Bonus Drop: Dr. Laura Richards & Lisa Bilyeu on Cults, Control & Dirty Diddy Secrets
Release Date: 07/03/2025
Politics, Power & Performative Diversity: Celina Caesar-Chavannes Speaks Out
A Little Bit Culty
This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re diving into the deceptively polite world of Canadian politics—where the optics are polished, but the manipulation runs deep. Our guest is Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a former Member of Parliament and once a rising star in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. She served as his parliamentary secretary before leaving in 2019, fed up with the gaslighting, tokenism, and isolation she faced for speaking out. Celina pulls no punches as she breaks down the emotional toll of navigating a system that rewards obedience over honesty, and how Trudeau’s...
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From Devotion to Deconstruction: Laci Bean’s Journey Out (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re back with Laci Bean, host of , for Part 2 of her story—what came after she left the high-control ministry that tried to own her soul. Laci walks us through her deconstruction journey: questioning her faith, setting boundaries with family, and reckoning with the political beliefs she once held. We talk about the pressure to homeschool, the fallout from voting for Trump, and the trauma that opened her eyes. Now a trauma recovery coach, Laci shares how she helps others heal from religious abuse—and how even recovery spaces can start to feel culty if...
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From Devotion to Deconstruction: Laci Bean’s Journey Out (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
This week on A Little Bit Culty, we’re getting holy uncomfortable. Our guest is Laci Bean, host of the podcast , for the first of a two-part conversation about her time in a cult-like Christian ministry that pulled her in as a teenager and tried to own her soul. From ages sixteen to nineteen, Laci lived under strict rules that dictated what she could listen to, who she could talk to, and even how she thought about her family. The group promised love and belonging but delivered fear, isolation, and spiritual manipulation, all under the guise of faith. We talk about the emotional hooks...
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Bonus Drop: NXIVM, Life Issues & the Sisterhood of Survivors (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
We’re dropping in with a bonus two-parter featuring Lauren and Aaliyah—two former NXIVM insiders who became fast friends while navigating the pressure-cooker world of “life issues,” ranking systems, and weaponized empowerment. In part 1, we talk about how it all starts: the acting classes, the “juicy” coaching, the promises of personal growth… and how that slow creep into cult control messes with your sense of self, your relationships, and your gut instincts. We also take a minute to sound off on some recent headlines—because when powerful men keep dodging consequences (hi,...
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Teenage Exorcisms & Mega-Church Millions: Rachael Reign’s UCKG Story
A Little Bit Culty
This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. This week our guest is Rachael Reign, a survivor of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). At just 13, Rachael was swept into UCKG’s world of fire and brimstone – where teenage exorcisms were a weekly ritual, your mental health struggles meant demons were lurking inside you, and giving your last cent to the church wasn’t just encouraged – it was demanded. She shares how she went from being a bright, curious teenager to a youth group leader tasked with recruiting others, cleaning the church floorboards with her tears, and...
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Memoir of Madness in a Cult of One - Sarma Melngailis Spills All the Tea on Healing (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
Raw vegan queen. Netflix’s “Bad Vegan.” Culty comeback queen. Whatever label you stick on Sarma Melngailis, it’s clear she’s not done telling her side of the story – and we’re here for it. In Part 2 of our chat, Sarma gets even realer about life after Mr. Fox. From the mind games that taught her to dissociate, to her self-diagnosed matrix moments, she opens up about rebuilding her identity in a world that still sees her as a headline villain. She talks dating post-trauma, the healing power of alone time (cue: tears, journals, and EFT tapping), and why her business decisions now...
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Memoir of Madness in a Cult of One - Sarma Melngailis Spills All the Tea on Healing (Part 1)
A Little Bit Culty
Raw vegan queen turned Netflix “villain”? In this episode, we sit down with Sarma Melngailis – yes, Bad Vegan Sarma – to get the real story behind the headlines. She’s back for her third culty chat, this time with the exclusive on her brand-new memoir The Girl with the Duck Tattoo (don’t worry, we ask her about the title). Sarma dives into the psychological warfare that turned her life upside down: coercive control, gaslighting, and a manipulative Mr. Fox who left her broke, arrested, and widely misunderstood. She opens up about the pain (and relief) of telling it all, what the...
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Bonus Drop: Dr. Laura Richards & Lisa Bilyeu on Cults, Control & Dirty Diddy Secrets
A Little Bit Culty
This week, we’re diving deep into the twisted world of coercive control with the one and only Dr. Laura Richards – renowned criminal behavioral analyst, podcaster, and global expert on stalking, coercive control, and violent crime. We’re also joined by Lisa Bilyeu, host of Women of Impact and queen of calling out BS wherever it lurks. Dr. Laura breaks down how cult leaders, predators, and power-hungry narcissists (looking at you, Sean Combs) use tactics straight out of the coercive control playbook to groom, manipulate, and dominate victims. We’re talking about how the “nice guy”...
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My Name Was Mushroom: Wendy Baker’s Journey Beyond the Source Family Cult
A Little Bit Culty
Long before kale smoothies went mainstream, The Source Family was seducing Hollywood with vegan food, free love, and a guru who called himself Father Yod. This wasn’t just LA’s first vegan restaurant – it was a commune where long-haired devotees in white robes took ice-cold showers at dawn, meditated for hours, and followed strict spiritual rules under their bearded leader. Celebrities like John Lennon and Cher might have stopped by for a meal, but for many teen girls – often runaways – this place became home, for better or worse. Wendy Baker was one of those girls. At 14, she left a...
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Mindf*ck 102: MK Ultra, Crypto Cults & Modern Brainwashing with Rebecca Lemov (Part 2)
A Little Bit Culty
This week, we’re back with Harvard professor and author Rebecca Lemov to finish what we started: unraveling the tangled web of brainwashing…past, present, and disturbingly future-facing. In Part 2, we go deeper into the CIA’s infamous MK Ultra program and its many (many) spin-offs, asking what really went down with Charles Manson, Jack Ruby, and cult “consultant” Louis Jolyon West. From LSD to hypnosis to rebranding your science after burning the files, the government’s experiments in mind control were both extreme and incredibly hush-hush. We also explore how classic...
info_outlineThis week, we’re diving deep into the twisted world of coercive control with the one and only Dr. Laura Richards – renowned criminal behavioral analyst, podcaster, and global expert on stalking, coercive control, and violent crime. We’re also joined by Lisa Bilyeu, host of Women of Impact and queen of calling out BS wherever it lurks.
Dr. Laura breaks down how cult leaders, predators, and power-hungry narcissists (looking at you, Sean Combs) use tactics straight out of the coercive control playbook to groom, manipulate, and dominate victims. We’re talking about how the “nice guy” veneer slowly erodes, why women like Christina Corom end up as right-hand enforcers, and why media still struggles to call out abusive power structures for what they are.
We also get into:
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Why grooming is always strategic, never accidental
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The eerie parallels between Keith Raniere, Sean Combs, and other culty figures
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The hidden dangers of female lieutenants like Nancy Salzman, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Christina Coram
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How to spot coercive control before it becomes your entire world
It’s a masterclass in manipulation, and a reminder that cult tactics aren’t confined to creepy compounds in Upstate New York. They’re happening in boardrooms, bedrooms, and billionaire circles everywhere.
Catch more of Dr. Laura Richards on the Crime Analyst Podcast https://www.crime-analyst.com
or Crime Analyst Squad www.patreon.com/CrimeAnalyst
Or on Instagram @laurarichards999 and @crimeanalyst
For more information and resources, the following sites can be accessed:
https://www.dashriskchecklist.com/
And don’t miss Lisa Bilyeu’s Women of Impact for your weekly dose of female empowerment.
After this one, you’ll never hear “It’s All About the Benjamins” the same way.
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.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Amphibian.Media
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
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