My guest today is Daniella Mistyanek Young, and her story doesn’t begin with a bad decision, a vulnerable moment, or a charismatic stranger at the door…it begins at birth, inside one of the most infamous modern cults in history: The Children of God.

In this conversation, Daniella takes us inside a world built on control, self-sacrifice, and the slow erasure of identity, where loyalty is demanded, individuality is treated like a threat, and your value is measured by what you can give… and what you can be made to endure.

After escaping, Daniella joined the military sometime after, and began to see parallels between that institution and the one she had escaped - the strict structure, the chain of command, and the dissolution of identity.

We also delve into how cults recruit in times of social chaos, how the internet has transformed modern indoctrination, why so many “transformation” movements feel like grifts, and the red flags that can help you spot coercion before it’s too late.

Links

• Daniella's books and website 📖
• HOW IT FALLS APART | Audio Experience 🧨
• Patreon 🙌🏼
• Dark Finds IG 💀
• Dark Finds Book 📖

Takeaways

• Daniela Mestyanek Young shares her journey from a cult to the military.
• Cults exploit individuals during times of social turmoil.
• The internet has changed the landscape of cult recruitment.
• Self-sacrifice is a key element in cult indoctrination.
• Cults are often about labor exploitation, not just belief.
• Charismatic leaders manipulate followers for power.
• The military can exhibit cult-like characteristics.
• Cults can exist in corporate environments as well.
• Personal identity is often lost in cults and total institutions.
• Awareness of cult-like behavior is crucial for personal safety.

Keywords

cults, identity, self-sacrifice, power, control, charismatic leaders, military, exploitation, labor, individuality

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My guest today is Reid Moon, who left a conventional life behind to chase something far rarer than money: literary immortality.

From The Great Gatsby to James Joyce, from forgotten manuscripts to books that have passed through the hands of history’s giants, Reid has built a life around tracking down objects that carry human obsession, genius, tragedy, and belief inside their pages.

We talk about why some stories survive while others disappear, why a dust jacket can be worth more than the text itself, why provenance matters, and how owning a book once held by its author can feel eerily intimate.

This isn’t just a conversation about rare books. It’s about timeless stories, the strange afterlives of great writers, and what it says about us that we’re still chasing meaning through ink, paper, and memory.

Links

• Reid's YouTube
• HOW IT FALLS APART | Audio Experience
• How It Falls Apart book out now 🧨
• Patreon 🙌🏼
• Dark Finds IG 💀
• Dark Finds Book 📖

Keywords

Reed Moon, rare books, book collecting, literary artifacts, F. Scott Fitzgerald, timeless stories, book value, provenance, James Joyce, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by two of my good friends Tom Cristle and Colum hanlon for a bonus, end of year episode. We get into everything from the UFC to Herbal Life scams, AI bots, DJ Carey, Ireland's chances of making it to the world cup, local pride and so much more.

Buckle up

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