Cults to Consciousness

Following up our incredible interview with Lilia Tarawa, today we go LIVE with her to further discuss what it was like escaping the Gloriavale cult.  Founded by her grandfather, who was inspired by the Amish in the US, Gloriavale became an isolated community in New Zealand that implemented communal living, strict gender roles and even identical uniforms for its members. 

The numbers grew rapidly, especially since ...

Lilia Tarawa was raised in an isolated community in New Zealand started by her grandfather, called Gloriavale. Inspired by the Amish in the US, he implemented communal living, strict gender roles and even identical uniforms for its members. The numbers grew rapidly, especially since birth control wasn’t allowed. Lilia showed promise in leadership skills as a chiId, but was quickly shot down in an hours-long public shaming ...

No electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing.  Lovina Zook grew up in one of the strictest Amish settlements started by her own family. Highly demanding gender roles were enforced leaving Lovina with no other choice than to marry a relative and become a busy housewife, or be considered an old maid at 24. She had high ambitions and knew she had to escape and trade her entire family and community to be free to l...

No electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing.  Lovina Zook grew up in one of the strictest Amish settlements started by her own family. It was common to marry cousins as most people there were related by blood and a woman would be considered an “old maid” if still single by 24 yrs old. Lovina discusses the hardest parts including struggling with mental heath, strict rules and not receiving any love or affectio...

Surviving Mormonism is a new limited series hosted by Real Housewife of Salt Lake City Heather Gay where she interviews people with harrowing stories of how the LDS church failed them. It is a heartbreaking series that reveals the reality of a systemic problem that is not only covered up by church officials, but amplified by their only true intentions…avoiding lawsuits and avoiding bad media. Thousands of people have share...

In 2017, Miranda signed up for classes at Tara Yoga Centre in London — a studio associated with the larger network Atman federation (also sometimes called MISA in other countries). At first, the classes were marketed as esoteric or tantric yoga — spiritual practices about inner work, self-improvement and body awareness. As time went on, students were encouraged to date the teachers, blurring lines and creating a toxic powe...

Alexandra struggled with her parents’ treatment of her, as well as suffering SA which led to a deterioration of her mental health. When she asked her parents for help, she was either dismissed or laughed at. When she was finally given some psychiatric care, it didn’t last long before her parents chose to instead hand over custody and ship her to Utah during winter for a wilderness camp. What was supposed to last 8-10 weeks...

Alexandra struggled with her parents’ treatment of her, as well as suffering SA which led to a deterioration of her mental health. Her parents then took drastic measures by paying for her to be kidnapped and taken to a wilderness camp in the dead of Utah winter. They were forced to hike every other day further into the mountains carrying a 60 pound backpack with very little food and warmth for 13 weeks straight. When hazar...

Raised in the “Holy War” and recruited as a soldier for Jesus, Philip Boltz, son of famous Christian singer Ray Boltz, was deeply invested in changing the world. He went on multiple mission trips abroad, ready to give everything, including his life for the cause. However, the goal to become a martyr was closer than he realized, when an emergency surgery leading to severe infection and medical neglect in India led him to be...

Liz Boltz Ranfeld, who was featured in the recent Shiny Happy People 2 documentary, was fully immersed in the “Teen Mania” lifestyle. She went on several overseas mission-trips that caused more fear and guilt due to the inability to faith heal on the spot, however it opened her eyes to other cultures that were being labeled as “demonic”. Her father was a well known Christian singer/song writer, Ray Boltz, which put all eye...

CW: Mentions of CSA, SA, ED & Suicide Ideation.  Sochil Martin was born and raised in the worldwide church known as La Luz del Mundo. At age 9 she started to become groomed to be a concubine to the Apostle who was their living prophet on Earth. Her own aunt took her to him, because that’s what had happened to her and her family as young girls. They were not only expected to comply, it was considered a great blessi...

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Born into the Church of Immortal Consciousness, Danny Rensch spent his childhood navigating the isolated confines of a cult. Despite psychological manipulation, physical abuse, and neglect, he persevered. An international chess master and world-class commentator, Rensch’s remarkable journey led him to being the face of Chess.com, one of the largest online gaming platforms in the world. 

Rensch recounts his life, starti...

Mandi Pagliarini was put into a recovery program at 15 yrs old and would quickly be handed over to multiple predators by the leader until she left at 22. She realized years later that not all forms of abuse feel the same, and has dedicated her work to teaching parents how to speak to their children and teens to help keep them safe. Every parent should have these important conversations at age appropriate times and Mandi is...

Sarah Hartshorne gives the exposé on what REALLY happened on one of the hottest reality tv shows of its time, America’s Next Top Model. We did a deep dive interview with her, but today we focus in on some of the more disturbing parts of her time on Season 9 including waiving their rights to a camera free shower. Girls had no choice but to be moldable clay when it came to their identity, looks and sometimes their name. Even...

(CW: Mentions of Eating Disorder) Sarah Hartshorne, a fan favorite America’s Next Top Model contestant pulls back the curtain on the iconic but deeply flawed reality competition show, exposing the manipulation and chaos behind the scenes. Tyra Banks’s America’s Next Top Model was a cultural phenomenon with more than six million weekly viewers at its peak. Over its fifteen-year run, the show captured the glitz of the early ...

CHAPTER MARKS NOT AVAILABLE

Mandi Pagliarini was thrown into Alcoholics Anonymous as a teen when her parents caught her drinking, and overreacted. She was lured into loving summer boarding camps with cute boys and fun activities, so immediately following high school graduation, the thought of being full time boarded with the group sounded fun and necessary for her health. Unfortunately, a bait and switch quickly happened wh...

Today Shelise takes the hot seat to be interviewed by husband and co-producer Jonathan Rosales. A brief discussion about Mormonism and the various shapes it can take in people’s lives gives more context to why Shelise feels it is a cult/high control group. They discuss the light hearted aspects of leaving the cult bubble such as being out of the loop with pop culture. Then, for the first time, Shelise goes into depth about...

Carah Burrell and Ryan Fisher have continued to cover the Tim Ballard scandal since it was leaked two years ago that he had plans to become the new LDS prophet and take over the government through white nationalism. He was using his “connections” with the now deceased apostle Ballard (no relation) to bolster his cause at Operation Underground Railroad, which evidence has now suggested it was all a ruse, including allegedly...