This is exactly right.

Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult.

But it happens all the time to people just like you.

And people just like us.

I'm Lola Blanc.

And I'm Megan Elizabeth.

We're the hosts of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology of belief.

Each week, we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out.

Trust me. New episodes every Wednesday on Exactly Right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Music Hello, and welcome to my favorite murder. The minisode. Where we read you, your stories. You love them. We love them. Here we go. Okay, I'll do this one first. The subject line is, I was a witness in a murder trial, UK hometown story. It says, hey ladies, in March 2014, I was 23.

I was out having a few drinks and a dance with my friends in the only bar club, and then

parentheses, it says, think awful sticky floors and dodgy patrons in our sleepy hometown in

Hampshire, southern England.

The club closed and we wandered down the road to the kebab shop,

which is a staple after a night out in the UK. That's true. I've seen that in Glasgow.

Cababs, love it. Right? Sitting outside to eat our greasy treats, we were approached by two

brothers in their 20s who had clearly overindulged in the alcohol and were still swigging from a

bottle of Southern comfort.

Oh, no, put it down.

We used to drink Southern comfort and, like, just thinking about it. That's just disgusting. The men seemed friendly at first, but after a while it was clear the situation could turn at any second, which it did. they squared up to a couple of male friends of mine, being one of only two women there, and a six-foot-tall one at that, I tried my best to diffuse the situation and put myself between them, generally engaging them in small talk and having a laugh with them.

One of them even put his arm around me in a kind of a hug.

Eventually they left us alone, and some of the group went off home.

...