Cults Like Us: Jane Borden on LGATs, Humor & Human Potential (Part 2)
Release Date: 06/12/2025
Ride or Die: Jess Rothschild Spills on SoulCycle's Inner Circle
A Little Bit Culty
This episode is sponsored in part by BetterHelp. This week, we’re clipping in with Jess Rothschild to talk about SoulCycle: the high-octane, candlelit cardio craze that once had New Yorkers dropping $20k to ride front row. With $100M+ in revenue, instructors trained like pop stars, and a tightly curated sense of belonging (read: exclusivity), SoulCycle pedaled its way into cultural obsession—and, depending on who you ask, cult status. Jess, a former SoulCycle regular and host of the GLAAD-nominated Finding Fire Island and new docu-podcast Cult of Body & Soul, joins us to unpack the...
info_outline
Cults Like Us: Jane Borden on LGATs, Humor & Human Potential (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Jane Borden, author of Cults Like Us, where we pick up right where we left off – with the Puritans, of course. Because what’s more American than a doomsday cult in denial? In this half, we explore how their legacy of moral perfectionism, isolationism, and a rigid “us vs. them” worldview continues to shape American institutions, politics, and even pop psychology. Jane takes us through the cult wars of the ’80s and ’90s, the rise of deprogrammers and cult apologists, and the influence of Large Group Awareness Trainings (aka LGATs)...
info_outline
Cults Like Us: Jane Borden on Puritans, Power & American Exceptionalism (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
Were the Puritans America’s first cult? Our guest this week makes a compelling case for yes. Jane Borden is a journalist and the author of Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, she joins us to unpack how Puritan beliefs—think apocalypse prepping, chosen nation syndrome, and the worship of wealth—laid the groundwork for the kind of culty thinking that still thrives in America today. We dig into the legacy of American exceptionalism, the allure of authoritarian leaders, and the ways our pop culture heroes reflect Puritan values more...
info_outline
Bonus Drop: Coercive Control in Cults, Patriarchy in Religion & Survivor Wisdom from Tia Levings
A Little Bit Culty
Welcome to another, unofficially titled, Bonus Drop. These episodes are our way of checking in midweek with extra thoughts, headlines, and conversations that keep the Cultiverse convo going strong. And remember: Patreon subscribers get them a day early because that’s how perks work. In this drop, we’re digging into the overlap between religious trauma, emotional abuse, and the battle for language in the courtroom. Buckle up, because this one covers a lot: Updates on the NXIVM trial and why proving coercive control is still such a legal minefield Bill Maher’s spectacularly bad take on...
info_outline
Is It a Spiritual Path or a Cult? Mitch Horowitz Helps Us Break It Down
A Little Bit Culty
This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting a little mystical—with our eyes wide open. Historian and occult scholar Mitch Horowitz joins us to explore the space where spirituality meets personal growth, and how easily it can slip into culty territory. His latest book, , helps make sense of mystical ideas while encouraging intentional belief. We dig into the red flags to watch for on the seeker’s path, from peer pressure and time abuse to isolation and guru worship. We also talk about money, emotion, and how performance culture can sneak into spiritual spaces. Mitch makes the case for...
info_outline
Inside the Yellow Deli Cult: Tamara Mathieu on Life in Twelve Tribes (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Tamara Mathieu—and if you thought Part 1 was wild, just wait. This time, Tammy walks us through what finally pushed her family to leave the Twelve Tribes, including a hollow diet, some serious double standards, and a clandestine late-night escape from their Florida commune. She shares what it’s like to rejoin the outside world after years of being told it was evil (spoiler: it’s weird), how Rite Aid and a bag of Hershey’s Kisses helped rewire her brain, and what healing looks like when...
info_outline
Inside the Yellow Deli Cult: Tamara Mathieu on Life in Twelve Tribes (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. Twelve Tribes started as a Bible study in the 1970s. Today, it’s a nationwide network of high-control communities, often hiding in plain sight behind the homespun charm of Yellow Deli cafés. The group claims to offer a simpler, more spiritual life. But behind the braided bread and “family values” lies a world of control, corporal punishment, and deep-rooted misogyny. In Part 1 of our conversation with Tamara Mathieu, we hear what it’s like to live inside. Tammy spent 14 years in the Twelve Tribes, lured in by the promise of community...
info_outline
Bonus Drop: Diddy, OneTaste, Weinstein & Listener Confessions
A Little Bit Culty
Welcome to the second in our new series of Bonus Thursday Drops—aka, your new favorite excuse to stay in on a weeknight. These episodes are an extra dose of A Little Bit Culty on the main feed every Thursday (Patreon subscribers get them a day early, because perks). Sometimes it’ll be a follow-up to a two-parter. Other times, like today, we’ll check in on the ever-expanding Cultiverse with a mix of headlines, hot takes, and your voicemails. In this episode, we’re serving up a “current-ish” roundup of three high-profile cases making waves right now, drawing parallels to our own...
info_outline
Purity Culture & Sex Shame: Healing with the Sexvangelicals
A Little Bit Culty
Can religion ruin your sex life? This week on A Little Bit Culty, Sarah and Nippy are joined by psychotherapists and certified sex therapists Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema—co-hosts of the podcast Sexvangelicals: The Sex Education the Church Didn’t Want You to Have. Together, they explore how religion, especially purity culture and fundamentalist gender roles, can cause lasting damage to relationships and sexual well-being. From internalized shame to rigid scripts about gender and sex, Jeremiah and Julia explain how high-control religious environments affect intimacy long after someone...
info_outline
Polygamy, Incest & Reality TV: Amanda Rae Breaks the Silence (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. In Part 2 of our conversation with Amanda Rae, we pick up right where we left off—so if you haven’t heard Part 1 yet, go back and listen first. In this episode, Amanda shares the final breaking point that led her to leave the Kingston Clan, also known as The Order, and the harrowing events surrounding her dramatic escape at just 17. We dive into the emotional toll of indoctrination, the long process of deconstructing belief systems, and what it takes to rebuild an identity after growing up in a high-control religious group. Amanda speaks...
info_outlineWe’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with Jane Borden, author of Cults Like Us, where we pick up right where we left off – with the Puritans, of course. Because what’s more American than a doomsday cult in denial?
In this half, we explore how their legacy of moral perfectionism, isolationism, and a rigid “us vs. them” worldview continues to shape American institutions, politics, and even pop psychology. Jane takes us through the cult wars of the ’80s and ’90s, the rise of deprogrammers and cult apologists, and the influence of Large Group Awareness Trainings (aka LGATs) like EST and Landmark on today’s self-help landscape.
We also dive into the concept of normative dissonance, how political architects like Newt Gingrich exploited division for power, and why bridging social gaps might be the antidote to modern-day culty chaos. Along the way, Jane reminds us why humor can be a powerful tool for understanding even the darkest parts of our culture.
If you missed Part 1, hit pause and go back. We promise it’s worth it! And be sure to check out Cults Like Us and more of Jane’s work at janeborden.com.
Also… let it be known that:
The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.
**PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book here
Check out our lovely sponsors
Join ‘A Little Bit Culty’ on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah’s TEDTalk
CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Amphibian.Media
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Writer: Kristen Reiter
Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media
Audio production: Red Caiman Studios
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin