PODCAST · society
Cult Chat
by Cult Chat
Join Dr Caroline Ansley, Lindy Jacomb and Liz Gregory as they traverse the cultiverse. Journey with them as they unpack the cult playbook, talk to leavers of coercive and controlling groups in New Zealand, and share their stories. On “Cult Chat” our hosts talk with experts to gain greater understanding of cultishness and call for Kiwis to cult-proof their lives. "Cult Chat" is a home-grown Kiwi podcast where each of the hosts are uniquely positioned to host a survivor-centric podcast, bringing their individual experiences of high control groups to the conversation.
Episodes
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Episode 104 - From Cult Survivor to Law Reform - Ryan Carey on the Victorian Inquiry into Cults
Cult Chat talks with Ryan Carey about Victoria’s groundbreaking Inquiry into the Recruitment Methods and Impacts of Cults and Organised Fringe Groups. It’s a lively, hopeful conversation about what could come next: bespoke laws targeting coercive behaviours, properly funded support for people...
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Episode 103 - The Cult Assasin? Lawyer Carol Merchasin
They call her the “Cult Assassin” - and for good reason. Attorney Carol Merchasin has helped take on powerful cult leaders through the courts, using legal remedies to expose abuse and force accountability. We talk about why coercive control is having a global moment, what stronger legislation…
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Episode 102 - Gems from ICSA - New Research & Thinking about Cults with Heidi Hewett & Maria Esguerra
What makes someone become a cult leader? Do they deliberately set out to harm others, or can destructive leadership develop over time? And are some people more vulnerable to cult recruitment? Caz shares insights from the 2026 ICSA Conference, including conversations with Maria Esguerra, Heidi...
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Episode 101 - Judge Slams labour Inspectorate over Gloriavale with Serena Pilgrim and Steve Patterson
Former Gloriavale member Serena Pilgrim and lawyer Steve Patterson join Liz Gregory to unpack a damning new Employment Court judgment finding the Labour Inspector made “numerous reviewable errors” when investigating serious concerns about child labour, forced labour, servitude and slavery at...
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Episode 100 - Happy Birthday to Cult Chat!
Today’s episode is our 100th and we are so excited! In the spirit of the celebration we run through how we got to where we are, some interesting facts about the show and we share some behind the scenes secrets. We read out some feedback from our listeners, talk about some key events, share a...
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Episode 99: Redemption or Rebranding? John Ready on the new Gloriavale doco, Devotion (Part 2)
Part 2: Former Gloriavale member John Ready continues his powerful reflection on Devotion: The Gloriavale Story, asking whether the documentary revealed the truth - or simply another perspective. He explores coercive control, accountability, repentance, and the journey of rebuilding life after...
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Episode 98 - Redemption or Rebranding? John Ready on the new Gloriavale doco, Devotion (Part 1)
Following the release of the newly released 3-part documentary series "Devotion: The Gloriavale Story", former member John Ready joins Liz Gregory to unpack the documentary’s themes, messages and claims. Together they explore whether high-control organisations should be allowed to rehabilitate...
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Episode 97: Exposing a Cult Leader with Dr Christine Marie (Part 2) from Netflix’s Trust Me: The False Prophet
In this second episode, we go beyond the documentary and talk to Christine Marie about how Short Creek, home of the FLDS (polygamous Mormons), changed after Warren Jeff was imprisoned, and what the risks are when closed communities start to open up. We talk about the power of non-judgmentally...
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Episode 96 - Exposing a Cult Leader with Dr Christine Marie (Part 1) from Netflix’s Trust Me: The False Prophet
Have you watched Netflix’s documentary series Trust Me: The False Prophet? You may find it helpful in advance of this week’s episode with Dr Christine Marie, who featured in the very successful 2026 documentary. She shares her journey of documenting and eventually exposing the sexual abuse of...
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Episode 95 - Cult Therapist: Rachel Bernstein on Hope & Healing
This week we interview therapist & cult expert Rachel Bernstein (LMFT), who will be keynote speaker at the upcoming Decult Conference. Join the Cult Chat trio for this heart-warming episode with Rachel as she shares wisdom from over 30 years working clinically with cult survivors. The…
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Episode 94 - C-PTSD and Training Professionals in Cultic Harm with Dr Natalie Fabert, PhD
In this important episode Caz chats with Dr Natalie Fabert, psychologist and academic, about her interest in cults and those harmed by them. You’ll learn about the prevalence of Complex-PTSD in cult survivors, why therapists need to see cult-impacted people as a distinct population, and how...
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Episode 93 - Slavery, trafficking and what Parents Need to Know with Professor Robin Boyle-Laisure
We’re joined by Prof Robin Boyle-Laisure, of St John's University, New York, to discuss how cults intersect with trafficking and modern slavery. In this wide ranging conversation we discuss legal reform, different laws which have been used to bring down cults internationally, and some of the…
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Episode 92 - University Recruitment & the ICoC with Anton (Part 2)
In this second part of a two-part conversation, we hear from Anton again. In this episode he describes how he starts to see the control exerted over him by the group he has joined at university, the International Church of Christ, and what prompts him to make the decision to leave. He describes…
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Episode 91 - University Recruitment & the ICOC with Anton (Part 1)
Lindy introduces us to Anton, former member of the International Church of Christ, a group he encountered while studying at Auckland University. Anton tells us in part 1 how he was recruited into this controversial group, and slowly his life became entirely focused on their activities. Join us as...
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Cult Chat - Quick message to our listeners
Find out why we didn't deliver an episode this week...
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Episode 90 - Inside a New Zealand Wellness Cult with Phil Vine
This week on Cult Chat may surprise our listeners as we talk about energy healing, claims of flying, and deaths tied to a group hidden in plain sight in Te Anau, New Zealand. RNZ journalist Phil Vine joins us after his hit podcast series The Lodge, his deep dive into Phenomena Academy. We unpack...
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Episode 89 - Terror, Love & Brainwashing (Part 2)
Caz interviewed Dr Alexandra Stein last episode about her phenomenal book “Terror, Love & Brainwashing” and it was such a powerful topic that Lindy & Liz wanted a chance to talk about it too. Join our hosts as they discuss how the themes of fear, isolation and engulfment can be applied to the…
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Episode 88 - Terror, Love & Brainwashing with Dr Alexandra Stein (Part 1
In this episode of Cult Chat, Caz interviews Dr Stein, PhD, about the hidok of the same title, they explore how leaders manipulate attachment, deliberately induce fear and dissociation, and engineer coerced disorganised attachment to bind followers to the group. A powerful discussion of how love...
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Episode 87 - Catching up on the 2x2's / The Truth with Dr Kyle Eggleton & Tristan Phipps
In this episode of Cult Chat, we catch up with Dr Kyle Eggleton and Tristan Phipps to talk about recent developments within the 2x2 (the Truth, Church with no Name). The conversation ranges from advocacy work and unexpected fan mail to the beginnings of a thoughtful discussion on how high-control...
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Episode 86 - Is this a SLAPP in the face by the PBCC (Plymouth Brethren Church/Exclusive Brethren)? Featuring Cheryl & Braden
Imagine your former group launching a legal challenge over your use of a cartoon mascot, just as you begin speaking out about the abuse you experienced at the hands of an elder in the same group. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. In today’s episode, Cheryl Hope Bawtinheimer and...
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Episode 85: Financial Trauma in Cults with Heidi Clemons
In this interview, Lindy Jacomb sits down with Heidi Clemons, Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and founder of Managed Expectations, to unpack the often-overlooked topic of financial trauma. Heidi explores how financial trauma affects former cult members on their path to self-efficacy and...
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Episode 84: Persuasion Techniques Unmasked - Influence & the Thermomix
What do cult recruitment tactics and a high-end kitchen gadget have in common? More than you might expect. In this episode, we unpack Cialdini’s Seven Principles of Influence, using Liz’s enthusiastic love of her new Thermomix (and some playful attempts to persuade Lindy to buy one) as a...
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Episode 83: Sandy Toes & Beachside Reflections
Why are the Cult Chat trio recording this week's episode on a beach? What have glamping and fire-dancing got to do with cults? Something? Nothing? Join us as we chat from a summer beach location while reflecting on our learnings from 2025. We get an update from Liz on the Gloriavale School…
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Episode 82: How Cults use Awe, Humour & Fervour with Dr Yuval Laor
What is awe, and how is this emotion exploited by cults? How is awe related to infatuation, to the experience of falling in love romantically, and what has it got to do with babies and cults? How can humour be used to breakdown the residual after effects of awe for those who have left cults? Join...
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Episode 81: Healthy Spirituality: Being both Sacred & Sane
Lindy has an interesting chat with Rose Stanley about burnout, boundaries, the need for a sane spirituality and how to rebuild with clarity, courage, and compassion. The Cult Chat team then joins the discussion to unpack what healthy spiritual life really looks like. This episode offers a gentle,...
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Episode 80: From Jehovah’s Witness to Doomsday Comedian with Jonas Skogstroll
This week we meet Jonas, stand-up comedian, former Jehovah’s Witness, and goat-farmer living in Norway. Laugh along with the Cult Chat trio as they learn what it is that goats and worldly people have in common, and exactly how Jonas decides which parts of being in a cult are ok to joke about.…
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Episode 79: Cults, Coercion & the Control of Women
Why are there often more women than men in cults, and is it harder for women to leave? What is reproductive coercion? How is it used in cults to control the freedoms and choices of women? Join the Cult Chat trio for this important conversation as they explore the unique vulnerabilities that women...
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Episode 78: Coercive Control, Family Violence & Cults
Get ready for a challenging but extremely important conversation with Debbs Murray, founder of Eclipse Family Violence Services. Caz and Debbs chat about the overlap between the world of family violence and cultic harm and how coercive control presents similarly and differently in these parallel...
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Episode 77: Life for Women in the 2x2's with Veronica and Lindsay (Part 2)
Join us for Part two of our brave interview with Veronica and Lindsay as they share what life was really like for women growing up in the 2x2's (The Truth, The Way, The Church With No Name). Hear their stories of rules (but no rules), control, silence, resilience, and freedom. Then listen in to…
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Episode 76: Life for Women in the 2x2's with Veronica and Lindsay (Part 1)
Join us for a brave discussion as Veronica and Lindsay share what life was really like for women growing up in the 2x2's (also known as The Truth, The Way, The Church With No Name). These women are among the first in New Zealand to speak publicly about their experiences inside this secretive...
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Episode 75: What's so Good about Cults?
John Lennon’s famous song "Imagine" paints a vision of a perfect world — and cults often promise something similar. So in the spirit of fairness, this week, we take a surprising detour to explore the good things and the benefits that members say about life inside: belonging, structure, shared...
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Episode 74: Cult Apologists and Defenders (Part 2)
Following their conversation with Dr Steve Hassan in part 1 about cult apologists, our hosts kept talking! In this part 2 of the conversation they talk about the importance of survivor voices in research, and why historically some researchers have appeared to listen to cult leaders rather than…
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Episode 73: Cult Apologists and Defenders with Dr Steven Hassan (Part 1)
This week we invite Dr Steven Hassan to join us to discuss the cult apologist movement. Dr Hassan is the author of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control and the Influence Continuum. In this fascinating conversation we unpack the history behind this propaganda movement, why survivor voices are…
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Episode 72: Recruitment, Extremism and Neurodivergence with Dr Cyrus Abbasian
What do cults and extremist terrorist organisations have in common? How are recruitment methods similar, and what are some of the vulnerabilities that such groups exploit in order to attract and retain conscripts? These are some of the questions which Caz and Dr Cyrus Abbasian, London-based...
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Episode 71: Child Safeguarding with Willow Duffy
*Trigger Warning* What exactly is needed for an organisation to be safe for a child? Willow Duffy, co-founder and CEO of Safeguarding Children, answers these questions and more, in a conversation which explores what can be done when an organisation not only fails to have the rights of children at...
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Episode 70: From Pulpit to Prosecution - Gloriavale's Leader in the News
Gloriavale again! We come back to talk about the other reason that the closed West Coast community is in the news again - this time because the Overseeing Shepherd - the community’s leader, Howard Temple - has just been convicted of indecent assault of numerous girls and women at Gloriavale. Our...
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Episode 69: Beyond Repair? Gloriavale's Broken Education System
Gloriavale is all over the news again, and for the wrong reasons. This week our hosts talk about the recent Education Review Office report which revealed that the Gloriavale School has failed yet again to meet the basic requirements expected to function as an education provider. Liz explains the...
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Episode 68: ICSA Cult Conference Highlights (Part 2)
This week we have a bonus episode - part 2 of our conversational expose about the International Cultic Studies Association Conference which Caz went to in Montreal in July. We wrap up our conversation by talking about emerging evidence on child abuse in cults, the relationship between sacred…
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Episode 67: ICSA Cult Conference Highlights with Maria Esguerra (Part 1)
You'll love this pot luck episode! Caz has just returned from the International Cultic Studies Association conference in Montreal, Canada. We’re joined in this episode with ‘friend of the show’ Maria Esguerra who also went to the conference. Maria and Caz fill Lindy and Liz in on their learnings...
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Episode 66: Walking Two Worlds - Maintaining Relationships with current members after leaving
It is difficult to truly leave a cult if someone you love remains in the group. In this chat Liz, Lindy and Caz talk about the difficult line that former members often have to navigate after leaving because they still have people in their lives who remain in the group. Join us as we discuss…
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Episode 65: Help! My Kid has been Sucked into a Cult with Renee Spencer
Did you wake up one day to the realisation that your child has joined a cult? Are you struggling to know what to do? In today’s episode we discuss the challenges of having a cult controlling your relationship with your child, and trying to navigate the best path forward. Parent Renee Spencer…
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Episode 64: The Rewards of Leaving (Mini Series Part 3)
Today our Cult Chat hosts share what listeners have told them are the best things about life after leaving a cult. From finding space to be who you truly are, to getting the chance to make mistakes, and to being allowed to have the full range of human emotions, this episode digs right down into…
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Episode 63: The Grief of Leaving a Cult with Liz Sallows (Mini-Series Part 2)
In this second of three episodes on leaving, Lindy is joined by Liz Sallows, Canadian psychotherapist and grief expert. Liz and Lindy discuss the unexpected (and often unrecognised) sadness which accompany the freedoms of leaving a cult. There is a lot to grieve - loss of a community, loss of an...
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Episode 62: Leaving a cult (Gloriavale) with Theophila Pratt (Mini-Series Part 1)
Theophila Pratt, author of “Unveiled - A Story of Surviving Gloriavale” joins the team for our first of three episodes about leaving cults. This compelling conversation explores the immediate challenges, discusses identity construction, and the difficulties of finding people to help along the…
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Episode 61: What's Happening in the Cultiverse May 2025
There’s a lot going on in the cultiverse! We thought it time for an update on the culty happenings in our neck of the woods. In this episode you'll hear more than you want to know about chickens, rats, and mice, and heaps about cults. From news from the Olive Leaf Network, to Caz's connections…
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Episode 60 - Learning to Think, Trust and Heal after Leaving a Cult with Maria Esguerra
In this second of two chats Maria and Caz talk about bad information, and the critical role of education in teaching discernment between good information and bad. Maria shares about coming to understand how the cult used psychological processes to control members, and how often distrust of...
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Episode 59: Growing up in the Children of God with Maria Esguerra
Maria was born into one of history's most harmful cults, the Children of God. Maria joins us in the first of two chats to detail what the group was like from the perspective of a child. Maria brings her knowledge and expertise as a psychologist to the conversation, sharing both the harms that...
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Episode 58: 2x2's and Survivor Advocacy with Tristan Phipps & Kyle Eggleton
Join us for a moving conversation with Tristan Phipps and Dr Kyle Eggleton, who share about the Two by Twos in NZ. This organisation is currently under FBI investigation for child abuses, which has prompted NZ survivors to speak up. Our guests talk to us about the hierarchy & control of the…
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Episode 57: Waking Up with Dr Andre Jackson
We loved Andre so much we got him back for a third episode! This time he tells us about his PhD on waking up from indoctrination in the Jehovah Witnesses. In this fascinating interview you’ll find out all about the role of doubt (even in the most fervent believer), the trigger event which leads…
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Episode 56: Are the Jehovah Witnesses a Cult? With Dr Andre Jackson (Part 2)
Dr Andre Jackson returns in this episode to finish his chat with Liz about the JWs, their doctrines and the methods they use to control members. Together the two examine different methods of control utilized by the JWs, particularly information control, use of propaganda, and justifications for...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join Dr Caroline Ansley, Lindy Jacomb and Liz Gregory as they traverse the cultiverse. Journey with them as they unpack the cult playbook, talk to leavers of coercive and controlling groups in New Zealand, and share their stories. On “Cult Chat” our hosts talk with experts to gain greater understanding of cultishness and call for Kiwis to cult-proof their lives. "Cult Chat" is a home-grown Kiwi podcast where each of the hosts are uniquely positioned to host a survivor-centric podcast, bringing their individual experiences of high control groups to the conversation.
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Cult Chat
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Cult Chat have?
Cult Chat currently has 105 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Cult Chat about?
Join Dr Caroline Ansley, Lindy Jacomb and Liz Gregory as they traverse the cultiverse. Journey with them as they unpack the cult playbook, talk to leavers of coercive and controlling groups in New Zealand, and share their stories. On “Cult Chat” our hosts talk with experts to gain greater...
How often does Cult Chat release new episodes?
Cult Chat publishes regularly with 105 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Cult Chat?
You can listen to Cult Chat on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Cult Chat?
Cult Chat is created and hosted by Cult Chat.
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