Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan

Join Dr. Stephen A. Kent, a sociology professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, as he discusses the unsettling links between cults and modern authoritarianism. They explore how cult-like tactics infiltrate societal norms and politics, revealing the impact of disinformation campaigns and manipulative leaders. Kent highlights the risks posed by the internet, AI, and academic censorship. He argues for the importance of former members' testimonies and the need for society to recognize and address the erosion of democratic values.

On this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, we spoke with Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American businessman and former Trump insider turned whistleblower. He has withstood intimidation, threats, and time in prison to present evidence and help America better understand the truth about the cult of Trump. His book, Shadow Diplomacy: Lev Parnas and his Wild Ride from Brooklyn to Trump’s Inner Circle, is the story of a self-described “wheeler-dealer” who moved through Moscow, Wall Street, Miami, Hollywood, and the White House. It was in prison after he’d been indicted and sentenced for unlawful campaign donations when he realized he was being “used as a pawn” to protect Trump.His biographical memoir gives an insider’s look into how money and power influenced international politics under the 45th presidency with Donald Trump, ultimately leading to his first impeachment trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Lev continues his brave work to enlighten Americans with his attained insider knowledge of how Trump ran his administration on his Substack podcast Lev Remembers. He was also the subject of the 2024 documentary film produced by Rachel Maddow, From Russia with Lev, where he shared his vast knowledge and archived data from his time working with the first Trump administration. This is one not to miss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You were involved for over 20 years with an apocalyptic, survivalist UFO-like cult. Before joining the cult, you were a bright 16-year-old who later attended Princeton and played football for them as a cornerback. Looking back, you were essentially a bright, educated, charismatic young man who happened to meet the wrong person at the wrong time.” Hoyt describes his upbringing as “normal,” growing up in an affluent family outside Philadelphia. He remembers himself as a social, talented athlete with many friends. While vacationing with family and friends on Nantucket, an upscale Cape Cod Island, he encountered a man named Frederick von Mierers (his real name was Freddy Meyers). Frederick approached 16-year-old Hoyt, laid a towel beside him, and engaged him in conversation about spirituality. Frederick would later become the leader of a cult known as Eternal Values. Hoyt’s life didn’t end with his cult experience; it inspired his purpose. He dedicated himself to filmmaking, podcasting, and advocacy, educating the public about cultic dynamics.Hoyt is currently developing a memoir titled Picture Perfect, a documentary series, and a feature film based on his life and experiences. This is a fascinating person. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexandra Stein, social psychologist and former cult member who studies ideological extremism, outlines how propaganda, confusion, and disorganized attachment shape coercive movements. She recounts leaving a political cult, applying attachment theory to indoctrination, explains modern online recruitment and rhetorical tactics, and urges speaking up, legal reform, and survivor-led research.

 Cult survivors often have the instinct to want to save as many people as possible from the cult they survived. However, healing from the things they encountered while in the cult is often a first step before a survivor can help others escape. Cult survivors usually seek to heal with some form of therapy and move on. Nori was a member of ISKCON from 1978 to 1988. As a member of the PR office, Nori lived in a bubble with some of the cult’s abuses hidden from her so she could maintain her positive opinion of the cult as part of her work. After leaving the cult, Nori learned about the abuse of women and children in the cult. The University of Illinois Press published Nori’s memoir, Betrayal of the Spirit, in 1997. After that she wrote and self-published Child of the Cult and Cult Survivor’s Handbook For a more detailed look at the atrocities the Hare Krishnas committed, check out the documentary Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness, and the Hare Krishnas. Nori Muster and Steve Gelberg are two former members interviewed in this well-done film. Join us for a fascinating discussion that includes art therapy and other expressive therapy approaches to healing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many, practices like meditation and yoga are among the most thrilling avenues for deepening spiritual awareness. At their best, these techniques can serve as a neurological and biochemical reset—enhancing self-awareness and empowering transformation. But at their worst, they can cause a loss of personal grounding, leaving individuals vulnerable to exploitative relationships or mental, physical, and even sexual harm under unethical or authoritarian figures. As a result, people often find themselves wagering between powerful tools for psychological growth and the risk of undue influence. In this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I speak with my longtime friend and colleague, David Christopher Lane, PhD—Professor of Philosophy and Sociology at Mt. San Antonio College—about this delicate balance. David is the author of numerous books, including The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar, The Radhasoami Tradition, Exposing Cults: When the Skeptical Mind Meets the Mystical, The Unknowing Sage, and The Virtual Reality of Consciousness. Cambridge University Press published his most recent book, The Sound Current Tradition: A Historical Overview, in 2022. He also co-authored an annotated bibliography on the Radhasoami movement for Oxford University Press. Beyond academia, David is a world champion bodysurfer with titles spanning from 1997 to 2016. David is also an expert on neuroscience and virtual reality technology.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Those who have experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) will often report the profoundly painful experience of being thrown into past trauma by a particular trigger. Common examples include war veterans who may experience full body activation following a loud explosive noise. Another example is victims of violent crimes being shown content about similar circumstances that can launch them into the past. This experience of being thrown back in time has been thoroughly analyzed utilizing Time Perspective Therapy (TPT) by co-developer and counselor Rosemary Sword. Rose is the co-author of the renowned 2012 book The Time Cure: Overcoming PTSD with the New Psychology of Time Perspective Therapy. She worked on the book with her husband, clinical psychologist Richard Sword, PhD, and Philip Zimbardo, PhD, psychologist and professor at Stanford University. When Richard passed away from gastric cancer a year and a half later, she continued her work on TPT with Zimbardo, eventually coming to their new book Seeing Through the Grief. While it was released in the spring of 2024, Zimbardo sadly passed away in October. Other projects they worked on included a second TPT book titled Living & Loving Better, partnering with Happify.com Premium to offer Overcome PTSD and Heal from Grief and Loss, as well as a Psychology Today column, The Time Cure. This is a fascinating interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Power can be rapidly stripped away from individuals, or it can be taken away layer by layer. Not everyone makes it out of a cult, but life can become particularly meaningful when they do. A new purpose can arise for the person, more substantial than the grasp of mind control. Leaving an authoritarian cult is the experience that Dr. Debbie Haski-Leventhal, PhD, shared with us on this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum. She found this meaning after a period of healing and self-exploration when she left the Kabbalah Centre. Her parents brought her into it when she was only five years old. She devoted her life to it as a chevre (hand-picked servants of Philip and Karen Berg, its leaders). She was able to escape by age nineteen. Debbie currently describes her role as “a professor of purpose and impact”, working with individuals and companies to make lives more meaningful. She crafted her book after decades of exploring what pro-social and satisfying behaviors bring to life. Her book is both inspirational and practical, laying out pointers from the model she developed. She believes strongly in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and works with business leaders to better utilize their human resources into meaning on both an individual and group basis. I must say, I loved this book, listened to it as an audiobook, and then bought it as a paperback and read it. It is a must-read book, in my opinion, for all survivors of mind control cults. It is an inspiration! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Szimhart, an occult and cult researcher who left esoteric movements and now helps intervene in high-control groups. He explores how occult beliefs seep into politics. Short, punchy takes cover Agni Yoga, Church Universal and Triumphant links to political actors, decreeing and ritualized prayers used for power, and modern tech and crypto echoing cult-style economics.

Marietje Schaake is a Fellow at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. As a Dutch politician, she also served as a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands between 2009 and 2019. She was appointed to the United Nations High-Level Advisory Body on AI in 2023. With the announcement that Donald Trump would seek peace talks with Russia first without including Ukraine, and while U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance scolded Europe about free speech at the Munich Security Conference, many have said that we are seeing an end to the transatlantic alliance as it has been known since WWII. Schaake agreed with this concern and stated that not only is this an ending of an alliance, but that the U.S. has become an adversary to the European Union (E.U.). She explained that Vance’s speech, a week before the German election, was meant to boost the far-right Alternatives for Germany party at a precarious time. Schaake explained that while Vance portrayed Europe’s protection of speech as a lack of freedoms, she feels it is a trap to narrowly view the debate about social media and its harms through the lens of free speech. “On the one hand, European countries have very far-reaching protections of freedom of expression. It’s slightly different from the First Amendment, but it’s definitely widely protected. The whole idea that free speech is not protected in European countries is nonsense,” Schaake said. With Elon Musk taking over more and more of our government every day and ousting anyone who is not a strict loyalist, many have begun to ask when the right to free speech will falter. Join us for this vitally important conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices