Speaking Up: Surviving Religions and Cults

Speaking Up: Surviving Religions and Cults


Latest Episodes

Leaving OneTaste - Ruwan Meepagala - S2E15
April 24, 2023

Ruwan Meepagala is a podcaster and coach. In his early twenties, he became involved in the matriarchal cult, known as One Taste, which was recently covered in the Netflix documentary Orgasm Inc. Ruwan describes his time with the group as one of the m

Roles in a Religiously Addicted Family - Kit Morgan LMSW - S2E14
April 17, 2023

Kit Morgan is a licensed social worker and therapist based in Upstate New York. Kit focuses their work with trauma survivors and those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Kit is a published author in academic journals regarding harm reduction methods for addiction

For My Mother - Ellis Arlo - S2E13
April 10, 2023

Ellis is a young adult who started deconstructing within the past few years and has since come out as nonbinary and queer. They still live in their hometown and work their dream library assistant job. They participate in community theater in their free ti

The Recipe for an Abusive Relationship - Sarah Van Etten Leupold - S2E12
April 03, 2023

Sarah Van Etten Leupold was raised in a conservative Evangelical non-denominational church. When she started to explore her beliefs she was spiritually abused and rejected from her church. As a result she has received a complex PTSD diagnosis. She has str

White Girl Learning - Marla Taviano - S2E11
March 27, 2023

Marla Taviano is into books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, and poems. She reads and writes for a living (especially @whitegirllearning), wears her heart on her t-shirts, and is on a mission/quest/journey to live whole

Consciousness and Trauma - Blaise Kennedy - S2E10
March 20, 2023

About Blaise KennedyEverything exists within my consciousness. My body sits at the very centre of this reality. I live within my body, and my body lives within my consciousness. The purpose of my life is to bring coherence to the inner and outer lives of

My Gay Church Days - George Azar - Archive Episode (IG LIVE)
March 13, 2023

George was your average American kid born to traditional Middle Eastern immigrants. Curious about life but tortured by vicious bullying in middle school, he found what seemed like a solution: evangelical Christianity. It appeared to have the cure for his

Healing Through Humor - Shannon Payton (Shanny Pants) - S2E9
March 09, 2023

Shannon Payton, known as Shanny Pants by many, is a content creator and podcaster living in Rocklin, California. Her podcast, "The Shanny Pants Show" is currently in its third season. In her interview-style podcast, Shannon shares her struggles of growing

Stay-at-Home Daughter - Cait West - S2E8
February 27, 2023

Cait West is a writer and editor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, and she writes about her journey out of the stay-at-home-daughter movement at caitwest.com. She curre