S903: The Business of Cults part 1

PRETEND

Javier Leiva

True Crime, Society & Culture, Technology

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2022

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Cults are businesses too. Like any company, cults recruit, have middle management, and some even have succession plans. Many of these religious sects are tax-exempt. Like Scientology, even some fringe religions are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Not all cults are religious. At first glance, some cults don't seem culty at all. For example, take a closer look at businesses such as multi-level marketing companies. These companies are masquerading as a business, but in reality, they're run by narcissistic ego-maniacs. The Cult Startup Like businesses, cults go through different phases. First, there's a startup phase where an entrepreneurial cult leader leads a movement and brings new innovative and revolutionary ideas. Take, for example, Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple. In the beginning, he integrated his congregation during the Civil Rights Movement. After that, he was heavily involved in politics and social activism. The allure was undeniable. But in the end, Jones ordered 909 commune members to end their lives. The Cult Franchise Then, there comes the point where the cult needs to expand its Business and influence. Take, for example, The Twelve Tribes religious sect. This organization, widely considered a cult, operates several businesses worldwide. I visited one of their Yellow Deli restaurants for the second installment of this series. The Cult Exit Strategy If you're not evolving, you're dying. And sometimes, literally dying. So, what happens when a cult becomes too big to fail? Some morally bankrupt cult leaders resort to mass suicide. Other cults grow so big and fast that they become worldwide institutional organizations. The Business of Cults The Business of Cults is a three-part series hosted by Rebekah Sebastian with the DIELAOGUE Podcast and Javier Leiva of PRETEND podcast. Part one focuses on The C Suite: Chief Cult Executives. Part two features an interview with former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson. And Part three explores the question, can a cult survive without its leader? Listen to part two now on Patreon. Buy the t-shirt for this week's episode. Collage art by @kelletteworks https://pretend-radio-3.creator-spring.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Rebecca, have you ever thought about cults being a lot like businesses and the way
0:12.1	they operate and the way they run?
0:14.6	Yeah, actually I have, Havier, I think about this a lot and oftentimes when a cult goes down
0:19.7	it's because somebody followed the money.
0:22.2	Yeah, if you think about it, most cults are legal operations, you know, they have tax
0:28.4	exempt the status, they follow the pattern of businesses, some of them start out like
0:34.4	startups, you know, they raise money, they create a movement and then after a while they kind
0:40.8	of start becoming these mature organizations where they have middle management and people
0:46.9	that report to them and some of them will go big and become institutions and then some
0:51.9	of them go under.
0:54.1	Yeah, and going under could mean maybe the leader leaves quote unquote be it for prison
1:01.1	or something far darker and more ominous, it just really depends on the business or cult.
1:08.8	So today we're going to talk about the business of cults, I'm Havier Leyva with the pretend
1:13.6	podcast.
1:14.6	And I'm Rebecca Sebastian from the dialogue podcast and over the next three episodes
1:19.2	Havier and I are going to talk to experts about their insights on cults, former cult members
1:26.1	and Rebecca and I are probably going to go visit some of these businesses that are run
1:32.1	by cults.
1:33.1	Yeah, so hopefully you'll hear back from us after that happens, we're a little nervous.
1:38.1	Hopefully we'll make it to episode three.
2:19.1	Thank you very much.
2:48.1	Do you ever hear the story of the famous mob defense attorney who later turned out to
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