Is Landmark a Cult? Anne Peterson Returns (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
4.6 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Part 2 with former Landmark Forum staffer Anne Peterson, we dig into what it actually took to leave the Landmark ecosystem emotionally, financially, and socially—and how she began unpacking the “technology” and jargon she once used to coach other people’s breakthroughs. Anne breaks down the aftershocks of working inside a Werner Erhard–inspired large group awareness training (LGAT): the burnout, cognitive dissonance, and shame hangovers that show up once you’re no longer being love‑bombed on course weekends, plus the grief of losing a whole community that insisted it was just about “possibility” and “transformation.”
She also shares what recovery has looked like: learning to trust her own perceptions again, finding language for psychological abuse and undue influence, connecting with other ex‑Landmark and ex‑LGAT survivors, and building a gentler, consent‑based approach to personal growth that doesn’t require signing up for endless trainings, going into debt, or turning every relationship into an enrollment opportunity.
Be sure to pick up Anne’s memoir, Is This a Cult?, follow her on Facebook or Instagram, and follow iLumn8.Life on Facebook and Instagram.
Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of psychological and physical abuse, financial and labor exploitation, depression, and trauma.
Also…let it be known that:
The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
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Writer: Sandra Nomoto
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Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or mental health advice. |
| 0:06.1 | The views and opinions express do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast |
| 0:10.6 | and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone, or anything. |
| 0:17.0 | Music. anything. |
| 0:28.0 | I'm Sarah Edmondson. |
| 0:31.1 | And I'm Anthony Nippy Ames, and this is a little bit culty. |
| 0:35.8 | We woke up from a cult, and that journey was captured in the vow on HBO and in my memoir, |
| 0:36.4 | scarred. |
| 0:40.3 | Now, in this podcast, we break down the shame and secrets that make these experiences so destructive with honest conversations on how seemingly benign groups can cross into |
| 0:44.7 | the cult of us, and how to spot and recover from trouble if it happens to you. |
| 0:48.8 | Each week, we bring an expert, survivors, and whistleblowers to explore red flags, resilience, |
| 0:52.9 | and even share a few laughs because because sometimes you've got to laugh. |
| 0:56.0 | Subscribe to our Patreon for early and ad-free listening, some live Q&A and exclusive content at patreon.com slash A Little Bit Culty. |
| 1:03.0 | Welcome to Season 8 of A Little Bit Culty. |
| 1:06.0 | Seeking down to the depths of the ocean, |
| 1:14.7 | hanging on to win my love. |
| 1:32.6 | I'd let go of all I could leave, but I don't know all I'm going. everybody to part to you with Anne Peterson, where we continue our conversation about Schmandmark, the large group awareness training, and what happens when transformation goes off the rails? Last time, Ann walked us through shiny promises, the peak experiences, the very real |
| 1:37.8 | harms happening behind the scenes. Today we get into the fallout, whistleblowers, legal pushback, |
| 1:42.4 | and what it actually takes to name abuse when it's being |
| 1:45.0 | wrapped in self-help language like 100% responsibility, barf or ramma. We'll also talk about |
| 1:51.9 | how Anne is helping people untangle from harmful groups and how she's trying to build safer |
| 1:56.1 | spaces for growth and healing. So if you've ever sat in a seminar wondering why you felt both transformed |
... |
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