Best Abuseofpower Podcasts (2025)

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Claire Hoffman - The Rise and Vanishing of Evangelist Megastar Aimee Semple McPherson 54:23

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6d ago54:23

54:23

Journalist Claire Hoffman joins us again, this time to discuss her new book Sister, Sinner: the unbelievable true story of Aimee Semple McPherson, a glamorous Pentecostal preacher who pioneered entertainment evangelism. McPherson was so famous in the 1920s she could have been a Kardashian. Claire talks about how the early televangelist used theatri…

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Claire Hoffman - Levitation, Meditation, and a Childhood in a Transcendental Meditation Trailer Park 39:56

13d ago39:56

39:56

In Part 1 of our interview with journalist Claire Hoffman, Claire shares what it was like growing up in an Iowa trailer park community built around the Transcendental Meditation (or TM) movement and its charismatic leader, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi–whose followers included The Beatles. Claire shares what the daily routine was like in the TM community, …

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Carol Merchasin - The Cult Assassin: Suing High-Control Groups 1:11:50

20d ago1:11:50

1:11:50

Attorney Carol Merchasin didn’t set out to expose cults, but after investigating allegations about a high-control Buddhist organization and discovering that the abuse had run more rampant than she’d imagined, she became a lawyer and focused her practice on getting justice for survivors of cults and abusive groups. Carol discusses the legal ins and …

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Akina Cox - Part 2: The Moonies, ICE, and the Cult Tactics of Trump 53:11

27d ago53:11

53:11

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 landsca…

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Akina Cox - Part 1: Unification Church, Mass Weddings, and Unpaid Labor 1:03:31

1M ago1:03:31

1:03:31

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 we…

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Introducing Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation 1:24

2M ago1:24

1:24

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 Meaga…

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REWIND: Dianne Lake - The Manson Family, Part 1: Meeting Charlie 1:06:36

2M ago1:06:36

1:06:36

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…

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REWIND: Glynn Washington - The Worldwide Church of God 57:59

2M ago57:59

57:59

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 Worldwid…

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REWIND: Hoyt Richards - From Supermodel to Cult Member 1:19:50

2M ago1:19:50

1:19:50

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 Arct…

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REWIND: Lola's Mom - Mormon-Offshoot Cult 1:13:39

3M ago1:13:39

1:13:39

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…

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An Exciting Update from Lola and Meagan! 0:35

3M ago0:35

0:35

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.By Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

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Amanda Rae - The Kingston Clan and Escaping Polygamy 1:19:13

6M ago1:19:13

1:19:13

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 Kingst…

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Maggie Rowe - Sinning Bravely and Moral Scrupulosity 1:20:12

6M ago1:20:12

1:20:12

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 w…

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Caleb Ward, Part 2 - Disneyland for Christians and Exiting the Church 54:14

6M ago54:14

54:14

Former evangelical Christian and pastor's son Caleb Ward continues his story of growing up in evangelical culture in the early 2000s. We discuss some of the touchstones of his youth including Heritage USA (Disneyland for Christians) and Christian rock event Creation Festival, as well as his fear of losing his virginity before marriage, what hell to…

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Caleb Ward, Part 1 - Kingdom Life Ministries and Evangelical Youth Culture 57:07

6M ago57:07

57:07

Former pastor's son Caleb Ward joins Lola and Meagan to share his experience about the height of evangelical culture in the early 2000s in a church called Kingdom Life Ministries. Caleb discusses growing up in an environment where everyone was speaking in tongues and having loud prophecies in the middle of church, the pressures that come with being…

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Uriah Wesman, Part 2 - Growing Up in Three Cults (The Hearts Center and The Ideal Society) 1:05:00

7M ago1:05:00

1:05:00

Today is part 2 with Uriah Wesman, former member of THREE different cults. This week he’ll talk to us more about cult #2, the Hearts Center (which was an offshoot of cult #1 from last week), what it was like being a rebellious emo kid slowly starting to realize inconsistencies in the church, and how his dad discovered cult #3 in Canada, the Ideal S…

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Uriah Wesman, Part 1 - The First Cult: Church Universal and Triumphant 53:05

7M ago53:05

53:05

Creator of the one man show 3 Cults Walk Into a Bar, Uriah Wesman, shares about his FIRST cult experience in Church Universal and Triumphant, how they combined Christianity and New Age ideas, the paranoia that was created by beliefs surrounding demons, his mom's mental deterioration that led her to accuse his father of being a demon, and his parent…

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Philip Deslippe & Stacie Stukin - 3HO,Kundalini yoga, & Yogi Bhajan 1:33:07

7M ago1:33:07

1:33:07

Today our guests are historian Philip Deslippe and writer Stacie Sutkin, who together have done investigative reporting on 3HO (“happy, healthy, holy organization”), Kundalini yoga, and Yogi Bhajan. They’re going to tell us how they got started writing about 3HO, both interacting with Kundalini yoga in different ways, who Yogi Bhajan was and whethe…

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REWIND: Frank Lyford - Heaven's Gate, Part 2: Breaking Away 34:45

8M ago34:45

34:45

Episode 23: Lola Blanc & Meagan Elizabeth continue to interview Frank Lyford, former member of Heaven's Gate. In part 2, they discuss the growing number of red flags he began to notice after one of the leaders died, including talk of castration, and what led to his decision to finally, after 18 years, break away. He also tells the girls what it was…

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REWIND: Frank Lyford - Heaven's Gate, Part 1: The Nomadic Lifestyle 43:37

8M ago43:37

43:37

Episode 22: Lola & Meagan interview Frank Lyford, survivor of Heaven's Gate who left after 18 years--just a few years before discovering his friends and loved ones in the group had died by suicide. In part 1, he tells the girls how he began following the leaders Ti and Do, what it was like living a nomadic lifestyle with his "check partner," and wh…

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Ashlen Hilliard - The Evolution of Cult Intervention Practices 1:21:28

8M ago1:21:28

1:21:28

Cult interventionist and founder of People Leave Cults, Ashlen Hilliard, talks about her path to working in cult intervention and recovery, her personal religious experience that led her to this work, how interactions with Mormons in Utah affected her worldview, how she defines what a cult is, why accusing a group of being a cult isn't always helpf…

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REWIND: Joann Vaega: Waco Survivor and Former Branch Davidian 1:03:09

8M ago1:03:09

1:03:09

You're a child living on a remote compound in West Texas. One day authorities show up at your front door and an exchange of gunfire breaks out. Just as you expected would happen. Survivor of the Branch Davidians and the Waco massacre, Joann Vaega, discusses her earliest memories of living on the compound, what cult leader David Koresh was like in p…

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Carolyn Costin - The Link Between Cults and Eating Disorders 1:19:17

9M ago1:19:17

1:19:17

FOR OUR 200th EPISODE, we are joined by eating disorder therapist, author, and expert Carolyn Costin to discuss her own experiences that led to her starting her practice, why so many cults control the eating habits of their members, why having an eating disorder is like having a little cult leader in your brain, and how Carolyn helped Meagan with h…

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Yoni Shrira, Part 2 - Hard Labor, Isolation, Running Away, and a Dark Legacy 55:38

9M ago55:38

55:38

Today is part 2 of our interview with Yoni Shrira, former student at the Family Foundation School, also known as Allynwood, the remote troubled teen program known for a series of lawsuits brought against it as well as over a hundred deaths from overdose or suicide by its former attendees. Last week, we talked about how and why Yoni ended up in the …

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Yoni Shrira, Part 1 - The Family Foundation School, Troubled Teens, and Snitching Culture 46:35

9M ago46:35

46:35

Today our guest is Yoni Shrira, friend of the show and survivor of the Family Foundation School, a troubled teen sobriety school that became notorious for how many of its former students died after going through the program. In part one today, he’s going to talk about what he was like as a teenager, how he was genuinely out of control when it came …

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Tory Hess - From Second Life to Wilderness Commune 1:20:48

9M ago1:20:48

1:20:48

Today our guest is Tory Hess, former member of a small rural group in upstate New York she calls Crazyland. She tells us about how she always loved reading and fantasy growing up, never went to public school, and didn’t connect easily with folks in real life when she was young, and how she found connection in the online gaming community Second Life…

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REWIND: Jay Van Bavel - Groupthink, Social Identity, and Cult Psychology 1:03:07

10M ago1:03:07

1:03:07

Groups!... I did it again. Jay Van Bavel, NYU Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, Director of the Social Identity and Morality Lab, and co-author of The Power Of Us, discusses how our social identities change depending on our environment and context, how the groups we identify with affect our decisions and perception, and the impo…

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Bethany Joy Lenz - One Tree Hill, a Secret Cult, and Living a Double Life 1:15:16

10M ago1:15:16

1:15:16

Today our guest is actor, musician, and now author Bethany Joy Lenz, whom we will just call Joy. Joy was the star of hit TV show One Tree Hill, and today she’s going to talk to us about how she was in a Christian cult the whole time she was filming the show. She’ll tell us about her upbringing and her career as a young actor, living in LA on her ow…

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Anne - Psychosis, Delusions, & the Cult of Your Own Mind 54:36

10M ago54:36

54:36

Today, our guest is a friend who we'll call Anne. We discuss the connection between psychosis and cults, the mental changes Anne experienced when her episode started, the delusions that grew stronger, how she felt like she was communicating with spirits, the paranoia that grew inside her, and how a psychiatric mental health professional helped pull…

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REWIND: Jitarth Jadeja - Former QAnon Believer 1:16:48

10M ago1:16:48

1:16:48

Episode 15: Lola and Meagan interview Jitarth Jadeja, former QAnon believer. He tells the girls about how, despite being Australian, he first was a Bernie supporter, then shifted his support to Trump before becoming obsessed with conspiracy theories. They discuss the two years of his life in which he believed in Q, the moment he realized it was all…

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Gareth Gore - Opus Dei, Human Trafficking, & Project 2025 1:08:28

11M ago1:08:28

1:08:28

Today our guest is Gareth Gore, journalist and author whose new book Opus is about Opus Dei, an ultra-conservative Catholic sect, its harmful practices, its history of dark money, and its connections to modern day right-wing American politics. Gareth shares how he came to this story while investigating the shady practices at a bank in Spain, the hi…

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Norah - Girls Night In: L.A. Facebook Group Gone Culty 1:28:21

11M ago1:28:21

1:28:21

Today our guest is a woman whom we’ll call Norah. She tells us about a Facebook group for women in Los Angeles that ended up getting very culty. We’ll talk about why it was exciting in the beginning to connect with other women in a new way, how other subgroups began to form (including one secret, exclusive one) and how the admin, who we’ll call Viv…

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Demetria, Part 2 - Twin Ray Mysticism, Spiritual Retreats, and the Necessity of Rage 1:06:55

11M ago1:06:55

1:06:55

Today is part two with Demetria, survivor of the Oregon new age cult, Twin Ray. This week she shares more about the wild claims that the leaders made about their mystical backgrounds, how deeply rooted the culture of self blame was (including blaming one woman for her own cancer), and the massive property they purchased in Oregon which was financed…

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Demetria, Part 1 - Online Gurus, Mysterious Elixirs, and Joining the Twin Ray Cult 1:03:51

11M ago1:03:51

1:03:51

Today we're joined by Demetria, survivor of an Oregon new age group called Twin Ray (not to be confused with Twin Flames). She describes the beginning of her spiritual journey including reading the works of Eckhart Tolle, how one specific online guru captured her imagination, and how this guru's partner made the claim that they were Twin Rays with …

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Joelle Tamraz, Part 2 - Meeting The Elders, Emotional Manipulation, and Moving On 1:09:26

12M ago1:09:26

1:09:26

This week is part two of a fascinating discussion with Joelle Tamraz, author of The Secret Practice: 18 Years on the Dark Side of Yoga. The story gets more wild! Joelle shares how her spiritual partner, Arun, became her husband, and how he brought her deeper into his world, including the strange visions he revealed to her. PLUS, the financial abuse…

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Joelle Tamraz, Part 1 - Traveling to India, Meeting a Swami, and "Past Lives" 1:03:52

12M ago1:03:52

1:03:52

Today is part one of our interview with Joelle Tamraz, author of the book The Secret Practice: 18 Years on the Dark Side of Yoga. She will tell us about her introduction to different yoga practices at a young age including TM, or transcendental meditation, the hunger she felt for a deeper spirituality that landed her in India when she was fresh out…

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Sara Teitelman - The Culty Elements of Technology 1:11:13

12M ago1:11:13

1:11:13

Today’s guest is Sara Teitelman, tech consultant and author of a forthcoming book about tech who’s going to talk to us about the culty elements of technology. While Sara’s specialty lies more in optimization of the nonprofit workplace, we’re going to have more of a philosophical discussion about how we’re expected to just trust in our tech overlord…

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Min Zhou, Part 2 - Labor Camps, Persecution, and Mass Killings in the Cultural Revolution 48:50

1y ago48:50

48:50

In part 2 of our interview with Min Zhou, survivor of the Cultural Revolution and Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies at UCLA, we’re going to talk more about Professor Zhou’s personal experience. We’ll discuss why her dad was a target of the Red Guards, what it felt like knowing her family was in danger at such a young a…

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Min Zhou, Part 1 - The Cult of Mao Zedong, and Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution 52:53

1y ago52:53

52:53

Today is part one with Min Zhou, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies at UCLA, who also grew up during the Cultural Revolution: a decade of social chaos in China in the 1960s and 1970s where intellectuals, artists, and anyone perceived as representing capitalism or the "old ways" were persecuted and murdered in the hundre…

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Tia Levings, Part 2 - Questioning Fundamentalism, Motherhood, and the Dangers of Christian Nationalism 48:16

1y ago48:16

48:16

In part 2 with Tia Levings, author of A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, Tia she discusses how, in the midst of a church-sanctioned abusive relationship, motherhood began to change her beliefs - at first making her more zealous. She’ll talk about how her time trying to save her baby in the children’s hospital, plus working wi…

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Tia Levings, Part 1 - A Well-Trained Wife in the Christian Patriarchy 46:26

1y ago46:26

46:26

Today is part one with Tia Levings, author of A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy. We talk about the church her family joined when she was young, how it was connected to Bill Gothard and the IBLP - which is why you may have seen her in the Amazon docuseries Shiny Happy People - how it grew more fundamentalist, and how she met h…

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Andrea Dunlop, Part 2 - A Family Torn, Munchausen by Proxy, & Critiquing Take Care of Maya 47:10

1y ago47:10

47:10

In part two of our interview with Andrew Dunlop, sister of a perpetrator of Medical Child Abuse (aka Munchausen by Proxy) AND host of the podcast No One Should Believe Me, we discuss the red flags that made her family realize what was going on, why CPS showed up at her sister's door, the 73,000 pages of medical records she found for her five year o…

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Andrea Dunlop, Part 1 - Munchausen by Proxy, a Faked Miscarriage, and a Perpetrator in the Family 52:52

1y ago52:52

52:52

Today our guest is Andrea Dunlop, novelist and host of the podcast Nobody Should Believe Me, which is all about Munchausen by Proxy. She talks about Munchausen by Proxy, or medical child abuse, from a new point of view: what it’s like being related to the perpetrator. She’ll tell us about what her sister was like growing up, how she had exhibited M…

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J. Wesley Boyd - When Physician Health Programs Go Wrong 1:05:18

1y ago1:05:18

1:05:18

Today our guest is J. Wesley Boyd, psychiatrist, professor, and the director of education at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics. He joins us to talk about Physician Health Programs, (or PHPs) which are under-the-radar programs that most states have. They're supposed to be a place where doctors who are struggling with substance abuse or…

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R. Derek Black, Part 2 - How a White Supremacist Changed Their Mind 57:23

1y ago57:23

57:23

Today is part two with R. Derek Black, former white supremacist turned anti-racism advocate, and author of The Klansman's Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism. Today we discuss how and when Derek’s identity became exposed to their friend group, including drastically different reactions from fellow students, how they were invited to …

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R. Derek Black, Part 1 - Former White Nationalist, Growing Up in the KKK, and Cognitive Dissonance 50:32

1y ago50:32

50:32

Today our guest is R. Derek Black, former poster child for white supremacy (now turned antiracist advocate) and author of the new memoir The Klansman’s Son. Derek, who came out as trans in this book, walks us through the white supremacist movement, where it stands now, what it was like growing up in a white nationalist family, being close to promin…

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Ian Rafalko, Part 2 - Son of a YouTube Scientologist Health Guru 1:24:09

1y ago1:24:09

1:24:09

In part two with Ian Rafalko, we go deeper into how he left Scientology, what that meant for his family life, and how his dad's lucrative online presence and supplement company tows the line of multi-level marketing. Ian will talk about the viral TikTok video he posted in which he said he was going to end his own life, why he decided not to, how hi…

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Ian Rafalko, Part 1 - Former Scientology Auditor 53:19

1y ago53:19

53:19

Today is part one Ian Rafalko, a former scientologist from a prominent scientologist family AND son of a prominent YouTube health guru. We explore how his family joined Scientology, what it was like growing up in a group where children are treated as adult spirits in small bodies, whether Scientology creates little sociopaths, and some of the more …

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Aliia Roza - Former Russian Secret Agent and Sex Spy 1:16:30

1y ago1:16:30

1:16:30

Subject of the new Neil Strauss podcast "To Die For", Aliia Roza shares about her childhood in Russia, her father who worked for the government, the training school and how she was coerced into joining a secret program for sex operations, the seduction and manipulation techniques she learned, how she was sexually abused in school, how she used thos…

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Rabia Chaudry - Serial, True Crime, & Countering Violent Extremism 1:00:23

1+ y ago1:00:23

1:00:23

Lawyer, advocate, podcaster, writer, and the reason you know about Adnan Syed from Serial, Rabia Chaudry, talks about her experience advocating for him, what it was like entering the true crime world, why Adnan is free now, what disappointed her about the coverage of his story, her work in CVE (countering violent extremism), how any group or religi…