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Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.

Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Artist and writer Akina Cox returns to share more about her experience growing up in the Unification Church (also known as the Moonies), its physical punishment rituals, and where the church stands now. The girls then transition from the topic of her particular cult to a discussion on the cult-like patterns of the current American political landscape, and how to approach political disagreements with loved ones.
 
Akina also reflects on her article for Salon, where she explores how the Trump administration employs many of the same tactics used by Reverend Moon, and how high-control groups tend to choose a group to scapegoat for their problems. They discuss the demonization of immigrants and trans folks, the realities of ICE kidnappings, and how the failures of political leadership effectively addressing income inequality created an opening for demagogues to thrive.
 
SOURCES
 
AKINA COX 
 
SALON
 
HOW TO TALK TO YOUR REPUBLICAN UNCLE
 
THE ATLANTIC
 
 
 
ORGANIZATIONS FOR OUTREACH AND RESISTANCE
 
KTOWN FOR ALL
 
CHIRLA
 
UNION DEL BARRIO
 
LA TENANTS UNION
 
NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Akina Cox - Part 2: The Moonies, ICE, and the Cult Tactics of Trump

Artist and writer Akina Cox shares about her childhood growing up in the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies. They discuss the background of the church and its late leader Reverend Moon, how her parents both joined after hitchhiking in the 70s, and what it was like growing up in the group.
 
She shares how it felt participating in a mass wedding ceremony, moving to the border of North and South Korea, and the stark contrast between Reverend Moon’s lavish lifestyle and the unpaid labor demanded of members. Plus, how going to college sparked her first real doubts about the church, and the Unification Church’s surprising financial ties to American politics.
 
LINKS:
 
AKINA COX

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Akina Cox - Part 1: Unification Church, Mass Weddings, and Unpaid Labor

Trust Me is the podcast that pulls back the curtain on cults, high-control groups and the psychology of belief. Hosted by cult survivors Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features raw, first-hand accounts from people who’ve been manipulated, love-bombed and pulled into systems of control—and lived to tell the tale.
 
Each week, Lola and Meagan talk to people who’ve escaped, those still inside and the experts to unpack how extreme belief works. Listen to voices from inside the illusion and the truth that waited on the other side.
 
Trust Me joins the Exactly Right network on Wednesday, July 30. Follow the show now on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Trust Me has joined Exactly Right Media. Hosts Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth will be back with new episodes on Wednesday, July 30th.
 

You’re a teenage girl in the late 60s, bouncing between communes, when a charismatic man and his group of young women welcome you with open arms. You were looking for a family, and now you’ve found one. In part one of an incredible interview, Dianne Lake, aka “Snake,” and her co-author Deborah Herman discuss growing up in 1960s counter-culture, the dark side of the sexual revolution, and what it was like becoming the youngest member of Charles Manson’s family. Stay tuned next week for part two, in which she tells Lola & Meagan how she learned about the murders! Original Airdate: 05/12/2021
 

Continue listening to Dianne Lake - The Manson Family, Part 2: The Tate-LaBianca Murders. (Original Airdate: 05/19/2021)
 

Subscribe on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REWIND: Dianne Lake - The Manson Family, Part 1: Meeting Charlie

Trust Me has joined Exactly Right Media. Hosts Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth will be back with new episodes on Wednesday, July 30th.
 

End time prophecies? Memorizing the bible? Required church vacations your family can't afford? Snap Judgment host and creator Glynn Washington shares his experiences growing up in the apocalyptic religion the Worldwide Church of God. He tells the girls about believing the end of the world was imminent, the white supremacist roots of the group and how he was forbidden from dating outside of his race, and the book that began to change his thinking. Original Airdate: 07/14/2021. 
 

Subscribe on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REWIND: Glynn Washington - The Worldwide Church of God

Trust Me has joined Exactly Right Media. Hosts Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth will be back with new episodes on Wednesday, July 30th.
 

What do you model your life after? For producer, actor, and former supermodel Hoyt Richards, it was the teachings of a charming man from Nantucket who spoke about the impending apocalypse and a distant star named Arcturus. Hoyt shares how he was indoctrinated into the Eternal Values cult as his modeling career was taking off, what he describes as "cultic relationships," and how Fabio (yes, that Fabio) was involved in his recovery. Original Airdate: 07/07/2021.
 

Subscribe on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REWIND: Hoyt Richards - From Supermodel to Cult Member

Trust Me has joined Exactly Right Media. Hosts Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth will be back with new episodes on Wednesday, July 30th.
 
In their first ever episode, Lola and Meagan interviewed Christine Marie, Lola's mom, about her and Lola's experiences believing in a self-proclaimed Mormon prophet. They discuss how they came to believe in him, their separation from each other, Christine's harrowing trafficking experience, and Lola's childhood memories of Keith Raniere from NXIVM. Original Airdate: 10/06/2020.
 
Subscribe on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REWIND: Lola's Mom - Mormon-Offshoot Cult

The rumors are true—Trust Me is coming back this summer on the Exactly Right podcast network! This teaser has everything you need to know about our next chapter.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Exciting Update from Lola and Meagan!

Today our guest is Amanda Rae, host of YouTube channel by the same name and former member of the Kingston Clan, or the Order, a polygamist group in Utah, not to be confused with the FLDS. Some of you may remember our previous guest Priscilla from the same group - both of these gals were on Escaping Polygamy. Amanda’s going to tell us who the Kingstons are, how many mothers she had, and the principle of “pure Kingston blood” that led to people sometimes intermarrying with relatives - some of whom were underage girls.
 
She’ll tell us about how her 2 years at public school helped her think critically about the differences between what the cult SAID about outsiders and people of color - versus the reality that they were just normal people, how children as young as 9 are sent to work after school, and why the day she left began with a physical altercation with a grown man in the group.
 
See resources below if you're in need of therapy or support:
 
 • 
https://holdingouthelp.org/ • 
 • 
https://voicesfordignity.com/ • 
 

 
BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 
 
Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at TrustMePod@gmail.com
 
INSTAGRAM:
 
@TrustMePodcast
 
@oohlalola
 
@meaganelizabeth11
 
TWITTER:
 
@TrustMeCultPod
 
@ohlalola
 
@baberahamhicks
 
TIKTOK:
 
@TrustMeCultPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amanda Rae - The Kingston Clan and Escaping Polygamy

Today our guest is Maggie Rowe, former writer on Arrested Development and author of Sin Bravely, a book about her experiences with moral scrupulosity, or sin-focused OCD. We talk a lot about OCD on this show, so here’s a guest who wrote an entire book about growing up with religious obsessions! She’ll tell us about her first obsessions about what was and was not sin, how she started to analyze the Bible with a critical mind to try to understand how to avoid hell, and how her parents tried to help but her church leaders didn’t understand OCD and made it worse.
 
We’ll talk about the compulsions she would engage in to make sure she was being the right amount of righteous, how she checked herself into a treatment facility for Christians, the incorrect diagnosis of bulimia she received, and how she finally got diagnosed with moral scrupulosity and began getting the treatment she actually needed.
 

 
Trust Me is sponsored by ZocDoc! Stop putting off those doctors appointments! Go to ZocDoc.com/trustme to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor TODAY!
 

 
BUY OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 
 
Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at TrustMePod@gmail.com
 
INSTAGRAM:
 
@TrustMePodcast
 
@oohlalola
 
@meaganelizabeth11
 
TWITTER:
 
@TrustMeCultPod
 
@ohlalola
 
@baberahamhicks
 
TIKTOK:
 
@TrustMeCultPodcast 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maggie Rowe - Sinning Bravely and Moral Scrupulosity

In part two of her interview with Lola & Meagan, Children of God survivor and military veteran, Daniella Mestyanek Young, talks about joining the military after high school, being a woman in a hyper masculine culture, and unsettling parallels between what she saw in the military and the Children of God.
 

 
Check out our great sponsors!!
 

 
Shopify: Run your own business? Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/trustme 
 

 
ZocDoc: Need a doctor? Go to Zocdoc.com/trustme and download the Zocdoc app for FREE!
 

 
Progressive: Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive!
 

 
Got your own story about cults, extreme belief, or abuse of power? Leave a voicemail or text us at 347-86-TRUST (347-868-7878) OR shoot us an email at TrustMePod@gmail.com
 
CHECK OUT OUR MERCH!! bit.ly/trustmemerch 
 
INSTAGRAM:
 
@TrustMePodcast
 
@oohlalola
 
@meaganelizabeth11
 
TWITTER:
 
@TrustMeCultPod
 
@ohlalola
 
@baberahamhicks
 
TIKTOK:
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniella Mestyanek Young, Part 2 - Military Life & Parallels to The Children of God

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