The Drummer with the Knives

About this episode

The episode explores the origins of Neuro-Linguistic Programming in 1970s Santa Cruz, focusing on Richard Bandler and the controversial therapy practices of the time.

1970s Santa Cruz, California–a world of barefoot psychology students, mountain communes, and underground therapy sessions led by a charismatic but troubled young man: Richard Bandler. We go back to the moment Neuro-Linguistic Programming was born, and meet a teenage misfit rocker whose talent for persuasion came with a dangerous edge. We hear from the Bandler’s early followers, including one woman who ended up tied to a burning cross in a therapy game gone wrong. As the origins of NLP come into focus, another question emerges: how did a fringe experiment in an alternative college town grow into a global force for both transformation and manipulation? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Richard Bandler

Topics covered

• Neuro-Linguistic Programming
• psychology
• therapy
• California culture
• manipulation
• transformation

Keywords

• Neuro-Linguistic Programming
• Richard Bandler
• therapy
• Santa Cruz
• 1970s
• psychology
• manipulation

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Santa Cruz, California

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