Almost Adulting with Violet Benson Cult Survivors: NXIVM ft. Sarah Edmondson and Nippy
Continuing with cult month, today we are diving into the world of NXIVM where we welcome two survivors turned whistleblowers of a very famous cult masked as an MLM company. NXIVM became widely known during their high profile RICO case involving celebrities, billionaire heiresses, and the FBI.
This week on Almost Adulting, Violet speaks with Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames, hosts of A Little Bit Culty podcast and former members of NXIVM. Founded by Keith Raniere, NXIVM posed themselves as a self-improvement group, only to later be exposed as a “sex cult” by extorting, sex trafficking, and implementing force labor upon its members. Sarah and Nippy open up about the details of how they were lured into NXIVM, what it was like on the inside, and the horrifying secrets they discovered after Sarah was forcibly branded. Sarah and Nippy tell the story of how they were integral to the downfall of NXIVM and the arrest of its leaders. The couple is also recently featured in HBO’s The Vow, a documentary diving into the world of NXIVM, and Sarah is also the author of Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life.
TW: sexual abuse
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What to Listen For:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 01:06 What is NXIVM?
- 02:24 All cults have a mission of ‘saving the world’
- 07:54 “That will not happen to me.”
- 10:28 Why is it important for cults to isolate themselves?
- 12:38 NXIVM is a personality cult
- 17:22 How did it become an MLM cult?
- 23:39 Ranking within the cult
- 27:56 Feeling guilty for recruiting people
- 33:04 The women sub-group: DOS
- 42:12 When women take advantage of other women
- 45:11 Triggering the downfall of the cult
- 48:10 Removing the branding
- 49:56 Are there any people right now that should be in jail?
Connect with Sarah and Nippy on:
- A Little Bit Culty
- Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life
- Sarah Edmondson
- Anthony Ames
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