Newsletter: Massive No Kings 2 Protests: In A World Of Lies, Discerning The Truth
How to become a successful “B.S.” Detector
True or false: Portland is a war zone, and the “No Kings” protesters are violent terrorists. The answer depends on which news source you watch.
This is the narrative that Trump is pushing. But how can we cut through to reclaim the truth? The answer is staying informed in a society that wishes we weren’t.
Repeating lies works. Research shows that hearing false information over and over can change what we believe, even when we know it isn’t true. That’s why propaganda, cult playbooks, and extremist groups rely on repetition to steer people.
Cults do the same thing.
For example, when your friend invites you to a yoga class, the worst thing you expect is a sore body, not being taken for thousands of dollars by a wellness cult.
This week’s episode of my podcast, Cults, Culture & Coercion, Body & Mind Cult: Dahn Yoga and High-Control Tactics, covers just this situation. I spoke with Alisa Daniels, a survivor of Il Chi Lee’s Dahn Yoga cult (aka Dahn World), who was drawn in by her son, along with the rest of their family. We talk about this destructive cult that preys on people’s wish for mindfulness but has extorted large amounts of cash from its members. You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Of course, the video of my interview with Alisa is on our YouTube channel, and you can listen to it as a podcast, below:
Paid subscribers support our mission and get real-time briefings and complete access to topical deep-dives and guides that remain relevant well beyond the week’s headlines, articles like:
Invisible Threads: Weaving Mental Health and Democracy in Trump Times: a conversation with journalist Kate Woodsome, who was present at the January 6th attacks in Washington D.C.
Staying Grounded in Reality in The Age of Authoritarianism: a primer on understanding the dynamics of misinformation, and the importance of maintaining community and intention
Misinformation also has an enduring effect in next week’s episode. Have you ever wondered why anyone would join - or stay in - Scientology? In next week’s episode, Leaving the “Truman Show” of Scientology, I speak with my longtime friend, the charming and resilient Tory “Magoo” Christman. The video of our talk is available in advance for our YouTube members, so now is an excellent time to become a member of our YouTube channel!
This week’s livestream on multiple platforms will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, October 22nd, from 2-3 p.m. EDT. These give me the chance to respond in real-time to events as they unfold and answer your questions. Last week’s livestream was a great success; you can see the recording here if you missed it.
I wrote a piece for my friend Lev Parnas’s Substack on Putin’s horrifying kidnapping and brainwashing of Ukrainian children. They are being indoctrinated to be loyal to the Russian regime that has been attacking their families, home, and country.
On Saturday, I published a blog post for our paid subscribers, “Better Off Dead Before Eight Years Old,” which explores a concerning phenomenon in the world of Mormonism. During a recent conversation, an ex-Mormon associate shared a disturbing insight from her time in the church. She mentioned how some Mormon children, before reaching age 8, secretly wish to die. In this post, I discuss the frightening reason why this happens.
I was interviewed by Jim Bennett and Ian Wilks for their “Inside Out” podcast, which was posted on Saturday. Together, we discussed the origins of my BITE Model and how its elements apply to the culture and missionary system of the LDS Church. Jim and Ian share their own contrasting experiences inside Mormonism: one as a lifelong member with deep family roots, the other as a convert and former bishop. You can watch our fascinating talk on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We plan to do a livestream on multiple social media platforms this Thursday at 4 pm Eastern time. They have more to tell me and ask me to comment on.
This past week, I published a special free blog post, Coercion Is More Than a Gun to the Head. In this article, I emphasize how you do not need to physically detain or explicitly threaten someone with violence to coerce them into trafficking. Federal anti-trafficking statutes explicitly include tactics like psychological manipulation, document confiscation, and use of shame under the umbrella of coercion. In other words, U.S. law acknowledges that you can enslave someone by breaking their will to leave or escape. We see similar examples of this all too often in abusive romantic relationships, where it may take several attempts for a victim to leave. The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control is more robust than coercive control as a legal construct.
As always, please let us know what you think about these pieces or what you’d like to see us discuss in the future. Thanks so much!
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I'm glad this is out there now