This week I am joined by River Wood to discuss their upbringing in what is known as 2x2s but really is an extremist Christian cult with no official name and hiding in plain sight. We cover a lot of territory and I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Jon Atack to discuss and debunk the conspiracy theories surrounding the Process Church, the Son of Sam and Scientology. And when we're done with that, we get into the real facts about Manson's involvement with Scientology. This is a wild one. Enjoy!

This week I welcome Dr. Laura Anderson, psychotherapist and religious trauma expert, to discuss how trauma works, how it is treated and what this has to do with cult members and everyday folks in our day to day life. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy! Find out more about Dr. Anderson at https://drlauraeanderson.com and check out her new book, When Religion Hurts You. 

This week I am joined by former "tradcat" (Traditional Catholic) Anthony Spurgin to discuss his experiences and abuses growing up in a family practicing pre-Vatican II Catholicism. We cover what "tradcats" are, how sexual and child abuse is not dealt with in Catholicism and why this is absolutely unacceptable. Link to YouTube video of this podcast: https://youtu.be/5iKIszlTS4Y

  This week I am joined by educator Melanie Trecek-King to discuss the real barriers and problems people have with engaging in critical thinking and we dived into cult thinking, belief and a bunch of other stuff. This was another fun and insightful conversation. Enjoy! aj6tr7m7 The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #405: Our Biggest Barriers to Critical Thinking appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by Mark Vicente, NXIVM survivor and film maker who joins me to discuss our cult experiences and life beyond that, including his most recent project interviewing psychopaths and where that is going. This was a fun and insightful conversation. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #404: NXIVM, Scientology and Beyond w/Mark Vicente appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

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This week I am joined by channel friend Jon Atack to discuss Charles Manson, his definite connections with Scientology and how this relates to mind control, Helter Skelter and popular belief. We covered a lot of ground in this podcast. Enjoy!

For our 400th episode of the Sensibly Speaking Podcast, we went live to discuss and breakdown the new cult documentary on Netflix, How to Become a Cult Leader. We had quite a bit to say and got some great feedback from the audience along the way. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #400: How to Become a Cult Leader – The Critical Review appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined by Anthony Magnabasco to discuss street epistemology, a method for inquiring into deeply held beliefs and what this has to do with bridging divides, helping people in cults, therapy and a lot more. Enjoy! The post Sensibly Speaking Podcast #399: How to Change Extreme Beliefs and Cultic Behavior appeared first on The Sensibly Speaking Podcast.

This week I am joined again by Scientology veteran and film maker Mitch Brisker to discuss something NO ONE has ever talked about before, at least not anywhere I could find: the confidential L. Ron Hubbard films on Scientology’s OT Levels. We go into some of the details of the films, what it took to restore them and a lot more from there. Enjoy!

Coercive control is not just isolated to cults. This week we go on a different tangent to explore coercive control in the adoption system and in unethical therapy – two areas that are hardly ever discussed but in which abuses happen daily. I am joined by Emma Stevens, who opens up about her experiences and shares why the coercion she had to grow up with have stayed with her to this day.

This week I have Mitch Brisker back to discuss more of his work for the Church of Scientology as a professional film director and creative. Today, we go deep into Church propaganda, psychiatry, working at Golden Era Productions and a lot more. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by pyschologist and author Dr. Robin Stern to discuss her specialty, gaslighting. We cover how this is done, how to spot it when it’s happening to you (even if it’s from someone you like and admire) and how gaslighting is used in cults like Scientology to literally rewrite one’s memories. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by long-time friend and researcher Jon Atack to discuss cancel culture, controversies, cult nonsense and science – a broad mix of topics about which Jon and I have many opinions. We hope you like our discussion as much as we did having it. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Mitch Brisker, a professional film maker who went to work as a non-Sea Org member back in the 1980s and worked for decades directly under David Miscavige. He has some very interesting things to say about his time, Scientology’s leader and the culture he observed. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Kate Amber, MSc educator and fellow graduate of the Salford Master’s program on the psychology of coercive control, to discuss what she has been doing to work with medical and law enforcement officials on coercive control and her unique model of that behavior. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did putting it together.

This week I am joined by Dr. Janja Lalich, sociologist and long-time cult warrior who has a great deal to say about her model of “bounded choice,” cultic influence in society, recovery from these groups and a lot more. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by show favorite Jon Atack to discuss a model of human behavior I’ve been formulating which has everything to do with cultic behavior and our thoughts on things related to emotion, reason and morality. This was a fun chat and I hope you find it as informative and entertaining as we did having it. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Jason Horvatic, a second-generation and now ex-Scientologist turned academic who has taken on studying Scientology from an interesting perspective but who also has a horrifying story to tell about his treatment growing up in and working for Scientology in Australia, including as a Sea Org member there. This is a really long podcast and we covered a lot of territory. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Barry Purcell, an Irish writer/blogger, and as you’ll see we had a pretty wide-ranging discussion from Irish politics and The Troubles to issues we have with atheism to a detailed look at Islam in Europe. This one was just a fun show to do and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

This week I am joined by David Bunds, a former member of the Branch Davidians prior to the disastrous tragedy of 1993. In this conversation, David helps us understand who David Koresh was and where he came from, and what the Branch Davidians were all about. This remains a cautionary tale in how to deal with destructive cults and their psychotic leadership which everyone really needs to understand so we don’t repeat history.

This week I am joined by show favorite Jon Atack to discuss the psychological aspects and criticisms of AI development, a conversation that no one in the computer industry seems to be having or taking seriously. As always, Jon has some amazing insights to offer. Enjoy!

This week I am joined by Liz LaPoint (“Godless Liz”), a fellow content creator and promoter of skepticism and critical thinking, to discuss tax exemption and whether churches/religions should have it. We offer some food for thought in arguments for and against, and I hope you’ll give it some consideration.