Hoodwinked by the Algorithm: Dr. Mara Einstein on Cult Tactics in Marketing (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty28 Huhti 2025

Hoodwinked by the Algorithm: Dr. Mara Einstein on Cult Tactics in Marketing (Part 2)

We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Mara Einstein, diving even deeper into the unsettling connections between cults, multi-level marketing (MLMs), higher education, and the digital world.

In this episode, we unpack how MLMs use tactics like love bombing, upselling, and deception to recruit and retain members — and how these same strategies show up in places you might not expect, like college admissions and social media. Mara walks us through the financial and emotional tolls of higher education, the anxiety economy created by tech platforms, and the importance of protecting your data privacy in a world built to exploit it.

With real-world examples and practical advice, this episode is packed with insights on how to stay critical, self-aware, and informed in the face of modern manipulation.

To learn more about Dr. Einstein and her work, visit drmaraeinstein.com and check out her latest book Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults

Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

Check out our lovely sponsors

Join ‘A Little Bit Culty’ on Patreon

Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag

Support the pod and smash this link

Cult awareness and recovery resources

Watch Sarah’s TEDTalk

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(320)

A Little Bit Extra: A Casual Xmas Chat, AMA, and Listener Voicemails

A Little Bit Extra: A Casual Xmas Chat, AMA, and Listener Voicemails

Ring the sleigh bells for this A Little Bit Extra Thursday Christmas bonus. We navigate thorny territory around recent NXIVM-adjacent podcasts we legally can't discuss yet. Trust us, we have thoughts,...

25 Joulu 202536min

Twin Flames Universe Took My Niece: Cheryl Tuppa Speaks​ Out

Twin Flames Universe Took My Niece: Cheryl Tuppa Speaks​ Out

In this episode, Cheryl Tuppa joins the pod to tell the story of her niece Briana’s seven-year entanglement with Twin Flames Universe—from a late-night Google search about soulmates to a full-blown hi...

22 Joulu 202557min

Love Has Won: Andrew-Ryan Profaci on His Time with Mother God (Part 2)

Love Has Won: Andrew-Ryan Profaci on His Time with Mother God (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our conversation with Andrew-Ryan Profaci, we pick up right where things get extra bananas: the “quantum hoax,” the moment he pulled back the curtain on Love Has Won’s manufactured enemie...

18 Joulu 202532min

Love Has Won: Andrew-Ryan Profaci on His Time with Mother God (Part 1)

Love Has Won: Andrew-Ryan Profaci on His Time with Mother God (Part 1)

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. In the first of this two-part episode, we finally go inside Love Has Won with someone who was actually there, and who tried to stop it from the inside out. We ...

15 Joulu 202545min

Amanda Montell: Cultish and Coded Language, Revisited (Part 2)

Amanda Montell: Cultish and Coded Language, Revisited (Part 2)

Amanda Montell returns for round two, diving into what she's learned since Cultish dropped: Instagram comment wars as tribal battlegrounds, "platforming" as a thought-terminating cliché, and why under...

11 Joulu 202535min

Amanda Montell: Cultish and Coded Language, Revisited (Part 1)

Amanda Montell: Cultish and Coded Language, Revisited (Part 1)

Amanda Montell—author, linguist, and our reigning three-time champion guest—returns in studio to talk about the newly released paperback edition of Cultish, the book that launched a thousand cult-disc...

8 Joulu 202535min

A Little Bit Extra: Post-Thanksgiving Word Salad and Listener Voicemails

A Little Bit Extra: Post-Thanksgiving Word Salad and Listener Voicemails

We’re back for A Little Bit Extra Thursday filled with Thanksgiving word salads and gallows humor. We chat about the last few truly bonkers weeks, share a long-awaited update on the book (spoiler: it’...

4 Joulu 202527min

Anthia Gillick on OneTaste: Strokes, Sex, and Shame

Anthia Gillick on OneTaste: Strokes, Sex, and Shame

When does sexual empowerment cross the line into cult control? Following Ellen Huet’s OneTaste expose, we sat with Anthia Gillick—former OneTaste “insider,” survivor, and truth-teller—for a deep dive ...

1 Joulu 202554min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
psykologia
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
kesken
rss-valo-minussa-2
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
leikitaanko-laakaria
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
rss-niinku-asia-on
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
mielipaivakirja
puhutaan-koiraa
rss-rentotapaus