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Let's Talk About Sects

Let's Talk About Sects

By: Sarah Steel
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Let's Talk About Sects is an award-winning monthly podcast focusing on a different cult each episode. Sarah takes a storytelling, deep dive approach, looking at the history of a sect's leaders, the recruitment of members, their experiences, psychological aspects, and notable incidents during its existence.

You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available now.

“A fascinating and well-researched look into cults and the charismatic leaders behind them.” Peter Wells, The Sydney Morning Herald

“A fantastic examination of sects, cults, and religion… a fact-based program that’ll hook you in and keep you coming back for more.” Zach Johnston, Uproxx

“Cleverly named, meticulously researched.” Elena Nicolaou, Refinery29

“The best podcast of its kind – I can’t wait for another episode!” Apple Podcasts review from a US listener

“I study cults and sects and for this reason listen to many podcasts on these subjects. This one is by far the best.” Apple Podcasts review from a US listener

“Best podcast about cults I’ve found.” Apple Podcasts review from an Australian listener

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Steel Social Sciences Spirituality True Crime
Episodes
  • Cult Bride & Providence/JMS with Liz Cameron

    Cult Bride & Providence/JMS with Liz Cameron
    Jun 3 2025

    In 2011, an 18-year-old Liz Cameron joined a Bible study group she only knew as ‘Sarang Church’. Over the coming months, she lost more and more of her life and identity to the group that eventually revealed it was part of a larger South Korean organisation called Providence or JMS – which she was told not to google. Liz managed to find her way out of her indoctrination with the help of her family, and has just released her memoir about her experiences, Cult Bride: How I was brainwashed – and how I broke free.


    Links:

    • Cult Bride: How I was brainwashed – and how I broke free — by Liz Cameron, Hardie Grant Publishing, June 2025
    • liztheformer — Liz Cameron's TikTok channel
    • The Cult Next Door — 7News Spotlight episode, 2 July 2023
    • In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal — Netflix documentary about Providence/JMS, 2023
    • Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups — Parliament of Victoria, open for submissions until 31 July 2025 and due to deliver findings in September 2026


    You can support us on Patreon. Sarah Steel's book Do As I Say is available on audiobook.


    If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Interview Episode: Victorian Inquiry into Cults with Ryan & Catherine Carey

    Interview Episode: Victorian Inquiry into Cults with Ryan & Catherine Carey
    May 20 2025

    The Parliament of Victoria has launched an Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups, which is open for submissions until 31 July 2025. If you or anyone you know has been involved with a cult that has a presence in Victoria, Australia, you're highly encouraged to make a submission. There’s also an anonymous questionnaire option available for those who might not wish to make a full submission.


    Ryan and Catherine Carey are two former members of the Geelong Revival Centre who – along with a working group of other cult survivors – have been at the forefront in instigating this inquiry. They secured the support of Victoria’s Labor State Member for Geelong and Parliamentary Secretary for First Peoples Christine Couzens, and Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, who launched the Inquiry in April 2025. It's due to deliver its findings in September 2026.


    Links:

    • Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups — Parliament of Victoria, open for submissions until 31 July 2025 and due to deliver findings in September 2026
    • Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder podcast
    • Stop Religious Coercion Australia — websitem Facebook group, TikTok and Instagram
    • Victorian Cult Survivors Network — Facebook group


    You can support us on Patreon. Sarah Steel's book Do As I Say is available on audiobook.


    If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
  • Falun Gong

    Falun Gong
    Apr 22 2025
    Falun Gong is familiar to many as a spiritual exercise movement, and a sect that has been persecuted by the People’s Republic of China. In Sydney you'll often see practitioners demonstrating by Town Hall with flyers sharing stories of organ harvesting of wrongfully imprisoned members. But former devotees have come forward with stories of coercion and abuse, alleging that in one thing the CCP is correct: Falun Gong is a socially harmful cult.Full research sources listed here.Links:“I am the only one propagating true Dharma”: Li Hongzhi’s Self-Presentation as Buddha and Greater — by James R. Lewis, ColomboArts Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol II, Issue 2, 2017The life and times of Li Hongzhi: ‘Falun Gong’ and Religious Biography — by Benjamin Penny, The China Quarterly 175, 643–661, 2003The power of Falun Gong — By Eric Campbell and Hagar Cohen, Foreign Correspondent-Background Briefing, ABC, 21 July 2020Shen Yun: The Dark Side of a Dance Troupe — The Daily, New York Times Podcasts, 3 April 2025Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy — by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News, 23 August 2019This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost — by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News, 8 January 2021A key source for Covid-skeptic movements, the Epoch Times yearns for a global audience — by Alessio Perrone & Darren Loucaides, coda, 10 March 2022DoJ accuses far-right Epoch Times of being money-laundering operation — by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian, 4 June 2024Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse — by Nicole Hong & Michael Rothfeld, The New York Times, 15 August 2024Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun — by Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 March 2019Their posters are everywhere, but behind Shen Yun lies a darker story — by Anthony Segaert, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2025Consider supporting Decult in NZ Subscribe and support the production of this independent podcast, and you can access early + ad-free episodes at https://plus.acast.com/s/lets-talk-about-sects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 12 mins

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