Mara Einstein's "Hoodwinked" delves into the manipulative tactics employed by marketers, drawing parallels between their strategies and those of cults. The book reveals how seemingly innocuous brands and organizations leverage our social and emotional needs to control our beliefs and behaviors. Einstein exposes the underlying architectures of cult marketing, highlighting the recurring patterns of recruitment, manipulation, and control. The book serves as a wake-up call, urging readers to recognize and resist these tactics in various aspects of modern life, from marketing to politics. Ultimately, "Hoodwinked" empowers readers to become more discerning consumers and citizens.
Sarah Edmondson's "Scarred" provides a harrowing firsthand account of her experiences within the NXIVM cult. The book details the manipulative tactics used by the organization's leaders to recruit and control members, including the use of branding and emotional manipulation. Edmondson shares her journey from initial involvement to eventual escape, highlighting the psychological and emotional challenges she faced. The memoir offers a powerful exposé of the cult's inner workings and serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of manipulative groups. It also provides valuable insights into the process of recovery and healing from cult trauma.
In *The Instability of Truth*, Rebecca Lemov delves into the history of brainwashing, tracing its evolution from physical coercion in North Korean camps to the subtle manipulation of social media algorithms. The book offers insights into how mind control techniques have been used across various contexts, including military, cults, and digital platforms, highlighting the emotional roots and paradoxes of these methods.
This book is the result of twenty years of meticulous research by Tom O'Neill, who questions the Helter Skelter scenario presented by Vincent Bugliosi. O'Neill's investigation delves into police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. The book explores the connections between Charles Manson, Hollywood figures, and the CIA's mind-control experiments, presenting a complex and alternative view of the Manson murders and their place in American history.
This week, we’re back with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov to finish what we started: unraveling the tangled web of brainwashing…past, present, and disturbingly future-facing.
In Part 2, we go deeper into the CIA’s infamous MK Ultra program and its many (many) spin-offs, asking what really went down with Charles Manson, Jack Ruby, and cult “consultant” Louis Jolyon West. From LSD to hypnosis to rebranding your science after burning the files, the government’s experiments in mind control were both extreme and incredibly hush-hush.
We also explore how classic brainwashing tactics, like Milieu Control and loaded language, haven’t gone away; they’ve just been re-skinned for the algorithm era. Think social media rabbit holes, crypto trading cults, and belief systems that sound more like start-up pitches than spiritual awakenings.
Plus, we talk trauma: how it’s misunderstood, under-acknowledged, and all too often the gateway drug into high-control groups.
If you thought last week was unsettling, buckle up.
Find more about Rebecca Lemov and The Instability of Truth at rebeccalemov.com.
Also… let it be known that:
The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Amphibian.Media
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media
Audio production: Red Caiman Studios
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin
A Little Bit Culty 
