Does Nature Tell Us Anything About God? With John Elson

In this bonus episode from the Cults on Film series, Stephen explores cult tactics employed by the Jedi and the Sith. Cult recruitment 101 by Alex Guinness and Ian McDiarmid.  Become a patron for just £1 or $1 or an Imperial Credit.

28 Dec 202228min

For cult leavers raised in groups like Jehovah's Witnesses who don't celebrate Christmas, the holidays can create mixed feelings. Celine and Stephen explore this and talk about their own experience of learning to embrace cultural celebrations and holidays. Also, is it hypocritical for atheists to celebrate Christmas? The second segment is more personal and Celine and Stephen talk about why they do the podcast even though it has come at a cost neither expected. Support the podcast by becoming a patron https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts Nonna's Natale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzLLH13O61U&t=21s Animation, My First Christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6_beKvu5uI

24 Dec 202255min

Dr Darrel Ray is a well known author, psychologist and speaker about the difficulties of making sense of the world after leaving problematic religious experiences and groups. This week Stephen talks to Darrel about his book 'The God Virus' and the work he does as the founder of 'Recovering From Religion', a non profit that supports people after leaving. Useful Links Become a patron for just $1.50  https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts The God Virus, Darrel Ray https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6115911-the-god-virus Recovering From Religion https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/

17 Dec 202253min

Today's bonus episode is an analysis of the 2017 movie Apostasy written and directed by former Jehovah's Witness, Daniel Kokotajlo starring Siobhan Finneran, Molly Wright, Robert Emms and Sacha Parkinson. This is a very important movie and in this analysis Stephen explores the devastating realities and consequences of this group's policies, including those around certain types of medical intervention and shunning.

14 Dec 202225min

This week’s episode is a special one and welcomes guest Riley from the Jexit channel. It explores the spectacular story of the KLF, a 90s band who burned a £1M and promoted the cause of a counter-culture cult called the JAMs. Drawing upon the amazing book by John Higgs, The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds, Stephen and Riley make their way through pop music, a pseudo religion called Discordianism, The Illuminatus Trilogy, Alan Moore, Self Referential Reality Tunnels, magic and conspiracy theories to mention just a few things, all from the perspective of two people who lived in a cult.  Reference https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16166062-klf Become a patron https://www.patreon.com/culthackers

10 Dec 202236min

In this final episode of our mini-series Stephen is joined by Jane Stewart and and James Carrier from The World of World Project to explore the importance and the dangers of meaning and purpose being exclusively tied to the workplace.

7 Dec 202255min

Raised as a 4th generation Jehovah's Witness Natalie Grand wanted to educate the world about life for a woman growing up in the group. Celine and Stephen enjoyed talking to Natalie about her wonderful graphic novel called Cult Girls, which tells the story about a group of young women taking control of their lives from the patriarchal cult, the only life they had known.  https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60646567-cult-girls If you would like to support the podcast you can do so by becoming a patron for just £1 ($1.50) https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

3 Dec 202251min

In this week's special collaboration with The World of Work Project we explore the importance of being able to speak up and have your say in healthy organisations. One of the defining features of cultic organisations is that the members have no meaningful voice and are encouraged to be obedient. How can we avoid this danger in our team? If you'd like to support the podcast you can do so by becoming a patron for just £1 ($1.50) https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts   Reference Guided Team Self-Correction: Impacts on Team Mental Models, Processes, and Effectiveness. Smith-Jentsch, A. and Cannon-Bowers, J.  DOI: 10.1177/1046496408317794

30 Nov 20221h 9min