Michele McPhee – The Polygamist, the Criminal, and Their Multibillion-Dollar Scam

This week, Meagan and Lola sit down with Michelle McPhee, investigative reporter and host of podcast Kingdom of Fraud, to discuss how Jacob Kingston, a fundamentalist Mormon from the secretive polygamist sect known as the Kingston clan, or the “Order,” teamed up with a shadowy Armenian tycoon nickn…

Anke Richter, Part 2 - Harem Culture, Leaving ISTA, and DeCult

This week is part 2 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group ISTA, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In part 2 with Anke, she explains how the founder of International School of Temple Arts had constructed a sort of harem cul…

Anke Richter, Part 1 - Ecstatic Dancing, Tantric Sex, and Joining ISTA

Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In this week’s episode she shares how she began as a journalist investigating cults, but when she…

Sophie Fergi, Part 2 - Living with Piper, Constant Control, and Being Shunned by the Squad

This week is part two with Sophie Fergi, former child influencer featured in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. In this episode, she shares what happened after she and her mom moved in with Piper Rockelle and Piper's mom Tiffany, how Tiffany's explosive rage became…

Sophie Fergi, Part 1 - Kidfluencing, Joining the Squad, and the Dark Side of YouTube

This week is part one with Sophie Fergi, former child influencer who told her story in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. In this episode, she explains how she first met YouTube kidfluencer Piper Rockelle, and how Piper’s mom Tiffany formed the “Squad,” a group of …

Jasper Hoffman, Part 2 - Undercover Therapy, Leaving the Mennonites, and the Aftermath

This week, the girls are back with Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part two today, Jasper explains what the perfect Mennonite woman looked like, how concerns were raised when she wasn't compliant enough, and how over time she became depressed and developed an eating diso…

Jasper Hoffman, Part 1 - From Atheists to Mennonites

This week, the girls are joined by Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part one, she explains how her parents went from a being punk rock atheist and an anthropology major to homesteading, homeschooling, and going to church: first a non-denominational one, and then a Mennoni…

Dr. Christine Marie - Undercover in a Cult Town: Taking Down False Prophet Sam Bateman

This week, Lola’s mom Dr. Christine Marie (and the podcast’s very first guest!) comes back on the show to talk about moving to FLDS town Short Creek, how she and Lola’s stepdad Tolga earned the trust of new self-proclaimed polygamist prophet Sam Bateman, and what else was going on behind the scenes…

Nikki G, Part 2 - The Seven Mountain Mandate, “Church Hurt,” and Why Cults Aren’t Just a White People Problem

In part two with Nikki G., she discusses more of the high-control groups she joined, the political project of the Seven Mountain Mandate that she was part of, the connection between biblical concepts of obedience and white supremacy, and how everyone joins cults, even if white people are the bigges…

Nikki G, Part 1 - Down the Rabbit Hole, Cult Hopping, and Surviving the Black Church

This week, Nikki G., host of Surviving the Black Church and survivor of FIVE different high-control groups, discusses joining the first church on her cult-hopping journey, how she got initially pulled down the rabbit hole by conspiracy theories and the Book of Revelation, and the intensity and comm…