Visit BetterHelp.com/trust to get 10% off your first month!

BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

INSTAGRAM:

@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

TWITTER:

@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK:

@TrustMeCultPodcast  

Today our guest is Madi Stroud. She was featured on the HBO docu series Love Has Won, and is late cult leader Amy Carlson’s daughter - the one whose mummified body was found wrapped in Christmas lights in Colorado. Madi shares what she remembers of her mom as a kid, how it felt after Amy suddenly left Madi and her brothers when she was only 7, and how she discovered that her mom had started the Love Has Won new age cult, claiming she was God - or more specifically, Mother God. We’ll talk about how Amy’s cult grew and her followers became more fanatical, how her last boyfriend known as “Father God” contributed to her demise, and how difficult it was for Madi to watch her mother’s health deteriorate, knowing the people around her could have tried to help. 

Check out our great sponsors!!

Quince: Get warm weather ready at Quince.com/trust for free shipping on your order AND 365 day returns!

Shopify: Run a business? Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/trustme 

BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 

Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at [email protected]

INSTAGRAM:

@TrustMePodcast

@oohlalola

@meaganelizabeth11

TWITTER:

@TrustMeCultPod

@ohlalola

@baberahamhicks

TIKTOK:

@TrustMeCultPodcast