
Cult Following
The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations—and Take Over Our Lives
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Narrated by:
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Kimberly M. Wetherell
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By:
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J. W. Ocker
About this listen
From the author of Cursed Objects and The United States of Cryptids comes an eye-popping compendium of the most infamous, audacious, and dangerous cults in history.
Have you ever wondered how smart, normal people end up enmeshed in extreme cults? Weird history expert J. W. Ocker strives to answer that question in Cult Following. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about history’s most notorious cults–and the psychology of the people who join them–is packed into this accessible, engaging volume. Walk in the footsteps of the followers who were lured into these sinister groups, including:
- Branch Davidians: Led by David Koresh, this cult was waiting out the apocalypse in 1993 when the FBI infamously raided their compound in Waco, Texas.
- Narcosatanists: This cult of drug traffickers in 1980s Mexico was led by Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo, who believed he had magic powers and committed human sacrifice.
- Brotherhood of the Seven Rays: The earliest known UFO cult, the infiltration and study of the Brotherhood by psychologists inspired the term “cognitive dissonance.”
- Ho No Hana Sanpogyo: The founder, Hogen Fukunaga, claimed to be able to tell someone’s fortune by examining their feet.
- Breatherianism: Breatherians believe that humans can live on air alone. Their founder, Wiley Brooks, claimed to have gone without food for nineteen years.
- NXIVM: This twenty-first century cult attracted several members of Hollywood and engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, and racketeering under the guise of personal development seminars.
In Cult Following, Ocker sheds light on the terrifying attraction of cults, demonstrating the elasticity of belief, the desperateness of belonging, and the tragedy of trust.
©2024 J. W. Ocker (P)2024 Blackstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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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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Overall
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Performance
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Story
You’ve seen them in movies and on TV, but cults are more prevalent than you think - and they’re armed with strategies that can brainwash and persuade even the most unlikely of candidates. But how do individuals get involved with cults in the first place, and what steps can be taken to “deprogram” and heal those who have been drawn into these damaging groups? These questions and more are addressed in Cults Inside Out, written by leading cult expert Rick Alan Ross.
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Informative and interesting read!
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beware...this book is cursed! These strange but true stories of the world's most infamous items will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale.
-
-
Good information!
- By Amelia on 07-29-21
By: J.W. Ocker
-
The United States of Cryptids
- A Tour of American Myths and Monsters
- By: J. W. Ocker
- Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the United States of Cryptids, where mysterious monsters lurk in the dark forests, deep lakes, and sticky swamps of all fifty states. From the infamous Jersey Devil to the obscure Snallygaster, travel writer and chronicler of the strange J. W. Ocker not only uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures but investigates the ways in which communities have embraced and celebrated their local cryptids.
-
-
US Cryptid Tour
- By Admiralu on 10-15-24
By: J. W. Ocker
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It's missing 12 hours of content.
- By ThatGuy on 09-14-21
By: Walter Martin
-
Cults
- Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them
- By: Max Cutler
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Raquel Beattie, Erin Ruth Walker, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.
-
-
Disappointed
- By KJ on 04-12-23
By: Max Cutler
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
cults through he eyes of a feminist
- By Maxwell J Oss on 02-09-25
By: Wind Goodfriend, and others
-
Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out
- By: Rick Alan Ross
- Narrated by: Daniel Adam Day
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You’ve seen them in movies and on TV, but cults are more prevalent than you think - and they’re armed with strategies that can brainwash and persuade even the most unlikely of candidates. But how do individuals get involved with cults in the first place, and what steps can be taken to “deprogram” and heal those who have been drawn into these damaging groups? These questions and more are addressed in Cults Inside Out, written by leading cult expert Rick Alan Ross.
-
-
Informative and interesting read!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-15-21
By: Rick Alan Ross
-
Cursed Objects
- Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items
- By: J.W. Ocker
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beware...this book is cursed! These strange but true stories of the world's most infamous items will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale.
-
-
Good information!
- By Amelia on 07-29-21
By: J.W. Ocker
What listeners say about Cult Following
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- andrea
- 01-22-25
The closing was a drive home for the message of this book and was touching.
This was great to listen to. I learned how deeply some cults still permeate new wave spiritual practices and swirl around social media without those preaching it even being aware. It was eye opening and entertaining
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