by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on thedailybeast.com When the president spews racism or violence, true believers respond with more. Experts say it resembles something like a cult or totalitarianism. President Donald Trump’s rally in Greenville, North Carolina, this...
by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on truthdig.com Pixabay Maggie was born into a religious cult called the Christ Brotherhood. For the first 12 years of her life, the cult controlled her entire existence, including what she thought and knew, and how she was to behave....
by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on thecut.com Photo: Keith Raniere Conversations/Youtube In October 2017, the New York Times published an exposé of a shadowy “self-help” organization called NXIVM (pronounced nex-ee-um), led by a man named Keith Raniere, who was known...
by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on Refinery29.com The story of Nxivm is as disturbing and compelling as they come — a so-called “sex slave cult,” notable for its sadistic practices (slaves, human branding, bizarre sex rituals), and also for its cadre of elite female...
by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on Glamour.com NXIVM turned women into slaves, branded members with its leader’s initials, and blackmailed victims into submission. It was also…on Instagram? This is what a cult looks like in 2019. Over two days in May 2019, the...
by Dr. Janja Lalich | Nov 10, 2019 | Blog, Essays
This article originally appeared on CNN.com on May 7, 2019 (CNN) — The members of the upstate New York group called Nxivm looked up to Keith Raniere as a leader who spread his ideas on how to achieve success and happiness but, prosecutors say, he was actually a conman...