Newsletter: Could Your Organization Become Unhealthy?
How Any Gathering of Humans Can Become Authoritarian - and How to Reverse the Process!
We are all social beings; forming groups comes naturally to us. Unfortunately, without clear guidelines, some of the groups we expect to be the healthiest can slip into unhealthy, authoritarian patterns of behavior. It can seem like a natural process. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
In my latest article for paid subscribers, When Doing Good Becomes The Cult, I explore how groups founded with the best of intentions, such as advocacy groups, tenants’ rights groups, trade unions, neighborhood groups, and more, can unwittingly slide into cultic behavior without realizing it. More importantly, I discuss how these patterns can be reversed to keep these groups healthy, vibrant, and truly democratic.
Paid subscribers can read this article for free today.
If you’re not already a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one; in addition to supporting my work, you’ll receive access to my complete catalog of interviews, articles, and helpful guides, such as:
Alternet’s Matthew Rozsa interviewed me and wrote the piece, Expert unveils detox plan for the Trump cult, to discuss why people are drawn to follow authoritarian leaders and how Trump fits into the “dark triad” (or even the “dark tetrad”) of psychological patterns.
Most importantly, we discuss how it’s vital not to cut your loved one off - as with any cult, keeping the lines of communication open and providing them with a safe “off ramp” is the best method for a possible exit from the belief system.
The August 7th livestream with Lara Kaput and psychologist Maria Esguerra was so important that I decided to write a full Substack article titled “Inside Australia’s Landmark Cult Inquiry Report.” You can see the original livestream here.
A new article in RawStory, Trump’s ‘really concerning’ dementia symptoms revealed in late-night posts: expert quotes the livestream I did with physical therapist Adam James, also known as Epistemiccrisis, talking about Trump’s declining mental health and the dangerous ramifications for our democracy. That original livestream is here.
This week’s livestream will be on Wednesday, August 19th, at 2 pm EDT; I will be discussing another angle on Information Control (part of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control).
Are you aware of the lawsuit filed against Trump’s Truth Social scheme to charge $100k a month for advance notice of Trump’s posts?
This is just one more example of Trump’s full-blown corruption. Of course, this gives the ultra-wealthy a major advantage in insider trading of future news events, allowing them to capitalize on current events through “prediction market” apps such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
This Friday, August 21st, I will be doing a special livestream with guest Friedrich Moser, producer and director of the excellent new documentary, How To Build a Truth Engine, an exploration of how our biological hard-wired neurological behavior makes us so susceptible to misinformation, and what we can do about it.
If you missed last week’s livestreams, you can see them here:
Ego Out of Control: How the Courts Can Fight Back Against Trump’s Narcissism - Wednesday, August 12th
Scientology Accused of Exploiting Children as Young as 13 with guest Jon Atack - Friday August 14th
Help Needed!
Operations & Content Coordinator (Part-Time) — This is a wear-many-hats role at Freedom of Mind Resource Center, supporting Dr. Steven Hassan’s work.
Beyond co-sharing admin roles (calendar, email, contacts, travel, invoicing), you’ll be technically savvy, assist with research and article writing, and support our social media team in promoting Dr. Hassan’s books, workshops, and consulting.
We’re looking for a resourceful individual with a genuine interest in Steve’s work on undue influence and coercive control.
On this week’s episode of my Cults, Culture & Coercion podcast, Escaping the Moonies and Rebuilding His Life, I add to my series on cults from Korea with my guest Ingo Michehl, M.Ed, a fellow survivor of the Moon organization, now living his best life as a therapist and life coach, helping others out of destructive groups and situations. We talk about our shared experiences, his upcoming movie, Jump, and how good life can be after a cult.
Listen on Apple | Spotify | Watch on YouTube
Read my Substack post about the interview here.
Next week’s podcast will feature noted attorney Karen Winner, JD; we will discuss the problems of the family court system in the U.S.
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!
