6: Grappling with the Cult of Trump (w/Steven Hassan)
It can be as hard to talk with your well-meaning yoga-world friend about their COVID-conspiracy beliefs as it is to talk with a family member about their devotion to Donald Trump. This isn’t an accident — but it’s not exactly by design, either. Both figures can seem trapped in filter bubbles of jargon that hypnotizes and cancels critical thinking.
In this episode, we talk with pre-eminent cult researcher Steve Hassan about his new book, The Cult of Trump, and explore the overlaps between the cults of personality that destroy political, wellness, and spiritual cultures. We discuss changes in cultic technique in the age of lockdown, and how best to maintain contact with a person transformed by manipulation.
Show Notes
UFO Conspiracy Theorists Offer ‘Ascension’ From Our Hell World for $333
How the ‘Plandemic’ Movie and Its Falsehoods Spread Widely Online
Anatomy of Delusion: How Otherwise Conscious People Descended into the Darkness — Stephen Dinan
“I Am Not Your Guru” — Tony Robbins documentary
“Hacking the Consumer’s Brain” — Moran Cerf
