If you have your own story of being in a cult or a high control group or if you've had

experience with manipulation or abuse the power that you'd like to share, leave us a message

on our hotline number at 347-86 trust. That's 347-868-7878 or shoot us an e-mail at TrustMePod

at gmail.com. Trust me, do you trust me? Trust me, I'm like a smart person. Yeah, I've never

lied to you. I never have lied. If you think that one person has all the answers, don't!

Welcome to TrustMe, the podcast about cults, extreme belief and manipulation from two fitness

models who've actually experienced it. I'm Lola Blanc. And I am Megan Elizabeth. We're not fitness

models. In case anyone wasn't clear of that. Today is part one of our interview with Lauren

Drain. She's an author, an actual fitness model, and trainer, registered nurse, and former member

of the Westboro Baptist Church. In part one today, she's going to tell us about their groups,

hateful and cruel picketing, how her family joined after her father visited intending to make

a documentary making fun of them, and what his own upbringing was like, which may have drawn him

to the group. We'll discuss what it was like picketing all kinds of events, including funerals

in her own high school, how tightly controlled every day life was, and the extremely normal thing

she did that got her kicked out. Plus the sad and Shakespearean end of founder Fred Phelps Life.

The level of cruelty that these people are capable of is quite shocking, and we will hear

all about it. And next week, stay tuned because there is so much more to get into with her.

There's an exciting update. So I will say before we go on, I noticed a lot of similarities between

Fred Phelps and the founder of The Religion. I was brought in, and I kept drawing parallels,

and it was really interesting to me. And then I thought about it a little bit more yesterday,

and I was like, I think that that was all earlier days in this religion, and now The Religion

has raised in being like 100 years older. I think there's some people in it that aren't even

...