Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation Titelbild

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

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Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.

Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

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Sozialwissenschaften True Crime
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    SOURCES:
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    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    SOURCES:
    Greetings From Utopia Park

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    SOURCES:

    BITE MODEL of Authoritarian Control

    Heartwood Center

    McAllister Olivarius Law

    For pro bono legal help, look up your state bar association for a directory of pro bono attorneys.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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