A Little Bit Culty

Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
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Think you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are..a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time. Listen in as they share their stories, have frank and unscripted conversations with other survivors and cult experts, and do a deep dive on how devotion can turn to dysfunction.

  1. 5 hr ago

    Summer Bonus: Sarah & Nippy on Cults to Consciousness with Shelise Ann Sola (Part 1)

    In this bonus episode, we hop over to Cults to Consciousness with past ALBC guest Shelise Ann Sola for a real, slightly sweaty, very honest conversation about how cults mess with your head, your body, and your sense of what’s normal. We talk about our new book, A Little Bit Culty: Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion, and how survivors can move from confusion and self-blame toward clarity, boundaries, and a little less second-guessing. Stay tuned for Part 2 on Thursday. Check out Cults to Consciousness on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, and follow Shelise at sheliseannsola.com and on Instagram @sheliseann. 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: Try the Burger Perfection Flight at OmahaSteaks.com today. That’s 20 premium steak burgers for just $79.99. Plus, get $35 off with promo code CULTY. Terms apply. See site for details. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Summer Bonus: Sarah & Nippy on Cults to Consciousness with Shelise Ann Sola (Part 1)

  2. 5 hr ago ·  Bonus

    You Might Also Like: No Magic Pill with Blake Mycoskie

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  3. 4 days ago

    Where are they now? Gerette Buglion on Writing to Reckon (Part 2)

    Gerette Buglion’s back for part two of our catch-up. This one dives deeper into the messy, important work of healing through writing, therapy, and self-trust. She talks about internal consent, knowing when to pause, and why it’s so important for survivors to move slowly when a story starts to light up the nervous system. We also get into the realities of publishing after cultic abuse, including how predatory dynamics in the writing world can hit old wounds hard, and why it’s crucial to know your allies and keep strong boundaries. Gerette shares how survivor experience can help you spot when something is genuinely off versus when an old trigger is getting activated. She reflects on the value of humor, love, and safe enough relationships in real healing. The episode wraps with more on Living Cult Free, including its discussion groups, symposiums, and survivor-centered podcast, plus a vivid dream exchange that lands on themes of predators, intuition, and self-reliance.  Follow Gerette on her website, gerettebuglion.com, or on Facebook or Instagram. Also check out her writing tips at gerettebuglion.com/writingtips and LivingCultFree.com. Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of cultic abuse, coercive control, trauma recovery, and re-traumatization. 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Where are they now? Gerette Buglion on Writing to Reckon (Part 2)

  4. 3 Aug

    Where are they now? Gerette Buglion on Writing to Reckon (Part 1)

    In our next “Where are they now?” catch-up episode, Gerette Buglion is back, and she’s still doing what she does best: helping survivors turn cult experience into something meaningful, grounded, and actually useful. In this conversation with Sarah, she shares how life has evolved since we last spoke, from personal recovery and family life to the gentle, steady growth of Living Cult Free and her writing work with survivors. A big focus here is Writing to Reckon, her trauma-informed, cult-informed writing program for survivors who want to process coercive control through story. She talks about why writing can be so powerful, how to know when something is ready to share, and why slowing down before publishing can protect people from re-traumatization. She also offers practical advice for memoir writers and whistleblowers, including keeping old journals and materials which can become a goldmine later, writing privately and imperfectly, and trusting the raw language that comes up. It’s a strong reminder that survivor-led spaces can help rebuild trust, sharpen your b******t detector, and make meaning out of what happened without flattening it. Stay tuned for Part 2 on Thursday. Follow Gerette on her website, gerettebuglion.com, or on Facebook or Instagram. Also check out her writing tips at gerettebuglion.com/writingtips and LivingCultFree.com. Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of cultic abuse, coercive control, trauma recovery, whistleblowing, and re-traumatization. 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: You’re going to love Hungryroot as much as we do. For a limited time get 40% off your first order PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/culty and use code culty. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5 percent back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to Wayfair.com to shop all things home. To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to MintMobile.com/culty. Join the millions of customers who trust HomeServe. For 50 percent less your first year, go to HomeServe.com/culty. That scratched up pair has done its job. Upgrade today with Zenni! Go to Zenni.com/podcast and use code PODCAST15 for 15% off your first order, plus free shipping on all US orders over $65. Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to Quince.com/culty. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Where are they now? Gerette Buglion on Writing to Reckon (Part 1)

  5. 30 Jul

    Summer bonus: Chapters 3 and 4 from the A Little Bit Culty audiobook!

    If you love listening to ALBC on your commute, while folding laundry, or as your little antidote to the daily chaos, you’ll be right at home with the audiobook version of A Little Bit Culty: Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion. This bonus episode gives you Chapters 3 and 4 from the audiobook, so you can hear the book the way it was meant to be heard—out loud, in your ears, and with all the same candor, humor, and hard-earned insight you get from the podcast.  It’s a great way to dip into the book if you don’t yet have the paperback or ebook, or if you just want to keep the cult chat going in a format that fits neatly into your life. Think of it as more of the good stuff: equal parts story, survival, and “oh wow, that explains a lot.” Pick up our audiobook on Audible and tell your friends to do the same! 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Summer bonus: Chapters 3 and 4 from the A Little Bit Culty audiobook!

  6. 27 Jul

    Summer bonus: Preface to Chapter 2 from the A Little Bit Culty audiobook!

    If you love listening to ALBC on your commute, while folding laundry, or as your little antidote to the daily chaos, you’ll be right at home with the audiobook version of A Little Bit Culty: Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion. This bonus episode gives you the Preface, Introduction, Introduction to Part I, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 from the audiobook. You can hear the book the way it was meant to be heard—out loud, in your ears, and with all the same candor, humor, and hard-earned insight you get from the podcast.  It’s a great way to dip into the book if you don’t yet have the paperback or ebook, or if you just want to keep the cult chat going in a format that fits neatly into your life. Think of it as more of the good stuff: equal parts story, survival, and “oh wow, that explains a lot.” Pick up our audiobook on Audible and tell your friends to do the same! 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Summer bonus: Preface to Chapter 2 from the A Little Bit Culty audiobook!

  7. 23 Jul

    Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on Thought Reform, Trauma, and Walking Free (Part 2)

    In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Gillie Jenkinson, we move from her remarkable story into the practical question so many survivors ask: How do you actually recover after leaving a cult? Gillie shares how her own experience escaping a high-control Christian group led her to become one of the world's leading specialists in cult recovery, and why she set out to create ethical, trauma-informed support when almost none existed. We dig into the foundations of her work, from the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) and the pioneering Wellspring Retreat Center to the influence of Dr. Robert Jay Lifton's thought reform model, exploring why understanding coercive control is often the first step toward reclaiming yourself. We also unpack the common threads Gillie has seen after decades of working with former members of high-control groups, religious cults, and coercive relationships. From identity reconstruction and trauma recovery to the importance of healthy therapeutic boundaries and making sense of what happened, this convo’s packed with hope and hard-earned wisdom for anyone navigating life after undue influence. Pick up Dr. Gillie Jenkinson’s book, Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse, follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn, and follow Hope Valley Counselling at hopevalleycounselling.com or on Facebook. Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of religious trauma, coercive control, thought reform, and psychological manipulation. 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on Thought Reform, Trauma, and Walking Free (Part 2)

  8. 20 Jul

    Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on Thought Reform, Trauma, and Walking Free (Part 1)

    This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Dr. Gillie Jenkinson—the OG, the GOAT, and the GG of cult recovery work (she needed a definition, we provided several)—finally makes her long-overdue debut on A Little Bit Culty. She’s a therapist, cult survivor, and the author of Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse, and this first part is all about how she got in. It started in 1970s London: a posh English boarding school girl who grew up in Uganda, wanted to marry a lord, and had no particular ambition or sense of direction. A persistent friend with a sulking habit got her to a meeting, an emotional experience convinced her it was real, and suddenly she was a radicalized born-again Christian baptized in the Leicester Square fountain with a police officer conveniently looking the other way. From there it was a slow drift—au pair jobs, city moves, counseling from a fellowship—until she found herself living in community houses with the Love of God group, a Bible-based cult founded by a charismatic opera singer from Birmingham School of Music. What followed was seven years of escalating control, a second leader who brought in physical beatings with a bamboo cane framed as spiritual discipline, and a psychological prison so complete that leaving never once crossed her mind. The cult imploded on its own—and she got out with her future husband Tony, whom she'd been secretly carpooling with—but the cult stayed in her for another 14 years through a series of churches that knew, as she puts it, "fuck all" about cult recovery. Part 2 brings the work, the book, and the brilliance she's built from all of it—stay tuned. Pick up Dr. Gillie Jenkinson’s book, Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse, follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn, and follow Hope Valley Counselling at hopevalleycounselling.com or on Facebook. Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of physical abuse, religious coercion, and psychological imprisonment. 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 f*****d. Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon or order a signed copy. Check out our amazing sponsors Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred CREDITS: Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Audio production: Will Retherford Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore Writer: Sandra Nomoto Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: Don’t let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/culty. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on Thought Reform, Trauma, and Walking Free (Part 1)
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Think you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are..a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time. Listen in as they share their stories, have frank and unscripted conversations with other survivors and cult experts, and do a deep dive on how devotion can turn to dysfunction.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    355
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © © 2022 A Little Bit Culty
  • Show Website
    A Little Bit Culty

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