Does America Have a Cult Problem? | Daniella Mestyanek Young
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.5 • 737 Ratings
🗓️ 2 November 2025
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pre-order a copy of Daniella Mestyanek Young's book, The Culting of America, here: https://amzn.to/3JC1IHD
✖️✖️✖️
Daniella was born a third-generation member of the infamous Children of God religious cult, and grew up being trafficked around the world, before escaping that life and moving to America at age 15. She put herself through high school and graduated as college valedictorian before commissioning into the US Army as an intelligence officer. That’s where she really started to think about group behavior…and seeing it, well, everywhere.
Daniella deployed twice to Afghanistan (2011, 2014) and became a member of one of the Army’s first Female Engagement teams (an experiment that put women into deliberate ground combat for the first time in Army history, and eventually led to the repeal of the sexist combat ban and the gender desegregation of the entire US military).
She is a proud daughter of the 101st, (that's the unit in Band of Brothers), and a recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (from Obama, y'all). She earned her Master of Arts in Organizational Psychology at the Harvard Extension School, where she focused her research on group behavior, social norms, culture, extremism, leadership, demagoguery and cults.
✖️✖️✖️
Support the Show: Patreon.com/PreacherBoys
✖️✖️✖️
If you or someone you know has experienced abuse, visit courage365.org/need-help
✖️✖️✖️
CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:
preacherboyspodcast.com
https://www.youtube.com/@PreacherBoys
https://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/
https://twitter.com/preacherboysdoc
https://www.instagram.com/preacherboyspod
https://www.tiktok.com/@preacherboyspod
To connect with a community that shares the Preacher Boys Podcast's mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188/
✖️✖️✖️
The content presented in this video is for informational and educational purposes only. All individuals and entities discussed are presumed innocent until proven guilty through due legal process. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers.
✖️✖️✖️
Music by Lou Ridley — “Bible Belt” | Used with permission under license.
This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/PreacherBoys and get on your way to being your best self.
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donations
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Coming up on the Preach Boys podcast. |
| 0:02.2 | Every person that defined cults has to then answer, what about the military and what about |
| 0:06.5 | Alcoholics Anonymous? |
| 0:07.8 | And the answer is they're both cults. |
| 0:10.1 | Late 60s when the government discovered brainwashing, right? |
| 0:14.9 | We were getting our prisoners of war back from Korea. |
| 0:18.3 | They had learned it from the Chinese. |
| 0:20.6 | The mind control. This is when this idea |
| 0:22.7 | was kind of born. Folks like Robert Lifton started studying it and folks like the U.S. Army said, |
| 0:28.3 | hmm, can we use it as a weapon? They then hired four psychologists who studied abusive relationships |
| 0:33.9 | and cults. And those are the people who built modern day basic training. |
| 0:38.0 | In my first book, the prologue ends with me in basic training holding this 50-pound |
| 0:43.0 | duffel bag above my head going, oh my gosh, I think I just joined another cult. |
| 0:46.7 | Oh. |
| 0:50.5 | Can nobody save? Ain't nobody safe Ain't nobody safe |
| 0:55.0 | Ain't nobody safe Oh in a Bible moment. Oh, in the Bible moment. |
| 1:18.6 | Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Preacher Boys podcast today on the show. I'm sitting down with |
| 1:22.6 | Daniela Mastienic Young, also affectionately known as the Knitting Cult Lady. |
| 1:28.4 | She was born a third generation member of the infamous children of God religious cult |
| 1:32.4 | and grew up being trafficked around the world before escaping that life and moving to America at age 15. |
| 1:38.3 | She put herself through high school and graduated as college valedictorian before commissioning into the U.S. Army as an intelligence offer. |
| 1:45.5 | And that's where she really started to think about group behavior and seeing it, well, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Eric Skwarczynski, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Eric Skwarczynski and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.