The following list of resources includes educational materials, presentations, podcasts, and more covering the topic of cults, cult-like behavior, high-demand groups, and specifically commercial cults (MLMs).
It can be used as a quick-reference guide for people who educate about cults, MLMs, and other scams on social media and elsewhere.
We highly recommend these resources be perused with an open mind by anyone thinking about joining a multilevel marketing company, or already working for one and seeking information sourced outside the MLM Industrial Complex (Big Pyramid).
Outofmlm.info
FOR YOUR
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#igotout and igotout.org
The mission of #igotout is to inspire survivors of high demand environments who have experienced cultic, religious, or spiritual abuse to tell and share their stories – if and when it’s safe to do so.
#igotout
The hashtag, the igotout.org website, and associated social media platforms are intended to provide an inclusive online space in which to heal, learn from each other, prevent further harm, and educate the public about the harmful effects of coercive control and undue influence.
We believe the simple yet profound act of safely sharing our stories can help lessen the burden of shame, stigma, and isolation while also correcting widespread misconceptions about cultic involvement. Our stories can help the general public better understand complex cultic dynamics and how they impact us all today.
Steven Hassan’s BITE Model
(Identifying a Cult)
Destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause; it is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present.
Steven Hassan, PhD
Like many techniques, it is not inherently good or evil. If mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have more choice, and authority for their life remains within themselves, the effects can be beneficial. For example, benevolent mind control can be used to help people quit smoking without affecting any other behavior. Mind control becomes destructive when it undermines a person’s ability to think and act independently.
Steven Hassan’s Influence Continuum
From the moment we are born, we are constantly being influenced by all kinds of people, ideas, and forces. Some of this influence is healthy, and promotes our ability to grow into independent, fulfilled, authentic adults. Other forms of influence instill dependency and obedience, at times even indoctrinating people to harm themselves and others. There is a wide spectrum of healthy and unhealthy influence.
Steven Hassan, PhD
Gerette Buglion & her Write to Reckon Course
An educator most of her life, Gerette’s focus on coercive control and cultic dynamics ignited in 2014 after emerging from eighteen years in a controlling self-help group. Self-study combined with introspection, therapy and a commitment to unflinching honesty were the pillars of her recovery process. Her passion for community education and awareness gradually formed into a profession when others began to turning to her for help. Gerette’s educational offerings have developed over the years and now include her signature class: Writing to Reckon, personal retreats, consultations, workshops and speaking engagements.
GERETTEBUGLION.COM
BOOKS ABOUT CULTS AND HIGH DEMAND GROUPS
Cults
Based off the hit podcast, CULTS: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them is essential reading for any true crime fan. Unfold the many motives behind groups like NXIVM, Heaven’s Gate, the Peoples Temple, and more, taking an expanded look at the people who led and followed the most radical organizations in history. What powers did their leaders possess? How did their followers operate within the world? Why did their beliefs stick, even after they’d grown bizarre?
Take an unflinching exploration into what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are twisted into the lowest forms of malevolence — revealing eye-opening details which will surprise even the most devoted true crime fan. If you love the Cults podcast, this is the next-level companion that will take you deeper into the dark side of human nature than ever before. Ten disreputable cult leaders. Ten stories of power, mystery, and destruction.
Cultish
What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism analyzes the social science of cult influence: how groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
PODCASTS ABOUT CULTS AND CULTISHNESS
A Little Bit Culty
Think you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are…a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time. Listen in as they share their stories, have frank and unscripted conversations with other survivors and cult experts, and do a deep dive on how devotion can turn to dysfunction.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Everyday Cults. Everyday People.
The word ‘cult’ used to be taboo. Now, like sex, everyone is talking about it. We flirt with the word, unaware of the wounds, the wounded, and the wounding just outside our back door or perhaps in our own home. For Gerette Buglion, author of the memoir An Everyday Cult, the c-word is one of the most complicated and nuanced verbs in the English language – right up there with love.
GERETTEBUGLION.COM
Everyday Cults. Everyday People. explores destructive controlling groups and the impact they have on everyday people like you and me. When ex-cult member Gerette riffs with author C. Jane Taylor they travel into the ‘cultiverse’ – a complex world encompassing coercion and tragic harm as well as the profound liberation of minds that have been freed from undue influence. Through broad brush strokes and intimate musings, Gerette and Jane walk with listeners around the neighborhood of everyday cults and everyday people.
C. Jane Taylor is a writer, podcaster, biker, and yoga teacher. She is the podcast cohost of 1,000 Espressos and College UnBound. Her podcast, C. Jane Reads features her personal essays and stories. She writes resumes, professional bios, and creative essays, and is the author of Spirit Traffic. She lives in Vermont with her husband John who is a yoga teacher and their dog Dewey who is also a yoga teacher.
On The Emmis
Cults and cult-like organizations are front and center in society today—as they should be. We are becoming more aware of the insidious abuse perpetrated by programs that are supposed to help young people in the Troubled Teen Industry. Combining true crime, cult recovery, and a lot of dry, dark humor, the On the Emmis podcast unpacks and unveils the inner workings of Enthusiastic Sobriety Programs created by Bob Meehan and other high control groups. We’ll have bi-monthly episodes that dive deep into specific topics, interviews with professionals and activists or survivors telling their stories.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The Influence Continuum
Steven Hassan, PhD, is one of the leading experts on cults and undue influence in the world. A former member of the right-wing Moonie cult, Hassan was deprogrammed 45 years ago and has dedicated his life to helping people out of cults and destructive situations. Dr. Hassan is a licensed mental health professional and has written four books, including The Cult of Trump and the seminal book Combating Cult Mind Control. On this podcast, Steve will explain HOW mind-control works, and how to protect yourself from its grips. He will also address ethical influence as the podcast will address the entire Influence Continuum. He’ll interview the biggest names in this field.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Sounds Like A Cult
Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about Elon Musk stans? Or the Royal Family? What about spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like A Cult, a podcast that analyzes a different zeitgeisty group every week to try and answer the big question: This group sounds like a cult, but is it really?
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Sounds Like A Cult premiered in June of 2021 and has been downloaded over 8.5 million times, peaking on Spotify’s Top 20 list of the most popular podcasts in the USA. The show was named a best podcast of 2022 by Vulture, Esquire, Wired, and others. Sounds Like A Cult is a part of the All Things Comedy network and is represented by United Talent Agency.
Parcast: Cults
Doomsday predictions. Religious doctrines. Extraterrestrial orders. What really goes on inside a cult? Step into the minds of those who led and joined the most controversial organizations in history.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION