Was I In A Cult?

Four hours into a hostage situation between a man and a woman, the man walks out the door. In that moment, the woman's primal instinct kicks in: "Grab your kids and RUN." Later, she learns that action may have saved her life. He wasn't just leaving. He was going to get a gun. And the man? It was her husband. At 33-years-old, Tia Levings walked away from the Christian Patriarchy system that dictated her body, her voice, and her life for 13 years. If there were ever a guest who embodies the entire ethos of this show, it's Tia Levings. A badass is an understatement. Now a New York Times bestselling author of "A Well-Trained Wife" and featured in "Shiny Happy People," Tia joins us to unpack: 'Trad wives' and how this movement is far from just churned butter on Instagram. The wedding night she finally has language for. The daughter she lost. How, and more importantly why, the Christian Patriarchy movement has surged over the past decade. And her new book. "I Belong to Me." The survival guide she wishes she had access to when she first got out. It's now our #1 recommendation for anyone leaving a high-control group. A non-judgmental, non-preachy, non-guru self-help book? Who knew?! Tia is brilliant, funny, and unflinchingly honest. And if you leave with one thing, let it be her words: "If you can't speak in your power, you can't f*ck in your power." NOTE to our Patreon subscribers: You can watch the full, unedited two-and-a-half-hour interview with Tia now on our Patreon. Thank you for being on this journey with us. FIND TIA: Website: tialevings.com Socials @TiaLevingsWriter: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Substack: tialevings.substack.com — where she does real-time religious deconstruction TIA'S BOOKS: "I Belong to Me: A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope After Religious Trauma" "A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy" (now in paperback) FOLLOW US → For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult SUPPORT THE SHOW Join our Patreon! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. (And our forever gratitude) HAVE A CULTY STORY? Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

This week we're back on Scientology. And until they stop destroying families and draining bank accounts, we'll keep talking about it. Liz Gale, a third generation ex-Scientologist and author of Confessions of an Ex-Scientologist Pothead, grew up privileged in the church in the 80s and 90s - Scientology royalty, some could say, connected to the Miscavige family, boarding schools, the works. But privilege doesn't protect you when the doctrine teaches your mother that loving you too much is dangerous. That comforting you when you're hurt will damage your soul. That sending you away at eight years old is the most maternal thing she can do to protect you from traumatizing you more. This is a story about what happens when a "religion" crawls between a mother and her child and severs the most primal bond we have. Liz is funny as hell. She's also been through hell. And she's not done talking. This is Part 1 of 2. Listen, then call your kids and tell them you love them. FOLLOW US For more culty content - follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult FOLLOW LIZ GALE Find Liz on TikTok → @liz_liz_gale_gale & Instagram. Her book Confessions of an Ex-Scientologist Pothead is available now. SUPPORT THE SHOW Rate, review, share. Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. HAVE A CULTY STORY? Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

Either Liz finally stepped up to the mic to tell her own story… or Tyler finally cornered her and hit record. Either way — it's happening. After moving to Los Angeles with a toxic boyfriend, Liz leaves behind the Chicago comedy scene and finds herself nudged into a Hollywood acting class — one he introduces her to via a "free" class that's anything but. What starts as a supposedly legit acting class quickly earns a reputation as "the place where comedy goes to die." And yet… it's somehow worse than that. Because this "class" slowly morphs into a spiritual self-help cult. Yes. An acting class cult. No, she did not see it coming. And neither will you. In Part 1 of Liz's story, we dive into how this Chicagoan accidentally wandered into the hollyweirdest chapter of her life. _______ FOLLOW US For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing — shining a light on manipulation, coercive control, and cultic abuse — please rate, review, and share the podcast. Want even more? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. HAVE A CULTY STORY TO SHARE? If you've been part of a cult — we want to hear from you. Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

**NOTE: This episode originally aired in 2021** Welcome to the worst cult ever (in our humble opinions). This is a story of incredible resilience, bravery, and inspiration. Being born into a cult always comes with its challenges, but learning how to have an original thought in your mid-20s is a rare struggle that most people are fortunate enough to never have to face. This is just one of many obstacles Angel had to overcome as she ventured out of the cult and into the world.But when you've spent over 20 years of your life in a cult and it's all you know, the real world isn't always as sparkly as you hoped. FOLLOW US For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult FIND ANGEL Instagram: @whatisangeldoing Youtube: @AngelDeSantis SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing — shining a light on manipulation, coercive control, and cultic abuse — please rate, review, and share the podcast. Want even more? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. HAVE A CULTY STORY TO SHARE? If you've been part of a cult — we want to hear from you. Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

This week we head to Nashville, Tennessee — where a cosmetology school promising structure, opportunity, and "professionalism" turned out to be something else entirely. Our guest, Sophia, thought she was paying over $20,000 to learn how to do hair. Instead, she walked into a system obsessed with obedience, image, and silence — where being late cost money, smiling was mandatory, and your body, time, and labor were constantly monitored. Add in "motivational" rituals, public humiliation, and unpaid work dressed up as "education," and suddenly this isn't just cosmetology school… it's giving cult. FOLLOW US For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult FOLLOW SOPHIA Find Sophia on Instagram & TikTok → @styledby.sophiaelise If you're in Nashville, go get your hair done and TIP WELL! SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing — shining a light on manipulation, coercive control, and cultic abuse — please rate, review, and share the podcast. Want even more? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and behind-the-scenes conversations. HAVE A CULTY STORY TO SHARE? If you've been part of a cult, high-control group, or something that didn't look like a cult until way later — we want to hear from you. Email us → info@wasiinacult.com

When we got the email inviting us to interview journalist Natalie Robehmed about her new CBC + Campsite Media podcast, Allison After NXIVM, we weren't sure what to do. Talking about Allison Mack — someone who caused very real harm, including to people we've had on this show - is complicated. And honestly? We didn't want to accidentally platform or sanitize that harm. But then we listened. And what we found wasn't a redemption story. It was complexity. It was discomfort. It was a journalist tracing how someone can be both a victim and a perpetrator. In this conversation, Natalie takes us behind her interviews with Allison: childhood exploitation, Hollywood pressures, the hunger to be "the best," and the dynamics of NXIVM's inner circle that turned all of that into something horrifying. We're not here to tell you how to feel about Allison Mack. But we are here to sit in the space where victimhood and violence blur - the space where a person realizes the monster they were running from is the one they learned to be. FOLLOW US For more culty content - follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult LISTEN TO "ALLISON AFTER NXIVM" Hear Natalie's full 7-part investigation into Allison Mack (or search Allison After NXIVM wherever you get your podcasts. SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing - shining a light on manipulation, coercion, and the messy psychology behind it - please rate, review, and share the podcast. Want to be part of our inner circle? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and our eternal gratitude for helping us keep these stories alive. HAVE A CULTY STORY? We'd love to hear from you - drop us a line at info@wasiinacult.com.

In Part Two of Pamela Jones' extraordinary story, the so-called "escape" she dreamed of at fifteen turns into a new kind of prison. After growing up under the violent rule of the LeBaron brothers — a murderous offshoot of Mormon fundamentalism — Pamela marries young, believing it will be her salvation. Her husband David doesn't just take her innocence — he takes her freedom, her home, and her dignity. She raises babies on rationed potatoes, lives under the threat of blood atonement, and tries to stay safe inside a community run by fear, hierarchy, and men who call their control "God's will." But years later, and many sister wives later, something in Pamela begins to shift. A spark. A voice. A quiet rebellion forged from decades of silence. This is the part of her journey where the cracks in the doctrine begin to show… and where Pamela realizes the only person coming to save her is herself. Next week: the escape — across a border, across a belief system, and into a life she was never meant to reach. ____________ FOLLOW US For more culty content — follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing (and want to help us keep shining light on the dark corners of control and charisma), please rate, review, and share the podcast. It helps more than you know. Want to go deeper down the rabbit hole? Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and our eternal gratitude for helping us keep these stories alive. HAVE A CULTY STORY? We'd love to hear from you — drop us a line at info@wasiinacult.com. CONNECT WITH PAMELA JONES You can follow Pamela Jones — speaker, author, survivor, and all-around badass — here: Her Book: The Dirt Beneath Our Door Website LinkedIn Instagram Facebook

**Note: This episode originally aired in September 2021. Stick around til the end for a catch up interview with Daniel 4 years later.** With rockstar aspirations, Daniel O'Brien wasn't looking for anything but a good time. But when heartbreak rocked his world, he tripped into something that lifted his spirits and rallied his hopes - the Jehovah's Witnesses. Before he knew it, Daniel had traded his guitar for a green Bible and found himself rapidly rising through the ranks of the religion. A wife, and two kids later, he was a fully indoctrinated, high ranking Elder in the church. But when Daniel realizes that he's part of a life much different than the one he originally signed up for, he knows that he must leave. The only problem is... he can't. _____ FOLLOW US For more culty content, follow us on Instagram & TikTok: → @wasiinacult SUPPORT THE SHOW If you believe in what we're doing — please rate, review, and share the podcast. It helps more than you know. And if you'd like to go a step further, join us on Patreon. You'll get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and our eternal gratitude for helping us keep these conversations going. → Join us on Patreon. HAVE A CULTY STORY? We'd love to hear from you. → info@wasiinacult.com