You're listening to the Michael Sherman Show. The Michael Sherber Show Okay, hi everybody it's Michael Sherman. It's time for that episode of the Michael Sherman show.

As always this episode as all the episodes are brought to you by the Skeptic Society and Skeptic magazine.

Here's a recent issue on nationalism.

This subject is coming up again with the upcoming election in November.

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organization so if you want to give us a little support and love go to skeptic.com

slash donate. We are one of the few magazines that are still in print. We've been in print since

1992 and you can order back your shoes going all the way back to volume one.

Number one with Isaac Asimov on the cover I think I have his picture around

here behind me somewhere anyway and so you can do that by going

to skeptic.com slash magazine. Oh right my guest today is Michelle Dowd

who grew up in a family cult called The Field located in a 16 acre compound in the

Angeles forest outside of Los Angeles. A third generation cult member founded by her

grandfather in the 1930s who claimed to be

a Christian prophet who would live to be 500. I don't think he made it. He prepared the

boys for the end times through army-style training and rounds of scripture quizzes called Bible basketball.

Girls were trained in forest survival skills which included identifying native flora and

fending off bears. Yes, if you read Michelle's book, you'll find out which of the bears you have to duck down and cover or charge at or run.

Anyway, they had to, and then they had to wear repurposed pillowcases that were fully full body coverings called

Jalaba I think it's pronounced to keep men from looking at our bodies

Really at age 10 what men are looking at okay well we'll get into that at age 10

dad was sent to the children's hospital in Los Angeles for symptoms that might have

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