Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan

MeidasTouch Network

Steven Hassan, PhD, is one of the leading experts on cults and undue influence in the world. A former member of the right-wing Moonie cult, Hassan was deprogrammed 45 years ago and has dedicated his life to helping people out of cults and destructive situations. Dr. Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and has written four books, including The Cult of Trump and the seminal book Combating Cult Mind Control. On this podcast, Steve will explain HOW mind-control works, and how to protect yourself from its grips. He will also address ethical influence as the podcast will address the entire Influence Continuum. He’ll interview the biggest names in this field.

  1. 5 HR AGO

    Crisis of Legitimacy: Fourth-Generation Warfare (4GW) as a Tactical Threat to the United States and Global Stability with James Scaminaci III, PhD

    The United States is facing a “crisis of legitimacy”, explained James Scaminaci III, PhD, an expert on fourth-generation psychological warfare. James earned his PhD from Stanford University, specializing in political sociology. I have done two previous interviews with him and wanted him to weigh in on current developments. He has a background as a former U.S. Naval intelligence officer, with specific expertise in the Soviet / Russian fleet. Additionally, James served as a senior civilian intelligence analyst at the European Command’s Joint Analysis Center. I was honored to invite him back to discuss Fourth-Generation Warfare (4GW) and its influence on our current political struggles in the United States and worldwide. He referenced the work of sociologist and political scientist Martin Lipset, who served as chairman on his dissertation committee, “One, the government’s effective, right? It performs well. It does its basic functions. It protects the people and gets the economy moving, etc. Everybody knows what that is, but then he said the second source of stability is the legitimacy of the political system.” James noted other essential factors as well, such as that individual values “are consistent with the values of the political system.” He discussed how the Christian Right currently sees the nation in a “spiritual warfare” scenario, thus exposing a conflict of cohesive values that threatens the legitimate services system. He noted that while this may not be a new phenomenon from a psychological perspective, we may be reaching an inflection point in the direction of destabilization. “The language changes, the means of communication have developed from the fax machine to memes on the internet, but it’s still psychological warfare, and it’s still getting in your mind and undermining the legitimacy of the United States government,” he said. This is a relly important interview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  2. 27 OCT

    Leaving the “Truman Show” of Scientology – with Tory Christman

    Interested in Scientology? Ever watch the “Truman Show” movie with Jim Carrey? Check out this long overdue interview with my longtime friend, the charming and resilient Tory “Magoo” Christman. Tory, was in Scientology for thirty years, had reached the uppermost levels of Hubbard’s “Bridge to Total Freedom,” specifically OT7 (OT8 is the highest) and was involved with John Travolta directly from the beginning of the Celebrity Centre. Ever since exiting after being manipulated by officials to disrupt the Internet group (at the beginning of the internet), ever since realizing the facts about the group, Tory has been devoting her time and energy to helping people get informed- and assisting people when they want to leave. Tory has helped me with clients and has a very active YouTube channel and still does street outreach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 12m

  3. 20 OCT

    Body & Mind Cult: Dahn Yoga and High-Control Tactics With Former Member Alisa Daniels

    When the oldest son of Alisa Daniels had a hockey injury and simply wanted to stay in shape by starting a new yoga practice, she couldn’t have imagined what path this would lead her entire family down. She now seeks to help others become aware of Il Chi Lee’s Dahn Yoga cult, now rebranded as Body & Mind, that drained her family of money and took hold of their lives. On this episode of Cults, Culture & Coercion, I talked with Alisa about the high-control tactics the Korean cult used to influence and entrap her son and herself, as well as other family members. When her son became involved in the Dahn Yoga group, she was concerned and wanted to learn more to stay close to him. This would, unfortunately, be how she also would become deeply involved and ensnared. Then she recruited other family members and the cult got a lot of money. Fortunately, a successful intervention took place and everyone is happy and doing well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min

  4. 13 OCT

    UNRECONCILED: A SOLO PLAY That Empowers Survivors of Catholic Church Childhood Sexual Abuse With Jay Sefton, LMHC

    One of the most powerful tools in healing from childhood sexual abuse is for a survivor to have the opportunity to share their story and truly be heard. Many survivors of early trauma at the hands of Catholic Church Priests went unheard or unbelieved for decades. Several Pennsylvania Grand Jury investigations and media discussions surrounding the findings were one of the first opportunities for many local survivors to recognize the extent of their own abuse fully. It also served to help survivors realize that they were not alone. Jay Sefton was one of these individuals. He experienced childhood sexual abuse by his family’s parish priest, and he is now working to share his story while also empowering others to heal from theirs. Sefton is an actor, playwright, and Licensed Mental Health Counselor living in Easthampton, Massachusetts. He is the co-author and performer of UNRECONCILED, an autobiographical story of an adolescent actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a parish priest. I had the opportunity to see the play performed live. I listened to the discussion afterward, which included the former Boston Globe Editor Marty Baron, who empowered his Spotlight team to pursue the story of the church’s conspiracy to cover up the abuse. The play was amazing and there is a project to help bring it to a much bigger audience. Jay is a licensed mental health counselor and I believe his journey will be an inspiration for many. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min

  5. 6 OCT

    The Girl with the Duck Tattoo with Restaurateur Sarma Melngailis

    In her book, Sarma tells her story of how a successful businesswoman, co-founder and owner of the acclaimed NYC restaurant Pure Food and Wine and the brand One Lucky Duck, could fall for a con artist using a fictitious name, a covert backstory, and fantastical promises. Humans are social beings, and it’s that social aspect that manipulative and abusive characters can learn to exploit for their self-interest. With an increase in online dating and social media, individuals can be exploited relatively easily without knowing who they are really speaking to. Predators can create false identities. They can also buy profile data on a potential victim they wish to exploit. In addition, some unethical people earn money by teaching men how to manipulate women online using neurolinguistic programming (NLP) / hypnosis. With behind-the-times laws on recognizing and prosecuting coercive control in relationships, often victims like Sarma are blamed for criminal actions occurring as a result of abuse. Sarma Melngailis recounts her side of this traumatic story, ultimately culminating in her imprisonment on Rikers Island. She hopes that people who read her book will gain a better understanding of what happened to her and use it to warn others of their own vulnerability to online predators. She wanted to correct the story told in the Netflix documentary “Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.” Exploitative documentaries are often inaccurate, leading to media distortion and public shaming of the survivor.Yes, folks- There ARE one on one cults! Fascinating story.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m

  6. 29 SEPT

    Irene’s Entropy: Coffee as Courage and Ritual as Repair

    In this episode of Cults, Culture & Coercion, I had the pleasure of speaking with Irene of Irene’s Entropy. Irene is a mechanical engineer turned musician, storyteller, pilot, and entrepreneur. Raised in a strict Mormon household where she underwent the experience of a recruitment mission, she left in her early 20s. She began documenting the honest rebuild of her identity as Irene’s Entropy.Her work blends songs, narrative, and a recurring symbol, a red door, through which she “walks” whenever she’s ready to learn and change. She calls her audience Door Walkers, and even launched Door Walker Coffee, a liberating nod to the Mormons’ coffee prohibition. Her ongoing experience as an ex-Mormon informs her work today, and Irene’s most vivid description of undue influence comes from her time as a missionary. She explains that the Missionary Training Center (MTC) is where scripts are drilled and identity is re-molded. Irene felt a strong need to reinvent herself after feeling the Mormon church had superimposed an identity onto her. After an intense reevaluation period, Irene decided to walk through the red door. Challenging herself to a new field of study, she pursued an engineering degree and worked up to an aerospace career to prove she could. Other critical personal changes followed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m

  7. 22 SEPT

    Compassion Over Conversion: Continuing Science-based Research for Queer and Trans Health with Matthew D. Skinta PhD ABPP

    Compassion, empathy, and science have all been under rapid-fire attack during the second Trump Administration. This is especially true towards Queer and Transgender communities, though other minority communities within the United States are also being targeted. Dr. Matthew D. Skinta, PhD, ABPP, is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Affiliated Faculty of Women and Gender Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He helped us better understand what areas of the science community are being targeted, what research projects have been cancelled, and on what grounds. We also discussed the discrimination against individuals who identify with diversity, equity, and inclusion principles surrounding topics of gender and gender nonconformity. We talked about “conversion therapy” which attempts to brainwash folks to believe they are straight and how it doesn’t work. Matthew and I met at a Harvard conference for psychedelic assisted therapy. This was a fascinating interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr

  8. 15 SEPT

    Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR with John Andrew Collins

    Radicalization, and the Minnesota Murder Cases John Collins grew up inside William Branham’s “Message” world, left it, then spent years mapping how the theology and network morphed into today’s authoritarian ecosystems. I welcomed him back to The Influence Continuum to speak about the murders and share his knowledge surrounding the twisted networks of doctrine and influence that may have influenced them. Collins’ most recent book is Weaponized Religion: From Christian Identity to the NAR. Author and webmaster of William Branham: Historical Research, John was born and raised in William Branham’s “The Message” cult following and is the grandson of Willard Collins, former pastor of William Branham’s “Branham Tabernacle” in Jeffersonville, Indiana. When we did the recording and broke the story about Boelter’s link to the extremist group, we got a message on my YouTube from Boelter’s former baseball buddy and floormate at college, who witnessed his radicalization. Jeff Petricka consented to a recorded interview on my YouTube channel. John’s story hits an essential point about brainwashing while growing up. He was taught such an extremist form of obedience that he was told if Branham said the sky was pink, his eyes were wrong. He was corporally punished regularly. He told me leaving felt like being air-dropped from a North Korean camp into the United States, where nothing is familiar. His deconstruction took years. With human resilience and persistence, John worked to heal himself and help others. John was told stringed instruments were “of the devil.” Today, he keeps his drums in the frame and every video on purpose, and I can see at least 8 (if not more!) stringed instruments on his wall. A really important interview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m
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Steven Hassan, PhD, is one of the leading experts on cults and undue influence in the world. A former member of the right-wing Moonie cult, Hassan was deprogrammed 45 years ago and has dedicated his life to helping people out of cults and destructive situations. Dr. Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and has written four books, including The Cult of Trump and the seminal book Combating Cult Mind Control. On this podcast, Steve will explain HOW mind-control works, and how to protect yourself from its grips. He will also address ethical influence as the podcast will address the entire Influence Continuum. He’ll interview the biggest names in this field.

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