38 episodes

The new-age & holistic wellness world is all about love, light, authenticity and wellness for all, right? Not always. Love & Light Confessionals, formerly Kumbaya Confessional, is the insider exposé on the bizarre epidemics of the crunchy hippie world: cults, spiritual charlatans, toxic positivity culture, illegal pyramid schemes, fad diets and more.
Hosted by holistic wellness practitioner Katya Weiss-Andersson of the Queer Wellness Podcast, theme music by Will Shishmanian, logo by Nikkita Tetreault. To support this work, go to patreon.com/katyaweissandersson

Love & Light Confessionals Katya Weiss-Andersson

    • Health & Fitness
    • 4.5 • 245 Ratings

The new-age & holistic wellness world is all about love, light, authenticity and wellness for all, right? Not always. Love & Light Confessionals, formerly Kumbaya Confessional, is the insider exposé on the bizarre epidemics of the crunchy hippie world: cults, spiritual charlatans, toxic positivity culture, illegal pyramid schemes, fad diets and more.
Hosted by holistic wellness practitioner Katya Weiss-Andersson of the Queer Wellness Podcast, theme music by Will Shishmanian, logo by Nikkita Tetreault. To support this work, go to patreon.com/katyaweissandersson

    The Fall of the Coaching Industry

    The Fall of the Coaching Industry

    Despite what most coaches would have you to believe, many of them are struggling to make the kind of money and bring in the kind of engagement, attention and enrollment they used to. Why is the coaching industry crumbling? To answer that question, we delve into several more: Why do people say the coaching industry is a giant pyramid scheme? What should people do if they feel that they've been scammed by their coach? And what's about ethical coaches?
    Clinical input and research courtesy of Mary Claire Ferachi (MA, LPC, LAC) and Katie Smith (MA, LPC, MFT-C)
    Theme music by Will Shishmanian

    • 1 hr 23 min
    The Wellness Perfectionism Plague

    The Wellness Perfectionism Plague

    What happens when spirituality and wellness-related tools end up giving us material for obsessive and unhealthy fixations?

    • 21 min
    Uncanceled: Surviving Susun Weed

    Uncanceled: Surviving Susun Weed

    Susun Weed is a well-known herbalist living on a farm in Upstate New York. For decades, her survivors have told stories of being beaten, broken down, drugged and trafficked by her while paying for her courses and apprenticeships, yet Susun remains praised and platformed in the American herbalism community. How can this be, when so many (including law enforcement) have known about her abuse for so long?

    • 58 min
    How the Grift is Grifted

    How the Grift is Grifted

    How exactly do new-age and wellness influencers successfully convince people to give them so much money? This episode explores nine specific sales tactics, from love-bombing to prosperity gospel

    • 40 min
    The Sisterhood of the Sacred No Homo

    The Sisterhood of the Sacred No Homo

    Guess what- most of those divine femininity influencer ladies? sleep with each other. all the time. While simultaneously building brands off of content that only acknowledges the validity of heterosexual relationships.
     
    This is the story of how a community that claims to accept everyone manages to be homophobic as hell.

    • 35 min
    Homeopathy

    Homeopathy

    wtf is homeopathy? Does it refer to all holistic health practices, or one modality in particular? How is it different from herbalism? And most importantly, does it have any credibility? 

    • 30 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
245 Ratings

245 Ratings

Ashley_Lynne ,

Currently binging, and annoying all my friends talking about it

This podcast is excellent, and honestly, required listening for anyone who spends time online or follows self-help/spiritual influencers. It explains things that you see every day but don’t even know you’re seeing. It also gives clear language to the intuitive “why am I feeling this way,” discomfort and turn-off at all of the success stories and big names online. Cannot stop listening and rehashing. Can’t recommend enough!

Stazja G ,

Amazing

This podcast is literally everything!!!!!!!

Rebecca Tabatzky LAc. ,

A Needed & Refreshing Lens

I’m a bit late to this party (incidentally sad that there are no current episodes, sniff). Like others, I have been actively listening my way through all episodes; it’s hard to stop when it’s just so riveting & relevant. It was the Uncanceled episode that brought me, off the blogspot no less, I got THAT memo. How the Grift is Grifted is quite a remarkable piece. Well researched & oftentimes elegantly scathing, you provide a much needed critique & exploration of woo-sphere topics. I’ve watched it spiral over the last 30 years & can equally share a few choice words (Jivamukti anyone?). I so appreciate your lens, voice & passion - KEEP GOING!

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