Cognitive anthropologist Chris Kavanagh and psychologist Matthew Browne, hosts of the podcast Decoding the Gurus, share some of their criteria for what makes a guru, discussing a few of the many personalities they've covered on their podcast: Elon Musk and Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, oh my. They discuss the horrors of social media, the importance of trusting experts (but how academic credentialism can lead people astray too), how the biggest internet gurus tend to skew male, and why basically we need more scientists with mass appeal. 

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In part two of their discussion with former Westboro Baptist Church member Lauren Drain, she'll share how she was kicked out of the group and struggled to build a new social circle, the fear mongering that the Church used, and her healing journey including the use of fitness, EMDR, and ayahuasca. PLUS an incredible update on her family's current status!

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Banished author, fitness model, and registered nurse Lauren Drain joins Lola and Meagan to talk about her upbringing in the Westboro Baptist Church. They'll discuss the group's hateful and cruel picketing of public events, how Lauren's family joined after her dad intended to make a mockumentary about the church, how tightly controlled everyday life was, the very normal thing that got her kicked out, and the tragic end days of the founder Fred Phelps.

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Groups!... I did it again. Jay Van Bavel, NYU Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, Director of the Social Identity and Morality Lab, and co-author of The Power Of Us, discusses how our social identities change depending on our environment and context, how the groups we identify with affect our decisions and perception, and the importance of instilling healthy hierarchy in a group to prevent unhealthy leadership. They also discuss how emotionally charged situations can forge shared identities, how cults replace individual identities with group identities, what to do when someone has fallen prey to groupthink, and whether groups are even... good? 

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Learn more about Jay's work here! https://www.powerofus.online 

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Metal musician and filmmaker Pablo "Morbid" Vergara, who appeared in the Netflix docuseries "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel," shares what drew him to metal music and its horror-centric imagery, and how his dark persona led to him being accused by strangers of murdering Elisa Lam--despite the fact that he was there a full year before her. He'll discuss the suffering he experienced as a result of the harassment, including a suicide attempt, making art again, and the importance of mental health awareness.

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Don't panic! Writer Aja Romano shares how they became interested in the history of the Satanic Panic in the US, how it ramped up in the 60s and 70s, the societal impact of horror films like The Exorcist, books like Satan Seller and Michelle Remembers, rising fear and trials that arose in the 80s, its impact on the LGBTQ community, and how these kinds of ideas persist today!

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Lola and Meagan chat with Mikey Biddlestone, post-doc researcher at the Cambridge social decision making lab whose focus is on conspiracy beliefs, misinformation, and political psychology. They'll dig into what factors make someone more likely to believe in conspiracies, the values they do or DON'T bring to people's lives, how discrimination against conspiracy theorists can backfire, PRE-bunking vs DE-bunking, the connection between narcissism and conspiracy theories, and what we can do about the real world danger of conspiracies.

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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 Trust Me Pod @gmail.com

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It's Conspiracy Month! In our first episode of the series, Lisa Fazio, Associate Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, discusses how we come to believe falsehoods, why none of us are experts at discerning fact from fiction, and how repetition can make false information seem more true. She'll discuss why misinformation spreads so easily on the internet, ways we can protect ourselves from bad information (spoiler: it's hard), and how human memory is wildly unreliable - and, unfortunately, manipulatable.

PLUS: Lola shares how her mom and stepdad spent the last year working to secretly take down polygamous cult leader Samuel Bateman.

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Filmmaker and Lola's pal Josh Lobo shares his experiences as a teenager dealing with a militant small-town religious group in Wyoming. He'll discuss how trolling the group on Facebook led to them seeking revenge, escalating over time to the point of shooting his car up, how he sought legal action to protect himself, and whether or not he regrets his behavior. 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp! Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/trust  

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Jan Broberg, kidnapping survivor and subject of the Peacock documentary Friend of the Family: True Evil (plus scripted series Friend of the Family), describes how Robert Berchtold seduced Jan's mom to get to Jan, and what it was like the second time he abducted her, keeping her hidden for 4 months in Southern California. She discusses how deeply brainwashed she was even after she was rescued and had limited contact with Berchtold, how he continued to try to intimidate Jan's family, and what the recovery process was like for her and her family. Plus, the advocacy work she's doing now with the Jan Broberg foundation.

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