Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan

There has been a huge increase in Christian “Bible” Cults over the past 40 plus years- especially ones that do “Shepherding or Dicipling” in an authoritarian structure. The public doesnt understand how millions of people are deceptively recruited and indoctrinated into these groups and why they are called “cults.” One such cult network started in Massachusetts in 1979 as “the Boston Church of Christ” and are not to be confused with the mainline Church of Christ or the United Church of Christ. This group uses BITE Model methods to recruit and indoctrinate followers to follow the top leader as an “apostle or prophet” or “God’s chosen man to lead Christianity on earth. Unlike legitimate Christian churches this cult claims to be the “only” path to salvation and demands people subit and obey a discpling partner as if they were Jesus. Their lives and free will are taken over by involvement with this group. REcruiting other, giving money, abandoning education and careers, even family are part of the playbook. Tania Diaz was recruited as an 18 college student in Mexico and spent over 20 years. She and her husband were groomed to recruit countless Hispanics into this cult. She would rise through the church’s ranks, only escaping nearly thirty years later to become an anti-cult activist, self-compassion advocate, and host of a podcast dedicated to survivors of religious abuse, Voces: Espacio Sagrado para Sobrevivientes de Abuso Religioso (In English, Voices: A Sacred Space for Survivors of Religious Abuse) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Finch, a Doctor of Math and Theoretical Physics, shares his riveting journey from devotion to disillusionment after spending 30 years under the influence of guru Prem Rawat. He dives deep into the psychological dynamics of cults, exploring how belief systems can trap individuals. Mike discusses the transformative power of personal reflection and the importance of critical thinking in breaking free from authority. He also unpacks the connections between meditation and cult experiences while advocating for a spiritual journey rooted in personal discovery rather than dogma.

Hannah Arendt’s 1963 book, “The Banality of Evil,” is actually wrong. It portrayed the lie Eichmann told when he was on trial. He said that he was “just following orders.” Arendt got conned. Eichmann was a true believer in Hitler’s final solution and a committed Anti-Semite. On this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I spoke with accomplished Israeli filmmaker Yariv Mozer about his award-winning series The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes documenting senior Nazi SS officer Adolf Eichmann’s role as architect in the planning and implementation of the Holocaust’s Final Solution. We also discussed Mozer’s latest Emmy Award winning documentary, the Paramount+ movie, We Will Dance Again, based on footage, facts, and stories from the October 7th, 2023, Nova Festival, in which Hamas militants suddenly attacked Israel. He is a third-generation descendant of Holocaust survivors from his mother’s family, which he noted was an essential aspect of his story and identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monte Mader grew up in a Christian Nationalist family where indoctrination and abuse were ever-present. I became a fan of her powerful voice as she eviscerated the lies of Christian Dominionism, Christian Nationalism, and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) using her knowledge of scripture and Christian ideologies. She has over a million followers on Instagram as a “former alt-right Christian nationalist,” sharing her artistic talent and complex views to dispel widely believed radical Republican doctrine. She brings this knowledge forward and finds ways to bridge communications from her upbringing within a controlling but also highly influential alt-right family from Wyoming. She now shares the deconstruction of her childhood and aspects of her healing journey in several venues, including a new memoir she’s working on. Her experiences are also reflected in her music as a “Rocky Mountain rock artist” living in Nashville, Tennessee. She writes songs and performs with her band, The Big Sky. She is so talented and is an inspiration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a captivating discussion, Brian L. Cutler, a leading expert in forensics and social psychology, dives into how outdated laws fail to address the complexities of human behavior and social influence. He reveals the psychological mechanisms behind false confessions, the coercive tactics used during police interrogations, and the power of conformity in both historical and digital contexts. Cutler also examines media's role in shaping belief systems and the dangers of biased information, emphasizing the need for critical thinking in today's society.

“Our brain is a like a VR headset. That’s what it is. It renders incoming data streams to interpret different worlds,” David explained. He proposed that we already live in a symbolic universe, such as the trash can on a desktop being merely a symbol of an action taken on a computer. “VR is a much better model to explain what our brains do,” he continued. David Christopher Lane, PhD and I discussed his experiences with the worlds of Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and neuroscience. I noted that technology could be used for good or evil and that it is essential to have responsible, ethical guidelines for such tools. David agreed, “The bad actors using AI, just like the internet, allowed lots of people to have voices that probably should never have had voices.” He then mentioned how podcasters such as Joe Rogan broadcast a lot of messages that are “not credentialed, not great historians, believing in all sorts of weird stuff.” We spoke about developmental psychology and ideas of mature self-knowledge, including values and beliefs that allow us to investigate and evolve our systems of consciousness and decision-making. David noted that in his critical thinking class, they discussed how one becomes a good critical thinker. “It is our ability and willingness to admit to being wrong or mistaken.” This is a fascinating discussion. AI is here and will get more prominent. Come listen and learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The highly watched Netflix 2018 documentary Wild Wild Country for people “in the know” was terribly biased. There were no former members. No cult experts. The two people featured were still “true believers in the cult leader, Rajneesh–who was rebranded after his expulsion from the United States as Osho. This cult took over the small town of Antelope, Oregon through deceit and the commune was the relocation from Pune India, where the cult leader had with a history of legal problems, including owing back taxes and claims of drug smuggling. What was missing was what it was actually like to live at the ashram as a child, like Sarito Carroll did til the commune was disbanded due to criminal activities. On this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I spoke with Sarito Carroll, about her 2024 memoir In the Shadow of Enlightenment: A Girl’s Journey Through the Osho Rajneesh Cult, to hear and share more of the real story of what it was like growing up within the cult. Sarito is a passionate writer who was initiated into the cult by Rajneesh himself at nine years old in the late 1970s. She described her latest books as exploring “the complexities of belonging, trauma, the struggle to break free of cultic ties, and the long journey towards self-acceptance.” The book follows her journey to exit the cult and eventually begin a career as a technical writer and attain her Master of Science in Chinese Medicine in 2007, despite never attaining a proper education through the cult. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of Public Health depends on protection against unrestrained corporate power. A sicker humanity means increased pain and suffering at large. In the past, we have identified numerous exposures that have made us sick, many of which are addictive, and created shield laws to protect the corporations that peddle them. We also know it’s our most toxic addictions that are killing the planet and its people currently, whether due to climate crisis or ingesting harmful chemical substances. When Big Tobacco tried to convince the world that ingesting tar and nicotine made people healthier (“9 out of 10 doctors smoke Camels”), science revealed otherwise and insisted upon laws to regulate the industry more closely. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L suggests that we consider a similar strategy for sugar, particularly the fructose or refined fructose molecules commonly found to be overdosing society through packaged products. Per his biography, he wants to help “fix the food supply any way he can.” Lustig explaine that one of the essential patterns to recognize in battling addiction is the dichotomy between pleasure vs. happiness. Dr. Lustig is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. He is a neuroendocrinologist with expertise in obesity, diabetes, metabolism, and nutrition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I discussed the steady rise of Pentecostal Christianity with award-winning journalist and author Elle Hardy. Her 2022 book, Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity Is Taking Over the World, details how the charismatic movement has become a global phenomenon, with currently (2025) an estimated 900 million followers worldwide. As I wrote in the Cult of Trump, a key base for true believers are involved with megachurches involving millions of Americans. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has transformed Pentecostal Christianity from a spiritual movement to an aggressively politically motivated group. Hardy explains the phenomenon: “They don’t just want to save souls; they want to transform societies.” For example, prominent Pentecostal leaders, such as Paula White-Cain, who is in the current administration, refers to Donald Trump as a modern-day “King Cyrus.” In the Bible, King Cyrus is an imperfect, divinely chosen leader who fulfilled political and social ambitions on behalf of God to help his people. Trump’s portrayal as divinely chosen in these circles is strategically cultivated to amass the group’s support and reshape American politics. Hardy provided insights into the prosperity gospel, describing it as “the faith of the working poor.” This aspect of Pentecostalism attracts marginalized people seeking hope through promises of divine financial blessings in exchange for devotion and sacrifice. However, Hardy pointed out a troubling reality. Vulnerable individuals often give beyond their means, pushing them deeper into poverty through manipulative teachings. Our conversation highlighted how such practices illustrate financial exploitation and reinforce harmful “magical thinking” and loaded language. Authoritarian leaders commonly exploit these techniques to control followers, which are classic signs of undue influence. Unethical practices like these strip people of their critical thinking and autonomy. This conversation was exceptionally interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of Jane’s most striking points in her book and our conversation is that cults aren’t just something “other people” get involved in. Cults can deceptively recruit anyone and work in many different spheres of influence. “I just started pulling the thread,” Jane recalled, “and traced it back to the Puritans.” She explains how the theological worldview of early American settlers, particularly the Puritans, established a pattern of black-and-white/good-versus-evil thinking. The Puritans believed in things like divine judgment, righteous punishment, and the idea that only a few could be saved while the rest would suffer in the apocalypse. This religious idea was an organizing principle for our society and prevails today. For instance, the idea of an existential threat or ultimate salvation has bled into common culture. Whether it’s climate doomism, political collapse, or even the rapture, American society is addicted to “the end is near” thinking. It is everywhere, embedded into our popular culture. Cultic control today has many faces: multilevel marketing schemes (MLMs), political cults, religious cults, therapy cults, “wellness” gurus, and even one-on-one abusive dynamics. These groups reflect and exploit the very same psychological patterns found in traditional cults—fear, isolation, obedience, and identity manipulation. And there are many cults in the Cult of Trump. Check out this fascinating interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices