
Combating Cult Mind Control
The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Greenberg
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By:
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Steven Hassan
About this listen
Dr. Stephen Hassan, a world-renowned cult expert with firsthand experience of escaping the Unification Church Cult in the 1970s (often referred to as The Moonies), offers his critical insights in the landmark book “Combatting Cult Mind Control. The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults.” This essential guide explores the methods by which groups and individuals can manipulate people's minds and behaviors in a subtle and covert manner. Hassan combines his personal narrative with extensive psychological research to provide strategies for protection, intervention, and healing for those affected by destructive cults.
In this volume you will find:
● Stories of people who fell under the sway of cults and other forms of undue influence but who were able to break free
● New information on the many sophisticated ways social media are now used for mind control
● Updates on the many types of organizations that use mind control
● Information on the neuroscience behind mind control
Hassan lays out a clear, research-based path for understanding and countering manipulative influences. The book introduces the Freedom of Mind approach, Hassan's own method developed from psychological principles aimed at helping people reclaim their autonomy from manipulative influences.
Using scholarly evidence and straightforward discussion, "Combating Mind Control" provides an informative guide for recognizing, understanding, and resisting undue influence, emphasizing the power of informed, critical thinking, and personal autonomy.
©1988 Steven Hassan (P)2018 Steven HassanListeners also enjoyed...
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I highly recommended this book
- By Sam Lyman on 10-17-18
By: Luna Lindsey
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Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults
- By: Wind Goodfriend, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Wind Goodfriend
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times. But unlike any standard news reporting or documentary about the Peoples Temple, The Manson “Family,” The Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, the Unification Church, and NXIVM, your expert, Dr. Wind Goodfriend, will help you explore the psychology of these cults. How could these cult leaders have committed such heinous crimes under the guise of “helping” members in their development?
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cults through he eyes of a feminist
- By Maxwell J Oss on 02-09-25
By: Wind Goodfriend, and others
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Escaping Utopia
- Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over
- By: Karla McLaren, Janja Lalich
- Narrated by: Kelly Burke
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over, the authors craft Lalich’s original and groundbreaking research into an accessible and engaging book. The authors explore fundamental questions about human nature, human development, group dynamics, abuse and control, and triumphs of the human spirit.
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Necessary and insightful
- By Amazon Customer on 12-11-22
By: Karla McLaren, and others
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The Kingdom of the Cults (Sixth Edition)
- The Definitive Work on the Subject
- By: Walter Martin
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 27 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In an era of rapid growth of false religions worldwide, Christians need information they can trust. This comprehensive new edition of the leading book on cults will equip you - no matter your background - to understand and use biblical truth to counter false religions, including many that masquerade as mainstream Christianity. Reflecting the developments in cults and world religions in recent years, this edition, updated by expert Jill Martin Rische (daughter of Walter Martin), gives you the authoritative information you need to know.
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It's missing 12 hours of content.
- By ThatGuy on 09-14-21
By: Walter Martin
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When Religion Hurts You
- Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion
- By: Laura E. Anderson PhD
- Narrated by: Laura E. Anderson PhD
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Laura Anderson takes an honest look at a side of religion that few like to talk about. Drawing from her own life and therapy practice, she helps listeners understand what religious trauma is and isn't, and how high-control churches can be harmful and abusive, often resulting in trauma. She shows how elements of fundamentalist church life—such as fear of hell, purity culture, corporal punishment, and authoritarian leaders—can cause psychological, relational, physical, and spiritual damage.
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Harmed by Church of Christ beliefs
- By Bryan Wade on 04-14-24
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Don't Call It a Cult
- The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM
- By: Sarah Berman
- Narrated by: Ewa Wolniczek
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Investigative journalist Sarah Berman explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, a cult run by Keith Raniere and many enablers. Through the accounts of central NXIVM figures, Berman uncovers how dozens of women seeking creative coaching and networking opportunities instead were blackmailed, literally branded, near-starved, and enslaved. Don't Call It a Cult is a riveting account of NXIVM's rise to power, its ability to evade prosecution for decades, and the investigation that finally revealed its dark secrets to the world.
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Detailed (best for those already interested)
- By JR on 05-02-21
By: Sarah Berman
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Terror, Love and Brainwashing
- Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems
- By: Alexandra Stein
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Written by a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism, Terror, Love and Brainwashing draws on the author's 25 years of study and research to explain how almost anyone, given the right set of circumstances, can be radically manipulated to engage in otherwise incomprehensible and often dangerous acts.
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Thank You!
- By Audible Listener on 02-08-21
By: Alexandra Stein
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The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
- Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church
- By: David Johnson, Jeff Van Vonderen
- Narrated by: William Sarris
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In a breakthrough book first published in 1991, the authors address the dynamics in churches that can ensnare people in legalism, guilt, and begrudging service, keeping them from the grace and joy of God's kingdom.
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Great... until they said stay with an abuser
- By Nicole J on 07-11-23
By: David Johnson, and others
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Scarred
- The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life
- By: Sarah Edmondson, Kristine Gasbarre
- Narrated by: Sarah Edmondson
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption. "Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor." Scarred follows actress Sarah Edmondson's account of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, founded by Keith Raniere. It narrates in detail the 12 years she spent within the organization, during which she enrolled over 2,000 members, chronicling her breaking point and her harrowing fight to get out, help others, and heal.
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Riveting!
- By Ellen on 10-23-19
By: Sarah Edmondson, and others
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Going Clear
- Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Morton Sellers
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower, the now-classic study of al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attack. Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—both famous and less well known—and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative ability to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.
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Shockingly Great
- By Michael on 01-27-13
By: Lawrence Wright
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Cultish
- The Language of Fanaticism
- By: Amanda Montell
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.
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Get this book ASAP
- By chris boutte on 06-17-21
By: Amanda Montell
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How Fascism Works
- The Politics of Us and Them
- By: Jason Stanley
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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As the child of refugees of World War II Europe and a renowned philosopher and scholar of propaganda, Jason Stanley has a deep understanding of how democratic societies can be vulnerable to fascism: Nations don’t have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics. In fact, fascism’s roots have been present in the United States for more than a century.
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A Warning Too Clear to Ignore
- By Chip Auger on 10-30-18
By: Jason Stanley
What listeners say about Combating Cult Mind Control
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-06-20
A great book filled of testimonials and advice
It's a bit long and there are moments in several chapters which are mildly repetitive. It doesn't go into explicit details of any one cult, and delves deepest into the Moonies as this was the one Steven Hassan escaped, but it is well worth the read.
It provides a clear and academic framework to determine whether or not a group is a "destructive cult," the effects of participating in them, advice for how to escape the cult for members and their families, and testimonials of past members and attempts to rescue the victims of these groups.
There is no mysticism in Steven's words and while it focuses extensively on "mind control," it is not in a magical way at all and is grounded in legitimate psychology.
It is definitely essential reading for those interested in this subject, my harshest criticism is that it can be a bit dry at times.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Mars
- 04-29-21
Amazing Book for Both Survivors, and Their Family
As a cult survivor, I have found so much in this book to be incredibly helpful. I have only listened to the book once, and plan to listen to it again in a few days, as it recommends. However, it has already helped me unearth and recognize so many behaviors I have suffered through in the previous years. More so, it mentions a group that I used to be involved with and didn't realize it was also a cult until Steven Hassan mentioned it by name and started describing part of my early twenties. I cannot stress enough how important, and useful this book is. It is worth it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Batman's Kiss
- 11-30-22
Excellent
Excellent primer for anyone wanting to understand coercive control and how cults work. Thank you.
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- Madison
- 01-04-23
Fantastic and well presented.
This is a great book, especially if you have a weird fascination with cults like me!
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- S in Seattle
- 04-16-23
Comprehensive and essential
Everyone should have this essential knowledge. Comprehensive compilation of information on mind control with real world examples.
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- Razvan P.
- 05-14-22
Compelling and coherent
Although long, this is a must-read/listen for everyone trying to understand why good people could end up in terrible situations, conspiracies and crazy organizations...
It is clear that this is a refined and re-revisited edition along many years, as it seems very easy to digest, despite its massive amount of information.
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- April
- 01-05-25
Must have information
The information in this book is knowledge that is unfortunately not common to many, but is of great importance and needs to be shared.
The BITE model and other such insights from Dr. Hassan’s work and experiences are vital.
If we as humans want to understand ourselves and each other better; we need to do the work to heal and move forward individually and collectively.
Humanity needs to stop being used as pawns to those already in power with the knowledge and use of insidious techniques (some referenced in this book), who prefer the unfair advantage, power and control that results from such situations.
Knowledge is power. This is a great book for those looking to help themselves and those around them.
* No disrespect to the narrator, but the narration would have been better had it been Dr. Hassan himself. The tone was too calm and soothing at times, which made it hard not to zone out at times, but overall this book is worth its weight in gold *
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- Paul
- 03-26-25
Excellent thorough intro
Very interesting journey through this world of cults and mind control. Very well presented and well argued points. The narrator enunciates so well.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-16-19
Very Insightful
It helped solidify my knowledge that my JW ex-husband has two different identities. I will use this book to keep my children educated.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Melissa Banford
- 07-09-22
My guide to healing and protection from coercive control
As a former cult member from age 12-28. Me and my younger sister were under coercive control of my mother and our cult leader who she was having an affair with for 25 years. To this day his original family has no idea we and the cult existed. At least not to the degree that it did. We experienced psychic abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, non contact sexual abuse, mystical manipulation, and severe coercive control. Primarily because we believed the cult leader had full psychic abilities. On a god level we believed he knew our every thoughts, past and future, including other lives. Also, that he had the ability to control our lives, good or bad. He claimed to have the power to control the weather. I had no autonomy in my own mind for 16 years. I’m now 10 years in of breaking free on a fundamental level. It was one and a half years after cutting my Mom and this man out of mine and my daughters life when I had a full blown existential crisis experiencing paralysis for several hours. I had no idea who I was or what I believed.
That being said I just listened to and bought the book. This book has already help, healed, guided, explained, and given so much hope. I can’t wait to listen to it again. I know I’ll reach deeper layers of new understanding of what I have experienced. And so much more than that is why I am the way I am today. Because I just can’t seem to stay away from coercive control situations. At least the time frames have gotten shorter. That Steve’s book provides defense against coercive control I finally feel hope that I can make different choices in the future. I feel extra susceptible because of my early indoctrination into a cult at age 12.
Thank so deeply Steve Hassan for writing this book and sharing your story. It’s a wealth of knowledge in a world where cults seem to be everywhere I look. Especially in America
~Melissa Suzanne Banford
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