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Hi babblers! Extremely excited to finally be dedicating an episode to something I’m extremely passionate about CULT PSYCHOLOGY! About 8 years ago I started down the rabbit hole of understanding how cults work, mind control, & how truly fallible the human mind is. It unlocked language and ideas about how understanding cult psychology and undue influence can help us understand ourselves, the world, and societal conditioning. It transformed how I think about the gut instinct, and how we’ve been taught to ignore it and instead exist in the cerebral realm. The realm most easily manipulated. I hope you enjoy this months episode it’s years in the making and the foundation of a lot of my personal methodology and ethos.

LIKE, COMMENT, & SUBSCRIBE!

xoxo, Ali Ann

Time Stamps:

0:00 INTRO

1:55 babblings.net updates

2:54 nature nonfiction spring reading club

12:00 Current Events

15:06 Main Topic Cults

29:47 My Thesis Statement/Cult Examples

34:45 Defining Cults

37:39 Rober Lifton 8 Criteria for Cults

47:57 intentional indoctrination, control, & manipulation

52:09 Types of cults

56:30 how do people join cults?

01:00:35 BITE Model – undue influence/mind control

01:16:51 How To Avoid Cults

01:21:35 TAKE AWAYS

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References:

Cults: Defining Criteria: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384636475_Cults_Defining_Criteria

Cults, Mind Control, Thought Reform, and Abusive Groups: What Clinicians Should Know: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44927590/Cults__Mind_Control__Thought_Reform__and_Abusive_Groups_-_What_Clinicians_Should_Know-libre.pdf?1461176817=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DCults_Mind_Control_Thought_Reform_and_Ab.pdf&Expires=1776037500&Signature=fodcn~N7MONeSMNHEQHPpukGZxgoOpkYYx9xW6yNWh7RM9mMCYvg~lcb9PFdqWgz6RJ806nk7KbiGrXzAJHPqxd2mk3~72QbcCy5aC~FMaWtbw1pR9VKOxppEDcB05PtPcxtGyefyWARbBMYdv2pBNY7nRdAWJxZeFf9DgN-l8N8FQn41dXo-e7AVSmUW73-ManjIgQzVSuIV57ABVkuo1OgEUwx~lBZnD7BwJbtyoidktKJzH6Pd2-ERSPSROCI-kX6NrMGZnh-H24nb1wqHyxFwNdUgD7dhc-FBHeqCNnYGrwuEGKvnvPWDh2rl4UmRQBigUYEqL4CzqzLPQS6zA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Cognitive Dissonance: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going: https://rips-irsp.com/articles/10.5334/irsp.277

What Is Cognitive Dissonance?: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cognitive-dissonance-2795012

Responding to Authoritarian Cults and Extreme Exploitations: A New Framework to Evaluate Undue Influence: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/responding-to-authoritarian-cults-and-extreme-exploitations-a-new-framework-to-evaluate-undue-influence

Why sleep matters — the economic costs of insufficient sleep: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1791.html

The Psychology of Cults: https://online.utpb.edu/about-us/articles/psychology/the-psychology-of-cults/

Scientists say most of what you do each day happens on autopilot: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260305223226.htm

You’re Running on Autopilot Way More Often Than You Think: https://www.vice.com/en/article/youre-running-on-autopilot-way-more-often-than-you-think/

Video References:

Why Are So Many People Joining Cults?: https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/why-are-so-many-people-joining-cults