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...
Welcome to a brand new chapter in the ‘cult’ure series. We'll be moving away from the wellness world and onto broader culture war topics in the coming weeks. To kick things off, Candice is showing up solo. Opening with an anecdote about an awkward interpersonal interaction from a few weeks ago, she then continues in the vein of storytelling, pulling from the pages of her unpublished memoir. Through a series of intimate flashbacks, she...
If you’ve been listening to the pod recently, you know that I’ve made the choice to shift away from featuring stories about ‘the Org’ on the main feed (really hoping it will stick). There’s now a literal digital library of evergreen episodes - between the main feed and Patreon - that all focus on the mind-body fitness brand / cult-fitness movement that I was once a part of. And frankly, there are many other topics that I’ve been...
In this week's episode of Deconstructing Dogma was inspired by an offline discussion with Adi & Tracy, and I immediately felt we needed to take things deeper. It's a convo that focuses on psychosocial 'safety' and what it really means - in our bodies, our relationships, and culturally. dd #59 - Safety & Belonging: How Our Definitions & Experiences Vary First: Adi shares about comments she made that inspired this discussion, sharing...
Welcome to a brand new chapter in the ‘cult’ure series. We'll be moving away from the wellness world and onto broader culture war topics in the coming weeks. To kick things off, Candice is showing up solo. Opening with an anecdote about an awkward interpersonal interaction from a few weeks ago, she then continues in the vein of storytelling, pulling from the pages of her unpublished memoir. Through a series of intimate flashbacks, she...
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...
I’ve been in desperate need of a new website for years now, and I’m finally doing something about it. Inspired, in part, by the fact that my DIY approach to all things website, which (I thought) worked pretty a-okay for two decades, has led to a bit of an SEO nightmare. The google-gods seem intent on pulling content from my former life into my top-level nav of my website. I’m not kidding, folks… content I wrote in 2006 and 2014 keeps on...
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...
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 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 describes a high-demand...
