Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor, Part 2 - Billionaires, Big Tech, and the Power of Collective Action

This week is part two with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, authors of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World. They discuss Peter Thiel’s billionaire gathering called the Apocalypse Ball, how Silicon Valley’s AI arms race borrows from religious promises of salvation and fears of the end…

Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor, Part 1 - The Rise of Christian Nationalism, the “Third Temple,” and End Times Fascism

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join the show to discuss their new book End Times Fascism: And the Fight For the Living World, an investigation into the apocalyptic thinking of the American contemporary right. In part one, they discuss the rise of Christian Nationalism to political power in the United…

Makelle Bistline, Part 2 - Becoming Sam Bateman’s Wife, Keeping Secrets from a “Prophet,” and Helping the FBI Take Him Down

This week is part two with Makelle Bistline, one of polygamist cult leader Sam Bateman’s former wives who helped take him down from the inside. She returns to share how she finally relented and became Bateman’s 22nd wife after he wore down her resistance with pressure and isolation, how Bateman sys…

Makelle Bistline, Part 1 - The FLDS, Marrying Sam Bateman, and Resisting Control Through Taylor Swift

This week’s guest is Makelle Bistline, who grew up in the polygamist sect the FLDS and became one of the wives of self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman–ultimately playing a crucial role in bringing him down. Makelle did not appear in the Netflix series Trust Me, which follows how Lola’s mom got hi…

Felicia Rosario - Larry Ray’s Coercive Tactics, Life After the Sarah Lawrence Cult, and Becoming an Expert Witness

This week, the girls are joined again by Felicia Rosario, survivor of the cult at Sarah Lawrence, led by a man named Larry Ray. Today Felicia, who previously came on the show along with fellow survivor Daniel Levin, explains how Larry drew her in over time by love bombing her, winning over her soci…

Stephen Kinzer - MKUltra, Sidney Gottlieb, and the CIA’s Hunt For Mind Control

This week, author and historian Stephen Kinzer joins Trust Me to discuss his book, Poisoner in Chief, and its subject: chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who led mind control experiments in the CIA’s Project MKUltra. Stephen explains who Gottlieb was and how he came to lead this harrowing attempt to control …

Renee Spencer, Part 2 - The Jesus Christians, the “Kidney Cult,” and Suing Your Daughter’s Religious Group

This week is part two with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, who sued the Jesus Christians, aka the “kidney cult,” after they recruited her daughter. Last week, Renee explained how she realized her daughter Ellicia’s communication was being controlled, and this week she picks back up on Ellicia…

Renee Spencer, Part 1 - When Your Daughter Joins the “Kidney Cult”

This week is part 1 with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, whose daughter was recruited into the Jesus Christians: a group commonly referred to as the “kidney cult” for their practice of encouraging members to donate their kidneys to strangers. Renee shares about her and her daughter Ellicia’s …

Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 2 - Leaving Mormonism, Becoming Dominatrixes, and Reclaiming Power with BDSM

We’re back with twins Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known as Mothermary. In part 2 this week they’ll talk about how Elyse got fed up with being obsessive about sin all the time, which led her to hitch a ride out of Idaho and into Salt Lake City. Living with former Mormons, she explains how that’s whe…

Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 1 - Montana Mormons, Sex at BYU, and the “Miracle" of Forgiveness

This week is part 1 with musicians, identical twins, and former Mormons turned dominatrixes Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known by their band name Mothermary. The girls share what it was like being raised in the LDS church, and how “Montana Mormons” may have had a more fear-based culture than Mormons…