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In part one of this 2-parter, we feature Scientology defector and whistleblower Claire Headley who spent 30 years in the church isolated from her family and basically any outside influence. Headley was born and bred in Engl ... Show More
Jan 15
My Toxic Father and Bahai: Jared Van Driessche’s Survival Story (Part 2)
In Part 2 of our conversation with Jared Van Driessche, we go even deeper into what happens when you start questioning the system you were raised in, especially when that system is built on family, faith, and authority. Jared continues to unpack his experience growing up in a hig ... Show More
36m 46s
Jan 12
My Toxic Father and Bahai: Jared Van Driessche’s Survival Story (Part 1)
In Part 1 of our conversation, security specialist Jared Van Driessche shares the story behind his polished “protector” persona: growing up in a Bahá’í family with a controlling and volatile father, and how a faith that preached unity, justice, and service coexisted with secrecy, ... Show More
44m 9s
Jan 8
Cults to Consciousness: Shelise Ann Sola on Post-Mormon Podcast Life (Part 2)
In Part 2 with artist and ex-Mormon creator Shelise Ann Sola, we pick up with what happens after you walk away from the LDS Church: family fallout, reclaiming your body and sexuality from modesty/purity culture, and learning how to trust your own inner authority instead of a prop ... Show More
47m 11s
Oct 2022
Tom Cruise and an Explosive Scientology Book
Matt is joined by Mike Rinder, former senior executive of the Church of Scientology. They discuss the moment he decided to leave Scientology, Tom Cruise’s current standing in the church, the impact of 'Top Gun: Maverick,' the internet’s damning influence on the future of Scientol ... Show More
33m 42s
Nov 2022
I am NOT Joining Scientology
<p>As promised to finish up cult month/October, we are bringing back last week’s anonymous guest and Scientology survivor for a part 2 continuation of last week's episode! and this time, we are focusing on some of the negative aspects of it.</p><p>Today, on Almost Adulting, we’re ... Show More
33m 8s
Oct 2022
Cults: Manipulation Tactics, Celebrity Involvement, Escape w/ Lola Blanc + Meaghan Elizabeth
Joining the Deux U classroom this week are Cult survivors Lola Blanc and Meaghan Elizabeth. On their podcast, Trust Me, they talk to fellow survivors, former and current believers, experts, and everyone in between to try to get to the bottom of how extreme belief happens, who's s ... Show More
1h 5m
Jan 2024
413. Raised by Thetans in a Galactic Gulag | Aaron Smith-Levin
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson speaks with former-Scientologist and podcaster Aaron Smith-Levin. They explore his upbringing within the “church,” how Scientology entices new members, the basis for Dianetics in Freudian psychology, the religiously inspired twist only found behind multiple ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 2023
What is a Cult? With Dr. Janja Lalich
Dr. Janja Lalich, the world’s foremost expert on cults, reveals the four principles all cults share, how she survived ten years in a brutal cultic system and how these groups continue to abuse while evading authorities. Dr. Janja also shares an important warning on how to identif ... Show More
1h 39m
Feb 2023
The Cult of Child Stars
Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, and Daniel Radcliffe are all survivors of today's "cult," and so is our guest, Mara Wilson, star of 1990s cinematic classics like Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire. Mara was only five years old when she started appearing in major commercials, and the next t ... Show More
54m 58s