Speaking of Cults
A podcast about cults, coercive control and recovery. Formerly called the Sensibly Speaking podcast, in this weekly show host Chris Shelton interviews cult survivors, psychologists and other professionals and specialists about the topics of cult recruitment, retention and recovery.
Episodes
Episodes
Saturday Aug 10, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Project 2025 and Christian Nationalism
Saturday Aug 10, 2024
Saturday Aug 10, 2024
This week I welcome Dr. Clint Heacock, a former Evangelical minister who has spent years taking apart the Christian Nationalism movement and efforts by various political groups to turn the US into a theocracy. The roadmap to do that is Project 2025 and we break down what this is about here. Enjoy!
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Christian Fundamentalism is a Cult ft. Tia Levings
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
Saturday Aug 03, 2024
This week I welcome Tia Levings, author and survivor of very serious abuse at the hands of not only her Christian Fundamentalist ex-husband but by the entire "purity culture" mindset she was raised in which permeated every aspect of her life. Tia describes very clearly how this is a destructive cult environment and is purposefully created to enforce extreme ideas of gender roles, sexual morality and compliance.
Tia's website: https://tialevings.com
Saturday Jul 20, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Staying SAFE After a Cult
Saturday Jul 20, 2024
Saturday Jul 20, 2024
This week I welcome Reverend Doctor Kenneth Garrett, a Portland-based minister who not only has his own survivor story as a former cult member but who has worked to help setup a community support group for former cult members which has had great success and which anyone can do in their own area. We discuss all of this and more. Enjoy!
Saturday Jul 13, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Diving Deeper into the 2x2s
Saturday Jul 13, 2024
Saturday Jul 13, 2024
This week I welcome Pamela Bowen, a third-generation survivor of the 2x2s, the "cult with no name" which has been appearing in media lately, and rightfully so as it's a religious cult that has enabled a great deal of sexual abuse. This is a harrowing episode but ultimately a successful escape from a destructive cult. Enjoy!
Pamela on Twitter/X: @PamelaHuanani
Saturday Jul 06, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Foundations of Cult Recovery ft. Christian Szurko
Saturday Jul 06, 2024
Saturday Jul 06, 2024
This week I welcome Christian Szurko, a cult recovery consultant who has been helping people in their post-cult life for as many decades as I've been alive! Christian and I discuss key principles of cult indoctrination and recovery in this episode. Enjoy!
Christian's website: https://dialogcentre.org.uk/
Saturday Jun 29, 2024
Speaking of Cults...The Blame Game and "Being Cause"
Saturday Jun 29, 2024
Saturday Jun 29, 2024
This week I am talking about how responsibility, causation and blame are used by cult leaders/predators to psychologically enslave their targets with guilt and gaslighting and how this can create not only unrealistic expectations or goals but can trap a person in a prison of belief.
Saturday Jun 22, 2024
Speaking of Cults...Are LGATs Really Just Cults?
Saturday Jun 22, 2024
Saturday Jun 22, 2024
This week I welcome Dr. John Hunter, a psychologist from South Africa who has done some amazing and detailed research on the neurological and psychological factors at play in Large Group Awareness Training systems (such as Est, Landmark and many others) going all the way back to the 1970s to now. We cover a lot in this podcast about how these LGATs were started, what they are doing to the participants and why this is deceptive as a practice. Enjoy!
Dr. Hunter's website: https://JohnHunterPhD.com
Saturday Jun 15, 2024
Saturday Jun 15, 2024
This week I welcome guests Rod and Linda Dubrow-Marshall, who created and run the Masters program at the University of Salford in the psychology of coercive control. We had a great deal more to discuss than just the program and dived deep into the legal and ethical problems with cults and how coercive control touches on so many aspects of our lives. Enjoy!
Salford University site: https://www.salford.ac.uk/
Your Host
Hello, my name is Chris Shelton and I am an author, consultant, podcaster, videographer, and former cult member. Welcome to my podcast!
Who is Chris Shelton?
Chris started a YouTube channel which has over 45,000 subscribers, produces the Sensibly Speaking podcast each week and has produced hundreds of videos laying out the scam of Scientology, educating on critical thinking and interviewing former members of Scientology and other destructive cults, as well as a range of therapists, cult exit counselors, educators and media personalities. Chris has also given talks and presentations around the United States about his experiences and has been featured on numerous podcasts and television shows. He was featured on Leah Remini’s Scientology and the Aftermath on A&E and served as a consultant to the show for its first two seasons. He has also written a critical analysis of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard called Scientology: A to Xenu – An Insider’s Guide to What Scientology is Really All About, available on Amazon in printed form, e-book format and as an audio book.