Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation Podcast Por Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts arte de portada

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

De: Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
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Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.

Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

2025 2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia Biografías y Memorias Ciencias Sociales Crímenes Reales
Episodios
  • REWIND: Felicia Rosario and Daniel Levin - Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence

    REWIND: Felicia Rosario and Daniel Levin - Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence
    Dec 24 2025

    Survivor's of Larry Ray's sex cult Felicia and Daniel discuss how they came to meet Larry, how he leveraged his memory and connections to craft an image of authority, how Larry gained control of their lives under the guise of helping them, when the manipulation elevated into sexual abuse and violence, and how they're doing now that Larry is going to jail for the harm he has caused.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 h y 4 m
  • Theo Pratt - Blue Dresses, Smacking Ladies, and an Isolated Compound: Surviving Gloriavale

    Theo Pratt - Blue Dresses, Smacking Ladies, and an Isolated Compound: Surviving Gloriavale
    Dec 17 2025

    This week’s guest is Theo Pratt, survivor of Gloriavale, an isolated Christian cult hidden deep in rural New Zealand, and author of Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale. She’ll talk about being raised on the strictly controlled commune where people were assigned new names, women wore identical dresses and head coverings, and children weren’t taught the real days of the week—or even where they were in the world.

    Theo shares about the leader Neville Cooper’s self-proclaimed divine authority, how “smacking ladies” kept the kids in line—and guards kept the compound controlled, and her rebellious streak that led her to planning an escape attempt on a tandem bicycle. And of course, the moment she realized she couldn’t stay, and what it felt like to step into the outside world she’d been taught would destroy her.

    SOURCES:

    Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 15 m
  • Renee DiResta - Part 2: Pseudo-Events, More on Disinformation, and Telling Fact From Fiction

    Renee DiResta - Part 2: Pseudo-Events, More on Disinformation, and Telling Fact From Fiction
    Dec 10 2025

    Renee DiResta, professor and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, joins the show again to dive deeper into disinformation, propaganda, and "pseudo-events," or manufactured controversies and news stories.

    She explains why it’s so difficult to tell fact from fiction online, how propagandists stoke real, often legitimate tensions to create division, how American politicians are amplifying false information instead of shutting it down, and possible policies that could help reduce our culty social media silos.

    SOURCES

    Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality


    The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Más Menos
    50 m

Featured Article: Delve into the Darker Side of Human Nature with the 15 Best Podcasts About Cults


Cults are fascinating. There’s something curiosity-inducing about stories of ordinary people who get wrapped up in groupthink that quickly veers into dangerous territory. Part of the appeal is because we think it could never happen to us, even though we suspect, deep down, that it absolutely could. These listens explore the nature of cults, the figures who lead them, and the followers who have been lured into their orbits.

Featured Article Delve into the Darker Side of Human Nature with the 15 Best Podcasts About Cults
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This podcast has taught me so much. Basically, no one person has all the answers. Each week I find myself learning more about not only myself but the world and people around me. Lola and Meagan are refreshingly open minded. It's important to hear people out.

Interested in critical thinking? Listen to this!

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Once I listened to one episode, I had to go back to the beginning and listen to every one! They are really good at asking questions and getting the best stories out of everyone

Love this podcast!

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I've learned so much about the psychology of cults. I've gained understanding and empathy for how people join cults and how they remain in them as the red flags get larger and multiply.

Excellent podcast!

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I Listen every week! Love your interactions and laughter. Thank you! Keep up your curiosity !

Love your humor

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I was sent a link to your episode w Lucien Greaves. You guys are amazing and I am so grateful to have found your show. Charming and informative and I am hooked!

LOVE

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