Cults 101: Dr. Steven Hassan & The BITE Model
A Little Bit Culty
Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
4.6 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 1 March 2021
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A Little Bit Culty –
What’s the difference between a cult and something that’s just a little bit culty? What should Sarah and Nippy tell their kids when they’re old enough to ask about NXIVM? How do you protect yourself from mind control? On this episode of A Little Bit Culty, our co-hosts chat with cult expert and author Dr. Steven Hassan about what makes people universally vulnerable to undue influence and cultic abuse; how to spot red flags; and some of the striking similarities between Keith Raniere and Donald Trump. They also explore Dr. Hassan’s cult origin story as a former member of the Moon cult, as well as his groundbreaking BITE Model that demystifies the methods that cults deploy to recruit and maintain control over people. Sarah also shares a (ahem) juicy story about a WTF moment of truth about a certain dietary mystery among the women of NXIVM that always perplexed her.
About Dr. Steven Hassan: As one of the world’s leading authorities on cults, Dr. Steven Hassan has been helping people wake up, leave, and heal from cultic abuse for over forty years as a mental health professional, consultant, and educator. He is the founding director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, an organization that specializes in providing acute intensive care for people exiting destructive environments. Dr. Hassan is also the author of four books, including Combating Cult Mind Control, Freedom of Mind, and most recently: The Cult of Trump.
About the BITE Model, as quoted from the Freedom of Mind Resource center site at Freedomofmind.com: “Based on research and theory by Robert Jay Lifton, Margaret Singer, Edgar Schein, Louis Jolyon West, and others who studied brainwashing in Maoist China as well as cognitive dissonance theory by Leon Festinger, Steven Hassan developed the BITE Model to describe the specific methods that cults use to recruit and maintain control over people. “BITE” stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control.
A Little Bit Culty is a proud community partner of the #iGotOut Project. Learn more and find helpful resources for healing, education and prevention at igotout.org.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone, I am Sarah Edminson and I'm here with... |
| 0:12.3 | Hi, I'm Anthony Ains, Sarah's husband, aka Nippy. |
| 0:15.5 | And we're here to talk about things that are... |
| 0:17.8 | Slybbing! |
| 0:19.0 | A bit culty! |
| 0:20.0 | Speaking of, we were in a cult and we woke up. |
| 0:22.9 | Thank goodness and we have a lot to say. |
| 0:25.2 | And a lot to ask. |
| 0:27.2 | This podcast is going to be a deep dive into everything from the red flags to the narcissism, |
| 0:32.4 | the manipulation, the resiliency, the recovery process, and everything in between. |
| 0:37.1 | Also, we want to share some of the good we got out of it so you can get all the nuggets without |
| 0:41.2 | having to join a cult. |
| 0:42.4 | If you haven't already, because there are a lot of things out there that are just a little bit culty. |
| 0:47.5 | Welcome to a little bit culty. |
| 0:49.3 | A podcast about the FADS, Beliefs, and Trends that blur the line between healthy and a little bit culty. |
| 0:55.4 | Please subscribe so you don't miss an episode and find us on Instagram if you have any |
| 0:59.1 | suggestions for things you have found to be a little bit culty. |
| 1:02.7 | Hi everybody! |
| 1:25.5 | Welcome back to a little bit culty. |
| 1:30.4 | Hello everyone. |
| 1:31.1 | Hello. |
| 1:31.8 | This is our first official episode with a guest. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.