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Inside Influence: 15 Podcasts Exploring How Cults Gain Control

It’s probably weird, but podcasts that delve deeper into criminal stories and horrors of cults typically have the highest listenership. They tend to explore the insidious nature of cults and the quite mysterious figures who lead them and the countless followers who have been lured into their trap. The thing with cults is that they are fascinating in nature. There’s something that just induces curiosity about stories of very ordinary people who get tangled up in groupthink that quickly turns dangerous. I think part of the appeal of such podcasts is that we usually think these things could never happen to us even though we kind of suspect that if circumstances were to change, it absolutely could happen. Anyway, here are some of the podcasts that explores how cults gain control.

1. Darkness of the World

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This is an audible original podcast from James Bruce and Peter McDonnell who expertly recount the harrowing ordeal of a survivor from one of the world’s largest and ironically least known cults. The survivor, Sochil Martin grew up inside this cult, La Luz del Mundo, a cult whose followers were led to believe that the only path to eternal salvation was total obedience and servitude to their leader. The leader’s demands kept growing darker and the narration of the chilling accounts of the emotional havoc wreaked by cults and the true story of the fight for freedom and justice makes you glued to it.

2. Coffee And Cults

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If you are an individual fascinated by cults and driven by caffeine, then this podcast is for you. You should just go ahead and grab your coffee then get together with Sam Lund and Jon Nash every month as they discuss true stories of cults and fringe religious groups over a cup of coffee. Balancing knowledge with humour and compassion, this podcast has a conversational flair and appeal to any true crime fan.

3. Escape From Jonestown

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Popularly known as Jonestown, this is one of the most infamous cults in the history of mankind.  On November 1978, 914 members of Jonestown drank a lethal flavor of cyanide in Guyana. It was such a big deal because most people had a hard time figuring out how one person can convince almost 1000 people to kill themselves. Tim Carter, one of the people who became part of the inner circle of this cult’s leader, Jim Jones, was fortunately able to escape the massacre. This audible original podcast tells of his story. It is the kind of podcast that keeps you glued to it.

4. Heaven’s Gate

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In the year 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate religious cult committed suicide. The question has always been why would they decide to do something like that. What events and beliefs could result to so much death? In this podcast, the host, Glynn Washington, talks to those who lost their loved ones and those who still believe relaying the stories of outraged family members and committed seekers. It is indeed a one of a kind podcast and gives you more insights about this harrowing event.

5. Escaping NXIVM

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Pronounced as ‘Nexium,’this was a company that provided seminars and videos meant to help with personal development. However behind closed doors, the story was very different. NXIVM was a cult. Hosted by CBC documentarian Josh Bloch, this podcast is a proper investigative series that explores the story behind the group and its leader Keith Raniere. The podcast takes into account the journey of Sarah Edmondson, a Canadian actress who was really involved with this cult at a high level but ultimately was able to break free.

6. Let’s Talk About Sects

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Clever name, huh?! Aside from this clever name, this podcast particularly stands out for its thorough research and very compelling storytelling technique. It is a weekly episode hosted by Sarah Steel and she takes the listeners on a deep dive of the different and fascinating cult. It is also an award winning podcast and rightfully so because it delves into the cult’s history, its recruitment process and experiences of the cult’s members. The psychological rollercoaster and all the major events that happened during the existence of the cult has also been covered in this amazing podcast.

7. Was I In A Cult?

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This documentary- style podcast features the stories of people who have been in and successfully escaped from cults. Hosted by Tyler Meason and Liz Iacuzzi, this podcast aims at humanizing the experiences of those indoctrinated into cults and even allowing former members to directly tell their riveting and inspirational stories. They make it all human by telling these ordeals in an empathetically manner and most times very easy to identify and relate with.

8. Two Sisters and a Cult

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The beauty of this podcast is that the hosts, Jada Smith and Alesia Galati are lifelong best friends and sisters who grew up in a cult.  Now as survivors, they have this forum where they sit down and discuss the anatomy of cults on their podcast. In each episode of the podcast, they caht about all things cults, both historical and present day while also relating the stories to the followers and leaders as per the memories from when they were in the cult that practically raised them.

9. Dear Franklin Jones

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When you listen to Jonathan Hirsch in this podcast, you realize that he had a childhood quite similar to most of ours. However, the major difference is that him he grew up in a family that followed Franklin Jones, the controversial spiritual leader. To his family, Franklin known popularly as spiritual guru, Adi Da, was basically a god but to the outside world, he was just a typical cult leader and sexual abuser. Jonathan left this community when he went off to college and now in this podcast he hosts, he takes a look at his childhood experiences while trying to find out what was really going on at the time and if he was in fact a member of a cult.

10. Transmissions From Jonestown

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The host Shannon Howard, guides listeners through tapes that recounts the history of Peoples Temple. These are recordings that have now been made public after being locked up within an FBI vault for decades. Though sometimes difficult to listen to, this podcast pieces together the history of Peoples Temple from Jim Jones’ beginnings as a faith healer to the cult’s tragic massacre of 1978.

11. The Cult Vault

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This is a weekly podcast produced and hosted by Kacey. It offers an in-depth insight into some of the most notorious cults in history, and the modern-day sects and conspiracies. The episodes cover a wide range of topics and even the recent episodes have now introduced a conversation with cult mediation specialist, Patrick Ryan and discussions with a survivor of the Jpanese New Religious Movement known as Sukyo Mahikari. It is an eye opening podcast for sure and one gets to learn so much about the psychology of cults.

12. Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief and Manipulation

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The hosts, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth have lived through and eventually escaped being ensnared in a cult. In their podcast, ‘Trust Me,’ they get to share experiences and unpack manipulative tactics, secrecy, and abuse of power that can make all sorts of people vulnerable to the seduction of cultic movements and buying into its belief even though you do not quite understand them. It is an empowering and moving show that moves its listeners to looking at life with an open mind and refreshing perspective.

13. Chasing Enlightenment

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In the 70s, a guy by the name John Hanas appeared in Toronto and claimed that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. He even had a small group of followers calling themselves the Students of Light. They believed that Hanas had supernatural powers but to the outsiders these were just gimmicks and Hanas was a leader of a dangerous cult. This podcast hosted by Daniel Munro, tells the story of the Students of Light and their founder, who was often accused of mind control, brainwashing and abuse.

14. Sounds Like A Cult

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This is an interesting podcast that has a comedic angle that just keeps you glued to it. It looks at things in our contemporary culture that kind of sound like cults. They ask the question, Is SoulCycle a cult? What about Instagram? The hosts, Isa Medina and Amanda Montell take on all the questions we typically wonder about but are afraid to ask. The question here is, when does something become a cult and when all senses says that one is headed towards that, how harmful can these cultural obsessions become?

15. Twin Flames

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Stephanie Beatrix, an actor, hosts this captivating podcast and asks the question about what happens when searching for ‘The One’ gets you trapped in a cult. It all started when Jeff and Shaleia, vloggers in YouTube, offered a promise to their followers on the platform that they would forge a deep, lasting romantic connection with their destined partner after they follow them. Downside was how the members started distancing themselves from friends and families in the name of searching for their twin flame. The reckless abandon of it all led to the altering of their identities and that’s why it was considered a cult by many.

These podcasts are quite interesting and enlightening and if you pay attention to what they are talking about, you get to understand more how dangerous cults can be and how it all start with one thinking that they can never be victims.