We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of traum ... Show More
Yesterday
The Cult of Neurolinguistic Programming
What if the right words could rewire your brain… or at least make you feel like they did? This week, Amanda is joined by journalists and hosts of the podcast Mind Games, Alice Hines (@alicehines_) and Zoë Lescaze (@zoelescaze), to unpack the cult of neurolinguistic programming, t ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 14
The Cult of Christian Nationalism
What does the Mormon curl, January 6th, and the rapture all have in common? Christian Nationalism! This week Reese and Amanda are joined by Jennie Gage (@LifeTakeTwoJennie) of Life Take Two, to unpack what we (spoiler alert) feel is one of the most insidious cults taking over Ame ... Show More
1h 19m
Apr 7
The Cult of Kidfluencers
Welcome to the internet, where a kid can lead a cult. From Ryan’s Toys to Piper Rockelle, the world of child influencers is vast, brain-rotted and constantly changing. This week on Sounds Like a Cult, Amanda, Iman, and Reese have journalist and author of the book Like, Follow, Su ... Show More
57m 20s
Mar 2024
The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
Like hundreds before her, Katherine Daniel was sent by her parents to a school for troubled teens. The Academy at Ivy Ridge claimed to use therapy and recreational activities to help its students. Instead, teens suffered mental and physical abuse in a program that operated like a ... Show More
37m 9s
Jan 2024
Joe Wicks on addiction, homeschooling and body image
TW: addiction The popularity of Joe Wicks’s online workouts and meal plans as ‘The Body Coach’ catapulted him into fame during lockdown. He’s a source of endless positive energy for the rest of us, but he had a challenging childhood. Growing up on a council estate, his father had ... Show More
52m 45s
Apr 2024
Will Young - ‘I like to talk about it because I survived it’
TW: this episode contains discussion of sexual assault and suicide. In many ways, Will Young is the definition of resilience. As a child, he endured physical and psychological abuse at prep school. In his 20s, he found fame on a reality TV show and was forced to be public about h ... Show More
56m 17s
Jan 2024
LSD Children Cult
In the 1960’s, Elites from Australia’s Political, Medical, Psychiatric, and Academic circles, joined a Cult. They stole children and subjected them to unimaginable horrors, drugging them with LSD to create a supposed master race. The children endured a life of isolation and abuse ... Show More
1h 27m
Feb 2023
REOPENED: Little Girl Lost
<p>In 1992, Halloween was cancelled in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Just days before, an 11-year-old was kidnapped and brutally murdered. The small town is rocked when Shauna Howe's body is discovered under a bridge, and investigators scramble to figure out what kind of person could h ... Show More
29m 13s