Episode 40: No cars, electricity, or indoor bathrooms - think you could do it? Activist / Amish Girl in Manhattan author TORAH BONTRAGER shares about her upbringing in an Amish community in Wisconsin, speaking the Amish language, the real meaning of Rumspringa, her tumultuous family relationships, the use of corporal punishment in Amish culture, and some of the abuse she experienced firsthand.

If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.



FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

@trustmepodcast

@oohlalola

@vibehigherbitch



OR TWITTER:

@trustmecultpod

@ohlalola 

Episode 40: No cars, electricity, or indoor bathrooms - think you could do it? Activist / Amish Girl in Manhattan author TORAH BONTRAGER shares about her upbringing in an Amish community in Wisconsin, speaking the Amish language, the real meaning of Rumspringa, her tumultuous family relationships, the use of corporal punishment in Amish culture, and some of the abuse she experienced firsthand.
If you have your own story about cults, high-control groups, manipulation, or abuse of power, shoot us an email at trustmepod@gmail.com.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:
@trustmepodcast
@oohlalola
@vibehigherbitch

OR TWITTER:
@trustmecultpod
@ohlalola

Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.

Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion&mdash;told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it.&nbsp;Hosted by two women who&rsquo;ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show&nbsp;features survivors from groups like Heaven&rsquo;s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more&ndash;sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.
Each week, they invite&nbsp;these guests&nbsp;alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart.&nbsp;This isn&rsquo;t a sensationalized deep dive into cults&mdash;it&rsquo;s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free.&nbsp;At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Torah Bontrager – Growing Up Amish, Part 1: Corporal Punishment & Rumspringa

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c7dfa0a2-2597-41e2-80d5-b2de0136ac77/transcript

Survivor's of Larry Ray's sex cult Felicia and Daniel discuss how they came to meet Larry, how he leveraged his memory and connections to craft an image of authority, how Larry gained control of their lives under the guise of helping them, when the manipulation elevated into sexual abuse and violence, and how they're doing now that Larry is going to jail for the harm he has caused.

 

Survivor's of Larry Ray's sex cult Felicia and Daniel discuss how they came to meet Larry, how he leveraged his memory and connections to craft an image of authority, how Larry gained control of their lives under the guise of helping them, when the manipulation elevated into sexual abuse and violence, and how they're doing now that Larry is going to jail for the harm he has caused.
&nbsp;

REWIND: Felicia Rosario and Daniel Levin - Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c7abe05c-8f13-413e-8725-b3b80134352f/transcript

This week’s guest is Theo Pratt, survivor of Gloriavale, an isolated Christian cult hidden deep in rural New Zealand, and author of Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale. She’ll talk about being raised on the strictly controlled commune where people were assigned new names, women wore identical dresses and head coverings, and children weren’t taught the real days of the week—or even where they were in the world.

Theo shares about the leader Neville Cooper’s self-proclaimed divine authority, how “smacking ladies” kept the kids in line—and guards kept the compound controlled, and her rebellious streak that led her to planning an escape attempt on a tandem bicycle. And of course, the moment she realized she couldn’t stay, and what it felt like to step into the outside world she’d been taught would destroy her.

SOURCES:

Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale

This week&rsquo;s guest is Theo Pratt, survivor of Gloriavale, an isolated Christian cult hidden deep in rural New Zealand, and author of Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale. She&rsquo;ll talk about being raised on the strictly controlled commune where people were assigned new names, women wore identical dresses and head coverings, and children weren&rsquo;t taught the real days of the week&mdash;or even where they were in the world. Theo shares about the leader Neville Cooper&rsquo;s self-proclaimed divine authority, how &ldquo;smacking ladies&rdquo; kept the kids in line&mdash;and guards kept the compound controlled, and her rebellious streak that led her to planning an escape attempt on a tandem bicycle. And of course, the moment she realized she couldn&rsquo;t stay, and what it felt like to step into the outside world she&rsquo;d been taught would destroy her.
SOURCES:
<a href="https://www.theopratt.com/">Unveiled: A Story of Surviving Gloriavale</a>

Theo Pratt - Blue Dresses, Smacking Ladies, and an Isolated Compound: Surviving Gloriavale

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3bb2e324-9e13-436b-bd23-b3b0017b44de/transcript

Renee DiResta, professor and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, joins the show again to dive deeper into disinformation, propaganda, and "pseudo-events," or manufactured controversies and news stories.

She explains why it’s so difficult to tell fact from fiction online, how propagandists stoke real, often legitimate tensions to create division, how American politicians are amplifying false information instead of shutting it down, and possible policies that could help reduce our culty social media silos.

SOURCES

Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality


The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America

Renee DiResta, professor and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, joins the show again to dive deeper into disinformation, propaganda, and "pseudo-events," or manufactured controversies and news stories. She explains why it&rsquo;s so difficult to tell fact from fiction online, how propagandists stoke real, often legitimate tensions to create division, how American politicians are amplifying false information instead of shutting it down, and possible policies that could help reduce our culty social media silos. SOURCES
<a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reneediresta.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764219736034000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2gk3HA888WoOmy4wNEnac7">Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality</a>
 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Image:_A_Guide_to_Pseudo-events_in_America" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Image:_A_Guide_to_Pseudo-events_in_America&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764219736034000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pD8rE6P01KpG_OQ7SD9iK">The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America</a>

Renee DiResta - Part 2: Pseudo-Events, More on Disinformation, and Telling Fact From Fiction

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bb4c84d8-dabb-41ea-b7b4-b3a0012d9489/transcript

Torah Bontrager – Growing Up Amish, Part 1: Corporal Punishment & Rumspringa

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Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

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