Let's Talk About Sects is an award-winning monthly podcast focusing on a different cult each episode. Sarah takes a storytelling, deep dive approach, looking at the history of a sect's leaders, the recruitment of members, their experiences, psychological aspects, and notable incidents during its existence.
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“A fascinating and well-researched look into cults and the charismatic leaders behind them.”
Peter Wells, The Sydney Morning Herald, May 2019
“A fantastic examination of sects, cults, and religion… a fact-based program that’ll hook you in and keep you coming back for more.”
Zach Johnston, Uproxx, February 2019
“Cleverly named, meticulously researched.”
Elena Nicolaou, Refinery29, December 2018
“The best podcast of its kind – I can’t wait for another episode!”
Apple Podcasts review from a US listener
“I study cults and sects and for this reason listen to many podcasts on these subjects. This one is by far the best.”
Apple Podcasts review from a US listener
“Best podcast about cults I’ve found.”
Apple Podcasts review from an Australian listener
Date | Title & Description | Contributors |
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2024-04-16 | For his 2017 PhD, John Hunter put forward a hypothesis that offers insights into both the “transformational” experiences associated with large group awareness training (LGAT) participation and the common claims of psychological harm and problematic beh... | |
2024-03-26 | A little update from Sarah about what to expect with Let's Talk About Sects now that we're winding up the sixth season of the show. Don't worry, we're not going anywhere! But there are a few small changes to make sure that this project remains sustaina... | |
2024-03-12 | In the last episode of season 5, we looked into a Boulder, Colorado community then known as Divine Madness and led by Marc Tizer, usually referred to as 'Yo'. Its members were recognised for some amazing results in ultramarathons. At the time of resear... | |
2024-02-20 |
Interview Episode: The Troubled Teen Industry with Emma Lehman Journalist Emma Lehman is the creator of the independent podcast Gooned, which dives into the Troubled Teen Industry or TTI – a network of for-profit congregate care facilities for youth ranging from wilderness programs to therapeutic boarding schools.... |
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2024-02-13 | Harry Palmer created Avatar after his presidency of the Church of Scientology's Elmira Mission ended in the mid-1980s, as a result of legal proceedings around trademark infringement. Avatar says that it aims to create an 'enlightened planetary consciou... | |
2024-01-23 | Thomas Parsons joined the Twelve Tribes community in Hiddenite, North Carolina in April 2019, and left in November 2021. With Hiddenite being the unofficial headquarters of the organisation, he had direct contact with a number of senior leaders of the ... | |
2024-01-16 | This episode was recorded live at Woodford Folk Festival on 1 January 2024. Many people in the audience would have come across the Twelve Tribes previously at that very festival, as they used to build a big Common Ground cafe by the lake where tens of ... | |
2023-12-19 |
Interview Episode: The Hate Next Door with Matson & Tawni Browning Matson Browning is a law enforcement officer who, along with his wife Tawni, spent years undercover infiltrating various hate groups to research and report on the rise of hate crimes and white supremacy in the United States. Together they wrote the boo... |
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2023-12-12 | Yaakov Aharon and Shula Kirovsky’s lives in Sydney’s famous beach suburb of Bondi were lived largely separate from mainstream society, within the Chassidic sect of Chabad. Their families’ lifestyles were a world away from the fashionable bikini and boa... | |
2023-11-14 | Rachel Bernstein is an LA-based therapist who has specialized in cult intervention and re-acclimation for over 30 years. She serves on the advisory board of the International Cultic Studies Association and has worked with the Department of Justice prov... |