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Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

By: Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
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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.

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Episodes
  • Sarma Melngailis - Part 2: Isolation, Deeper into the Scam, & Getting Arrested

    Sarma Melngailis - Part 2: Isolation, Deeper into the Scam, & Getting Arrested
    Oct 29 2025

    In part 2, Sarma Melngailis, subject of the docuseries Bad Vegan and author of The Girl with the Duck Tattoo, tells Lola & Meagan how Mr. Fox consumed her time, overwhelmed her with information, and dangled promises of financial freedom that was always JUST around the corner as a way to get her to send him more and more money.

    She’ll share about the fabricated online personas he created as part of the manipulation, how he always knew things it seemed like he couldn’t have known, and the tactics he used to keep her in a constant state of confusion and dependence, driving across the country until they were finally both arrested. Plus, how she felt about her time in Rikers, and the current status of her restaurant.

    SOURCES

    The Girl With the Duck Tattoo

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Sarma Melngailis - Part 1: Bad Vegan, Meeting Mr. Fox, and Early Red Flags

    Sarma Melngailis - Part 1: Bad Vegan, Meeting Mr. Fox, and Early Red Flags
    Oct 22 2025

    In part 1 with guest Sarma Melngailis, subject of the docuseries Bad Vegan and author of The Girl with the Duck Tattoo, Sarma shares about her life as the owner of a successful vegan restaurant in New York, how she met the man who called himself Mr. Fox on Twitter when he seemed to know her friend Alec Baldwin, her first impressions of Mr. Fox, and some of the initial red flags she missed.
    They discuss the way he slowly wormed his way into her life, how he first started asking for money in a way that seemed innocuous at first, and some of the many manipulation tactics he used to coerce her into transferring an astronomical amount of money to him--and ultimately blowing up her life.

    SOURCES

    The Girl With the Duck Tattoo

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Arabelle Sicardi - Plastic Surgery in Mormonism, Biohacking, and the Beauty Industry

    Arabelle Sicardi - Plastic Surgery in Mormonism, Biohacking, and the Beauty Industry
    Oct 15 2025

    This week, the girls are joined by Arabelle Sicardi, writer, image theorist, and author of The House of Beauty: Lessons from the Image Industry. Lola and Meagan confess the cosmetic procedures they've each had, and Arabelle explores how the beauty industry preys on our deepest fears, giving us a false sense of control and training us to worship ideals that are impossible to reach. They reflect on the high rates of plastic surgery in Utah and the LDS church, the gendered differences between the beauty industry and biohacking, and the relationship of beauty to power.

    Arabelle breaks down the cultiness of influencer brand trips, Coco Chanel's forgotten Nazi ties, and how easy it can be to isolate in luxury, detaching from the unseen global exploitation within the beauty industry. Plus: why beauty's true value lies not in perfection, but in human connection.

    SOURCES:

    The House of Beauty: Lessons from the Image Industry

    Arabelle Sicard

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 6 mins
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