The show you're about to listen to may contain themes of violence, occult activities, strong language, and other sensitive material.

With an emphasis on cult's murder and other adult matters, listener discretion is advised.

On cult leader, I strive for telling stories in a truthful matter, though press, media, and other resources cannot always be verified.

Sources can be found in the show notes. Hello and welcome back to cult leader. I'm your cult leader, Spencer, Henry, and Colpaves this week.

I have Ben Jonesen to talk about this ever since I heard that Mr. James Spankham to Heaven

Dobson, the American evangelical author and so-called parenting expert, we're put an expert in quotes

here, behind the 1970 book, Dare to Discipline, clocked out at the

ripe old age of 89. If you're in the know, you're probably like, wait, that James Dobson,

yes, the founder of Focus on the Family, patron saint of the wooden spoon, an architect of

basically every anti-gay, anti-choice talking point. Your aunt Linda is still

posting on the Facebook baby. Ex-Vangelicals all over social media went giddy with glee,

busting out ding-dong the devil's dead memes while sharing horror stories about how his hot

takes wrecked their childhoods. And listen, yes, this man was an evangelical. We got to put it out there.

Cult leader, we come for everyone. We come for you all equally. Nobody is safe. We're going to get

into his whole empire another day, but his death, or really the reaction to it, reminded me just how

deep his fingerprints are on American culture. Like, even if you never set foot in a pew,

his rhetoric was already shaping your sex ed curriculum, your school board fights, and what your

parents were panicking about on MTV. He was like the Wizard of Oz behind a whole generation

of suburban fear. Now, imagine being an actual teen inside that ecosystem.

I'm sure some of you know firsthand. And over the years, I've collected more than a few

wild stories from Colpaves and friends about their evangelical upbringings. I have family

members who are evangelical. There's a lot of good stories. There's also a lot of

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