Cults
They’ve been around for centuries but why?
Cults are certainly having a moment but aren’t they always? The word first entered the English language in 1614 but they still fascinate us today. The Sincheong Church is being blamed for the spread of coronavirus in South Korea; Bhagwan Shree Rajneesah, was the subject of hit Netflix series, Wild, Wild Country; Charles Mason was depicted in Hollywood movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the book Cult X, about the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, was a massive bestseller. We look into the lure of the cult and hear from some of those who have escaped their clutches.
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Cults: An Introduction
(8 mins)
Professor Eileen Barker of the Department of Sociology at LSE and has been studying Cults for 50 years. Who better to lead us into this topic – what are they? Are they all dangerous? Do they use brainwashing?
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PODCASTS
Heaven’s Gate: The Programming
(45 mins)
Hosted by Glynn Washington, a former member of the Worldwide Church of God, this podcast narrates the history of Heaven’s Gate, the cult that started in the ‘70’s and ended in 1997 with 39 people committing suicide. Here he looks at the case of Gail Maeder who was smart, fun and happy before she joined Heaven’s Gate. What got into her head?
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Lets Talk About Sects: Synanon
(60 mins)
Lets Talk About Sects is a monthly podcast focussing on a different cult each episode, hosted by Sarah Steele. She created the show because of a basic fascination with the psychology of cults, how they work and why people end up in them. In this episode she looks into Synanon which began as an addiction support group, grew into a well-funded utopian society, finally declaring itself a religion in 1974. Its founder, Charles Dederich. is credited with coining the phrase “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”.
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IndoctriNation: I Have to Ask You Before I Talk to My Son?
(60 mins)
IndoctriNation is a weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators. and protecting yourself from symptoms of control. The host, Rachel Bernstein, has been working with the victims of cults for 27 years and she believes that given the right set of circumstances, anyone can fall prey to sociopaths and manipulators. Here she talks to Daniel O’ Brien who spent 20 years in the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
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VIDEOS
Netflix Explained: Cults
(25 mins)
This full episode of Explained looks at how cults lure people in and exert control. Learn a cult’s tell tale signs, and how loneliness in life and life online makes indoctrination easier than ever.
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Lessons from A Cult Survivor About Freedom
(9 mins)
Having escaped from two cults, Claire Ashman recounts what it was like to live the first 36 years of her life within the confines of strict rules and locked gates. In this honest talk, Claire shares how she built up the strength and courage to finally escape, and the lessons she learnt about freedom. TEDxMelbourne
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What Cults Tell Us about Ourselves
(15 mins)
Amber Scorah is the author of the memoir Leaving the Witness and talks about the lure of cults and how a trip to China gave her the mental space to question her life with the Jehovah’s Witness faith. TEDxPaloAltoSalon
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ARTICLES
Children of Scientology: Life after Growing Up in an Alleged Cult
+Ash Sanders talks to a group of people, the Children of Scientologists, who grew up in Scientology but then managed to leave. But getting out causes problems of a different kind. From Rolling Stone Magazine.
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Brainwashing and Abuse: Cults are Worse for Women
+Alexandra Stein spent much of the 1980’s in a political cult in Minnesota. Now a research fellow at London South Bank University, she examines the consequences for female cult members who often find that their reproductive choices are determined by the cult leaders.
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Why I Joined a Cult – and How I Left.
+George Wright of the BBC talks to 4 cult survivors about their experiences.
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