E386. Why Everyone Online Is in a Cult | Andrew Gold - Walk-Ins Welcome

Bridget sits down with Andrew Gold, host of the Heretics podcast and author of The Psychology of Secrets, for a conversation about cult dynamics, Islamism in Europe, purity spirals, and what happens when your online tribe starts demanding you sell your soul to keep them. Andrew breaks down how YouTube channels, political movements, and entire cultures operate on the same psychological mechanics as Scientology and Heaven's Gate — just at different points on the spectrum. They get into why the UK can't talk about its rapidly changing demographics, how comedians and podcasters navigate audience capture without losing their integrity, Nick Fuentes and the strange new politics of antisemitism, the psychology of why people confide their darkest secrets to strangers, and whether independent media can survive without everyone going insane.Check out Heretics here: https://www.youtube.com/@UC4fQ-Cy8UpLPMwehPg-8ltQ 🎙️ New episodes every week. Subscribe for more deep-dive interviews.---------------------------------------------------------------------Sponsor Links:- Quest offers 100+ lab tests to empower you to have more control over your health journey. Choose from a variety of test types that best suit your needs, use code WALKINS25 to get 25% off - https://www.questhealth.com- If you love Walk-Ins Welcome become a supporter at https://phetasy.com---------------------------------------------------------------------Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy - PodcastBridget Phetasy admires grit and authenticity. On Walk-Ins Welcome, she talks about the beautiful failures and frightening successes of her own life and the lives of her guests. She doesn’t conduct interviews—she has conversations. Conversations with real people about the real struggle and will remind you that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy but there’s no greater mistake than hiding from it all. By embracing it all, and celebrating it with the stories she’ll bring listeners, she believes that our lowest moments can be the building blocks for our eventual fulfillment.----------------------------------------------------------------------PHETASY IS a movement disguised as a company. We just want to make you laugh while the world burns. https://www.phetasy.com/Buy PHETASY MERCH here: https://www.bridgetphetasy.com/For more content, including the unedited version of Dumpster Fire, BTS content, writing, photos, livestreams and a kick-ass community, subscribe at https://phetasy.com/#Cults #FreeSpeech #WalkInsWelcome #andrewgold #hereticsTwitter - https://twitter.com/BridgetPhetasy Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bridgetphetasy/ Podcast - Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/walk-ins-welcome/id1437447846 https://open.spotify.com/show/7jbRU0qOjbxZJf9d49AHEhhttps://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/I3gqggwe23u6mnsdgqynu447wvaSupport the show