Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation — Análise de anúncios do podcast
12 episódios analisados
5 min ads · 8% do episódio são anúncios
9.0 anúncios/episódio
Principais patrocinadores: Credits and outro, iHeart promo – Burden of Guild S3, iHeart podcast cross-promo - Burden of Guild, Dear Chelsea promo, SimplySafe ad
Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.
Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.
PodSkip has analyzed 12 episodes of Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation, averaging 9.0 ads per episode (8% of runtime).
Felicia Rosario - Larry Ray’s Coercive Tactics, Life After the Sarah Lawrence Cult, and Becoming an Expert Witness
Oct 14, 2026
This week, the girls are joined again by Felicia Rosario, survivor of the cult at Sarah Lawrence, led by a man named Larry Ray. Today Felicia, who previously came on the show along with fellow…
Stephen Kinzer - MKUltra, Sidney Gottlieb, and the CIA’s Hunt For Mind Control
Oct 07, 2026
This week, author and historian Stephen Kinzer joins Trust Me to discuss his book, Poisoner in Chief, and its subject: chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who led mind control experiments in the CIA’s Project…
Renee Spencer, Part 2 - The Jesus Christians, the “Kidney Cult,” and Suing Your Daughter’s Religious Group
Sep 30, 2026
This week is part two with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, who sued the Jesus Christians, aka the “kidney cult,” after they recruited her daughter. Last week, Renee explained how she realized…
Renee Spencer, Part 1 - When Your Daughter Joins the “Kidney Cult”
Sep 23, 2026
This week is part 1 with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, whose daughter was recruited into the Jesus Christians: a group commonly referred to as the “kidney cult” for their practice of…
Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 2 - Leaving Mormonism, Becoming Dominatrixes, and Reclaiming Power with BDSM
Sep 16, 2026
We’re back with twins Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known as Mothermary. In part 2 this week they’ll talk about how Elyse got fed up with being obsessive about sin all the time, which led her to hitch…
Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 1 - Montana Mormons, Sex at BYU, and the “Miracle" of Forgiveness
Sep 09, 2026
This week is part 1 with musicians, identical twins, and former Mormons turned dominatrixes Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known by their band name Mothermary. The girls share what it was like being…
John Hunter - Manufacturing Mania in Self-Help Seminars
Sep 02, 2026
This week’s guest is psychology researcher and lecturer Dr. John Hunter, joining the show to talk about intensive self-help seminars–known as “large group awareness trainings,” or LGATs–and the…
Laci Mosley – Scams vs. Cults, and the Many Forms of Fraud
Aug 26, 2026
This week, the girls are joined by Laci Mosley, comedian, actress, and host of the Scam Goddess podcast and TV show (and author of Scam Goddess the book), to talk about the many types of frauds that…
14 ads · 10 min · 0% ads
Michele McPhee – The Polygamist, the Criminal, and Their Multibillion-Dollar Scam
Aug 19, 2026
This week, Meagan and Lola sit down with Michelle McPhee, investigative reporter and host of podcast Kingdom of Fraud, to discuss how Jacob Kingston, a fundamentalist Mormon from the secretive…
11 ads · 8 min · 0% ads
Anke Richter, Part 2 - Harem Culture, Leaving ISTA, and DeCult
Aug 12, 2026
This week is part 2 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group ISTA, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In part 2 with Anke, she…
14 ads · 8 min · 0% ads
Anke Richter, Part 1 - Ecstatic Dancing, Tantric Sex, and Joining ISTA
Aug 05, 2026
Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference…
12 ads · 7 min · 0% ads
Sophie Fergi, Part 2 - Living with Piper, Constant Control, and Being Shunned by the Squad
Jul 29, 2026
This week is part two with Sophie Fergi, former child influencer featured in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. In this episode, she shares what happened after she…
14 ads · 7 min · 0% ads
Sophie Fergi, Part 1 - Kidfluencing, Joining the Squad, and the Dark Side of YouTube
Jul 22, 2026
This week is part one with Sophie Fergi, former child influencer who told her story in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. In this episode, she explains how she first…
Jasper Hoffman, Part 2 - Undercover Therapy, Leaving the Mennonites, and the Aftermath
Jul 15, 2026
This week, the girls are back with Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part two today, Jasper explains what the perfect Mennonite woman looked like, how concerns were raised…
Jasper Hoffman, Part 1 - From Atheists to Mennonites
Jul 08, 2026
This week, the girls are joined by Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part one, she explains how her parents went from a being punk rock atheist and an anthropology major to…
Dr. Christine Marie - Undercover in a Cult Town: Taking Down False Prophet Sam Bateman
Jul 01, 2026
This week, Lola’s mom Dr. Christine Marie (and the podcast’s very first guest!) comes back on the show to talk about moving to FLDS town Short Creek, how she and Lola’s stepdad Tolga earned the trust…
Nikki G, Part 2 - The Seven Mountain Mandate, “Church Hurt,” and Why Cults Aren’t Just a White People Problem
Jun 24, 2026
In part two with Nikki G., she discusses more of the high-control groups she joined, the political project of the Seven Mountain Mandate that she was part of, the connection between biblical concepts…
Nikki G, Part 1 - Down the Rabbit Hole, Cult Hopping, and Surviving the Black Church
Jun 17, 2026
This week, Nikki G., host of Surviving the Black Church and survivor of FIVE different high-control groups, discusses joining the first church on her cult-hopping journey, how she got initially…
Maria Bamford - 12 Step Programs, OCD, and How to Join Every Group
Jun 10, 2026
This week, Lola and Meagan are joined by comic, actor, and author of Sure I’ll Join Your Cult, Maria Bamford. The girls discuss Maria’s childhood OCD, intrusive thoughts, and the ways those…
Sarah Edmondson, Part 2 - DOS, Disillusionment, and Leaving Keith Raniere
Jun 03, 2026
This week is part 2 with Sarah Edmondson, NXIVM survivor, author, and host of A Little Bit Culty. The girls pick back up as Sarah goes deeper into the organization, eventually entering DOS and…
Sarah Edmondson, Part 1 - Joining NXIVM, Meeting Keith Raniere, and Moving Up the Ranks
May 20, 2026
This week is part 1 with, at long last, Sarah Edmondson, NXIVM survivor, author, and host of A Little Bit Culty, a podcast and now book, co-hosted and authored with her husband, Nippy Ames. She’ll…
Nomzia Bistline, Part 2 - Raided by the FBI, Life in Prison, and Breaking Free From Sam Bateman
May 13, 2026
In part 2 with Nomzia aka Nomz Bistline, from Netflix’s docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet (with Lola’s mom), Nomz shares what it was like getting raided by the FBI, how she felt about Lola’s mom…
10 ads · 10 min · 0% ads
Nomzia Bistline, Part 1 - The False Prophet: Growing Up FLDS & Marrying Sam Bateman
May 06, 2026
This week is part one with Nomzia “Nomz” Bistline, from the Netflix docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet (with Lola’s mom, Christine!). Nomz joins the girls to talk about what it was like growing…
1 ads · 1 min · 0% ads
Lyndsey Burr - Producing America’s Next Top Model
Apr 29, 2026
Lyndsey Burr, longtime reality television producer who worked on America’s Next Top Model for years, joins the girls to talk about her experiences working on the now-controversial hit show. She talks…
1 ads · 1 min · 0% ads
Matthew Remski, Part 2 - Cult Hopping, Disillusionment, and Root Causes of Cults
Apr 22, 2026
In part two with Matthew Remski (author and host of the Conspirituality podcast), Matthew shares how he cult hopped from his first guru to his second, the moment that disillusioned him, and the…
8 ads · 7 min · 0% ads
Matthew Remski, Part 1 - Seizures, Spirituality, & the First Charismatic Guru
Apr 15, 2026
This week’s guest is Matthew Remski, author and host of the Conspirituality podcast. In part one, he talks about his own personal experiences with gurus and cultic dynamics, and what led him to the…
2 ads · 0 min · 0% ads
Harrison Hill - The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps
Apr 08, 2026
Author Harrison Hill joins the girls to discuss his new book The Oracle’s Daughter, which follows the rise and fall of a small cult called the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps. He…
Celeste Gross - Growing Up in the Children of God
Apr 01, 2026
Celeste Gross joins the girls to talk about her experiences growing up in the Children of God - aka the Family - along with her many siblings. She explains how her parents joined when it still just…
Dan Olson, Part 2 - Charismatic Leaders and the Cult of Crypto
Mar 25, 2026
This week, Dan Olson, creator and host of YouTube channel Folding Ideas, returns to continue the conversation on cryptocurrency and NFTs. They discuss how these bubbles are driven primarily by…
Dan Olson, Part 1 - Crypto, NFTs, and Tech’s War on Doubt
Mar 18, 2026
This week, Dan Olson of the YouTube channel Folding Ideas joins the show for a deep dive into crypto, NFTs, and why so many of these spaces start to feel less like finance and more like belief…