Today we chat with Jessica Kahn, former member of a group we're calling "The Narrow Road." She'll tell us about being born into this isolated fundamentalist Christian sect that was originally formed as an addiction treatment program, the leader

Madi Stroud - Daughter of a Cult Leader: Love Has Won & Amy Carlson

7 days ago 1h 8m

Today our guest is Madi Stroud. She was featured on the HBO docu series Love Has Won, and is late cult leader Amy Carlson’s daughter - the one whose mummified body was found wrapped in Christmas lights in Colorado. Madi shares what she remember

Dr. Inna Kanevsky - Pseudoscience, TikTok Psychology, & Culty Psychologists

14 days ago 1h 17m

Dr. Inna Kanevsky, psychologist, professor, and debunker of pseudoscience psychology TikToks, discusses the misinformation videos that got her started on the path of debunking, why mental health labels can be helpful but can also lead us to inc

Warren Kohl, Part 2 - The Pressures of Preaching in a Secretive Cult

22 days ago 1h 7m

Today is part two with Warren Kohl, former member and religious leader within the 2x2s (Meagan's secretive childhood group that technically has no name). Today we'll hear how Warren left behind his dreams of medical school to become a "worker"

Warren Kohl, Part 1 - Preparing to Preach in a Secretive Cult

28 days ago 47m 5s

Today's guest is Warren kohl, a fifth generation member and former “worker” (or minister) in the 2x2’s, the group that Meagan grew up in. Warren shares how devout he was to the group at a very young age, having your entire life controlled, and

Nadine Macaluso - Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds

Apr 17th, 2024 1h 27m

Psychologist, trauma bond expert, and author of Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds, Nadine Macaluso share about her relationship with ex-husband Jordan Belfort (aka The Wolf of Wall Street

Zoe & Lillian, Part 2 - Troubled Teens, Midwest Academy, and Solitary Confinement

Apr 3rd, 2024 50m 46s

In part two with Zoe and Lilly, survivors of Midwest Academy, one of the abusive troubled teen programs in the same organization that was spotlighted in the docuseries The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping, we dig deeper into Lily’s experien

Zoe & Lillian, Part 1 - The Program, Ivy Ridge and Casa by the Sea

Mar 27th, 2024 53m 38s

Survivors of the infamous WWASP schools, Zoe & Lillian, share about their experiences being forced to join Ivy Ridge, Midwest Academy, and Casa by the Sea; All schools featured in the current Netflix docudrama, The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kid

Roberta Blevins, Part 2 - Leaving The LuLaRoe Family

Mar 21st, 2024 58m 43s

In part two with former LuLaRoe seller, Roberta Blevins, they discuss everything about LuLaRoe's founder DeAnne Brady and her family, the mother figure role DeAnne provided in Roberta's life, dealing with toxic positivity, and a thorough list o

Roberta Blevins, Part 1 - Inside LuLaRoe

Mar 13th, 2024 1h 9m

In part one with former LuLaRoe seller and Life After MLM podcast host, Roberta Blevins, she'll share how she first got involved in MLMS, what LuLaRoe was like, what the deal was with the wet smelly leggings, and what made realize that she did

Lola & Meagan - Am I in a Cult (or Just a Group)?

Mar 6th, 2024 1h 2m

This week, Lola and Meagan's guests are... Lola and Meagan! They talk about the cult of seeing everything as a cult, discussing how things that might seem a little culty don’t necessarily inherently mean that a group IS a cult. They’ll discuss

Katelyn Jade Hlavaty, Part 2 - Satanic Ritual Abuse & Becoming a Spokesperson

Feb 28th, 2024 1h 16m

In part two of this listener story with Operation Light Force survivor, Katelyn Hlavaty, Lola and Meagan unpack how the leader's bogus healing protocol, which involved digging into old trauma, eventually led to Satanic Ritual Abuse. Katelyn sha

Katelyn Jade Hlavaty, Part 1 - Joining Operation Light Force

Feb 21st, 2024 1h 3m

In part one of this wild listener story, Katelyn Hlavaty chats with Lola and Meagan about her experience in the evangelical healing ministry group, Operation Light Force. Katelyn shares how she joined the group when she was isolated and struggl

Sara Gorman - Science, Healthcare, and Why We Ignore Facts

Feb 14th, 2024 1h 20m

Sara Gorman, public health expert, CEO & founder of Critica, and author of Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, joins Lola and Meagan to discuss the importance of the scientific method, why presenting evidence can fe

Jenna Miscavige, Part 2 - Escaping Scientology

Feb 7th, 2024 48m 32s

Former Sea Org member and niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about leaving "The Ranch" in order to join the Sea Org, getting involved in higher level management, how she barely knew her own parents, the constant

Jenna Miscavige, Part 1 - Growing up in Scientology's Sea Organization

Jan 31st, 2024 56m 4s

Former Scientology Sea Org member and niece of current Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about being a third generation member, growing up in the infamous Sea Organization, doing child labor in a place called The Ranch,

Crystal Hefner - Surviving The Playboy Mansion

Jan 24th, 2024 1h 10m

Crystal Hefner, former Playboy Playmate, Hugh Hefner's widow, author of Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself shares how she ended going to the Playboy Mansion for the first time, getting invited by Hef to stay, her tightly

Michelle Dowd, Part 2 - From the Mountain to the Hospital to Forging Her Own Path

Jan 17th, 2024 1h 5m

In part two of their conversation with Michelle Dowd, Lola & Meagan dig into when Michelle and her family moved to the mountain, why discomfort was considered a virtue, getting sick with an autoimmune disease at the age of ten, spending many mo

Michelle Dowd, Part 1 - Becoming a Forager in The Field

Jan 10th, 2024 57m 50s

Professor, survivor of The Field, and author of Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult, Michelle Dowd, discusses growing up in the cult founded by her grandfather in the 1930s, how it started as an after school program for boys and ev

Thomas & Micah, Part 2 - Mormon Mission, Scientology, & Disney Adults

Dec 27th, 2023 1h 5m

Two formerly closeted religious men, Thomas and Micah, share how they came out to their families and left their beliefs behind. Thomas talks about going on a Mormon mission as a gay man, Micah shares how learning about scientology was a turning

Thomas & Micah, Part 1 - God, Goofy, and Growing Up Gay in Religion

Dec 20th, 2023 45m 34s

One is a former Mormon. The other was a child of evangelical missionaries teaching a doctrine called Accelerated Christian Education. Both of them were closeted gay men growing up in strict religious households. Today, Thomas and Micah share ab

Marji Mozart, Part 2 - Life After the FLDS

Dec 13th, 2023 1h 6m

Musician and former FLDS member, Marji Mozart, discusses her wedding day as an underage bride who had never been taught about sex, her multiple marriages including one to her sister's husband, the pain of feeling that her dreams of becoming a m

Marji Mozart, Part 1 - Growing up in the FLDS

Dec 7th, 2023 1h 21m

Musician and former FLDS member, Marji Mozart, shares about her childhood in Colorado City, living with a rebellious mother within a high control community, how she dreamed of being a musician instead of someone's wife, getting married to a gro

Barak Hardley - Where Belief Intersects Creativity

Nov 29th, 2023 1h 4m

Lola's friend, actor, artist, director, and the next Bob Ross, Barak Hardley talks about his previous life as an evangelical pastor, getting kicked out of the church, and transitioning to life as an actor in LA. Lola and Barak dive into the phi

Annie Taylor - The Garden: Commune or Cult

Nov 22nd, 2023 1h 9m

Annie Taylor, Executive Producer of Discovery's The Garden: Commune or Cult, shares about her time living in an off the grid community that went viral on TikTok for accusations of being a cult and disturbing allegations about a cat. Annie tells