Cult Hackers

The Importance of Having a Voice and Podcast News

After 267 episodes we've decided that's the end of season 1. In the final episode of the season Celine and Stephen explore why leavers of cults and coercively controlling religions feel the need to express themselves about their experience. 

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

Order, obedience, compliance and silence: Kendra Petty's story.

Our guest today is Kendra Petty, author of the memoir "I Can't Believe I'm Not Dead". Coercively controlled by her mother and a child member of a fundamentalist Christian group, only to leave and experience multiple threats to her life. It's an extraordinary story and Kendra is an engaging and fascinating guest.

Kendra's website https://kendrapettyofficial.com/

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

Is Religion Good For You?

Celine raises the question whether there is a link between religious belief and long life. Following the Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones the question of whether religious belief increases wellbeing is discussed by Stephen and Celine. Is there good data to suggest there is a link? If there is, is it a causal relationship or can it be explained through other factors. Is "belief" itself the key or is it what the belief might make you do? Also should we care about the "truth claims" that religions often make?

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

Filmmaker Carmel Mikol talks Apostate, her Short Documentary Film

This week Celine and Stephen's guest is Carmel Mikol, a filmmaker, musician, artist and former Jehovah's Witness. Carmel talks about her own experience as a young Witness finding herself in an abusive marriage and her difficulties escaping the relationship and then leaving the group. Carmel talks about the misogynistic attitudes and policies within the group and the damage they can do to young women. She also provides the Governing Body with some helpful advice about how to make the organisation a more equitable environment and nicer place to be.

Her short film is called Apostasy https://www.carmelmikol.com/film

Carmel’s Instagram is @apostatefilm

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

Behaving Badly for the Org.

A high profile case of people behaving appallingly on behalf of an organisation is big news in the UK, known as the Post Office scandal. The question of why people do unethical things to support the business, religion or cult to which they belong, has been researched and is multi-faceted. Today Stephen and Celine explore the psychological research into "Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior" as it relates to businesses but also cultic religious groups. They explore possible social reasons but also the Dark Triad of personality traits that may, in some cases, be at play. 

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

Next week's guest, Carmel Mikol's docuemtery film:

https://www.carmelmikol.com/film

References and links

explainer https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036.amp

Fehr, R., Welsh, D., Yam, K. C., Baer, M., Wei, W., & Vaulont, M. (2019). The role of moral decoupling in the causes and consequences of unethical pro-organizational behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 153, 27-40.

Stone, D. L., Deadrick, D. L., Lukaszewski, K. M., & Johnson, R. (2015). The influence of technology on the future of human resource management. Human resource management review, 25(2), 216-231.

Chen, M., Chen, C. C., & Sheldon, O. J. (2016, April 21). Relaxing Moral Reasoning to Win: How Organizational Identification Relates to Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000111

LeBreton, J. M., Shiverdecker, L. K., & Grimaldi, E. M. (2018). The dark triad and workplace behavior. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 387-414.

 

Interview With Apostate Barbie

Celine and Stephen are joined by Micki, AKA Apostate Barbie, from Instagram and Tic Tok. Micki tells us about her journey out of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Challenging an aunt about outlandish QANON conspiracy theories, made her consider her own beliefs - not the first time we've heard our guests speak of this type of exit, from Christian Fundamentalist beliefs. Micki talks about the help and support she has experienced from other former Jehovah's Witnesses and also some of her observations about ex Jehovah's Witness communities in general.

Micki's Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apostatebarbie/

Tik Tok: @apostatebarbie

Cult Hackers 

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

 

Bonus Crossover: Magical Thinking Part 2

A follow-up to the conversation Stephen had with Spencer Watson from the Truth Unrestricted Podcast about magical thinking. This time Stephen was a guest on Spencer's show and this audio is brought to you by his permission. They discuss developmental psychology and how babies and children develop an understanding of a world apart from themselves and then symbolic thought. Spencer proposes a concept called pseudo-tangibility to describe how we may be creating tangible models and symbols to explain intangible and sometimes magical beliefs. 

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

 

Legal Fights: Jehovah’s Witnesses Vs Norway, with Jan Frode Nilsen

Jan Frode Nilsen has a long-form interview with Stephen about his work exposing the damaging shunning policies of Jehovah's Witnesses, and his appearance as a witness for the Norwegian government in recent court cases. He also talks about his own experience as a former member raised in the group.

Documents related to the case on: Avoid JW website

Recording of elders visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RkXsh332Fo

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

 

 

Finding Friends After Leaving a Cult; Patron Takeover

Losing friends, making new ones, reuniting with old ones, all at the same time as finding yourself. Friendships can be a tricky thing after leaving a cult. This week some of the Cult Hacker Patreon supporters join Celine and Stephen on a panel of former Jehovah's Witnesses, to explore the process of finding and making friendships outside a high-control group. Maryann, Regina, Vincent, Tanya, Riley from the Jexit Channel and Scott from Witness Underground, discuss their own experiences of building a social world following isolation after leaving. They discuss their mistakes and lessons learned, and how they've come through the process. Christmas can also be a tricky time around friendships so the panel talk about their preferred way of either embracing it or escaping it.

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

Other Links

Wikipedia article about the 'Friendship Paradox' as mentioned by Vincent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_paradox

 

Bonus Audio Blog: Am I Awake Yet?

This short bonus episode is the audio version of a blog Stephen recently published on Medium. Many leavers of high control religions use 'waking up' as a metaphor for realising the group we had been a member of had been telling us lies, and that we had a warped worldview. The film 'The Matrix' holds resonance for many of us. In this short piece Stephen explores this, and another movie about dreaming and waking up - Inception. Upon leaving, knowing how to relate to the world is difficult and a learned suspicion of authority can sometimes lead us into fringe belief systems and Stephen reflects upon his own journey and what he learned.

The Medium Blog: The Medium Blog

To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/

To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts