Could You Be Manipulated Like the Manson Family? The Psychology of Cults
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 21 March 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What makes a person look at Charles Manson and think, “Yeah, this guy seems like a great life coach”? For most of us, his wild-eyed ranting and swastika-scarred forehead scream “run,” but for his devoted followers, he was the ultimate guru. So how did this failed musician and career criminal convince a group of lost souls to commit some of the most infamous murders in history?
Psychotherapist and author Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski to dissect the twisted psychology of Manson—his extreme narcissism, manipulative genius, and uncanny ability to prey on the vulnerable. Was he a true believer in his own Helter Skelter fantasy, or just an opportunistic con man who knew how to play the game? And more importantly, could anyone be pulled into a cult like his under the right circumstances?
If Leslie Van Houten can get parole, can we ever really trust that someone has escaped the psychological grip of a cult? Or is there always a risk they’ll be selling Amway by the end of the week?
#TrueCrime #CharlesManson #CultPsychology #MindControl #HiddenKillers #ShavaunScott #CrimeAnalysis
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The weather. Tomorrow, expect a biting cold front. Hmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be |
| 0:06.9 | wearing or taking off. The night will be wild and untamed. Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you |
| 0:13.8 | to the skin. By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching their peak in the afternoon. |
| 0:21.3 | Not in the mood for miserable weather? |
| 0:23.5 | Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express. |
| 0:26.3 | Sun Express, non-stop sunshine. |
| 0:30.4 | The weather. Tomorrow, expect a... |
| 0:33.2 | Biting cold front. |
| 0:34.5 | Mmm, how naughty. I wonder what I'll be wearing or taking off. |
| 0:39.0 | The night will be wild and untamed. |
| 0:41.2 | Expect heavy, lashing rain that'll soak you to the skin. |
| 0:45.0 | By Monday, temperatures will rise slowly but surely reaching their peak in the afternoon. |
| 0:51.1 | Not in the mood for miserable weather? |
| 0:53.3 | Fly cheaply to Turkey with Sun Express. |
| 0:56.2 | Sun Express, non-stop sunshine. |
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| 1:32.3 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brewski. |
| 1:35.3 | There was ever a case study in manipulation, delusion, and the dangers of unshack charisma, Charles Manson is it. |
| 1:46.4 | He was a failed musician, a career criminal, and yet somehow managed to convince a group of |
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