The Art of Influence: Mind Games’ Alice Hines on NLP and High-Control Manipulation
About this episode
Alice Hines discusses neuro-linguistic programming and its connections to manipulation and cult dynamics.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. In this episode, we welcome back Alice Hines, co-host of the Mind Games podcast, and dig into her reporting on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), NXIVM, and the slippery gremlin bridge between self-help, persuasion, and manipulation. Alice explains how Mind Games traced the overlap between Twin Flames, NLP, and NXIVM. She spoke about interviewing ex-NXIVM president Nancy Salzman—and Sarah appears in episode 8 on NXIVM too. Our conversation gets into how NLP was packaged as a legit-looking psychology tool before drifting into guru territory, sales culture, and cult-adjacent use cases. Alice breaks down the techniques, the industry hype, and the origins of NLP through its two founders, Richard Bandler and John Grinder. We got a bit fired up about how NXIVM borrowed, recycled, and repurposed the same influence tactics. And we talk about Nancy Salzman’s relationship to NLP, the role of “appeal to authority,” and how these tools can be helpful in one context and deeply abusive in another. Be sure to subscribe to the Mind Games podcast and follow Alice Hines on her website alicehines.com , Instagram , X , or TikTok . Trigger warning: This…
People in this episode
Hosts: Sarah Edmondson, Anthony “Nippy” Ames
Guest: Alice Hines
Topics covered
- neuro-linguistic programming
- manipulation
- self-help
- cult dynamics
- psychological abuse
- influence tactics
Keywords
- NLP
- NXIVM
- manipulation techniques
- psychological abuse
- self-help
- influence tactics
- cult-adjacent
Sponsors
BetterHelp
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Mind Games, NXIVM
Books & works: A Little Bit Culty
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