Shows
A Little Bit CultyA Little Bit Extra: A Casual Xmas Chat, AMA, and Listener VoicemailsRing the sleigh bells for this A Little Bit Extra Thursday Christmas bonus. We navigate thorny territory around recent NXIVM-adjacent podcasts we legally can't discuss yet. Trust us, we have thoughts, and Sarah spills her feelings about all the drama on her hour-long debrief with Mark Vicente. We reflect on our favorite episodes from 2025—ones that surprised us, moved us, and occasionally got us in trouble—and tease what's coming in 2026: our book is finally landing, and we're doing a live Patreon interview with Marc Headley that you won't want to miss.We respond to t...
2025-12-2536 min
A Little Bit CultyTwin Flames Universe Took My Niece: Cheryl Tuppa Speaks OutIn this episode, Cheryl Tuppa joins the pod to tell the story of her niece Briana’s seven-year entanglement with Twin Flames Universe—from a late-night Google search about soulmates to a full-blown high-control group that nearly swallowed her life and savings. A longtime cybersecurity specialist, Cheryl walks us through how a close, resourceful New England family still missed key early signs, then organized “Team Briana” behind the scenes, contacting ex-members, law enforcement, journalists, and cult consultants (Sarah included), and ultimately helped Briana escape and rebuild her life. We get into money, “divine dish” food control, the pressure to stalk “twin...
2025-12-2257 min
City of Ames’ PodcastsUp Close: Dylan Kline, Sarah Huffman, and Angie DeWaardIn this episode of Up Close, host Casandra Eames welcomes back three recent guests: Dylan Kline, Sarah Huffman, and Angie DeWaard. Together, they reflect on the themes that connect their stories, including community, curiosity, and care.
Casandra shares the threads she noticed across their conversations, from volunteering and raising kids to the small but meaningful ways people find connection in Ames. The group talks about what draws them to seek out new experiences, how the community shows up for one another, and what it means to build a life here.
If you'd like to be...
2025-11-271h 01
City of Ames’ PodcastsUp Close: Sarah HuffmanIn this episode of Up Close, host Casandra Eames talks with Sarah Huffman, whose path to Ames included a lot of movement, from travel across the U.S. to couch surfing and time spent living abroad.
Now rooted in Ames, Sarah shares how the city became more than just a stop along the way. As a volunteer and active community member, she finds Ames to be a place where connections happen naturally and often, a firm net of people who genuinely want to stay connected.
She and Casandra talk about what it means to choose...
2025-11-1349 min
A Little Bit CultyDr. Ingrid Clayton and Fawn Stars: The Hidden Cost of People Pleasing (Part 2)How do you actually stop fawning, and what does healing look like in real life? In Part 2 of our convo with Dr. Ingrid Clayton, we dove into boundaries, agency, and what it really takes to step out of survival mode. Ingrid shared her go-to body-based tools—like orienting with the senses, making nature your therapist, building a “pillow palace” like Sarah’s, and giving yourself full permission to take up space. Expect honest stories about parenting and relationships as radical acts of autonomy, plus some real-talk on microdosing mushrooms, nervous system hacks, and learning to say wh...
2025-10-3044 min
A Little Bit CultyA Little Bit Extra: Diddy’s Sentence, Sarma’s Salads, & Listener VoicemailsIn this A Little Bit Extra ep, Sarah dishes all about her recent trip to New York City—think walks on The High Line, big shroom feels, and some serious kitchen magic courtesy of Sarma Melngailis. What happens when two culty survivors share homemade meals and chat about upcoming guest Dr. Ingrid Clayton’s Fawning? You get a new club: “Fawn Stars”—and Sarah is a founding member.We also break down the latest courtroom jaw-dropper (yep, the Diddy sentence), spill on where we’re at with our forthcoming book, and it’s open mic time for l...
2025-10-1633 min
A Little Bit CultyBron & Denai Johnson on Life Inside NXIVM’s Vancouver Center (Part 2)In Part 2, the Hot Johnsons go from self-help wins to DOS-level WTF real quick. Denai opens up about what happened when DOS came knocking, from the first ask for “collateral” to the gut-check moment that made her walk away. Along the way, the Johnsons (and your favorite culty hosts) revisit the red flags that somehow got normalized — like “masters” and “slaves,” midnight readiness drills, and Lauren peeing on video calls. Yep, you read that right.It’s a raw, funny, sometimes NSFW look back at how close Denai came to the brand and why she said no, plus what healin...
2025-08-281h 12
A Little Bit CultyTrue Crime Meets Cults: Derrick Levasseur on Solving the “University of Cosmic Intelligence” MysteryThis week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re stepping into the crossover world of cults and true crime with Derrick Levasseur—former undercover detective, private investigator, and host of Crime Weekly and Detective Perspective. You may also know him from Big Brother or America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons, where he and Sarah recently worked together on a harrowing case.That case? The mysterious disappearance of six people tied to the University of Cosmic Intelligence (UCI)—a fringe social-media-fueled cult led by self-proclaimed prophet Rashad Jamal. Among the missing: Naaman Williams (28), Gerielle German (26) and her 3-ye...
2025-08-2545 min
A Little Bit CultyProtecting Kids from Cults and Traffickers with Robin Boyle-Laisure (Part 2)This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.In Part 2 of our conversation with Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure—St. John’s University School of Law faculty, ICSA board member, and author of Taken No More: Protect Your Children Against Traffickers and Cults—we dig into the courtroom turning points that changed the way cult leaders are prosecuted. From Patty Hearst to NXIVM, Robin unpacks how sex-trafficking statutes reshaped the legal landscape, and why Keith Raniere’s 120-year sentence set a precedent that reverberates through cases like R. Kelly, Larry Ray, and Harvey Weinstein.We also bring the conv...
2025-08-2140 min
A Little Bit CultyProtecting Kids from Cults and Traffickers with Robin Boyle-Laisure (Part 1)This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.What happens when a street-corner “religious” pitch nearly ropes in a teenage girl—only for her to dodge the hook and spend the next three decades dismantling the playbook that tried to claim her? In Part 1 of our conversation with Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure—St. John’s University School of Law faculty, board member of the International Cultic Studies Association, and author of the upcoming Taken No More: Protect Your Children Against Traffickers and Cults—we follow the twisted parallels between cult recruitment and human trafficking.Robin breaks down how pre...
2025-08-1843 minA Little Bit CultyBonus Drop: Bron & Denai Johnson on Life Inside NXIVM’s Vancouver Center (Part 1)This conversation with former NXIVM members Bron and Denai Johnson was such a hit when we first dropped it here last year that we’re doing it again (and yes, Patreon gets it first this time, too). In Part 1, the Johnsons open up about their early days in NXIVM’s Vancouver center — from the “too-perfect” community vibes that drew them in, to the personal growth tools they say genuinely changed their lives.They walk us through their POV on ethos classes, SOP weekends, V-Week performances, and the infamous XOSO flop, sharing both the highs and the red fl...
2025-08-1447 min
A Little Bit CultyGod Said Obey: Katherine Spearing on the Brainwashing Power of Spiritual AbuseKatherine Spearing is back—and she’s not pulling any punches. A trauma recovery practitioner and founder of Tears of Eden, Kat grew up in the Christian Patriarchy Movement, where obedience was godly, women were walking wombs, and joy was suspicious at best.In this episode, we dive deep into what spiritual abuse actually looks like: body control, purity culture, biblical gaslighting, and the long-term effects of being told your desires are sinful. Kat’s new book, A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts, is part memoir, part manual for healing—and a total middle finger to coercive religion.We...
2025-08-111h 05
A Little Bit CultyFrom Veil to Voice: Jasmin Faulk’s Rebellion Against Fundamentalist Islam (Part 2)In Part 2 of our conversation, Jasmin opens up about life after escaping Saudi Arabia—landing in Wyoming, rediscovering autonomy, and slowly unlearning the rules that once governed every part of her existence. She shares how nature, therapy, and motherhood helped her begin to heal, and how writing her memoir The Last Sandstorm gave her the language to process what she’d been through.We also dive into some thorny topics: the culty dynamics within DEI work, what happens when identity politics override lived experience, and how moral absolutism shuts down real dialogue. Jasmin doesn’t shy away from t...
2025-08-071h 05
A Little Bit CultyFrom Veil to Voice: Jasmin Faulk’s Rebellion Against Fundamentalist Islam (Part 1)This week’s guest is Jasmin Faulk, an author and advocate who risked everything to reclaim her freedom. Born to a Saudi father and Italian mother, Jasmin grew up in a country where girls were silenced, veiled, and made invisible.In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Jasmin takes us inside the dark realities of growing up under fundamentalist Islam in 1980s and 90s Saudi Arabia—from gender segregation and religious policing, to the suffocating control of male guardianship. We unpack the slow burn of her rebellion, including the moment she pulled off her veil in public, and the...
2025-08-0450 minA Little Bit CultyBONUS: NXIVM, Life Issues & the Sisterhood of Survivors (Part 2)We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Lauren and Aaliyah—two former NXIVM coaches and co-hosts of This Juicy Life—as we dig deeper into the tangled mix of growth, gaslighting, and gut-checks they experienced inside (and outside) the cult.This episode unpacks what comes after the escape: the emotional fallout, the tricky process of reconnecting with intuition, and the lifelong work of healing. From toxic hierarchies and skewed polyamory to whispered rumors about poisoned water and public shame, Lauren and Aaliyah don’t shy away from the messy middle. We talk about recognizing “Keith-types” in everyday...
2025-07-3149 min
A Little Bit CultyPolitics, Power & Performative Diversity: Celina Caesar-Chavannes Speaks OutThis week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re diving into the deceptively polite world of Canadian politics—where the optics are polished, but the manipulation runs deep.Our guest is Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a former Member of Parliament and once a rising star in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. She served as his parliamentary secretary before leaving in 2019, fed up with the gaslighting, tokenism, and isolation she faced for speaking out. Celina pulls no punches as she breaks down the emotional toll of navigating a system that rewards obedience over honesty, and how Tru...
2025-07-281h 18
A Little Bit CultyFrom Devotion to Deconstruction: Laci Bean’s Journey Out (Part 2)This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re back with Laci Bean, host of Deadly Faith, for Part 2 of her story—what came after she left the high-control ministry that tried to own her soul. Laci walks us through her deconstruction journey: questioning her faith, setting boundaries with family, and reckoning with the political beliefs she once held. We talk about the pressure to homeschool, the fallout from voting for Trump, and the trauma that opened her eyes. Now a trauma recovery coach, Laci shares how she helps others heal from religious abuse—and how ev...
2025-07-2447 min
A Little Bit CultyFrom Devotion to Deconstruction: Laci Bean’s Journey Out (Part 1)This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting holy uncomfortable. Our guest is Laci Bean, host of the podcast Deadly Faith, for the first of a two-part conversation about her time in a cult-like Christian ministry that pulled her in as a teenager and tried to own her soul. From ages sixteen to nineteen, Laci lived under strict rules that dictated what she could listen to, who she could talk to, and even how she thought about her family. The group promised love and belonging but delivered fear, isolation, and spiritual manipulation, all under the gui...
2025-07-2137 minA Little Bit CultyBonus Drop: NXIVM, Life Issues & the Sisterhood of Survivors (Part 1)We’re dropping in with a bonus two-parter featuring Lauren and Aaliyah—two former NXIVM insiders who became fast friends while navigating the pressure-cooker world of “life issues,” ranking systems, and weaponized empowerment. In part 1, we talk about how it all starts: the acting classes, the “juicy” coaching, the promises of personal growth… and how that slow creep into cult control messes with your sense of self, your relationships, and your gut instincts. We also take a minute to sound off on some recent headlines—because when powerful men keep dodging consequences (hi, Diddy), it’s hard not to draw compar...
2025-07-1755 min
A Little Bit CultyTeenage Exorcisms & Mega-Church Millions: Rachael Reign’s UCKG StoryThis episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. This week our guest is Rachael Reign, a survivor of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). At just 13, Rachael was swept into UCKG’s world of fire and brimstone – where teenage exorcisms were a weekly ritual, your mental health struggles meant demons were lurking inside you, and giving your last cent to the church wasn’t just encouraged – it was demanded. She shares how she went from being a bright, curious teenager to a youth group leader tasked with recruiting others, cleaning the church floorboa...
2025-07-141h 00
A Little Bit CultyMemoir of Madness in a Cult of One - Sarma Melngailis Spills All the Tea on Healing (Part 2)Raw vegan queen. Netflix’s “Bad Vegan.” Culty comeback queen. Whatever label you stick on Sarma Melngailis, it’s clear she’s not done telling her side of the story – and we’re here for it. In Part 2 of our chat, Sarma gets even realer about life after Mr. Fox. From the mind games that taught her to dissociate, to her self-diagnosed matrix moments, she opens up about rebuilding her identity in a world that still sees her as a headline villain. She talks dating post-trauma, the healing power of alone time (cue: tears, journals, and EFT tapping), and...
2025-07-1058 min
A Little Bit CultyMemoir of Madness in a Cult of One - Sarma Melngailis Spills All the Tea on Healing (Part 1)Raw vegan queen turned Netflix “villain”? In this episode, we sit down with Sarma Melngailis – yes, Bad Vegan Sarma – to get the real story behind the headlines. She’s back for her third culty chat, this time with the exclusive on her brand-new memoir The Girl with the Duck Tattoo (don’t worry, we ask her about the title). Sarma dives into the psychological warfare that turned her life upside down: coercive control, gaslighting, and a manipulative Mr. Fox who left her broke, arrested, and widely misunderstood. She opens up about the pain (and relief) of telling it all, what...
2025-07-0732 minA Little Bit CultyBonus Drop: Dr. Laura Richards & Lisa Bilyeu on Cults, Control & Dirty Diddy SecretsThis week, we’re diving deep into the twisted world of coercive control with the one and only Dr. Laura Richards – renowned criminal behavioral analyst, podcaster, and global expert on stalking, coercive control, and violent crime. We’re also joined by Lisa Bilyeu, host of Women of Impact and queen of calling out BS wherever it lurks. Dr. Laura breaks down how cult leaders, predators, and power-hungry narcissists (looking at you, Sean Combs) use tactics straight out of the coercive control playbook to groom, manipulate, and dominate victims. We’re talking about how the “nice guy” veneer slowly erode...
2025-07-0324 min
A Little Bit CultyMy Name Was Mushroom: Wendy Baker’s Journey Beyond the Source Family CultLong before kale smoothies went mainstream, The Source Family was seducing Hollywood with vegan food, free love, and a guru who called himself Father Yod. This wasn’t just LA’s first vegan restaurant – it was a commune where long-haired devotees in white robes took ice-cold showers at dawn, meditated for hours, and followed strict spiritual rules under their bearded leader. Celebrities like John Lennon and Cher might have stopped by for a meal, but for many teen girls – often runaways – this place became home, for better or worse. Wendy Baker was one of those girls. At 14, she left a...
2025-06-3056 min
A Little Bit CultyMindf*ck 102: MK Ultra, Crypto Cults & Modern Brainwashing with Rebecca Lemov (Part 2)This week, we’re back with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov to finish what we started: unraveling the tangled web of brainwashing…past, present, and disturbingly future-facing. In Part 2, we go deeper into the CIA’s infamous MK Ultra program and its many (many) spin-offs, asking what really went down with Charles Manson, Jack Ruby, and cult “consultant” Louis Jolyon West. From LSD to hypnosis to rebranding your science after burning the files, the government’s experiments in mind control were both extreme and incredibly hush-hush. We also explore how classic brainwashing tactics, like Milieu Contro...
2025-06-2631 min
A Little Bit CultyMindf*ck 101: The Science of Brainwashing with Rebecca Lemov (Part 1)This week, we’re diving deep into the mind games with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov, because if you’ve ever wondered whether brainwashing is real, the answer is a very unsettling yes. In Part 1 of our convo, we’re cracking open the origins of brainwashing—from communist re-education camps to the electric shock labs of the Milgram experiment—and asking why we still can’t seem to prove it in court. Rebecca's new book, The Instability of Truth, peels back the layers of mind control and thought reform, including what went down with Patty Hearst, why Stockholm...
2025-06-2355 minA Little Bit CultyBonus Drop: Orgasm, Obsession & the Cult of OneTaste with Ellen HuetIt’s Thursday, and you know what that means: another bonus drop. And this one? It's got orgasms, criminal charges, and courtroom drama, so buckle up. Award-winning journalist Ellen Huet joins us to dish on OneTaste, the orgasmic meditation company that sold itself as a path to sexual liberation but now finds its top brass convicted of forced labor conspiracy. Ellen’s been deep in the trenches covering the scandal and sat through every jaw-dropping moment of the Brooklyn trial. We get into: The culty underbelly of “wellness” culture How orgasmic meditati...
2025-06-1934 min
A Little Bit CultyRide or Die: Jess Rothschild Spills on SoulCycle's Inner CircleThis episode is sponsored in part by BetterHelp. This week, we’re clipping in with Jess Rothschild to talk about SoulCycle: the high-octane, candlelit cardio craze that once had New Yorkers dropping $20k to ride front row. With $100M+ in revenue, instructors trained like pop stars, and a tightly curated sense of belonging (read: exclusivity), SoulCycle pedaled its way into cultural obsession—and, depending on who you ask, cult status. Jess, a former SoulCycle regular and host of the GLAAD-nominated Finding Fire Island and new docu-podcast Cult of Body & Soul, joins us to unpack the seductive psychology of t...
2025-06-161h 07
A Little Bit CultyCults Like Us: Jane Borden on LGATs, Humor & Human Potential (Part 2)We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Jane Borden, author of Cults Like Us, where we pick up right where we left off – with the Puritans, of course. Because what’s more American than a doomsday cult in denial? In this half, we explore how their legacy of moral perfectionism, isolationism, and a rigid “us vs. them” worldview continues to shape American institutions, politics, and even pop psychology. Jane takes us through the cult wars of the ’80s and ’90s, the rise of deprogrammers and cult apologists, and the influence of Large Group Awareness Trainings (aka LGATs) lik...
2025-06-1237 min
A Little Bit CultyCults Like Us: Jane Borden on Puritans, Power & American Exceptionalism (Part 1)Were the Puritans America’s first cult? Our guest this week makes a compelling case for yes. Jane Borden is a journalist and the author of Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, she joins us to unpack how Puritan beliefs—think apocalypse prepping, chosen nation syndrome, and the worship of wealth—laid the groundwork for the kind of culty thinking that still thrives in America today. We dig into the legacy of American exceptionalism, the allure of authoritarian leaders, and the ways our pop culture heroes reflect Purita...
2025-06-0940 min
A Little Bit CultyIs It a Spiritual Path or a Cult? Mitch Horowitz Helps Us Break It DownThis week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting a little mystical—with our eyes wide open. Historian and occult scholar Mitch Horowitz joins us to explore the space where spirituality meets personal growth, and how easily it can slip into culty territory. His latest book, Practical Magick: Ancient Tradition and Modern Practice, helps make sense of mystical ideas while encouraging intentional belief. We dig into the red flags to watch for on the seeker’s path, from peer pressure and time abuse to isolation and guru worship. We also talk about money, emotion, and how perfor...
2025-06-021h 28A Little Bit CultyPurity Culture & Sex Shame: Healing with the SexvangelicalsCan religion ruin your sex life? This week on A Little Bit Culty, Sarah and Nippy are joined by psychotherapists and certified sex therapists Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema—co-hosts of the podcast Sexvangelicals: The Sex Education the Church Didn’t Want You to Have. Together, they explore how religion, especially purity culture and fundamentalist gender roles, can cause lasting damage to relationships and sexual well-being. From internalized shame to rigid scripts about gender and sex, Jeremiah and Julia explain how high-control religious environments affect intimacy long after someone leaves the faith. They also discuss the...
2025-05-1957 min
A Little Bit CultyGoop, Teens, and Wellness Myths with Hayley KrischerThe beauty and wellness industry promises healing, glow-ups, and self-love—but what happens when those promises come wrapped in pseudoscience, toxic messaging, and culty marketing tactics? This week, Sarah and Nippy are joined by culture journalist and author Hayley Krischer, whose latest novel You Belong to Me explores the power and peril of the wellness world—especially for women and teenage girls. Together, they unpack how this booming, often unregulated industry thrives on physical insecurities and mental vulnerabilities, pushing pricey products and questionable advice under the guise of “self-care.” From celebrity brands like Goop to TikTok t...
2025-05-051h 05
Make It WorkChildren' s Book Author: Why The Stories We Tell Our Kids - And Ourselves- Matter! | Ep27🎉 SPECIAL PROMO 🎉 Enjoy 10% OFF all children’s titles by Ames Chen at https://graceworks.com.sg/store/ for the entire month of May 2025! Just use code “MAKEITWORK” at checkout.—------------------------------------------------------------She didn’t set out to be a children’s author. She just wanted to survive motherhood.After being told she might never conceive, Ames Chen’s entry into motherhood was already complicated. A difficult pregnancy followed. Isolation crept in. So she started writing letters—first, just to her daughter. What started as a private act of reflection became the...
2025-04-3030 min
A Little Bit CultyHoodwinked by the Algorithm: Dr. Mara Einstein on Cult Tactics in Marketing (Part 1)You don’t have to join a cult to get manipulated—just log onto the internet. This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re diving into the marketing matrix with Dr. Mara Einstein, professor, media critic, and author of Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults. From influencer culture and MLMs to “brand cults” and rage farming, Mara breaks down how modern marketing preys on fear, insecurity, and our need to belong. She joins Sarah and Nippy for a deep-dive into the culty parallels between conversion funnels and recruitment tactics, why brands like Apple...
2025-04-211h 02
A Little Bit CultyLaura Richards: What Kanye West, Britney Spears, and Blake Lively’s Cases Reveal About Coercive Control (Part 2)This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. We’re back with behavioral science expert Laura Richards for Part 2 of our deep dive into coercive control—and how it shows up in some of today’s most talked-about celebrity cases. Laura, who spent ten years at New Scotland Yard and helped establish the UK’s coercive control laws, joins us again to unpack the ways power and control are used to manipulate, silence, and harm. This time, we dig into recent headlines involving Kanye West, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Britney Spears, and the Depp v. Heard...
2025-03-311h 05
A Little Bit CultyLaura Richards: What Gabby Petito, “Dirty John,” and Keith Raniere Have in CommonThis episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. What do serial killers, cult leaders, and domestic abusers have in common? According to criminal behavior analyst Laura Richards, quite a lot. In this powerful conversation, Laura explains the concept of coercive control—the psychological abuse tactic often at the core of these crimes—and how it plays out across intimate relationships, cults, and high-profile cases. Laura spent a decade at New Scotland Yard investigating rape, murder, and abduction. She went on to found the Homicide Prevention Unit and Paladin, the world’s first national stalking advocacy service. Her work h...
2025-03-241h 02
Sarah Jhean#1 - Bienvenue sur Human Design with Sarah JheanBienvenue sur Human Design with Sarah JheanCet épisode introductive vous présente succinctement ce qu'est le Design Humain et ce qu'il vous offre : un véritable manual instruction pour vous-même et vos enfants!Le Design Humain est un outil de découverte de soi appelle 'Science de la Differentiation". Il est une synthèse de sagesse anciennes et de sciences modernes : Astrologie, I Ching, Chakras, Kabbale, et la physique quantique. A l'aide de votre date, heure et lieu de naissance, le Design Humain cree une charte de votre blueprint dans cette vie et...
2025-02-2010 min
A Little Bit CultyMonkey on a Stick: Corruption within the Hare Krishna Movement with Jason LapeyreThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/CULTY to get started today. Remember the Hare Krishnas? The ones with the shaved heads and orange robes who used to chant and panhandle at airports? What started as a movement promoting inner peace and material detachment descended into chaos, corruption, and crime. In this week’s episode, Sarah and Nippy sit down with filmmaker Jason Lapeyre, director of the new documentary Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness, and the Hare Krishnas. Together, they explore the movement’s descent into a shocking underworld of abuse, drug smuggling, and even...
2025-01-2059 min
A Little Bit CultyF*ck This, I’m Out: Remembering Mike RinderThis week, we’re honoring the life and legacy of our dear friend and hero, Mike Rinder. Mike was a pivotal figure in the fight against cultic abuse, and his courage and compassion set the gold standard for turning a difficult past into a powerful force for good. To celebrate his incredible contributions, we’re re-releasing this conversation from March 2021, where Mike shared his remarkable journey out of Scientology, the intricacies of whistleblowing, and the resilience it takes to rebuild after leaving a high-control group. In Mike’s own words, “If you are in any way fighting to end tho...
2025-01-161h 22
A Little Bit CultyWhitney Cummings: Healing, Humor, and Hollywood's Culty SideThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. In this week's episode, Sarah and Nippy welcome friend and comedian Whitney Cummings to the podcast to explore the nuanced overlaps of culty dynamics and Hollywood culture. Whitney shares her unique perspective on vulnerability, healing, and her fascination with neuroscience, while also opening up about her personal quest for meaning. From the allure of community and control to a hilarious recount of being “rejected by Scientology,” Whitney blends humor with insight as she navigates topics like forgiveness, boundary-setting, and her less-than-conventional healing experiences. And if this episode has y...
2024-12-021h 17
A Little Bit CultyThrough the Labyrinth: Amanda Knox on Coercion, Media, and AdvocacyAuthor and podcaster Amanda Knox sits down with Sarah and Nippy to discuss the culty nature of the Italian justice system. Amanda shares how she was coerced by the police into confessing to a crime she did not commit and details her experience with a media that is more concerned with ratings than truth. She also discusses the ongoing process of healing from trauma and her ongoing work in criminal justice reform. Amanda’s podcast, “Labyrinths,” explores the complexities of the justice system and the human stories often obscured by sensationalized headlines. She has also authored the best-s...
2024-11-251h 14
A Little Bit CultyDinner for Vampires: The Star of a Cult TV Show on Leaving a Real Life Cult (Part 2)This is the second part of a two-part interview, listen to Part 1 here. Bethany Joy Lenz became a household face during the meteoric rise of the teen CW soap “One Tree Hill.” However, as she appeared in homes across the country every week, she was leading a double life with her participation in a culty Bible group for a decade. Lenz found her voice to break free and had the inspiration to write a personal memoir on the experience, “Dinner for Vampires,” sharing for the first time publicly her experience in the group and her struggles...
2024-11-0437 min
A Little Bit CultyDinner for Vampires: The Star of a Cult TV Show on Leaving a Real Life CultBethany Joy Lenz became a household face during the meteoric rise of the teen CW soap “One Tree Hill.” However, as she appeared in homes across the country every week, she was leading a double life with her participation in a culty Bible group for a decade. Lenz found her voice to break free and had the inspiration to write a personal memoir on the experience, “Dinner for Vampires,” sharing for the first time publicly her experience in the group and her struggles to break free. In this episode, Sarah and Nippy talk with Bethany about the...
2024-10-2835 min
A Little Bit CultyThe Cult of True Crime: Terry Dunn Meurer and "Unsolved Mysteries"Today’s show puts a different spin on our usual subject matter. We’re going to discuss something that has millions of followers and has become a world-wide obsession: true crime! Alright, it isn’t a cult (technically!), but it’s definitely infiltrated our minds and media. Our guest today is Terry Dunn Meurer, the co-creator and executive producer of Unsolved Mysteries—the OG in crime-related television. Terry’s talks about the evolution of true crime in media, and the massive surge of interest it’s seen in recent years. Fascination with true crime is extremely common a...
2024-10-2153 min
A Little Bit CultyPatreon Unlocked: Tia Levings on Escaping TradlifeUsually what happens behind the Patreon, stays behind the Patreon. But, not today! In this preview behind the paywall, we’re featuring one of our favorite people, who just so happens to be a newly-minted New York Times bestselling author! Tia Levings released her memoir ‘A Well-Trained Wife’ in August, and the book became an instant bestseller. The deeply personal memoir details Tia’s experience in and eventual escape from Christian Fundamentalism. If this sounds familiar, you may have heard Tia when she appeared on the pod for a two-part interview (listen to Part 1 & Part 2 here).
2024-09-1644 min
A Little Bit CultyTo the Moon and Back: Lisa Kohn and the Unification ChurchLisa Kohn likes to tell a story about these great seats she once had at Madison Square Garden — at her mother’s mass wedding. Yes, Lisa — the award-winning author of “To the Moon and Back: A Childhood Under the Influence” — grew up in the Unification Church, also known as “the Moonies,” with her mom and a life of “sex, drugs, and squalor” in New York City’s East Village. She talks with Sarah and Nippy about her experiences in the church, what was happening during those mass weddings in the 1970s, and what it means to be “under the influence of faith.”
2024-09-021h 01
A Little Bit CultyPatreon Replay: Sarah’s Mom Has Got It Going OnThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Happy Mother’s Day Monday, ALBC babies. To celebrate the occasion, we unlocked a Patreon episode starring none other than Sarah’s mom. We talk a lot about culty villains on this podcast, but we always want to highlight the heroes, too…and Ellen is an embodiment of what it looks like to heroically love someone through—and out of—a cult journey. She joins us in this very special installment of the show to talk about what it was like to witness Sarah’s initial NXIVM days, and what happened when the goi...
2024-05-1349 min
Live Stoked, Lead Stoked12. Connecting Language Speakers for Immersive Conversations with Jess Ames PappalardoIn this episode, I have my guest (and cousin), Jess Ames Pappalardo, on to have a heartfelt dialogue about pursuing one's passion and building community through language and cultural exchange. Jess details her journey with INT’L CAFE, a movement that hosts language exchange events to facilitate cultural understanding across diverse linguistic communities. Beginning with creative events in Chicago and evolving through many forms, INT’L CAFE has grown to include a range of languages and celebrates multiculturalism without relying on traditional symbols like flags. As we discuss our respective experiences with entrepreneurship and authenticity, this episode encapsulates themes of h...
2024-04-0437 min
The Forest School PodcastConfronting Childism: A Conversation with Gentle Parenting Author Sarah Ockwell-SmithSupport The Forest School Podcast on Patreon for bonus episodes and ad-free episodes at
www.patreon.com/theforestschoolpodcast 🌲🎧.
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Summary
Sarah Ockwell-Smith discusses the concept of childism and how children are discriminated against based on their age. She explains that childism is prevalent in society and affects var...
2024-02-191h 02A Little Bit CultyPATREON REPLAY: Sarah and Nippy Answer Your QuestionsThis is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2024-01-0431 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON PREVIEW: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your QuestionsThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-12-2807 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON PREVIEW: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your QuestionsThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-12-1407 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON PREVIEW: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your QuestionsThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-11-1608 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON REPLAY: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your VoicemailsThis is a replay of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to access to all of our content bonuses, ad-free episodes and other goodies, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-11-0920 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON PREVIEW: Sarah & Nippy Chat About Narcissistic Personality TestsThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-11-0206 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON REPLAY: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your VoicemailsThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-10-2628 min
The Jay Franze Show: Country Music - News | Reviews | InterviewsSarah AmesIn this episode of The Jay Franze Show, we've got the incredibly talented country music recording artist Sarah Ames in the hot seat.Join us as we dive deep into Sarah's journey from suburban California to the heart of Nashville, where she's making music and growing her vegetables, raising chickens, bees, and rescue animals on her farm. We'll discuss how her song "Heart Thing" beautifully captures her unexpected love for country living, proving that the country spirit is in all of us sometimes.But don't let the farm life fool you – Sarah's music is as di...
2023-10-2353 minA Little Bit CultyPATREON PREVIEW: Sarah & Nippy Chat with Mark VicenteThis is a short preview of an episode Sarah & Nippy recorded for the A Little Bit Culty Patreon. If you want to hear the whole thing, plus get bonus to ad-free episodes and other exclusive content, sign up at: www.patreon.com/alittlebitcultySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
2023-10-1903 min
Fuck’in romance: sans tabou, ni limite 💛Ma romance audio : Claire & Alexander, des personnages aux âmes tourmentées par la passion 🩷Dans cette épisode, je vous fait découvrir mon livre "ENTRE DEUX MONDES " ou je vous emmènerais à la découverte 💡 de deux personnages intrigants: Claire et Alexander. Deux personnages aux âmes tourmentées par la passion ❤️🔥. N’hésitez pas à vous abonnez a mon compte fuck’in romance pour connaître la suite 🇷🇪✨
2023-08-0807 min
A Little Bit CultyStolen Youth: Daniel Levin on Larry Ray’s CultThis episode is sponsored by Better Help. If you haven’t heard of the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult, it is perhaps time to get out from under that rock you’re living under. After being released from prison, Ray moved into his daughter’s student residence just 30 minutes north of Manhattan and began terrorizing her friends through physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. This lasted a shocking ten years before Ray was finally arrested and held accountable for his wrongdoings. Our guest today, Daniel Levin, was one of Ray’s victims, and has survived to tell the tale...
2023-02-201h 01
A Little Bit CultyThe Kids Are Alright: Sarah & Nippy on Zen ParentingThis episode is sponsored by Better Help and was originally released on Zen Parenting Radio. Here’s a scary thought: fully-grown adults are susceptible to cults, or cult-adjacent behavior (there is truly cultish influence all around us in politics, wellness communities, and so on). So imagine how dangerous this whole world is for children, who are far less likely to have the wherewithal to identify and refute coercive persuasion. If you’re one of our regular listeners, you already know how ubiquitous this shit is (unfortunately); so what can we do to protect our youth? Well...
2023-01-091h 09
A Little Bit CultySummer Bonus: Sarah and Nippy answer your emails and make some big movesIf you’re in the mood for a breezy little summer check-in with Sarah and Nippy, you have arrived at the right episode. They answer some recent audience questions about NXIVM, and do some critical podcast housekeeping. Plus, they chat about the highs and lows of leaving Vancouver for Atlanta. Hear Ye, Hear Ye: The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to ma...
2022-08-1526 min
A Little Bit CultyRude Awakening: Sarah Landry On Nithyananda & Other Nightmares (Part 2)Content Warning: Discussions of child abuse and sexual assault. Listener discretion advised. Here’s the second part of our conversation with Sarah Landry who shares what it’s like to face down the very online army she helped create for the so-called guru Nithyananda after going wide with explosive accusations of rape, child abuse, and a whole sordid cornucopia of culty shit. Show notes: Sarah Landry on YouTube, Instagram & Twitter Nithyananda - Wiki My Daughter Joined a Cult: 3-part VICE Doc Trailer (Discovery+, Amazon Prime) ...
2022-07-1154 min
A Little Bit CultyRude Awakening: Sarah Landry On Nithyananda & Other Nightmares (Part 1)Content Warning: Discussions of child abuse and sexual assault. Listener discretion advised. At just 24 years old, Sarah Landry found herself drawn to Hindu avatar Nithyananda’s teachings like a fly to honey. Moldy, toxic honey. She quickly became an apt pupil, and then his top recruiter via a steady stream of stylized YouTube videos and camera-ready social content. But after learning that the rape and child abuse allegations dogging the organization were just too credible to simply swat away, she stepped down as its propagandist-in-chief and stepped up as one of its harshest critics. The fallout since she blew th...
2022-07-0452 min
A Little Bit CultyHost Mode: Sarah & Nippy Answer Your Burning QuestionsBack when Sarah and Nippy were in NXIVM, asking questions wasn’t exactly welcome. Fuck that. In this episode, they answer your questions on everything from Keith Raniere’s raging creep factor to what helps them keep it light after deep, dark podcast conversations about culty shit. Also covered: What has most surprised them about the episodes they’ve hosted so far; whether they’ve had to get re-acquainted since leaving NXIVM, and their perspectives on protecting yourself from retaliation when you’re leaving an abusive group, plus a couple lil' Easter eggs for fans of ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Succession.’...
2022-05-0943 min
A Little Bit CultyALBC at SXSW with Sarah Berman & Amanda MontellA Little Bit Culty – A Little Bit Culty took the show on the road, and brought you back this season 3 finale from Texas as a souvenir. In this episode, Sarah and Nippy host a live panel with Sarah Berman and Amanda Montell, in front of a real, actual human crowd of SXSW-certified cool kids. But first, the hosts celebrate the birthday of a certain golden boy, and respond to all the “Bad Vegan” hullaballoo. Lots to cover in this one, so let’s hit it. About Our Guests: Amanda Montell is a writer, language s...
2022-03-281h 16
A Little Bit CultySarma Speaks: A ‘Bad Vegan’ ExclusiveA Little Bit Culty – If the producers of Tiger King decide to make their next true crime show about you, you’ve got a helluva story. Sarma Melngailis is the woman at the heart of “Bad Vegan” the buzzworthy Netflix docu-series that chronicles her meteoric rise to fame, and her disturbing crash and burn from celebrity chef to fugitive. It’s the stuff of clickbait gold, but beyond the headlines, there’s usually more to it. And Sarma’s story is, you guessed it: More than a little bit culty. We don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s a Ke...
2022-03-211h 28
A Little Bit CultyUnholy Spirits: Eric Skwarczynski on Darkness in the IFBA Little Bit Culty – There’s a dark cloud hanging over the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement, and our guest today wants you to know about it. Eric Skwarczynski is the host and creator of the Preacher Boys podcast, which is a platform for survivors’ stories and the basis of an upcoming documentary film about a deeply disturbing pattern of sexual predation and abuse claims within the IFB. Eric joins us to talk about blowing the whistle on the IFB, what sucks about purity culture (hint: everything), and what it will take to create a sea change among current...
2022-03-141h 17
A Little Bit CultyMiranda Beverly-Whittemore on Cult FictionA Little Bit Culty – This episode is a little bit different. Author Miranda Beverly-Whittemore is not a former cult member or a cult awareness expert like most of our guests, but her novel Fierce Little Thing weaves a culty tale that almost makes you think she is. It’s a little like “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” except in this case, it’s “I Know What You Did When You Were a Teenager 20 Summers Ago While Living on a Survivalist Commune Run by a Charismatic Maniac in Rural Maine.” She joins Sarah and Nippy to talk about com...
2022-03-071h 10
A Little Bit CultyMake Me A God: Jon AtackA Little Bit Culty – Jon Atack wants to help you protect yourself from the human predators who roam among us, and believes that every bad relationship, every destructive group, and every dangerous government has a human predator at its heart. This conversation was recorded several months ago, but it feels a bit prescient now that Putin is raining hellfire on Kyiv. The author, academic, and former Operating Thetan Section V chats with Sarah and Nippy about why it seems like psychopaths are running the world, and why he still has hope that humanity can turn things around in...
2022-02-281h 30
A Little Bit CultyBentinho Massaro Sucks Part 2A Little Bit Culty – He’s just one guy, but there’s so much culty shit flying around Bentinho Massaro that our first episode went into extra innings. Part two of our spotlight on the International Man of Alleged Assholery continues with Jade Alectra, Keilan McNeil, and Jacqueline Graham taking us into the pivotal moments that helped them wake up, pack up, and peace out of his toxic basecamp. They also share why they’re speaking out, even though it is all still painful AF; what’s helping them heal; and where they’re finding the joys of life after...
2022-02-211h 22
A Little Bit CultyBentinho Massaro Sucks Part 1A Little Bit Culty – Imagine a narsty blend of an Instagram influencer, spiritual huxter, Winklevoss twin, and Hugh Hefner’s ghost. These are the vibes that Bentinho Massaro is serving. He’s got all the scary charisma and shiny trappings of a culty overachiever, like thousands of social media followers, a grandiose plan to build a fully enlightened society by 2035, and he even claims to vibrate at a higher frequency than other humans. He’s also already achieved a rite of passage that’s becoming all too common among culty fuckwads: His name in headlines concerning the suspicious...
2022-02-211h 27
A Little Bit CultyKeely Griffin on Twin Flames & Other Dumpster FiresA Little Bit Culty – Speaking of soul-crushing scams that exploit the basic human need for love and belonging, we’ve got a doozy of a Valentine’s Day episode for you. We’re not labeling the organization at the heart of this episode a cult, but we are asking our guest Keely Griffin if loving and leaving Twin Flames Universe was the bad trip that reports published by Vanity Fair, Vice, and Daily Mail make it sound. Once a devotee of TFU, Keely shares what made the YouTubey, Facebooky spiritual community sound promising at first, just how quickly i...
2022-02-141h 17
A Little Bit CultyThat’s One More Season, Innit?A Little Bit Culty – We thought about recording our Season 2 finale in dubly, but you don’t do heavy metal in dubly. In this wrap-up episode Sarah and Nippy answer your burning questions, preview what’s ahead next season, seek a patron saint of quality mattresses, and generally have a good time all the time. We think you’ll be knocked out by their exuberance, their raw power, and their punctuality. How much more Spinal Tappy could these show notes be? The answer is none. None more Spinal Tappy. ~ The views and opinions expresse...
2022-01-0344 min
A Little Bit CultyAttachment Theory: Dr. Alexandra Stein on Terror, Love & BrainwashingA Little Bit Culty – Think you’re immune to culty shit? Dr. Alexandra Stein begs to differ. She’s one of the world’s leading experts on ideological extremism and dangerous social relationships, and she makes a very convincing case that under the right set of circumstances almost anyone can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts. In this episode, she joins us to discuss her experience as a former cult member, and the relationship between neuroscience, attachment, and indoctrination. More about today’s guest: Alexandra Stein, Ph.D. is a social p...
2021-12-131h 23
A Little Bit CultyBrazen: Nadia Bolz-Weber on Sex, Shame & Toxic ReligionA Little Bit Culty – She’s just about the most rockin’ Reverend we’ve ever met. In this episode, Nadia Bolz-Weber takes us to church on everything from sex-obsessed religious doctrine and toxic positivity to cancel culture. Also, if you’ve been searching for an episode that will illuminate what St. Augustine’s medieval boner issues have to do with purity rings, you are in the right place. More about today’s guest: Nadia Bolz-Weber is an ordained Lutheran Pastor, and founder of House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver: a progressive, queer-inclusive Lutheran congregation. She’s written t...
2021-12-061h 08
A Little Bit CultyGuru-Free: Laura Tucker on Safety for SeekersA Little Bit Culty – In 2009, Laura Tucker attended a Sedona spiritual retreat and sweat lodge hosted by charismatic spiritual teacher James Arthur Ray. It all went tragically wrong, resulting in the deaths of fellow attendees Liz Neuman, Kirby Brown and James Shore. On this episode, Laura chats with Sarah and Nippy about her experience, what it means to practice safe spiritual seeking, and the dark side of self help. More about today’s guest: Laura Tucker is the host of the Free Your Inner Guru® Podcast, a photographer, writer, and a self-described ‘recovering coach.’ A creative...
2021-11-291h 17
A Little Bit CultyGroundbreaker: Moira Penza on Prosecuting NXIVMA Little Bit Culty If you watched “The Vow” or have followed the fall of NXIVM, you know Moira Kim Penza as the prosecutor who brought Keith Raniere to justice. Her accomplishments are mighty: Like Keith’s conviction on all counts including racketeering and sex trafficking and a brisk 120 year sentence. Moira’s groundbreaking approach to the case has been credited with paving the way for other sex trafficking prosecutions against powerful individuals. In other words: She’s a total badass. In this episode, Moira sits down with Sarah and Nippy to talk about what it’s like to take...
2021-11-221h 12
A Little Bit CultyThe Heretic: Dr. John Dehlin on MormonismA Little Bit Culty – He was raised in a conservative Texan Mormon family, but today Dr. John Dehlin is an outspoken LGBTQ ally, a clinical psychologist, and a groundbreaking podcast host of the longest-running and most popular Mormon-themed podcast. The excommunicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or the LDS Church) joins Sarah and Nippy for a conversation about the history of the Mormon faith, the truth about Joseph Smith, and what the ‘Book of Mormon’ got right. More about our guest: John founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, was an influential early p...
2021-11-151h 20
A Little Bit CultyStolen: Elizabeth Gilpin on the ‘Troubled Teen’ IndustryA Little Bit Culty – As a high school student, Elizabeth Gilpin was taken from her bed in the middle of the night, left in the woods for three months of forced camping with 12 other girls, then remanded to a prison-like boarding school where she and other so-called ‘troubled teens’ were subjected to nightmarish conditions and psychological abuse. Her debut memoir, “Stolen” is a harrowing account of her time at Virginia’s Carlbrook school, and examines the therapeutic boarding school industry’s culty trajectory from an actual cult named Synanon to an entrepreneurial charismatic type with zero credentials named Mel Wass...
2021-11-081h 05
A Little Bit CultyLuLaRich Girl: Roberta Blevins on Life After MLMA Little Bit Culty – Don’t call her a #bossbitch. She’s the boss, bitch. Roberta Blevins was a Trainer with LuLaRoe, had a team of 75 women under her, and made over $65,000 in bonuses alone. But when she came to the conclusion that it was a rigged, losing game she didn’t just leave the business: she testified in the Washington State vs. LuLaRoe Pyramid Scheme lawsuit as a witness for the state. The fan favorite from the buzzed-about LuLaRich docuseries sits down for an A Little Bit Culty chat with Sarah and Nippy about what it’s like whe...
2021-11-011h 15
A Little Bit CultySounds Cultish: Amanda Montell on Fanatical LanguageA Little Bit Culty – Sticks and stones break bones, but words build entire cult empires. In this episode, Sarah and Nippy sit down with Amanda Montell to discuss how cultish groups and social media gurus use language to manipulate followers and cultivate power. Amanda is a writer, language scholar, and the author of two critically acclaimed books: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language (HarperWave). Her books have earned praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and others, and Amanda is currently de...
2021-10-251h 26
A Little Bit CultyHello Again, Cultiverse.A Little Bit Culty – It’s been a minute, but A Little Bit Culty is back. Season 2’s kickoff episode finds co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames covering what’s been going on in their world, what is new in the cultiverse, and what’s ahead this season on the podcast. There’s a lot of cult news to catch up on: like NXIVM sentencings, R. Kelly’s day in court, and Nicole Kidman’s wig on ‘9 Perfect Strangers. Sarah and Nippy report on what they’ve been up to over summer vacation, and answer all sorts of burning questio...
2021-10-1852 min
A Little Bit CultySeason 2 Trailer: A Little Bit CultyWelcome back to Season 2 of A Little Bit Culty with Sarah Edmondson and Anthony "Nippy" Ames. Think you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah and Nippy”to talk about things that are...a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at...
2021-10-0401 min
A Little Bit CultyShameless: Dan Shaw on Gaslighting, Narcissists, & Recovering from Cultic AbuseA Little Bit Culty – Daniel Shaw, LCSW, checks every imaginable box on A Little Bit Culty’s dream guest checklist. He’s a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City and in Nyack, New York. He originally trained as an actor at Northwestern University and with the renowned teacher Uta Hagen in New York City, and later worked as a missionary for an Indian guru. His eventual recognition of cultic aspects of this organization led him to become an outspoken activist in support of individuals and families traumatically abused in cults. Simultaneous with leaving this group, Dan began his tr...
2021-05-031h 04
A Little Bit CultyThe Breakup: Samantha Freedom on Leaving The Alt-RightA Little Bit Culty – What happens when you find a sense of identity, and belonging, and maybe even something approximately like love within a group that is in fact a violent and racist extremist organization? And if by chance you wake up to what's inherently terrible about it, and manage to escape that thinking, how do you then seek redemption? In 2017, Samantha Freedom was the top ranking woman leader in Identity Evropa, the white nationalist organization behind the violent Charlottesville, Virginia ‘Unite the Right’ rally that resulted in the death of 20 year old Heather Heyer. That event was when Samant...
2021-04-261h 04
A Little Bit CultyWTF: Matthew Remski On ConspiritualityA Little Bit Culty – Is everything more culty than ever right now? Has yoga always been this dicey? WTF is the deal with the flood of culty headlines? With so much happening at rapidfire pace in the culti-verse, A Little Bit Culty lit up the Bat signal and Matthew Remski of the Conspirituality podcast answered. He’s an author, an investigative journalist, and a dad who also happens to be a two-time survivor of yoga-related cults. And if you know the Conspirituality podcast, you know that he and his co-hosts offer a weekly master class on a whole venn diag...
2021-04-191h 24
A Little Bit CultyCatching Up: Sarah & Nippy Circle BackA Little Bit Culty – It’s been a minute since Sarah and Nippy had a date night, or a chance to catch their breath and talk about all the feedback, questions, and responses they’re getting from the A Little Bit Culty audience. In this episode, they answer questions from listeners, cover what’s trending in the cultiverse, and what chaps their asses about Yoga, passive aggressive emails, and the oppressive positivity in faux-happy songs. They also talk about dream guests, the audiobooks and songs that are burning up their playlist and even read some the most pointedly not-so-great reviews...
2021-04-1237 min
A Little Bit CultyIllusion of Hope: Douglas Brooks On MLMsA Little Bit Culty – If you’ve ever lost a friendship or a small fortune to a multi-level marketing organization, this episode of “A Little Bit Culty” is here to help un-gaslight you. Douglas Brooks, an attorney who represents victims of deceptive schemes, knows that getting caught up in one can be devastating. For the better part of 3 decades, he’s dedicated a significant portion of his practice to representing the victims of deceptive MLM schemes, including cases such as Webster v. Omnitrition International, Rhodes v. Consumers' Buyline, Inc., and Jacobs v. Herbalife International. He’s interviewed or deposed hundreds of p...
2021-04-051h 16
A Little Bit CultyHappy Now: Susan Dones & The Early ExitA Little Bit Culty– If you’ve followed the story of the rise and fall of NXIVM, you know Susan Dones as the one-woman wrecking crew who served as her own legal representation in a series of court battles after she left the organization. But if you don’t know her story, just know this: She was way ahead of the curve on calling bullshit Keith Raniere and his flying monkeys. She also paid dearly for it. In this episode, Sarah and Nippy reconnect with Susan to talk in-depth about her role as one of the original “NXIVM 9,”...
2021-03-291h 14
A Little Bit CultyTake Back Your Life: Dr. Janja Lalich & Cult RecoveryA Little Bit Culty – Dr. Janja Lalich’s book about the cult recovery process was a game changer for Sarah and Nippy when they first began unpacking their NXIVM experiences. It still is. As Nippy says: “She's someone who has been through (her own) heavy duty cult indoctrination, woken up, gotten her way out. She's kept on going. She's dedicated her life to helping other people understand how cults operate and how to come back from them.” In this episode, Sarah and Nippy reconnect with Dr. Lalich for a conversation about her journey from cult member to author-expert, and her insi...
2021-03-221h 12
A Little Bit CultyF*ck This, I’m Out: Mike Rinder & The About-FaceA Little Bit Culty – Sometimes you just have to call it. Mike Rinder was born and raised in Scientology and rose to the very top of the church’s worldwide hierarchy to become its international spokesperson and head of Special Affairs for over 20 years. But when he escaped the organization in 2007, he cut his losses; leaving with only a briefcase and the clothes on his back. In this episode, Mike joins Sarah and Nippy to talk about the trail he blazed out of Scientology, the ongoing work of whistleblowing, and what it’s like to be a dissident when you’re...
2021-03-151h 23
A Little Bit CultyHeal That Sh*t: Leah Remini & The AftermathA Little Bit Culty: What’s it like to break up with a powerful, hyper-litigious religious organization while the whole world watches? What’s life like for a fiery changemaker, post-Aftermath? On this episode of A Little Bit Culty, Sarah and Nippy welcome truth teller Leah Remini for a conversation about her headline-making break with the Church of Scientology and her ongoing work to expose the truth about the organization. They chat about the Fair Game doctrine, the parallels between their escape stories, and what they’ve learned so far about what it takes to heal that shit. Abou...
2021-03-081h 09
A Little Bit CultyThis Is Us: Meet The HostsA Little Bit Culty – In this premiere episode of A Little Bit Culty, co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames catch listeners up on life since NXIVM, and their new normal as whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series The Vow. The pair share the story of how the A Little Bit Culty podcast came to be, and state some intentions and ground rules up front. Namely, as co-hosts of the podcast, they don’t want to be in the business of punching down on people who are still in cults. They also state their mission to be as responsi...
2021-03-0140 min
A Little Bit CultyTEASER: A Little Bit Culty with Sarah & NippyThink you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are...a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time. Listen in as they share their stories, have frank and unscripted conversations with other...
2021-02-0502 min
At the QuaranCinema90. Lindsay AmesLindsay Ames, comedian and host of Make That Sandwich, stops by CRUSHED to talk about camp crushes, comedy crushes, commercial audition nightmares, Australian Survivor, and her favorite ghost hunter TV shows.
2019-11-071h 10
Bombers and Sleeves: BombCastSarah Ames- "California Country" Artist/Songwriter (Episode 17)Today in the BombCast Studio, our guest is the badass, Sarah Ames. Sarah is a country music artist and songwriter born in Northern California. Sarah’s music takes on a fresh, tell-it-like-it-is, “California country” sound, combining a conversational and colorful lyric, with the sounds of country and rock. Please be sure to check our her music available on iTunes/Spotify, and tune into her latest music video "Stoned" currently featured on CMT.
Shop all of our apparel, stay updated on all of our latest drops, tune into our podcast, and follow our blog by visiting https://www.bomber...
2019-10-211h 04
Tee Party PodcastEpisode Nine - Sarah AmesFrom Northern California to Nashville, Sarah Ames is making a name for herself in the country world with a unique sound that's a little bit city and a little bit country. Find out what she defines as 'California Country' and how spending time in Los Angeles shaped her outlook. Follow Sarah Ames - https://www.instagram.com/SarahAmes/Merchandise is available here - https://bit.ly/2Z2IspITheme music - Music: https://www.bensound.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tee-party-podcast--4837858/support.
2019-07-2341 min
The Mike Kara PodcastsThe Mike Kara Radio Program - What's Up America - Sarah Ames6/07/19 - Edition of The Mike Kara Radio Program - "What's Up America".
Today we have an interview with Sarah Ames who is a
singer-songwriter, performer and Country Music Artist. Sarah's websites are located at
http://sarahames.com &
https://www.facebook.com/sarahamesmusic
Sarah currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. She is originally from Northern California.
2019-06-0939 min