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

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/