Cults & The Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 62 | Cognitive Dissonance Fact Check
Cults and the Culting of America
Release Date: 12/16/2025
Cults & the Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady & Dr. Scot Loyd | 65 | The Children of AA
Cults and the Culting of America
Content warnings: discussion of child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, trauma, recovery culture, substance abuse, and high-control groups. In this episode of Cults and the Culting of America, Daniella and Scot are joined by Violet, a writer and creator who grew up immersed in 12-step programs from infancy. Violet shares her lived experience of being raised in Alcoholics Anonymous, examining how recovery culture, often treated as sacred and beyond critique, can function as a high-control system, particularly for children. The conversation explores themes of indoctrination,...
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Cults & the Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 64 | Power Coalition and Getting Involved
Cults and the Culting of America
In this special edition of Cults and the Culting of America, Daniella speaks with Ashley Shelton, founder of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice in Louisiana, about organizing, democracy, and what it actually means to fight authoritarianism in real life. Ashley draws on her background in philanthropy, disaster recovery, and voter engagement to explain how Black and Brown communities—particularly in Louisiana—have long relied on mutual aid and organizing because government support has historically been absent or extractive. The conversation connects current political threats,...
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Cults & the Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady & Dr. Scot Loyd | 63 | NA vs Opportunity
Cults and the Culting of America
In this episode of Cults and the Culting of America, Daniella Mestyanek Young and Scot Loyd are joined by hip-hop artist, author, and activist Spryte the Emcee, who shares her deeply personal journey through addiction, recovery, and eventual deconstruction from Narcotics Anonymous. Spryte recounts a childhood shaped by trauma, loss, and instability, followed by immersion in NA after a near-fatal overdose. While the program initially provided safety and structure, it later became increasingly coercive and controlling, particularly when Spryte pursued higher education and personal growth. The...
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Cults & The Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 62 | Cognitive Dissonance Fact Check
Cults and the Culting of America
In this episode of Cults and the Culting of America, Daniella sits down with political scientist Thomas Kelly to revisit one of the most foundational ideas in cult studies: cognitive dissonance. Their conversation centers on Leon Festinger’s famous book When Prophecy Fails, which is often cited to explain why cult members double down on beliefs after predictions don’t come true. Thomas walks through his research uncovering serious methodological and ethical problems with that original study, arguing that the historical record actually shows the opposite of what Festinger claimed....
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Cults & The Culting of America w/ Dr. Scot Loyd | 61 | Jewish Black Supremacy Cult
Cults and the Culting of America
In this episode, guest Ara Jade shares her seven-year experience inside a high-control religious group adjacent to the Hebrew Israelite movement, known as the Israel of God. She recounts how she was drawn in through family influence, biblical study practices, and a strong sense of community, only to later encounter manipulation, racism-based doctrine, misogyny, surveillance, fear tactics, and emotional control. Ara describes specific red flags, including purity rules for women, the weaponization of Black identity, pressure to obey male authority, and her arranged-like marriage. She explains...
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Cults & The Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady & Dr. Scot Loyd | 60 | Christian Science
Cults and the Culting of America
This episode of Cults and the Culting of America features guest Emily Hulen, a massage therapist and trauma coach who grew up in Christian Science and later navigated additional cult-like environments. Emily describes the core beliefs of Christian Science — including the denial of physical reality, rejection of medical care, and heavy reliance on prayer as a means of erasing mortal experience. She shares harrowing examples of untreated medical issues in her family and her own childhood injuries and illnesses that went unaddressed. Emily traces her early cognitive dissonance, beginning around...
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Cults & the Culting of America Podcast w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 59 | MAHA vs. Fertility Treatment
Cults and the Culting of America
In this episode, Dr. Cynthia Brown discusses her journey in women's health and fertility, emphasizing the importance of understanding these topics beyond conventional medicine. The conversation explores the Maha movement and its impact on women's health, cultural perspectives on pregnancy and motherhood, and the dangers of extreme birthing practices. The discussion also touches on the romanticization of pain in motherhood, the need for community support in parenting, and the intersection of gender and medical care. Dr. Brown highlights the boy crisis and the influence of cult mentality on...
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Cults & the Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 58 | America Branded Fascism
Cults and the Culting of America
Content Warnings: Sexual assault and child sexual abuse Sex trafficking and the Epstein list Cult dynamics, coercive control, and brainwashing White supremacy, racism, xenophobia, and fascism Historical violence, genocide, Nazism, U.S. colonial atrocities, police violence Political extremism, MAGA, Trump administration actions Death, including anticipated death of a political figure Domestic extremism, ICE raids, and militarized responses Cult-related childhood trauma and labor camp environments In this episode Daniella (“Knitting Cult Lady”) and historian Amanda...
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Cults & The Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady & Dr. Scot Loyd | 57 | Born and Razed
Cults and the Culting of America
Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of religious and institutional abuse, child abuse, disordered eating, family estrangement, mental illness, trauma recovery, and medication withdrawal. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode of Cults and the Culting of America, hosts Dr. Scot Loyd and Daniella Mestyanek Young speak with Beth Granger, author of Born and RAZED: Surviving the Cult Was Only Half the Battle. Beth shares her experience growing up at Grenville Christian College, a Canadian boarding school later revealed to be a religious cult connected to the Community of...
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Cults & The Culting of America w/ Knitting Cult Lady | 56 | Brazilian Dictatorship and Resilience
Cults and the Culting of America
In this special episode, Daniella Mestyanek Young (“Knitting Cult Lady”) speaks with Dr. Bryan Pitts, Assistant Director of UCLA’s Latin American Institute, about the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964–1985) and how studying Brazil’s political history can help Americans understand current threats to democracy. They compare U.S. and Brazilian political systems, the cultural myths that obscure inequality (the “American Dream” vs. Brazil’s “racial democracy”), and the interplay between religion, class, and authoritarianism. The discussion explores how political elites,...
info_outlineIn this episode of Cults and the Culting of America, Daniella sits down with political scientist Thomas Kelly to revisit one of the most foundational ideas in cult studies: cognitive dissonance. Their conversation centers on Leon Festinger’s famous book When Prophecy Fails, which is often cited to explain why cult members double down on beliefs after predictions don’t come true.
Thomas walks through his research uncovering serious methodological and ethical problems with that original study, arguing that the historical record actually shows the opposite of what Festinger claimed. Rather than reinforcing belief, failed prophecy most often leads to attrition, disillusionment, and collapse. Together, Daniella and Thomas explore why this misunderstanding has shaped decades of cult research, how survivor voices were sidelined during the “cult wars,” and why failed prophecies tend to wound groups far more than scholars once believed.
The discussion expands into broader questions about coercive control, survivor testimony, ethical research methods, media involvement, and why people want prophecies to come true. The episode ultimately challenges listeners to rethink how we explain belief, persistence, and exit in high-control groups—and to be more skeptical of tidy psychological theories that ignore lived experience.
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Key Takeaways
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When Prophecy Fails is deeply flawed and misrepresents what actually happened in Dorothy Martin’s UFO cult.
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Historical evidence shows most groups do not grow stronger after failed prophecy; they fracture or dissolve.
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Festinger and his team interfered with the group they were studying, compromising the research.
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Cognitive dissonance as a concept does not stand or fall on this study, but the case should no longer be used as proof of belief “doubling down.”
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Survivor voices were largely ignored during the development of cult scholarship, especially during the cult wars.
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Failed prophecy outcomes depend heavily on whether the prophecy is tied to a single charismatic authority or a broader interpretive framework (like scripture).
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Media attention played a significant role in shaping the cult’s behavior before and after the prophecy failed.
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People in cults often want the prophecy to come true—it represents hope, purpose, and meaning.
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Coercive control is better understood through tactics and dynamics than rigid definitions of “cult.”
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Studying real-world “natural experiments” may offer better insight into belief and compliance than lab psychology studies.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Cognitive Dissonance and Cults
01:21 Exploring 'When Prophecy Fails' and Its Implications
03:27 Critique of Festinger's Research and Methodology
06:28 Key Figures in the Study and Their Influence
07:56 Patterns in Cult Behavior and Promises of Space Travel
09:43 Failed Prophecies and Group Survival
10:56 Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research in Cult Studies
13:19 Ethical Considerations in Cult Research
17:55 The Complexity of Defining Cults
20:48 Cognitive Dissonance: Current Perspectives and Future Directions
27:44 The Quest for Belief: Cults and Prophecy
29:11 Media Influence on Cult Dynamics
30:31 After the Prophecy: Coping with Disappointment
32:24 The Psychology of Hope and Belief
34:06 Cognitive Dissonance: Understanding Belief Systems
36:59 Rethinking Cognitive Dissonance Studies
39:54 The Complexity of Cult Membership
43:44 Humanizing Cult Experiences
45:56 Personal Reflections on Cults and Immunity
51:14 Future Directions in Cult Research