Gabriel of Urantia: The So-Called Prophet from Pittsburgh

Joseph L. Flatley
  • 4.8 (26)
  • Society & Culture

Investigating an American UFO cult

Episodes

  1. Aug 15 ·  Bonus

    Introducing The Inner Empire

    From Joseph L. Flatley, author of New Age Grifter and creator of The So-Called Prophet from Pittsburgh THE INNER EMPIRE is a podcast that pulls together a lot of what I’ve spent years reporting on and thinking about: cults, the occult, conspiracy culture, and the platforms that have inserted themselves directly into our daily life. Here’s the simplest way I can put it: for five hundred years, people have known how to install a belief in someone’s mind: magicians did it with ritual and symbol, cults did it with repetition and isolation, ad men did it with images. What’s changed is that the same basic mechanism now runs automatically, every time you open an app, with nobody at the controls. This show is about tracing that mechanism across history and figuring out how it ended up running our lives without anyone deciding it should. Enjoy this introduction. Be sure to subscribe so you can hear new episodes when are released. Available wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to sign up for my newsletter, Failed State Update: ⁠⁠https://lennyflatley.substack.com/⁠

    Introducing The Inner Empire

  2. 08/26/2021

    BONUS: New Age Grifter

    Joshua Lilly is a former follower of Gabriel of Urantia, the subject of this podcast as well as my latest book, New Age Grifter. He’s also something of a “fan favorite,” so — due to popular demand — I am giving him an (almost 2 hours long!) episode of my FAILED STATE UPDATE podcast to tell us about his life and times in (and out of) a religious cult. This is a preview of an episode for FAILED STATE UPDATE newsletter subscribers. To subscribe for free, go to: https://lennyflatley.substack.com/ My book on the group, titled New Age Grifter: The True Story of Gabriel of Urantia and his Cosmic Family is available now on Amazon.

  3. 02/18/2020

    Part 8: Mr. Image Man

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 This is the final episode of the series (for now) and probably the best one yet. It's definitely the most upsetting. Topics covered include incidents of sexual abuse and the mistreatment of children in the GCCA. I also take a trip to the guru's childhood home and recount the story of his former son-in-law (and how he wound up in prison).Thanks for listening. And don't unsubscribe, as I'll be uploading plenty of bonus content into the near future.Warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual abuse.

    Part 8: Mr. Image Man

  4. 02/11/2020

    Part 7: Celestial Healing

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 What are the spiritual implications of hydrogen and oxygen? How does the GCCA make its money? And what (or who) does this group have in common with the infamous California rehab cult Synanon? These questions and more will be answered on this episode of The So-Called Prophet From Pittsburgh.

    Part 7: Celestial Healing

  5. 02/04/2020

    Part 6: David / Alveed

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 David (cosmic name: Alveed) was a member of Gabriel's Aquarian Concepts Community from 1999-2009. In this interview, we talk about how he came to join the community, its use of coercive psychology, and how he fled with his son after ten years of cult life.

    Part 6: David / Alveed

  6. 01/28/2020

    Part 5: Personal Transmission

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 When Gabriel of Urantia makes contact with the voices in his head, he calls this a "transmission." Sometimes these messages are meant for a particular member of his cult—this is a "personal transmission," and it is quite an honor. In this episode, various members of the Negative Network will give us their theories about the nature of this phenomenon. We will also hear from someone who knew Gabriel in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Lastly, we will meet Joshua Lilly, an ex-follower of Gabriel who lost his family to Gabriel's cult.

    Part 5: Personal Transmission

  7. 01/21/2020

    Part 4: Aquarian Concepts

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 The Global Community Communications Alliance was founded in 1989 under its original name, Aquarian Concepts Community. In this episode, we talk to one early member about community life. We also speak to cult expert Rick Alan Ross about cults in general and Gabriel's in particular, before learning about the revelation that Gabriel has adopted, The Urantia Book.

    Part 4: Aquarian Concepts

  8. 01/14/2020

    Part 3: The Shift

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 Sanskrita DellErba is the daughter of Gabriel and Niann, the founders of the Global Community Communications Alliance. In this episode, she tells us where the cult came from and what it was like to grow up in that environment—and shares a lot of stories about her father in the process. We also hear from people who knew Gabriel and Niann before they were the highest spiritual beings on the planet.

    Part 3: The Shift

  9. 01/07/2020

    Part 2: The Negative Network

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 The first full-length episode begins with a trip to Gabriel's compound. After that, a former follower and one of Gabriel's most outspoken critics, Laird Scott, talks about discovering, joining, and eventually fleeing the group. Finally, a former colleague of Gabriel talks about working with him in Tucson in the 1970s.

    Part 2: The Negative Network

  10. 01/06/2020

    Part 1: Series introduction

    My new book about Gabriel of Urantia is available for preorder on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Grifter-Gabriel-Urantia/dp/1627311106 The So-Called Prophet from Pittsburgh is Gabriel of Urantia, a self-proclaimed holy man who currently presides over a spiritual community (some call it a cult) in the desert of Southern Arizona. In a fenced-in compound, three generations of the Global Community Communications Alliance soak in Gabriel's teachings as they wait for the end of the world. Join investigative journalist Joseph L. Flatley as he travels around the country, speaking to Gabriel's ex-followers, cult experts, and people who knew him before he was a so-called prophet. You'll learn why people join a group like this, why they stay as long as they do, and the challenges they face when they decide to leave. And you’ll hear some groovy music in the process. In the premiere episode, we meet Tony Delevin from Pittsburgh. He first started hearing voices in the 1980s, after his second marriage fell apart. Eventually, the voices told him to change his name to Gabriel and move to Arizona, where he lives today with his 100-plus followers.

    Part 1: Series introduction
  • 10 Episodes

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Investigating an American UFO cult

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