HeyJaredThe cult.ture podcast
Belief is powerful, but in the wrong hands, it can become a tool for control. Step into the shadowy world of cults and high control groups, where manipulation masquerades as salvation and escape is never simple.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 5
- Latest publication
- Aug 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 5, 2026
Latest episodes
40-Let It Be the End of a Chapter | Devin Fish (opens the original)
Read excerpt
This is a different conversation... Devin Fish spent much of his life hiding what he was carrying. Raised amid poverty, instability, addiction, and repeated moves, Devin entered the U.S. Army looking for direction. Over nearly a decade of service as both a cavalry scout and career counselor he learned resilience, but he also absorbed the belief that asking for help was a sign of weakness. Behind that armor were the death of his mother, unresolved family trauma, isolation, online exploitation, bl
39-Breaking the Umbrella | Bri’s Journey Out of IBLP (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Bri grew up homeschooled in a conservative Christian family before becoming deeply involved with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), the fundamentalist organization founded by Bill Gothard and closely associated with the Duggar family. She believed in the teachings enough that, as an adult, she planned to bring IBLP into her own family. Then she became a mother. When Bri attempted “blanket training” with her infant son, a practice she says was intended to teach blind obedience, her in
38-From Armageddon Fear to Public Service with Gisselle (opens the original)
Read excerpt
What happens when a child is taught that the world may end before she ever reaches adulthood? Gisselle Ayala grew up as a first-generation Latina in a strict Jehovah’s Witness family in Phoenix. From an early age, she was taught that Armageddon was imminent, that life in the present world was temporary, and that pursuing a career or higher education was largely unnecessary. In this audio-only conversation, Gisselle joins Derek to discuss the isolation of growing up “in the world” but never being
37-Finding Freedom | Scott Homan & Witness Underground (opens the original)
Read excerpt
What happens when your greatest act of resistance is simply becoming yourself? This week, we sit down with filmmaker Scott Homan, director of the acclaimed documentaryWitness Underground, to explore life growing up as a second-generation Jehovah’s Witness, the underground music scene that became a lifeline, and the long journey of rebuilding identity after leaving a high-control religion. Scott shares the moment he realized he was living two lives, one dictated by the expectations of the Watchto
36-Brittany Hart on IHOPKC, Spiritual Abuse, and Rebuilding Faith (opens the original)
Read excerpt
In this episode, Derek and Trent sit down with Brittany Hart, writer, poet, and author of Surviving Wonderland: A Journey Beyond Control. Brittany Hart is an author and poet who writes at the intersection of spiritual trauma and recovery. Her debut collection, Surviving Wonderland: A Journey Beyond Control, transforms her experience in a high-control religious group into art for anyone reclaiming their voice and finding their way back to themselves. She now supports fellow survivors through crea
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.