In part one of this wild listener story, Katelyn Hlavaty chats with Lola and Meagan about her experience in the evangelical healing ministry group, Operation Light Force. Katelyn shares how she joined the group when she was isolated and struggling with Crohn's disease, and how the group's promises of community, God, and literal physical healing seemed like the answer in her moment of vulnerability. They dig into how the leader, Richard, began doing counseling sessions with Katelyn, and how Richard taught his followers that any physical ailment they experienced could be the result of sin, trauma, or even Satan. In any case, the goalpost was always moving... and Richard was the one with the answers.

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Sara Gorman, public health expert, CEO & founder of Critica, and author of Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, joins Lola and Meagan to discuss the importance of the scientific method, why presenting evidence can feel like an attack, common debunked beliefs that persist in American culture, and the role that media plays in telling stories that stoke fear instead of critical thinking. They also talk about the factors that lead people to ignore evidence, how charismatic leaders play a large role in science denial, signs that a person is not coming from a place of expertise, and how to navigate the healthcare system when it fails people. 

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Former Sea Org member and niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about leaving "The Ranch" in order to join the Sea Org, getting involved in higher level management, how she barely knew her own parents, the constant level of paranoia she saw from everyone at all levels, what it was like to date within the Sea Org, how she threatened to kill herself to get her partner out of highly controlled isolation, the potential whereabouts of her Aunt Shelly, how a trip to Australia served as the catalyst for her to leave, and was threatened with family separation and followed by private investigators.

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Former Scientology Sea Org member and niece of current Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about being a third generation member, growing up in the infamous Sea Organization, doing child labor in a place called The Ranch, the strong snitching culture and knowledge reports that made it hard to trust anyone, bizarre educational system that punished kids for not knowing words, the fear Scientology stoked in her of the outside world, and how people felt about her Uncle David growing up.

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Crystal Hefner, former Playboy Playmate, Hugh Hefner's widow, author of Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself shares how she ended going to the Playboy Mansion for the first time, getting invited by Hef to stay, her tightly controlled lifestyle and the weekly rituals that were designed to please Hef and no one else, how she felt about filming Girls Next Door, how she escaped and why she came back, marrying Hef and the complicated feelings she had after his death.

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In part two of their conversation with Michelle Dowd, Lola & Meagan dig into when Michelle and her family moved to the mountain, why discomfort was considered a virtue, getting sick with an autoimmune disease at the age of ten, spending many months in the hospital away from The Field and her family, what happened after her cult leader grandfather passed away, and how she left the group.

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Professor, survivor of The Field, and author of Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult, Michelle Dowd, discusses growing up in the cult founded by her grandfather in the 1930s, how it started as an after school program for boys and evolved into something more sinister, the wild claims that her grandfather made, traveling to perform plays while serving as a magician's assistant and poodle conductor, how children were trained to talk to authorities and outsiders, and being taught to prioritize survival above all else.

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Two formerly closeted religious men, Thomas and Micah, share how they came out to their families and left their beliefs behind. Thomas talks about going on a Mormon mission as a gay man, Micah shares how learning about scientology was a turning point in his life, the group shares their thoughts on #DISNEYADULTS, and Thomas and Michah give their advice to anyone struggling with their sexuality and religion.

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One is a former Mormon. The other was a child of evangelical missionaries teaching a doctrine called Accelerated Christian Education. Both of them were closeted gay men growing up in strict religious households. Today, Thomas and Micah share about their upbringings, how they met working at Disneyland (a type of cult unto itself), the personalized Book of Mormon that Thomas bought for Micah, and growing up in cultures that stigmatize homosexuality.

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Musician and former FLDS member, Marji Mozart, discusses her wedding day as an underage bride who had never been taught about sex, her multiple marriages including one to her sister's husband, the pain of feeling that her dreams of becoming a musician were dead, how spending time in the hospital with her child led staff to suspect that she was in an unhealthy relationship, and how she eventually left rekindled her life of pursuing music.

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