Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation

Weekly interviews with cult survivors on belief, influence and breaking free AI summary

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts Visit website › Society & Culture · EN · 286 episodes · latest 2026-11-11

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What it is about

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.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

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Latest episodes

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2026-11-11 · 1 hr 1 min

This week is part two with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, authors of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World. They discuss Peter Thiel’s billionaire gathering called the Apocalypse Ball, how Silicon…
Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor, Part 1 - The Rise of Christian Nationalism, the “Third Temple,” and End Times Fascism E

2026-11-04 · 48 min

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join the show to discuss their new book End Times Fascism: And the Fight For the Living World, an investigation into the apocalyptic thinking of the American contemporary right. In part one,…
Makelle Bistline, Part 2 - Becoming Sam Bateman’s Wife, Keeping Secrets from a “Prophet,” and Helping the FBI Take Him Down E

2026-10-28 · 54 min

This week is part two with Makelle Bistline, one of polygamist cult leader Sam Bateman’s former wives who helped take him down from the inside. She returns to share how she finally relented and became Bateman’s 22nd…
Makelle Bistline, Part 1 - The FLDS, Marrying Sam Bateman, and Resisting Control Through Taylor Swift E

2026-10-21 · 51 min

This week’s guest is Makelle Bistline, who grew up in the polygamist sect the FLDS and became one of the wives of self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman–ultimately playing a crucial role in bringing him down. Makelle…
Felicia Rosario - Larry Ray’s Coercive Tactics, Life After the Sarah Lawrence Cult, and Becoming an Expert Witness E

2026-10-14 · 1 hr 10 min

This week, the girls are joined again by Felicia Rosario, survivor of the cult at Sarah Lawrence, led by a man named Larry Ray. Today Felicia, who previously came on the show along with fellow survivor Daniel Levin,…
Stephen Kinzer - MKUltra, Sidney Gottlieb, and the CIA’s Hunt For Mind Control E

2026-10-07 · 1 hr 11 min

This week, author and historian Stephen Kinzer joins Trust Me to discuss his book, Poisoner in Chief, and its subject: chemist Sidney Gottlieb, who led mind control experiments in the CIA’s Project MKUltra. Stephen…
Renee Spencer, Part 2 - The Jesus Christians, the “Kidney Cult,” and Suing Your Daughter’s Religious Group E

2026-09-30 · 58 min

This week is part two with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, who sued the Jesus Christians, aka the “kidney cult,” after they recruited her daughter. Last week, Renee explained how she realized her daughter…
Renee Spencer, Part 1 - When Your Daughter Joins the “Kidney Cult” E

2026-09-23 · 43 min

This week is part 1 with advocate and therapist Renee Spencer, whose daughter was recruited into the Jesus Christians: a group commonly referred to as the “kidney cult” for their practice of encouraging members to…
Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 2 - Leaving Mormonism, Becoming Dominatrixes, and Reclaiming Power with BDSM E

2026-09-16 · 1 hr 0 min

We’re back with twins Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known as Mothermary. In part 2 this week they’ll talk about how Elyse got fed up with being obsessive about sin all the time, which led her to hitch a ride out of Idaho…
Larena & Elyse Wynn, Part 1 - Montana Mormons, Sex at BYU, and the “Miracle" of Forgiveness E

2026-09-09 · 50 min

This week is part 1 with musicians, identical twins, and former Mormons turned dominatrixes Larena and Elyse Wynn, also known by their band name Mothermary. The girls share what it was like being raised in the LDS…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Owner: iHeartPodcasts
Oldest episode in feed: 10/2020 · over 6 years
Typical length: 1 hr 2 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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