Laura was a young adult just starting her career in Auckland when she was recruited into Shinchonji - a Korean high-demand religious group. In this interview Laura describes how she was pursued and recruited, and how fear, deceit and a desire to please others was used to trap her. She became a leader herself and used these same destructive tactics on others. Five years later she extracted herself and in leaving she gave up faith. This episode reveals how easily anyone can be recruited by a...

A chance encounter with a Centrepoint survivor at a festival a decade ago set Anke Richter on a labyrinthine journey into understanding the aftermath of cults. The result of this work was “Cult Trip”, Anke’s book about her investigation into cults inside and outside New Zealand. Today's chat between Anke and Caz discusses trauma-informed, survivor-centric journalism, how impossible it is to stay objective when writing about the human impact of cults, and how Anke’s and Caz’s stories...

Are you reaching for your dictionary far too often as you learn more about the cultisphere? If that’s you, you’ll love hearing our hosts slice and dice their way through the most common culty words and phrases. Sit back as our trio define concepts like narcissism, psychopathy, authoritarianism, machiavellianism, and gas-lighting. By the end of our chat you’ll be ready to butt-in on the next conversation you overhear about cults, with full confidence that you’re using the big words correctly.

Are cults simply harmless fringe groups with unusual ideas, or something more? Are they always religious? Are they always harmful? Who gets to decide if the word cult is applied to a group, and what if people disagree? Are there some objective measures we can use to define cults? Today Lindy, Liz and Caz talk about some of the different ways cults are defined, drawing on common definitions and exploring some leading international experts’ understandings of what makes a group culty.  Show...

How many lawyers does it take to overthrow a coercive controlling system of oppression? Twenty? A hundred? Listen to today’s bonus episode to find out the answer to this age old question as Liz asks the Gloriavale Leavers legal team - Brian, Dennis and Steve - the hard questions about the recent employment case. This bonus episode is being released in response to the July 2023 girls employment court case for the women that New Zealanders will forever fondly call “The Gloriavale Six”. Show...

Discover what drives Liz Gregory, founder of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust, as she shares her journey from being a teacher and business owner to unexpectedly providing support to survivors of a cult. Liz firmly believes that by thoroughly understanding the root causes of problems, we can develop more effective solutions for the future. Uncover the source of Liz's unwavering energy as she continues to raise awareness and advocate for those affected by the Gloriavale community. Show...

Caroline talks about how her family became involved in Centrepoint, the time she spent there as a 7 year old, and the silence that surrounded the topic after she left. She explains the slow waking up to the impacts Centrepoint had on her life, and how she started to uncover the history which eventually led to her starting the Centrepoint Restoration Project. She discusses the motivation which drove her - a desire to turn an awful experience into something with meaning, hope and redemptive...

Listen to more of Lindy’s story, as she shares what it was like to grow up in the Exclusive Brethren, the unexpected outcomes of asking too many questions, and the difficult process of leaving.  We talk about the long-term impacts that former members of high-demand groups can have, especially in groups that practice familial shunning.  Lindy shares with us about the heartbeat of the Olive Leaf Network, concluding our chat with a poignant poem that she wrote on her 10 year leaving...

Meet Caroline, Liz and Lindy on this first episode as they talk about how they met and introduce us to their own projects in the cultisphere: the Centrepoint Restoration Project, Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust, and Olive Leaf Network. The trio talk about what listeners can expect from Cult Chat; cult awareness, impacts of coercive control, cult recovery, and questions about accountability. Show Links & References: Cult Chat on Facebook Olive Leaf Network Gloriavale Leavers Support...