“The Workers' Institute” - Aravindan Balakrishnan

In 1980s London, Colin Batley started a church based on the occult teachings of Aleister Crowley. Batley soon moved his congregation into a quiet cul-de-sac 200 miles away — where, behind the façade of suburbia, he and his followers sexually assaulted children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Nov 202141min

We end our three-part special in Japan, where a yoga teacher named Shoko Asahara preached a violent, apocalyptic dogma. In 1995 his cult, Aum Shinrikyo, used chemical weapons in targeted attacks in Tokyo to speed up the apocalypse.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Nov 202146min

Vanessa is joined by Lanie Hobbs from Crimes of Passion, a Spotify Original from Parcast, as they investigate the life of Michael Roach — Princeton grad, certified Geshe, and so-called king of Diamond Mountain, his spiritual retreat in Arizona. Together with his mentee and then-wife, Christie McNally, Roach lured hundreds of people to the desert with tantric yoga and karmic seeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Nov 202145min

How do quests for enlightenment get so sinister? Today, we’re looking at three stories of yoga gurus and guides who were loved — then loathed — for their practices. We start in Romania, charting the rise of the deeply polarizing Gregorian Bivolaru. The alleged mystic is heralded by many as a great teacher and victim of persecution. But authorities say he used his teachings to manipulate, exploit, and traffic women and girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Nov 202137min

When a psychic who’s been experimenting with ketamine goes missing in 1979, her brother suspects she’s been kidnapped by a cult. Today’s episode on Marcia Moore is from Unsolved Murders, a true crime podcast and Spotify Original from Parcast. Follow Unsolved Murders for new episodes every Tuesday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

16 Nov 202140min

Millions of followers. A powerful political ally. And his very own Garden of Eden. Televangelist Apollo Quiboloy spent decades turning his small congregation into a multinational religious empire. Along the way, he’s faced alarming accusations of brainwashing, human trafficking, and murder.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Nov 202140min

After predicting a nuclear war, Hawkins offered salvation to his increasingly isolated followers. But cracks began to appear in his kingdom. By 2008, officials charged him for bigamy and child labor violations. A year later, three former members gave T.V. interviews to reveal just how bad things really were. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Nov 202138min

In the 1980s, a prophecy about two brothers and an ad in The National Enquirer drew hundreds of people into the House of Yahweh — a church in Abilene, Texas helmed by a deeply unsavory and swindling man named Bill Hawkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Okt 202145min