Best Lolablanc Podcasts (2024)

1
Yoni Shrira, Part 2 - Hard Labor, Isolation, Running Away, and a Dark Legacy 1:06:00

6d ago1:06:00

1:06:00

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 …

1
Yoni Shrira, Part 1 - The Family Foundation School, Troubled Teens, and Snitching Culture 54:36

20d ago54:36

54:36

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 …

1
Tory Hess - From Second Life to Wilderness Commune 1:26:26

26d ago1:26:26

1:26:26

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…

1
REWIND: Jay Van Bavel - Groupthink, Social Identity, and Cult Psychology 1:10:44

1M ago1:10:44

1:10:44

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…

1
Bethany Joy Lenz - One Tree Hill, a Secret Cult, and Living a Double Life 1:22:50

1M ago1:22:50

1:22:50

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…

1
Anne - Psychosis, Delusions, & the Cult of Your Own Mind 59:31

2M ago59:31

59:31

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…

1
REWIND: Jitarth Jadeja - Former QAnon Believer 1:22:09

2M ago1:22:09

1:22:09

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…

1
Gareth Gore - Opus Dei, Human Trafficking, & Project 2025 1:15:31

2M ago1:15:31

1:15:31

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…

1
Norah - Girls Night In: L.A. Facebook Group Gone Culty 1:35:46

2M ago1:35:46

1:35:46

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…

1
Demetria, Part 2 - Twin Ray Mysticism, Spiritual Retreats, and the Necessity of Rage 1:12:48

3M ago1:12:48

1:12:48

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…

1
Demetria, Part 1 - Online Gurus, Mysterious Elixirs, and Joining the Twin Ray Cult 1:10:38

3M ago1:10:38

1:10:38

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 …

1
Joelle Tamraz, Part 2 - Meeting The Elders, Emotional Manipulation, and Moving On 1:16:33

3M ago1:16:33

1:16:33

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…

1
Joelle Tamraz, Part 1 - Traveling to India, Meeting a Swami, and "Past Lives" 1:10:47

3M ago1:10:47

1:10:47

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…

1
Sara Teitelman - The Culty Elements of Technology 1:17:27

4M ago1:17:27

1:17:27

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…

1
Min Zhou, Part 2 - Labor Camps, Persecution, and Mass Killings in the Cultural Revolution 54:29

4M ago54:29

54:29

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…

1
Min Zhou, Part 1 - The Cult of Mao Zedong, and Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution 58:56

4M ago58:56

58:56

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…

1
Tia Levings, Part 2 - Questioning Fundamentalism, Motherhood, and the Dangers of Christian Nationalism 56:46

4M ago56:46

56:46

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…

1
Tia Levings, Part 1 - A Well-Trained Wife in the Christian Patriarchy 50:57

4M ago50:57

50:57

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…

1
Andrea Dunlop, Part 2 - A Family Torn, Munchausen by Proxy, & Critiquing Take Care of Maya 53:32

5M ago53:32

53:32

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…

1
Andrea Dunlop, Part 1 - Munchausen by Proxy, a Faked Miscarriage, and a Perpetrator in the Family 59:10

5M ago59:10

59:10

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…

1
J. Wesley Boyd - When Physician Health Programs Go Wrong 1:15:38

5M ago1:15:38

1:15:38

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…

1
R. Derek Black, Part 2 - How a White Supremacist Changed Their Mind 1:01:23

5M ago1:01:23

1:01:23

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 …

1
R. Derek Black, Part 1 - Former White Nationalist, Growing Up in the KKK, and Cognitive Dissonance 57:24

6M ago57:24

57:24

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…

1
Ian Rafalko, Part 2 - Son of a YouTube Scientologist Health Guru 1:31:00

6M ago1:31:00

1:31:00

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…

1
Ian Rafalko, Part 1 - Former Scientology Auditor 1:01:19

6M ago1:01:19

1:01:19

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 …

1
Aliia Roza - Former Russian Secret Agent and Sex Spy 1:25:12

7M ago1:25:12

1:25:12

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…

1
Rabia Chaudry - Serial, True Crime, & Countering Violent Extremism 1:10:07

7M ago1:10:07

1:10:07

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…

1
Jessica Kahn - Y2K Cult 1:16:00

7M ago1:16:00

1:16:00

Today we chat with Jessica Kahn, former member of a group we're calling "The Narrow Road." She'll tell us about being born into this isolated fundamentalist Christian sect that was originally formed as an addiction treatment program, the leader's connection to the founders of AA, how every part of life was strictly controlled, how they believed tha…

1
Madi Stroud - Daughter of a Cult Leader: Love Has Won & Amy Carlson 1:13:43

7M ago1:13:43

1:13:43

Today our guest is Madi Stroud. She was featured on the HBO docu series Love Has Won, and is late cult leader Amy Carlson’s daughter - the one whose mummified body was found wrapped in Christmas lights in Colorado. Madi shares what she remembers of her mom as a kid, how it felt after Amy suddenly left Madi and her brothers when she was only 7, and …

1
Dr. Inna Kanevsky - Pseudoscience, TikTok Psychology, & Culty Psychologists 1:23:07

7M ago1:23:07

1:23:07

Dr. Inna Kanevsky, psychologist, professor, and debunker of pseudoscience psychology TikToks, discusses the misinformation videos that got her started on the path of debunking, why mental health labels can be helpful but can also lead us to incorrectly self-diagnose and take on labels that do not belong to us, and why it’s a problem when we make a …

1
Warren Kohl, Part 2 - The Pressures of Preaching in a Secretive Cult 1:07:16

8M ago1:07:16

1:07:16

Today is part two with Warren Kohl, former member and religious leader within the 2x2s (Meagan's secretive childhood group that technically has no name). Today we'll hear how Warren left behind his dreams of medical school to become a "worker" (a minister who stays in people's homes). He'll talk about the pressure to speak with some kind of authori…

1
Warren Kohl, Part 1 - Preparing to Preach in a Secretive Cult 48:17

8M ago48:17

48:17

Today's guest is Warren kohl, a fifth generation member and former “worker” (or minister) in the 2x2’s, the group that Meagan grew up in. Warren shares how devout he was to the group at a very young age, having your entire life controlled, and how utter heartbreak in high school led him to celibacy and a deeper commitment to the group. Trust Me is …

1
Nadine Macaluso - Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds 1:27:10

8M ago1:27:10

1:27:10

Psychologist, trauma bond expert, and author of Run Like Hell: A Therapist's Guide to Recognizing, Escaping, and Healing from Trauma Bonds, Nadine Macaluso share about her relationship with ex-husband Jordan Belfort (aka The Wolf of Wall Street) and how it led her to become a therapist with a focus on trauma bonds. They also discuss "mind mapping",…

1
Zoe & Lillian, Part 2 - Troubled Teens, Midwest Academy, and Solitary Confinement 53:07

9M ago53:07

53:07

In part two with Zoe and Lilly, survivors of Midwest Academy, one of the abusive troubled teen programs in the same organization that was spotlighted in the docuseries The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping, we dig deeper into Lily’s experience. She’ll tell us how she was in solitary confinement for two months, and how her reaction was to rebel i…

1
Zoe & Lillian, Part 1 - The Program, Ivy Ridge and Casa by the Sea 55:45

9M ago55:45

55:45

Survivors of the infamous WWASP schools, Zoe & Lillian, share about their experiences being forced to join Ivy Ridge, Midwest Academy, and Casa by the Sea; All schools featured in the current Netflix docudrama, The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping. Lola & Meagan dig into how these programs were marketed to parents, the dramatic ways Zoe & Lilli…

1
Roberta Blevins, Part 2 - Leaving The LuLaRoe Family 58:43

9M ago58:43

58:43

In part two with former LuLaRoe seller, Roberta Blevins, they discuss everything about LuLaRoe's founder DeAnne Brady and her family, the mother figure role DeAnne provided in Roberta's life, dealing with toxic positivity, and a thorough list of MLM red flags to look out for. Plus, how Roberta finally realized that she was in a cult and how startin…

1
Roberta Blevins, Part 1 - Inside LuLaRoe 1:14:27

9M ago1:14:27

1:14:27

In part one with former LuLaRoe seller and Life After MLM podcast host, Roberta Blevins, she'll share how she first got involved in MLMS, what LuLaRoe was like, what the deal was with the wet smelly leggings, and what made realize that she did not want to be a part of MLM life anymore. We'll discuss how MLMs make good people act badly, what "huns" …

1
Lola & Meagan - Am I in a Cult (or Just a Group)? 1:05:08

10M ago1:05:08

1:05:08

This week, Lola and Meagan's guests are... Lola and Meagan! They talk about the cult of seeing everything as a cult, discussing how things that might seem a little culty don’t necessarily inherently mean that a group IS a cult. They’ll discuss political polarization, online miscommunication, group dynamics that happen in ALL groups, and the differe…

1
Katelyn Jade Hlavaty, Part 2 - Satanic Ritual Abuse & Becoming a Spokesperson 1:20:14

10M ago1:20:14

1:20:14

In part two of this listener story with Operation Light Force survivor, Katelyn Hlavaty, Lola and Meagan unpack how the leader's bogus healing protocol, which involved digging into old trauma, eventually led to Satanic Ritual Abuse. Katelyn shares how isolation from her family and a period of spontaneous remission from her bout Crohn's disease deep…

1
Katelyn Jade Hlavaty, Part 1 - Joining Operation Light Force 1:07:32

10M ago1:07:32

1:07:32

In part one of this wild listener story, Katelyn Hlavaty chats with Lola and Meagan about her experience in the evangelical healing ministry group, Operation Light Force. Katelyn shares how she joined the group when she was isolated and struggling with Crohn's disease, and how the group's promises of community, God, and literal physical healing see…

1
Sara Gorman - Science, Healthcare, and Why We Ignore Facts 1:25:05

10M ago1:25:05

1:25:05

Sara Gorman, public health expert, CEO & founder of Critica, and author of Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us, joins Lola and Meagan to discuss the importance of the scientific method, why presenting evidence can feel like an attack, common debunked beliefs that persist in American culture, and the role that media plays…

1
Jenna Miscavige, Part 2 - Escaping Scientology 51:56

11M ago51:56

51:56

Former Sea Org member and niece of Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about leaving "The Ranch" in order to join the Sea Org, getting involved in higher level management, how she barely knew her own parents, the constant level of paranoia she saw from everyone at all levels, what it was like to date within the Sea Org, how s…

1
Jenna Miscavige, Part 1 - Growing up in Scientology's Sea Organization 1:01:05

11M ago1:01:05

1:01:05

Former Scientology Sea Org member and niece of current Scientology leader David Miscavige, Jenna Miscavige, talks about being a third generation member, growing up in the infamous Sea Organization, doing child labor in a place called The Ranch, the strong snitching culture and knowledge reports that made it hard to trust anyone, bizarre educational…

1
Crystal Hefner - Surviving The Playboy Mansion 1:14:58

11M ago1:14:58

1:14:58

Crystal Hefner, former Playboy Playmate, Hugh Hefner's widow, author of Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself shares how she ended going to the Playboy Mansion for the first time, getting invited by Hef to stay, her tightly controlled lifestyle and the weekly rituals that were designed to please Hef and no one else, how she fel…

1
Michelle Dowd, Part 2 - From the Mountain to the Hospital to Forging Her Own Path 1:09:50

11M ago1:09:50

1:09:50

In part two of their conversation with Michelle Dowd, Lola & Meagan dig into when Michelle and her family moved to the mountain, why discomfort was considered a virtue, getting sick with an autoimmune disease at the age of ten, spending many months in the hospital away from The Field and her family, what happened after her cult leader grandfather p…

1
Michelle Dowd, Part 1 - Becoming a Forager in The Field 57:50

11M ago57:50

57:50

Professor, survivor of The Field, and author of Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult, Michelle Dowd, discusses growing up in the cult founded by her grandfather in the 1930s, how it started as an after school program for boys and evolved into something more sinister, the wild claims that her grandfather made, traveling to perform plays …

1
Thomas & Micah, Part 2 - Mormon Mission, Scientology, & Disney Adults 1:08:29

12M ago1:08:29

1:08:29

Two formerly closeted religious men, Thomas and Micah, share how they came out to their families and left their beliefs behind. Thomas talks about going on a Mormon mission as a gay man, Micah shares how learning about scientology was a turning point in his life, the group shares their thoughts on #DISNEYADULTS, and Thomas and Michah give their adv…

1
Thomas & Micah, Part 1 - God, Goofy, and Growing Up Gay in Religion 48:46

12M ago48:46

48:46

One is a former Mormon. The other was a child of evangelical missionaries teaching a doctrine called Accelerated Christian Education. Both of them were closeted gay men growing up in strict religious households. Today, Thomas and Micah share about their upbringings, how they met working at Disneyland (a type of cult unto itself), the personalized B…

1
Marji Mozart, Part 2 - Life After the FLDS 1:10:37

1y ago1:10:37

1:10:37

Musician and former FLDS member, Marji Mozart, discusses her wedding day as an underage bride who had never been taught about sex, her multiple marriages including one to her sister's husband, the pain of feeling that her dreams of becoming a musician were dead, how spending time in the hospital with her child led staff to suspect that she was in a…

1
Marji Mozart, Part 1 - Growing up in the FLDS 1:21:27

1y ago1:21:27

1:21:27

Musician and former FLDS member, Marji Mozart, shares about her childhood in Colorado City, living with a rebellious mother within a high control community, how she dreamed of being a musician instead of someone's wife, getting married to a grown man when she was only 17, and how that impacted her relationship with her mom. Check out our holiday sp…

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