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.
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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
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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.
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Good information!
- By Amelia on 07-29-21
By: J.W. Ocker
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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
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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.
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US Cryptid Tour
- By Admiralu on 10-15-24
By: J. W. Ocker
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Murderabilia
- A History of Crime in 100 Objects
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Buck Groat
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The false teeth of a female serial killer from 1908, the cut-and-paste confession of the Black Dahlia killer, the newly cracked cipher of the Zodiac killer, the shotgun used in the Clutter family murders, which were made famous by Truman Capote's true crime classic In Cold Blood—these are more than simple artifacts that once belonged to notorious murderers. They are objects of fascination to the legion of true crime obsessives around the world. Veteran true crime writer Harold Schechter presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning two centuries, with accompanying stories of various lengths.
By: Harold Schechter
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No Haven
- The Connecticut Mob and the Rise of America's Model City
- By: Paul Bleakley
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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One of America's most historic and enduring cities, New Haven has wrangled with a perpetual identity struggle, torn between worlds that occasionally converged in chaos and violence. In the 1930s, Connecticut became a region where Mafia families like the Genoveses, Gambinos, Colombos, and Patriarcas shared turf—working together with enough profits to go around or descending into open war to rival that experienced in any major city. Central to this conflict were three men who were, at different times, cautious allies or sworn nemeses.
By: Paul Bleakley
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Scam Goddess
- Lessons from a Life of Cons, Grifts, and Schemes
- By: Laci Mosley
- Narrated by: Laci Mosley
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In Scam Goddess, Laci recounts how her scammer instincts have guided her throughout her life—from a religious childhood in rural Texas, to a stint as a city bartender at what might have been a drug front, to swindling her way past the gatekeepers of Hollywood—recounting the greatest true-crime scam stories that inspired her along the way. Whether it’s by the beauty industry, capitalism, or the people we date, we’re all getting scammed. In this book, Laci identifies the secrets to flipping the script and coming out ahead.
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Even better than the podcast
- By Magali R. on 12-04-24
By: Laci Mosley
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Probably the Best Book on Statistics Ever Written
- How to Beat the Odds and Make Better Decisions
- By: Haim Shapira
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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This book reveals how statistics and probability are fundamental to our everyday lives—from advertisements to public opinion polls, weather forecasts to government policies, scientific research to stock market information. Haim Shapira then presents a myriad of anecdotes, riddles, case studies and practical exercises in his trademark witty voice to guide the listner through the importance of statistics and probability in everyday life.
By: Haim Shapira
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Elections
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: L. Sandy Maisel, Jennifer A. Yoder
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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L. Sandy Maisel and Jennifer A. Yoder lay out the variety of electoral systems in the broadest terms-single-member district plurality systems; proportional systems; and mixed systems. They discuss voting and the various electoral institutions used to implement the ways in which voting occurs and how votes are tabulated across electoral systems.
By: L. Sandy Maisel, and others
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Lethal Luxury
- The Menendez Brothers' Path to Patricide
- By: Nicolas Church
- Narrated by: Chris Reynolds
- Length: 2 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Delve into the chilling saga of Erik and Lyle Menendez, whose quest for wealth and privilege led to a shocking act of violence. This gripping true crime novel unravels the twisted motives behind the murder of the Menendez brothers' wealthy parents and exposes the dark side of affluence. Through meticulous research and riveting storytelling, "Lethal Luxury" explores how the pursuit of luxury and entitlement spiraled into a deadly family betrayal, leaving a trail of devastation and a scandal that captivated the nation.
By: Nicolas Church
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The Witch's Door
- Oddities and Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme
- By: Ryan Matthew Cohn, Regina M. Rossi
- Narrated by: Ryan Matthew Cohn, Regina M. Rossi
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Welcome to a world of oddities curated by Regina and Ryan Cohn, trendsetters and tastemakers who have reinvented what the artifact collectors market looks like. Together, they are the founders of Oddities Flea Market, artfully curating a selection of the best artists and collectors at several events across the US throughout the year, with an eye towards expanding globally. In The Witch's Door, Ryan, who starred in the reality television show Oddities, and Regina, who comes from the world of fashion, give us a rare peek behind the curtain into the business of collecting the strange and unusual.
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Story telling, voice work, went by too fast!
- By Andie on 12-06-24
By: Ryan Matthew Cohn, and others
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Go to Hell
- A Traveler's Guide to Earth's Most Otherworldly Destinations
- By: Erika Engelhaupt
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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You can go to hell and back with the help of this one-of-a-kind travel guide to real-life underworld destinations around the globe. Full of intrigue, lore, and plenty of brimstone and fire, each of the 54 destinations—from Antarctica's Blood Falls to a tropical hell on Grand Cayman island—will be worth adding to your devilish bucket list.
By: Erika Engelhaupt
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Here, Where Death Delights
- A Literary Memoir
- By: Mary Jumbelic M.D.
- Narrated by: Mary Jumbelic M.D.
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Mary Jumbelic has been obsessed with death since the loss of her father when she was 13. The sudden departure of her dad, the mother left behind, and her position as an only child led her to grow up quickly. Yet the why and how of her father's death plagued her. She chose to view an autopsy at the age of 15 and discovered a science that explained the process. College, medical school and becoming a forensic pathologist wasn't a given. She struggled before ultimately deciding on a career as a medical examiner.
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How to Start a Cult
- By: Jody Raynsford
- Narrated by: Jody Raynsford
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Through a series of cult commandments, Jody reveals how you can change how people feel about you and your brand, and why some brands effortlessly attract a devoted following while others struggle on the sidelines.
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The future of marketing
- By Kindle Customer on 09-17-24
By: Jody Raynsford
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Clown World
- Four Years inside Andrew Tate's Manosphere
- By: Jamie Tahsin, Matt Shea
- Narrated by: Jamie Tahsin, Matt Shea
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2022, Andrew Tate went from a little-known kickboxer and failed reality TV star to a lifestyle icon for legions of men and boys, and a figure that would define a new era of misogyny. Tate started the year as a fringe internet celebrity, but by August he was the most googled man in the world. In that same month, Matt Shea and Jamie Tahsin gained access to his Bucharest compound and infamous War Room, making a documentary that would result in the first women coming forward to accuse him publicly of sexual and physical violence.
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Compelling true crime tale
- By Kindle Customer on 11-07-24
By: Jamie Tahsin, and others
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The Black Slide
- By: J.W. Ocker
- Narrated by: Ramon de Ocampo
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Griffin Birch isn’t known for being brave, but there’s something about the new black slide on the elementary school playground that’s made him curious. Against his better judgment, he just has to follow his best friend, Laila, down. But the Black Slide is no ordinary piece of playground equipment. What Griffin and Laila find at the other end of this strange portal is a cruel world, populated by bloodthirsty creatures on a quest to become immortal.
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Otherworldly Horror primer for kids
- By S. M. Robare on 05-16-23
By: J.W. Ocker
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Underwater
- The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe
- By: Irvin Muchnick
- Narrated by: Bob Johnson
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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While the celebrity victims of Dr. Larry Nassar and the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandals rightly got a lot of attention, the number of affected kids is far more numerous in swimming. Underwater tells the almost unbelievable story, in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and the Middle East, of coaches who preyed on children while hopping from program to program, state to state, and even country to country, in a pattern similar to the pedophile priests of the Catholic Church.
By: Irvin Muchnick
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Sophie
- The Final Verdict
- By: Senan Molony
- Narrated by: Jonathan White
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Sophie: The Final Verdict tells a remarkable story that could not until now be revealed. Senan Molony was the first national crime correspondent at the scene. From his growing unease at his helper Ian Bailey's conduct, to the astonishing moment when Bailey was arrested for a murder the suspect himself had been covering, it is an insider's account of those infamous early days of a doomed investigation, and the astonishing years to follow - as Bailey, a violent misogynist and pathological liar, escaped trial in his adopted country despite compelling evidence.
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Great Delivery
- By Marcia on 11-20-24
By: Senan Molony
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The Question of Unworthy Life
- Eugenics and Germany’s Twentieth Century
- By: Dagmar Herzog
- Narrated by: Kaliswa Brewster
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi genocide claimed the lives of nearly three hundred thousand people diagnosed with psychiatric illness or cognitive deficiencies. Not until the 1980s would these murders, as well as the coercive sterilizations of some four hundred thousand others classified as “feeble-minded,” be officially acknowledged as crimes at all. The Question of Unworthy Life charts this history from its origins in prewar debates about the value of disabled lives to our continuing efforts to unlearn eugenic thinking today.
By: Dagmar Herzog
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Twelve Nights at Rotter House
- By: J.W. Ocker
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Felix Allsey is a travel writer with a keen eye for the paranormal, and he's carved out a unique, if only slightly lucrative, niche for himself in nonfiction; he writes travelogues of the country's most haunted places, after haunting them himself. When he convinces the owner of the infamous Rotterdam Mansion to let him stay on the premises for two weeks, he believes he's finally found the location that will bring him a best seller. Then things start going wrong: screams from upstairs, figures in the thresholds, and more than what should be in any basement.
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Ocker had me at 'boo holes'...
- By J.G. on 10-28-19
By: J.W. Ocker