Newsletter - Rise Up Singing with Confidence and Truth
And Celebrating the Path from Survivor to Thriver
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In this week’s episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, “Deconstructing Christian Nationalist Upbringing, Alt-Right Doctrine, and Abusive Religious Parenting,” I had the pleasure of speaking with musician, writer, and viral “exvangelical” influencer with over a million followers, Monte Mader. Monte shares her courageous story of escaping an authoritarian upbringing marked by religious trauma, corporal punishment, and political extremism. Raised on a remote Wyoming cattle ranch, sent to Liberty University, and groomed by her family to become a Supreme Court judge to overturn Roe v. Wade, Monte’s journey is one of awakening and reclaiming her autonomy.
You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We’re now offering a special 20% off coupon for my new $9.95 mini course, the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control™. This mini-course is ideal for anyone wishing to learn more about my BITE Model. Enter the code “bitecourse20” and start today!
My 9-hour + course for psychiatrists (CMEs), psychologists, social workers, and licensed counselors is available for everyone to take, also at a reduced cost if they don’t need continuing education credit.
In next week’s episode, The Devil’s Confession: The Lost Eichmann Tapes, I will speak with Emmy-nominated director Yariv Mozer, who discusses how newly uncovered tapes of Adolf Eichmann blow apart the long-accepted narrative promulgated by Hannah Arendt, on the “banality of evil” that he was merely “following orders.” The video of our talk is available in advance for our YouTube members, so now is an excellent time to become a channel member.
We would like to welcome our new Freedom of Mind Europe director, Arthur Buchman, Ph.D.! Denmark is considered a very good country to share information for the public good! Arthur is a survivor himself and has extensive experience helping people to heal. He will help the effort in Europe to support those who are trying to help loved ones escape from cult control. He is also available to help survivors seeking support to heal from the trauma of cult involvement.
This week’s livestream will be tomorrow, Wednesday, July 2nd, at 1-2 p.m. EDT, on Instagram and YouTube. I welcome everyone to tune in with questions and comments! Last week’s livestream, “Trump's Iran Strikes Lead to a NUCLEAR Meltdown in MAGA” was a great success; if you missed it, you can watch a recording on YouTube.
My June blog post in Psychology Today, “Why Do Doomsday Believers Double-Down When Prophecy Fails?” discusses the phenomenon of Cognitive Dissonance, which occurs when our mind adjusts our beliefs, thoughts, or emotions to find relief from inner conflicts. I also address how authoritarian cults use Cognitive Dissonance as a tool to keep members compliant and dependent.
Last week, I was interviewed by Alvaro Céspedes, a journalist and podcast producer from Mexico, who is developing a narrative non-fiction podcast series about Marcial Maciel, a Mexican Catholic priest accused of decades of child abuse as the head of the Catholic cult, The Legionaries of Christ. This series will be the new season of the award-winning podcast by iHeart Radio called Sacred Scandal.
If you haven’t heard, we posted a special blog post for our paid Substack Members, “Holding the Line for Human Rights During Pride Month." It explores the current political and social environment for the LGBTQ+ community and how the psychology of undue influence is at the core of the polarization, bigotry, and abuse of this vulnerable community.
If you are a writer passionate about freedom of mind, we seek volunteer bloggers to help us create timely and well-crafted content.
We also seek a co-host and possible fill-in host for my Cult Conversations podcast. Ideally, it would be a mental health professional with direct experience with undue influence.
Please email center@freedomofmind.com for more information.
Last week, I appeared on the Golf with Irene podcast, and we had a great time. I have invited Irene to be on my podcast soon!
I was honored to speak with Monte Mader, who grew up in a Christian Nationalist family where indoctrination and abuse were ever-present. She was raised under strict religious teachings of intolerance, covert racism, and homophobia, but now has moved on to live her life on her own terms and her own beliefs. She now shares the deconstruction of her childhood and aspects of her healing journey in several venues, including a new memoir she’s working on. Her experiences are also reflected in her music as a “Rocky Mountain rock artist” living in Nashville, Tennessee. She writes songs and performs with her band, The Big Sky. She is so talented and is an inspiration.
Read the blog post or listen to the podcast, below:
We released a special two-part blog post for our paid Substack Members, A Field Manual of Stages of Democratic Decline and Authoritarian Takeover. It’s a compelling look at how democracy can be dismantled by an authoritarian regime. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, this is a good time to become one. I wish to thank those who have become paid subscribers here and channel members on YouTube; the financial support of our subscribers keeps me and my team able to do our important work, speaking out about authoritarianism in all its forms.
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!
Monte Mader’s story continues to reverberate like a healing chord struck in the middle of a battlefield. Her journey from indoctrination to embodied voice is exactly what the world needs right now—proof that even in the most cultic soil, truth can break through like wildflowers in concrete.
What moves me most is how Monte isn’t just deconstructing—she’s reconstructing something beautiful with her music, her storytelling, and her willingness to be radically honest. She shows that surviving isn't the endgame. Thriving—boldly, loudly, and in full color—is the real revolution.
Thank you, Dr. Hassan, for amplifying voices like hers. May we all rise up singing, louder and freer than the systems that tried to silence us.
Please. Stop playing yo yo with scientific researchers. We aren’t monsters and we sincerely want to help. Hard science isn’t looking for notoriety. Because science permits use of references and resources, we don’t gatekeep or cut off anyone with collaborative resources.