A Little Bit Culty

A Little Bit Culty – If the producers of Tiger King decide to make their next true crime show about you, you’ve got a helluva story. Sarma Melngailis is the woman at the heart of “Bad Vegan” the buzzworthy Netflix docu-series that chronicles her meteoric rise to fame, and her disturbing crash and burn from celebrity chef to fugitive. It’s the stuff of clickbait gold, but beyond the headlines, there’s usually more to it. And Sarma’s story is, you guessed it: More than a little bit culty. We don’t want to spoil anything, but there’s a Keith Raniere-esque player involved in this epic fail. Sarma fell under the sway of a gambler with a criminal past who slid into her Twitter DMs with shady moves straight out of the NXIVM playbook, and then she married him. Cue the alleged gaslighting, sleep deprivation, and sexual humiliation. Pro-tip: If you’ve come to believe that your pit bull is on the cusp of being made immortal: you’ve probably been mindfucked. Sarma’s got a lot to say now that those Netflix cameras aren’t rolling, and she’s only speaking to us. Official website: sarmaraw.com Twitter: @sarma Instagram: @sarmamelngailis Support the ALBC Pod: This podcast thing is a labor of love, but we also like money just fine. By listener request from you magical beasts that download our show every week, we’ve made a link where you can support A Little Bit Culty with a one-time, weekly, or monthly contribution. Your support will be repaid in cosmic love and light. To make a contribution and help us keep this pod rolling, just smash this link. Other Semi-Important and/or Critical Things You Should Know: 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. For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Check out our Linktree to sign up for our mailing list. We’ve got some fun things coming your way soon. It rhymes with T-shirts. Okay, it’s t-shirts. – CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – There’s a dark cloud hanging over the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement, and our guest today wants you to know about it. Eric Skwarczynski is the host and creator of the Preacher Boys podcast, which is a platform for survivors’ stories and the basis of an upcoming documentary film about a deeply disturbing pattern of sexual predation and abuse claims within  the IFB. Eric joins us to talk about blowing the whistle on the IFB, what sucks about purity culture (hint: everything), and what it will take to create a sea change among current congregants, leaders, and pastors. He also gives us the scoop on his new podcast: Figuring it Out which currently features life advice from Shaq (!!!) Also be warned: This episode contains graphic descriptions of child abuse and other completely fucking horrifying stuff. It will disturb you, and probably make you pretty irate. It made us shakey mad and more than a little sick to our stomachs to research this thing. (What the actual fuck, IFB. Get your shit together.) Here’s Spirit of Fear,  the Fort Worth Star-Telegram expose that was published in 2018, which we quote early in the episode. Support the ALBC Pod: This podcast thing is a labor of love, but we also like money just fine. By listener request from you magical beasts that download our show every week, we’ve made a link where you can support A Little Bit Culty with a one-time, weekly, or monthly contribution. Your support will be repaid in cosmic love and light. To make a contribution and help us keep this pod rolling, just smash this link. Other Semi-Important and/or Critical Things You Should Know: 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. For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Check out our Linktree to sign up for our mailing list. We’ve got some fun things coming your way soon. It rhymes with T-shirts. Okay, it’s t-shirts. – CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – This episode is a little bit different. Author Miranda Beverly-Whittemore is not a former cult member or a cult awareness expert like most of our guests, but her novel Fierce Little Thing weaves a culty tale that almost makes you think she is. It’s a little like “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” except in this case, it’s “I Know What You Did When You Were a Teenager 20 Summers Ago While Living on a Survivalist Commune Run by a Charismatic Maniac in Rural Maine.” She joins Sarah and Nippy to talk about communes, cult fiction, and how “The Vow” inspired the cultiverse of her latest story. About Our Guest: Miranda Beverly-Whittemore is the New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet, June, and Set Me Free. A recipient of the Crazyhorse Prize in Fiction, she lives and writes in Brooklyn. Learn more at her official website And follow her on Instagram or linger beneath her linktree a while. ~ 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. ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – Jon Atack wants to help you protect yourself from the human predators who roam among us, and believes that every bad relationship, every destructive group, and every dangerous government has a human predator at its heart. This conversation was recorded several months ago, but it feels a bit prescient now that Putin is raining hellfire on Kyiv. The author, academic, and former Operating Thetan Section V chats with Sarah and Nippy about why it seems like psychopaths are running the world, and why he still has hope that humanity can turn things around in spite of itself. About Jon Atack: Our guest today is one of the only court-appointed expert witnesses on Scientology, and his book: Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky, about the early history of the church, is cited by academics all over the world. Jon was a ‘public’ Scientologist for nine years, trained as a counselor, and even did the secret ‘OT’ levels, but ditched it when he discovered appalling, aggressive behavior towards members. In addition to his work podcasting as a Scientology mythbuster  and using his Instagram account to help educate people on overcoming things like manipulation, destructive cults, and abusive relationships, he’s written several novels, including Voodoo Child (Slight Return), inspired by the life and downfall of Jimi Hendrix. By the look of all the fair gaming sites out there, he’s also a Marvel-esque villain who deeply hurts Scientology’s feelie weelies. This dastardly fellow lives in a charming village near Nottingham, England where, as Voltaire advised, he cultivates his garden. Exactly what a Marvel villain would do. ~ 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. ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – He’s just one guy, but there’s so much culty shit flying around Bentinho Massaro that our first episode went into extra innings.  Part two of our spotlight on the International Man of Alleged Assholery continues with Jade Alectra, Keilan McNeil, and Jacqueline Graham  taking us into the pivotal moments that helped them wake up, pack up, and peace out of his toxic basecamp. They also share why they’re speaking out, even though it is all still painful AF; what’s helping them heal; and where they’re finding the joys of life after Bentinho. Blessed be the whistleblowers. ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – Imagine a narsty blend of an Instagram influencer, spiritual huxter, Winklevoss twin, and Hugh Hefner’s ghost. These are the vibes that Bentinho Massaro is serving. He’s got all the scary charisma and shiny trappings of a culty overachiever, like thousands of social media followers, a grandiose plan to build a fully enlightened society by 2035, and he even claims to vibrate at a higher frequency than other humans. He’s also already achieved a rite of passage that’s becoming all too common among culty fuckwads: His name in headlines concerning the suspicious death of one of his followers at a Sedona retreat. Our trio of guests in this double episode whistleblower extravaganza are coming forward to call bullshit on Bentinho’s special brand of mindfuckery. Jade Alectra, Keilan McNeil, and Jacqueline Graham were pulled into his mad world, and got themselves out. But they aren’t going radio silent. Oh hell no. Because they want you to know that this so-called millennial spiritual guru is less of a messiah and more of a walking, talking human Fyre Festival. In part one, Jade, Keilan, and Jacqueline share what made Bentinho seem so alluring and transformational at first, and what happened when shit started getting real.  ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – Speaking of soul-crushing scams that exploit the basic human need for love and belonging, we’ve got a doozy of a Valentine’s Day episode for you. We’re not labeling the organization at the heart of this episode a cult, but we are asking our guest Keely Griffin if loving and leaving Twin Flames Universe was the bad trip that reports published by Vanity Fair, Vice, and Daily Mail make it sound. Once a devotee of TFU, Keely shares what made the YouTubey, Facebooky spiritual community sound promising at first, just how quickly it went to the Upside Down, and how she’s coming back from the whole shitshow now that she’s out of its grips. Oh and just FYI, the list of what TFU officially disputes about its bad press practically writes our show notes for us: They dispute that they promote harassment and stalking. They dispute that they engage in exploitative and cult-like practices. They dispute that they coerce members into changing their gender. A Little Bit Culty, on the other hand, does not dispute that the whole TFU vibe makes us want to throw up in our mouths a little bit. Happy Freakin’ Valentine’s Day. ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames. Production Partner: Citizens of Sound.  Producer: Will Retherford Associate Producer: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Additional Music Score by Will Retherford Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – Part 2 of our conversation with Alice Grecycn, the author of Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare & Sexual Purity delves into the neuroscience of belief, what’s so cringe toxic religion, and what happens when mystical experiences bite you in the ass. We also cover sexual hangups, Seth Rogen, and culty summer camps. Content alert: Alice also shares her point of view on why it’s hard to see certain sacred texts as anything other than a manual for aspiring sadistic, narcissistic, cult leaders. But don’t mistake her frankness for sh*tting on people of faith. She’s just looking out for you. About Today’s Guest: Alice Greczyn is an actress, author, and founder of Dare to Doubt. Midwest-raised and LA-based, Alice's nomadic childhood moved her around the United States until her modeling career as a teenager led to an acting career in Hollywood. She’s fascinated by the subjective experience of life, which she explores through acting and storytelling. Her own story includes a painful yet rewarding transition from Christianity to atheism, a journey that inspired her to found DaretoDoubt.org, a resource site for people detaching from belief systems they come to fnd harmful. Encouraging people to trust themselves and live courageously in their own truth is what gives Alice a sense of purpose. She lives in Los Angeles and loves hiking, traveling, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Learn more about her at her official website or get regular missives from her via her Substack. instagram.com/alicegreczyn instagram.com/daretodoubt/ twitter.com/alicefood  twitter.com/daretodoubt  ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty ~ Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – If you’ve ever felt trapped by the dictates of a high-demand group or an expression of religion that no longer felt true; or you find yourself feeling lonely and abandoned after a loss of faith, Alice Grecyzn has your back. The author of Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare & Sexual Purity joins Sarah and Nippy to speak about her painful but rewarding journey out of Evangelical Christianity, what it means to recover from religious trauma, and what’s rotten at the core about purity culture. About Today’s Guest: Alice Greczyn is an actress, author, and founder of Dare to Doubt. Midwest-raised and LA-based, Alice's nomadic childhood moved her around the United States until her modeling career as a teenager led to an acting career in Hollywood. She’s fascinated by the subjective experience of life, which she explores through acting and storytelling. Her own story includes a painful yet rewarding transition from Christianity to atheism, a journey that inspired her to found DaretoDoubt.org, a resource site for people detaching from belief systems they come to fnd harmful. Encouraging people to trust themselves and live courageously in their own truth is what gives Alice a sense of purpose. She lives in Los Angeles and loves hiking, traveling, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Learn more about her at her official website or get regular missives from her via her Substack. instagram.com/alicegreczyn instagram.com/daretodoubt/ twitter.com/alicefood  twitter.com/daretodoubt  ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Little Bit Culty – It sure is good to see Mark Vicente back in the saddle again. In Part 2, he shares what happened during his last conversation with Keith Raniere, how he’s defragged his brain since he helped burn ol’ Dead Eyes’ playhouse down, and what the bleep he’s working on next. Oh, and there is bountiful ass-chapping. More about today’s guest:  Author, speaker, and award-winning director Mark Vicente was behind the sleeper hit “What The Bleep Do We Know?!” Born in South Africa in 1965, Mark took his first photograph at age four and discovered his passion for being behind the camera. After working his way up the ranks of the camera department, his first big break came as Cinematographer on the musical “SARAFINA,” starring Whoopi Goldberg. In 1992, he relocated to Los Angeles to shoot his first studio picture for Disney entitled “FATHERHOOD” From a very young age he found himself propelled to question beliefs about the human condition. His filmmaking activism led him to make a number of films, including ‘Encender el Corazon’, about the rampant kidnapping epidemic in Mexico. It was a bittersweet victory; the film touched people deeply, but was by association supporting NXIVM.  He made the difficult decision to pull the film from distribution and, with a small band of whistleblowers, expose their criminal enterprise.  Mark’s since developed a keen  interest in exposing the coercive and duplicitous environments of high-control groups. His memoir: ‘QUEST’ or ‘How the BLEEP did that happen?!’ will be released shortly. It chronicles the many untold stories of what occurred in NXIVM , as well as he and his wife Bonnie’s harrowing campaign to escape and expose the organization.  He’s also in production on a film about malignant narcissism, narcissistic abuse, and trauma bonding which exposes abusive strategies. He’s still looking for real life stories for his film, anyone who would like to share their story can reach out to him at his official website. instagram.com/markvicente twitter.com/markvicente facebook.com/markvicente tiktok.com/@mark_vicente ~ 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. ~ A Little Bit Culty is proud to support the #IGOTOUT project, which empowers survivors of cultic abuse to share their stories online as a catalyst for education, prevention, and healing. Learn more at igotout.org ~ For more information on A Little Bit Culty and co-hosts Sarah Edmondson and Nippy “Anthony” Ames, visit our official website at alittlebitculty.com. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @alittlebitculty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.