Protecting Kids from Cults and Traffickers with Robin Boyle-Laisure (Part 2)

A Little Bit Culty

Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames

True Crime, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure—St. John’s University School of Law faculty, ICSA board member, and author of Taken No More: Protect Your Children Against Traffickers and Cults—we dig into the courtroom turning points that changed the way cult leaders are prosecuted. From Patty Hearst to NXIVM, Robin unpacks how sex-trafficking statutes reshaped the legal landscape, and why Keith Raniere’s 120-year sentence set a precedent that reverberates through cases like R. Kelly, Larry Ray, and Harvey Weinstein.

We also bring the conversation home (literally). Robin shares practical tools for parents: how to raise independent thinkers, what “tricky adults” really look like, and why overly rigid household rules can prime kids for authoritarian groups later in life. She sounds the alarm on the rise of online grooming, sextortion, and predator tactics on gaming platforms, and explains what parents, educators, and law enforcement need to know right now.

Catch Robin’s new book, Taken No More, this fall, and keep an eye on robinboylelaisure.com for updates. Follow Robin on Instagram (@robin.boyle / @robinboylelaisure) and Facebook (Robin Boyle). Learn more about ICSA at icsahome.com.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of sexual abuse, coercive control, grooming, trafficking, cult exploitation, and online child exploitation.

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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Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

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Transcript

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0:29.7	This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical,
0:34.0	medical, or mental health advice. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect
0:37.8	the official policy or position of the podcast and are not intended to malign any religion
0:41.7	group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone, or anything.
0:56.0	I'm Sarah Edmondson.
0:57.8	And I'm Anthony Nippy Ames.
1:00.5	And this is A Little Bit Calti.
1:02.1	Cults are commonplace now.
1:04.5	From fandums to fads, we're examining them all.
1:08.8	We look at what happens when things that seem like a great thing at first go bad.
1:12.1	Every week we chat with survivors, experts, and whistleblowers for real culty stories told directly by the people who lived through them, because we want you
1:17.0	to learn a few things that we've had to learn the hard way. For example, if you think you're
1:21.5	too smart to get sucked into something culty, you might be prime recruitment material, and who
1:25.9	knows, you could already be in a cult.
1:28.4	If you're not aware of your programming, you're probably being programmed.
1:31.6	So keep listening to find out.
	...

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