Growing Up In Polygamy
Sam sharing what it was like growing up in the polygamous FLDS group, his experiences leaving the group when he was 18 and his journey to where he is now. His wife Melissa is his co-host, asking the questions that everyone from the outside is thinking.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
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- Sep 26, 2026
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Latest episodes
Kody & Robyn Are GONE?! Breaking Down the Sister Wives Season 21 Trailer (opens the original)
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The Sister Wives Season 21 trailer is here, and it came with a HUGE reveal: Kody and Robyn will no longer be filming the show! After 16 years of Sister Wives, what happened? In this reaction, we break down the announcement and share our best guesses about why Kody and Robyn may have decided to step away. Is it their choice? Is there more happening behind the scenes? For now, we can only speculate, but we definitely have some theories. We also dive into everything else teased in the Season 21 tra
The Formula for Building a Religion of Millions | How to Become a Cult Leader Ep. 6 Reaction (opens the original)
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Download the FREE Upside App here https://yt.link/o69VgN5 and use code growingup to get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first tank of gas! Thank you Upside for sponsoring this video! In the finale of How to Become a Cult Leader, we're looking at the Unification Church and asking a fascinating question: How does a religious movement grow to MILLIONS of followers? As we watched, we couldn't help noticing similarities to both mainstream and fundamentalist Mormonism. We discuss arranged ma
When a Cult Leader Will Do ANYTHING to Be Right | How to Become a Cult Leader Ep. 5 Reaction (opens the original)
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In Episode 5 of How to Become a Cult Leader, we dive into Aum Shinrikyo and the terrifying lengths its leader was willing to go to protect his authority and prove his prophecies right. We compare the group's tactics to patterns we've seen in the FLDS and fundamentalist Mormonism—from claims of prophetic authority and apocalyptic teachings to seeking political power and creating an intense "us vs. the world" mentality. But Aum Shinrikyo ultimately took those ideas to a horrifying extreme: when re
Heaven's Gate & FLDS: More Similar Than We Expected | How to Become a Cult Leader Ep. 4 Reaction (opens the original)
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The more we learn about different high-control groups, the more we realize just how similar the playbook can be. In Episode 4 of How to Become a Cult Leader, we react to the story of Heaven's Gate and compare the methods used to control its members with Sam's experience growing up in the FLDS under Warren Jeffs. From isolation and unquestioning obedience to believing your leader has access to truth that the outside world simply can't understand, we were surprised by how many parallels we found.
The Endless Goalposts That Keep Followers Trapped | How to Become a Cult Leader Ep. 3 Reaction (opens the original)
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Download the FREE Upside App here https://yt.link/TJbkwvE and use code growingup to get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first tank of gas! Thank you Upside for sponsoring this video! In Episode 3 of How to Become a Cult Leader, we explore the Buddhafield community and its leader, Jaime Gomez, examining the subtle but powerful tactics used to keep followers deeply invested. From endless service and constantly moving spiritual goalposts to the promise of exclusive experiences that only a
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