The Culting of America: From Children of God to the MAGA Playbook

About this episode

Daniella Mestyanik Young discusses her experiences in the Children of God cult and draws parallels to the MAGA movement's coercive control tactics.

Is America a cult? How can we help those trapped in cult-like thinking? Discussing her new book The Culting of America , Daniella Mestyanik Young, a US Army veteran, intelligence officer, and survivor of the notorious Children of God cult, joins Gaslit Nation to help us identify coercive control in our own lives, and in our White House. Daniella breaks down the "sex cult math" of her upbringing, identifying the same tactics of coercive control now fueling the MAGA movement. Trump has pulled disparate groups into a singular cult of personality, where he is viewed as a "flawed vessel" of a "perfect God" delivering a Christian theocracy coming after our rights. As a counter-terrorism expert, Daniella warns that the "arrogance" of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's war of choice in Iran is a classic cult leader trap. Tyrants lose when they start "sampling their own Kool-Aid," she points out. She also advises on how to help those in your life who have fallen down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole of cult-like thinking, to help them find their way to reality. This is an episode not to miss. Save the date! At the Gaslit Nation Salon on Monday May 11 4pm ET, we'll start with a…

People in this episode

Host: Andrea Chalupa

Guest: Daniella Mestyanik Young

Topics covered

• cult behavior
• coercive control
• MAGA movement
• conspiracy theories
• counter-terrorism
• personal freedom

Keywords

• cult
• MAGA
• coercive control
• Trump
• conspiracy theories
• Children of God
• Daniella Mestyanik Young
• Gaslit Nation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Children of God, Gaslit Nation

Books & works: The Culting of America

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