Speaking of Cults

A podcast about cults, coercive control and recovery. Formerly called the Sensibly Speaking podcast, in this weekly show host Chris Shelton interviews cult survivors, psychologists and other professionals and specialists about the topics of cult recruitment, retention and recovery. This also includes non-religious cults and extreme political movements including the more divisive elements of MAGA and left-wing culture war issues. There is nothing off-limits but we always try to be respectful of the people involved even if we do not respect the beliefs or actions involved.
Episodes
Episodes



6 days ago
6 days ago
I'm posting this bonus podcast mid-week since I didn't want to delay getting this information and interview with Dr. Clint Heacock out to you. Project Esther is one part of a series of actions being taken by the White House to repress free speech and demonstrations and curtail our rights. Current events are running at a lightning pace and I want to do my part to help inform you what is actually going on in the US right now.
Links discussed:
Dismantling Doctrine podcast: https://mindshiftpodcast.podbean.com/
Project Esther: https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/project-esther-national-strategy-combat-antisemitism
Heritage Foundation: https://www.heritage.org/
MSNBC report on Project Esther: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-antisemitism-project-esther-heritage-palestinian-rcna207935



Saturday Jun 28, 2025
Speaking of Cults...How to Get Someone Out of a Cult (for real)
Saturday Jun 28, 2025
Saturday Jun 28, 2025
This week I welcome Patrick Ryan, a cult intervention specialist who has been working in the field for 40 years and definitely knows what he's talking about, having helped thousands of people one-on-one to leave destructive cults and abusive situations. In today's show, we go right to the heart of what it takes to engage with and help cult members and it's not any easy walk in the park, yet it's also so simple that it's kind of hard to believe. Enjoy!
Pat's website: https://cultrecovery101.com



Saturday Jun 21, 2025
Speaking of Cults...Don't Let the Pseudoscience Bug Catch You!
Saturday Jun 21, 2025
Saturday Jun 21, 2025
This week I welcome back Dr. Jonathan Stea, author of "Mind the Science" and a real pleasure to talk to about the harms and pitfalls of science denialism, health fads and pseudoscience. In this age of post-truth nonsense all over social media and in our government, this is a vital topic for us to do something about. I hope you'll give it a listen. Enjoy!
Jonathan's website: https://jonathanstea.com



Saturday Jun 14, 2025
Speaking of Cults...Why Cult "Deprogramming" is Bad with Ashlen Hilliard
Saturday Jun 14, 2025
Saturday Jun 14, 2025
This week I welcome back cult intervention specialist Ashlen Hilliard to discuss the perils and vagaries of cult interventions, deprogramming, the background of all this and what we do to help extract people from destructive cults. We go pretty deep into what this is about in just an hour's time. Enjoy!
Ashlen's website: https://PeopleLeaveCults.com



Saturday Jun 07, 2025
Speaking of Cults...Radical Honesty is a Pack of Lies
Saturday Jun 07, 2025
Saturday Jun 07, 2025
This week I welcome Jura Glo, a survivor of a group called Radical Honesty, which takes honesty to an extreme level that is more suited to the needs of predatory personalities than personal transformation and growth. We take a hard look at this group and its ideas and the effects of what they can do. Enjoy!
Jura Glo on Substack: https://juraglo.substack.com/



Saturday May 31, 2025
Speaking of Cults...How the Mormon Church Enables Abuse and Homophobia
Saturday May 31, 2025
Saturday May 31, 2025
Following on last week's podcast abut the Troubled Teen Industry, this week I am joined again by Bryce Blankenagel and Shannon Grover to go deep on what the Mormon church's position is on the LGBT+ community, why there is so much hate and bigotry for same-sex marriages and how "conversion therapy" is still very much alive and well all over Utah and the US. We cover a lot of territory in this one. Enjoy!
Glassbox podcast: https://glassboxpodcast.com/



Saturday May 24, 2025
Speaking of Cults...The Troubled Teen Industry with Meg Appelgate
Saturday May 24, 2025
Saturday May 24, 2025
This week I welcome Meg Appelgate, founder of Unsilenced.org and a survivor of the "troubled teen industry" - a loose network of abusive labor trafficking and cultic control groups which focus their efforts on abusing children and teens to "manage and control them" so they will somehow stop being so "troublesome." It's truly sick and disgusting work and it's being done to the tune of $23 billion in government and private funding, and no one is doing a thing to stop it.
Meg's website: https://unsilenced.org



Saturday May 17, 2025
Speaking of Cults...Is "America First" a Political Cult?
Saturday May 17, 2025
Saturday May 17, 2025
This week I welcome back Dr. Clint Heacock, a former Evangelical minister turned whistleblower and we discuss the current White House administration, the people guiding strategic and policy-making decisions for Trump and the danger they present to America. There are many parallels to cultic activity and techniques in what these folks are doing.
Clint's Dismantling Doctrine podcast: https://mindshiftpodcast.podbean.com/

Your Host
Hello, my name is Chris Shelton and I am an author, consultant, podcaster, videographer, and former cult member. Welcome to my podcast!
Who is Chris Shelton?
Chris started a YouTube channel which has over 45,000 subscribers, produces the Sensibly Speaking podcast each week and has produced hundreds of videos laying out the scam of Scientology, educating on critical thinking and interviewing former members of Scientology and other destructive cults, as well as a range of therapists, cult exit counselors, educators and media personalities. Chris has also given talks and presentations around the United States about his experiences and has been featured on numerous podcasts and television shows. He was featured on Leah Remini’s Scientology and the Aftermath on A&E and served as a consultant to the show for its first two seasons. He has also written a critical analysis of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard called Scientology: A to Xenu – An Insider’s Guide to What Scientology is Really All About, available on Amazon in printed form, e-book format and as an audio book.