11: Cults and Disaster Spirituality

Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Spirituality, Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2020

⏱️ 112 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two of this podcast’s hosts have been involved in destructive cult dynamics. Matthew’s three years with Michael Roach and three years at Endeavor Academy are at the root of his cult research and journalism. Julian’s six years in the inner circle around what he describes as Ana Forrest’s incendiary and manipulative approach to yoga left him with repressed memories. Those experiences also left his family deeply scarred by some of the same Satanic Panic themes prevalent in the QAnon movement. His ongoing work advocating for critical thinking and community health is part of his recovery. Derek describes himself as being “cult-adjacent”—not uncommon for a lifelong wellness industry professional. In this episode, he’ll interview Julian and Matthew about their cult experiences, the recovery process, and cultic dynamics in modern yoga, Buddhist, and New Age communities informing the growing field of conspirituality. They’ll also discuss cultic organizations being ideally positioned to sell “Disaster Spirituality” (props to Naomi Klein) in times of crisis. Cult leaders understand the power of charisma, the attractiveness of transcendental ideology, and what it takes to make vulnerable people feel like every question is answerable with jargon, intrusive eye contact, and deeply deceptive shit. Matthew will ground the discussion with a synopsis of cult research, basic concepts, and useful definitions. Show Notes The David Wolfe video about pedophilia and Trump United States of Conspiracy | PBS documentary QAnon Casualties: stories on Reddit Steven Hassan’s “Influence Continuum,” which is helpful for assessing the health of influence Great podcast about James Arthur Ray and the question of undue influence Tony Robbins’ PR defends him when people are injured at his firewalking events Excellent podcast series on Heaven’s Gate The conviction of Keith Raniere Peter Georgiades on the legal barriers to cult litigation Daniel Shaw on “Traumatic Narcissism“ QAnon Anonymous -- -- -- Support us on Patreon Pre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | Julian Original music by EarthRise SoundSystem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by the Jordan Harbinger show.
0:07.0	Do you want a new podcast to look forward to each week?
0:13.0	One that's entertaining, informative, and packed with actionable content?
0:17.0	Come on, of course you do.
0:19.0	The average podcast listener has six shows in rotation, so you're most likely not just listening to
0:24.4	conspiratoriality and that's totally okay I'd love to share a podcast to add to
0:29.4	your list the Jordan Harbinger show is a top shelf podcast named Best of Apple in 2018, so don't just ignore my suggestion to listen to this one like you probably do with your other friends who tell you to listen to
0:43.4	podcast. Jordan dives into the minds of fascinating people from athletes to
0:48.7	scientists, political activists, mobsters, even hostage negotiators and
0:54.2	Harbinger has an undeniable talent for getting his guests to share never
0:58.2	before heard stories and thought-provoking insights. Without fail, he pulls out tactical bits of wisdom
1:05.0	in each episode, all with the noble cause
1:07.6	to make you more informed, a critical thinker
1:09.8	and to better operate in today's world.
1:13.0	I was on his show.
1:14.2	In preparation, I listened to a bunch of episodes.
1:16.2	He's just really good at what he does.
1:17.8	Like episode 880 features Ian Bremer,
1:21.2	you know, the top-notch political scientist and the topic is dealing with the world
1:25.4	in disarray. But then you have episodes like his skeptical Sunday format, episode 882, looked
1:32.1	at homeopathy. But he has other episodes on
1:34.7	Iurveda and also the popular pseudoscience of analyzing body language.
	...

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