157. CULTS: How NXIVM Controlled Women & How Sarah Edmondson Helped Take It Down

We Can Do Hard Things

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A lot of these leaders know that people won't talk about it as I am now because there's so much shame involved. And they were part of not something that was good or though there was good, but was also very, very bad. So when they're saying, "Keith is good," what they mean is no, I'm good. No, Keith is good. You know, that bad stuff's not true. That's all evidence planted by the FBI on the, all those women are lying. All of them are making it up. We'll be back next time with Sarah Edmondson.

1. How attending a personal development training at a Holiday Inn led to Sarah being branded in a sex "secret sisterhood" initiation ceremony.

2. Her path from top recruiter to the whistleblower who helped take down the cult and its leader Keith Ranieri.

3. Why we’re all susceptible to cult culture – the need for belonging, the temptation of simplification, and how we’re trained to deny our gut instincts.

CW: Discussion of cult culture and sexual coercion

About Sarah:

Sarah Edmondson is an actor, podcaster, author, and cult-recovery advocate.

Sarah has starred in a number of TV series, yet she is most recently known for her real-life saga escaping the multi-level marketing company NXIVM – and DOS, a “secret sisterhood” within NXIVM – which can also be seen on HBO’s The Vow. Sarah’s memoir Scarred shares her true story from the moment she joined NXIVM, to her harrowing fight to get out and bring its founder to justice. Sarah co-hosts the podcast A Little Bit Culty with her husband Anthony ‘Nippy’ Ames, and lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons.

TW: @sarahjedmondson

IG: @sarahedmondson

Sarah’s resource page: https://www.sarahedmondson.com/resources

Steven Hassan’s BITE model: https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/

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