A podcast about cult hacking! Cracking the cult code to understand what they are, how they work, how people leave and how to make sense of the world after leaving. Father and daughter team, media graduate Celine, and former cult member now organizational psychologist Stephen, explore how cults work, why they are so dangerous and the experience of leaving and making sense of the world. They speak to cult hackers from all over the world, from ex members to academics, from writers to filmmakers, and from therapists to activists. https://pod.link/1540824671 https://www.patreon.com/culthackers https://culthackers.com/ Music is Snap by Purple Planet Music Music: https://www.purple-planet.com
Episodes
Feb 20, 2022
Feb 20, 2022
1hr 11 min
Jake Vaughn from the Alt Worldly YouTube Channel talks about his waking up process from the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the difficulties associated with it, as well as his health challenges, complicated by his faith as a youth. The second half of the episode takes a different tack as we look at what could controversially be described as "the funny side of growing up in a cult".
Support the podcast for $1:50 https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/posts
Jake's Channel Links
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfHydnkPDgYNCZiviuVVrkw
My Craziest JW Field Service Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjqCRwlTEk8
Feb 16, 2022
Feb 16, 2022
1hr 8 min
Do some born-in cult members experience greater harm than others because they happen to have certain personality traits?
Psychology suggests that we inherit at least some of our personality traits through our genes. What are the implications for people raised in a cult? How does the presence of certain traits affect how we respond to cult indoctrination? This week Celine and Stephen look at how we research and understand individual differences, how much of these differences are down to our genes or environment, what this means for personal agency and how different traits might mean some cult 'born-ins' have a much worse time than others.
If you'd like to become a patron you can do so for just $1:50 a month https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout
Bike and Psych
References
Miell, D., Phoenix, A., & Thomas, K. (2002). Mapping psychology 1. The Open University.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/big-5-personality-traits
Feb 13, 2022
Feb 13, 2022
1hr 2 min
Erika Bornman, author of Mission of Malice talks to us about her life growing up in Kwasizabantu, a non-denominational Christian Group she describes as a cult. As a child and a young woman she endured physical and mental abuse, was groomed by her church 'counsellor' and witnessed horrendous abuses. In her early twenties she managed to escape but at great personal cost. Erika's story is emotional, touching and at times harrowing but at the heart of her story is a message of hope and of finding a way to make sense of life outside the confines of a controlling and damaging ideology.
If you would like to become a patron you can for just $1:50 through our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/posts
Erika's Book Mission of Malice
https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Malice-My-Exodus-KwaSizabantu/dp/1776096231
Feb 9, 2022
Feb 9, 2022
59 min
Two completely different topics today on the podcast.
Time Stamp 00:00: Segment 1. The medical condition and psychological impact of serious acne and Stephen and Celine’s experience of this as children and adults.
Time Stamp 25:00: Segment 2. The Wasted Years: After leaving a cult or other high demand group it’s easy to look back and feel angry at the wasted years. Is there a way to work through this feeling?
https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout/
Acne information
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/acne/
Mental Health information
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
Feb 6, 2022
Feb 6, 2022
58 min
The guest today is Min Grob from CCChat Magazine. Min experienced a coercively controlling relationship and talks about the behaviours and methods used by perpetrators. This is a companion piece to this week's Gaslight episode.
Mom’s website
https://coercivecontrol.co.uk/
Book referenced by Min
Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trauma-Recovery-Aftermath-Violence-Political/dp/0465061710/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=11RG8FD38EYAX&keywords=trauma+and+recovery+judith+herman&qid=1644101397&sprefix=trauma+%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1
Feb 2, 2022
Feb 2, 2022
47 min
The 1940's film Gaslight about the systematic attack by a man on his wife's psychological wellbeing, provided us with the phrase gaslighting. Today Sarah joins Stephen to review the movie and to explore how this tactic is used in coercively controlling relationships and in cults.
Jan 30, 2022
Jan 30, 2022
55 min
Darren Slade has a fascinating story. Although not raised in a religious household as a young person he loved religious studies and his ambition was to become a pastor and Christian apologist. An ambition he achieved until he started to doubt his beliefs. Today he is the President of The Center for Religious Research and an atheist. He talks about his life and his research into religious trauma as well as some of his other interests such as miracles and the ethics of a God who allows suffering.
Would you like to support our podcast for just $1:50 per month? Get early access on many episodes and exclusive video content. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout
Global Center for Religious Studies
Darren M Slade Website
https://darrenmslade.academia.edu/
Jan 26, 2022
Jan 26, 2022
54 min
What is science? How does it work? Can we trust it? Who does it? And can we trust the scientists? All this and more in today's big subject discussion. Plus a short and slightly bizarre Tweet of the Week.
Jan 23, 2022
Jan 23, 2022
1hr 11 min
Today's guest is Brent Lee who describes himself as a recovering conspiracist of 15 years. Brent explains how he became drawn into a Grand Conspiracy, his journey out and the reasons he now feels he must talk about his own experience. Stephen and Celine also discuss how society might deal with this phenomena.
Support the podcast https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout
Brent Lee TV https://youtube.com/c/BrentLeeTV
ko-fi.com/brentleetv
Twitter @BrentLeeTV
Jan 19, 2022
Jan 19, 2022
44 min
The Milgram experiments of the 1960s tried to answer the question of how seemingly normal people can do the most awful things. These experiments have been part of Psychology 101 for years and the subject of many a documentary. What are these experiments? And what can they tell us about how people behave in cults? Stephen also discusses sometimes difficult feelings ex members may have about things they may have done while part of a cult or high control group.
If you'd like to help support the podcast you can be a patron for just £1 ($1:50) on our only tier on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/whatshouldithinkabout
Interesting links
Footage of The Milgram Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOUEC5YXV8U&t=2s
Adam Haslam, The Psychology of Tyranny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxXMKg8-7o0
Clip from Derren Brown, The Heist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxq4QtK3j0Y
References
Hollway, W., Lucey, H., & Phoenix, A. (2006). Social psychology matters. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Miell, D., Phoenix, A., & Thomas, K. (2002). Mapping psychology 1. The Open University.