This week's drop is a very special 'cult'ure series bonus convo with friend of the pod, David Gallegos-Roybal. David is a Mestizo Native of New Mexico who some loyal listeners of the pod (particularly former 'Org' members) may recognize. David's husband, Mark Frossard, was features in Ep.60 & Ep.61 of the 'cult'ure series when we did a deep-dive into his painful separation from 'the Org' back in 2018. In this episode, David shares his own...
I recorded this episode on a whim over the weekend. This one is for all of my fellow new-age apostates + anyone who catches themselves checking their smartphone WAY too often. September 23, 2024 >> Losing My Religion + Is Social Media Colonizing Us? In this episode, I talk about: Healing as an active state (vs. a destination) & why I think writing the 'cult'ure series book may take long than I think. Is new-age spirituality a...
This week, Candice is honored to welcome New York Magazine's Cover Story: Power Trip producers Lily Kay Ross & David Nickles to the pod. Lily & Dave share about the behind the scenes events that led to the 2021 launch of their investigative podcast series and about the backlash they’ve experience researching and reporting on abuse in psychedelic communities. Topics touched upon in this episode include: how trauma shapes our...
This week, I sit down with Joelle Tamraz to discuss her award-winning memoir, The Secret Practice: Eighteen Years on The Dark Side of Yoga. Here's a quick summary: "Joelle Tamraz was barely past twenty when she traveled to India in search of spiritual enlightenment. In Rishikesh, the home of yoga, she met an alluring older man who offered to teach her a secret practice. This encounter would realign her next twenty years. Joelle was controlled...
Welcome to the second half of a two-part exposé on the NAR movement in America. Candice continues her conversation with former insider, Nikki G, who shares more about the strategic aims of this belief system and how dominion theology has long been carving out a space in US politics. They touch a bit more on the Heritage Foundation’s presidential playbook (Project 2025), specifically its focus on unitary executive theory; in other words, the...
Hey friends. Once again, I'm coming to you solo with a new episode of Deconstructing Dogma, because our examination of how to make meaning without making a gd-mess is far from over. And in this week's release, I'm sharing more personally about my own journey with spirituality and ontological inquiry. dd #61 - The Empty Husk: Belief, Indoctrination, & Healthy Alternatives In the first few minutes of this episode, I share some...
American democracy is hanging on by a thread. But how did we get here? Today's episode offers an insider's peek into Christian nationalism. You may remember Nikki G from Ep.77; she was on the pod back in January, sharing about her work as a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach who specializes in spiritual and religious abuse. In early March, Candice invited her to sit down again for this two-part conversation. Nikki is a former devotee in the...
In this week's episode of Deconstructing Dogma, I'm coming to you solo with a metaphysical buzzkill - as I dissect dogma, magical thinking, and how they shape our perceptions of the world and of one another. I offer up some personal stories - a few of which I've shared before - to illustrate what I (we?) often mean when we say something looks, feels, or sounds 'culty.' And I celebrate how, at times, magical thinking can be...
This week's release features an excerpt from the episode that I recorded but didn't release last November; you might remember is as the one that was supposed to wrap the 'cult'ure series. I pulled it at the last minute & I'm still sitting on the bulk of the content (for reasons that I won't go into here). Pulled from the intro to that episode, I share a story about a recent run-in with my first-ever cult, Dahnhak (aka 'Dahn Yoga' aka 'Brain...
Beginning next week, we'll be shifting the conversation here on the main feed away from wellness 'cult'ure convos. But first, back in early February, Candice invited Tracy Stamper to record a last-minute Deconstructing Dogma release for Patreon, and it soon after became one of this pod's most downloaded bonus episodes to date. Flying monkey is a term popularized in cult recovery spaces. Borrowed from the storyline of the Wizard of Oz, it...