162: What if you grew up in a cult?

After growing up with financial instability, a fiercely independent man builds the successful life he always dreamed of, but when his behavior begins to change in frightening and inexplicable ways, his mind, marriage, and everything he’s worked for begin to unravel.Today’s episod ... Show More

A Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney. A handsome disbarred lawyer with a dark past. And an elaborate scheme that leads to murder.Vanessa Motta gives up a career of fake car crashes for real ones. But her law career in New Orleans gets off to a rocky start — unti ... Show More

After a childhood shaped by her father’s unpredictable volatility, a young woman faces an unimaginable act of violence and must come to terms with complicated grief, shame and an erratic path to healing.Today’s episode featured Lucia. If you’d like to email her, you can at poorlo ... Show More

CW: This episode contains descriptions of CSA, child abuse, suicide, alcoholism, and death. On this episode of We’re All Insane, Charlie shares her harrowing story of spiritual and physical abuse at the hands of her parents, particularly her father. She also discusses the devasta ... Show More

Have you ever been in a cult? (Are you sure?) Are Disney Adults in a cult? What about Serious Coffee People? How obsessed with Mother God are you? On today’s episode, Stephanie and Melissa discuss all of the cults and cult-ish groups they’ve encountered in their lives, share whic ... Show More

It’s happened to more people than we think. You go to a meeting and end up devoting your life to a cult. Okay maybe not. This week the ladies discuss their thoughts on cults, experiences they’ve had that may be cultish, and explore some cults that have made an impact on society.N ... Show More

Brainwashed into a religious cult. Our caller escaped 10 years ago, but she's only now starting to process the trauma: from sexual manipulation and poison, to hallucinations and "mind melding". Chris talks about therapy (and discovers a mutual love for go kart rides). This episod ... Show More

Today's guest, Sara, didn't just wear a cult uniform—she sewed it. Raised in a conservative faith that slowly morphed into a cult, Sara's life went from dairy cows and barefoot summers to head coverings, spiritual "consequences," and Levitical purity laws enforced with spray bott ... Show More

[SCROLL FOR CW] - LCSW Kat Schneider joins Abby at the end of this episode to talk about what it was like being a part of a religious cult! Kat also explains the mental health side of why people join, choose to stay, and some of the complications of leaving. Lexi and Coworker Jus ... Show More

Brandi (not her real name) has social anxiety because she grew up in a cult where members gathered regularly around her family’s dinner table to talk about mortality and sin. To cope, Brandi hid at the top of the stairs in silence, afraid to even go get a snack. In this session u ... Show More

<p>What's the difference between a cult and a religion? What are some of history's strangest cults? Are there any secret cults in the modern day? In this week's classic episode, Ben and Matt are (accidentally) prescient.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="ht ... Show More