The CULTural Zeitgeist

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  MAHA: WTAF 05.02.2025 50min

  This week, we discuss Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the MAHA movement. What does it really mean, and is it as good as it sounds? Short answer: Probably not. 
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  Love Has Won: Mother God's Weekend at Bernie's 29.01.2025 1u 25min

  We finally cover Amy Carlson A.K.A. Mother God, who's cult of personality may have led to her undoing. 
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  Madame Helena Blavatsky: Everyday She Hustlin' 22.01.2025 1u 14min

  Possibly one of the most influential people we have covered this far, Helena Blavatsky is considered a fraud by some but to us, she is just a 19th-century hustler girlie, who may or may not have been hustled herself. 
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  Bentinho Massaro: Douchebag Guru 15.01.2025 1u 24min

  Bentino Massaro leveraged the internet to grow a devout following. His teachings are a spiritual circle jerk of nonsense that has led to one death and a trail of sexual assault allegations. 
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  The Rajneeshees: Terrorism at Taco Time (Re-release) 08.01.2025 59min

  Originally aired November 1, 2023 In 1981 residents of Antelope, Oregon found their small conservative town of 40 residents overtaken by thousands of orange-clad strangers. The outsiders came to Oregon looking to create a utopian society dedicated to their leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. But years of investigations would find the Rajneeshees responsible for the first and largest bioterror attack on U.S. soil, and multiple attempted assassinations.   CONSIDER DONATING TO Safe Passage Foundation The Safe Passage Foundation provides resources, support and advocacy for people raised in restrictive, isolated or high-demand communities, colloquially referred to as "cults".   Reference: Keys, Scott. “A Strange but True Tale of Voter Fraud and Bioterrorism.” The Atlantic, 10 June 2014. Thuras, Dylan. “The Secret’s in the Sauce: Bioterror at the Salsa Bar.” Slate, 9 January 2014. Bassett, Andreas. “Fall From Grace: The Story of Rajneeshpuram.” The Pacific Sentinal, 10 May 2018 Kent, Dickon. “ What ‘Wild Wild Country’ Didn’t Say: 57 Answers to Questions About Rajneeshpuram from a Teenage Resident.” Medium, 16 April 2018 Wild Wild Country. Directed by Maclain Way and Chapman Way, Duplass Brothers Productions, 2018. Netflix.  
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  Belle Gibson: The Worst - Part Two (Re-release) 01.01.2025 46min

  Belle Gibson continues to take her scheme to new levels, gets blasted on 60 Minutes, and takes cultural appropriation to a new level.    Please Consider Donating To Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Institute’s mission is to save more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all types of cancer. It holds an A- from charity watchdog CharityWatch for it’s transparency and the amount of money it allocated to actually help fund research.   Resources Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. The Woman Who Fooled The World: Belle Gibson’s Cancer Con. Scribble, 2018 Ackerman, Tessa. “Cancer Fraudster Belle Gibson Rejected by Ethiopians.” The Weekend Australian. 24 January 2020 Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. “Friends and doctors raise doubts over 'Healing Belle' cancer claims.” The Age, 10 March 2015 Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. “Backlash over app developer Belle Gibson's missing charity money.” The Age, 9 March 2015 Weaver, Claire. “Belle Gibson: The Girl Who Conned Us All.” Now To Love, 25 July 2015  
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  Belle Gibson: The Worst - Part One (Re-release) 26.12.2024 45min

  Originally aired November 13, 2023 Wellness influencer Belle Gibson claimed that she had cured herself of malignant brain cancer through clean eating and coffee enemas. But, spoiler alert, she was a huge F*CKING liar.   Please Consider Donating To Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Institute’s mission is to save more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all types of cancer. It holds an A- from charity watchdog CharityWatch for it’s transparency and the amount of money it allocated to actually help fund research.   Resources Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. The Woman Who Fooled The World: Belle Gibson’s Cancer Con. Scribble, 2018 Ackerman, Tessa. “Cancer Fraudster Belle Gibson Rejected by Ethiopians.” The Weekend Australian. 24 January 2020 Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. “Friends and doctors raise doubts over 'Healing Belle' cancer claims.” The Age, 10 March 2015 Donelly, Beau and Nick Toscano. “Backlash over app developer Belle Gibson's missing charity money.” The Age, 9 March 2015 Weaver, Claire. “Belle Gibson: The Girl Who Conned Us All.” Now To Love, 25 July 2015   The sheets I promised to link in the shownotes 
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  The Seekers: A Casual Christmas Doomsday Abduction 18.12.2024 49min
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  JZ Knight: White Girl Wasted on Alien Wine 11.12.2024 1u 15min

  JZ Knight rose to prominence for channeling a Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old entity from a lost civilization. However, she quickly contorted her message of love and self-acceptance into a racist doomsday prediction that pit reptilian aliens against only the most enlightened of mankind. 
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  Guru Jagat: Qanon Alien Wars and Melon Diets (Re-release) 04.12.2024 1u 11min

  This episode was previously aired on 12/6/2023 Katie Griggs was a girl-bossing yoga teacher and somehow a follower of two cult leader creeps (Osho and Yogi Bhajan) we have already covered. So things went really well...     Resources  Phelan, Hayley. “The Second Coming of Guru Jagat.” Vanity Fair. 1 December 2021   Orecchio-Egresitz, Haven. “Before the sudden death of its leader, Ra Ma Yoga Institute was accused by some former members of being a cult. What happens now?” Business Insider. 30 October 2021   George, Cassidy. “Inside the Dubious World of RA MA Yoga, and Its Girl Boss Guru to the Stars” Vice. 13 July 2021   @RamaWrong on Instagram  “The Scandalous Celebrity Cult Leader From Suburbia” Not The Good Girl. Youtube. 27 December 2022
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  Krishna Venta: Train Ho 27.11.2024 59min

  Krishna Venta was a vagabond before dedicating his life to cosplaying as Jesus and peddling a doomsday race war that would live on in infamy long after he was gone. 
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  Body and Brain: A Shooting Star to Nick Cage Rushmore 20.11.2024 52min
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  Ma Jaya Bhagavati and The Stigmata Diet 12.11.2024 56min

  Joyce Green was a stereotypical 60's housewife before abandoning her kids and transforming into the guru Ma Jaya Bhagavati, complete with visions of the dead and full-blown stigmata. 
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  Marcia Moore: Broadcasting from the Twelfth Dimension 06.11.2024 56min

  This week, we cover the unsolved death of Astrologer and Yogi, Marcia Moore. Moore was a renowned writer on the metaphysical and went missing in 1979. 
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  The Salem Witch Trials Part 2: F*ck You, More Weight 30.10.2024 46min

  This week, we continue our two-part episode on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.  We cover the court of Oyer and Terminer and the low-key serial killer running the show. 
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  CULTured #3 28.10.2024 19min

  CULTured is our irregular, monthly roundup of news in the wellness, yoga, and true crime space.....plus whatever the hell else we want to talk about.    This month, we try to wrap our heads around the Diddy controversy and how deep the scandal goes. 
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  The Salem Witch Trials: Yes, And....She's A Witch 23.10.2024 1u 2min

  It's SPOOKY SEASON!    Join us for a deep dive into one of the most notorious events in American history, The Salem Witch Trials. We discuss the societal tensions and personal vendettas that fueled the hysteria, leading to the persecution of many innocent people.     
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  Magdalena Solis: High Priestess of Blood (Human and Chicken) 16.10.2024 36min

  It's spooky season, and this week we cover the takeover of a small Mexican town by a group of hustlers that spirals into forced blood rituals, orgies, and human sacrifice. You know, super casual stuff.     
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  The Fox Sisters: Toes Crackalackin' 09.10.2024 53min

  The Fox Sisters claimed to be able to speak to the dead, a claim that captivated a pre-Civil War America — but years of opposition, tragedy, and in-fighting proved to be their undoing.    Recommended listening: The Foxes of Hydesville 
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  Louis DeWohl: The Astrologer Hired to Thwart Hitler (And Possible Drag Icon) 26.06.2024 44min

  Be prepared for our first on-air argument about spam thickness...Spoiler alert: We agree to disagree (but do we really?)     Louis DeWohl is a sham astrologer hired by the Brits to help stop Hilter. It's a weird one....but a fun one.