A Little Bit Culty

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp.

In this episode, Tia Levings—bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife and survivor of Christian fundamentalism who appears in the Amazon docuseries Shiny Happy People—returns to dig deeper into what happened after escaping her high‑control marriage and the broader world of Christian patriarchy and homeschooling that enabled it. She talks about navigating the court system and custody battles with an abuser who knew how to weaponize “godly fatherhood,” how churches and pastors closed ranks around him, and what it really takes to rebuild a life, parenting, and identity after years inside complementarian theology, Quiverfull‑style gender roles, and domestic violence justified with Bible verses.

Tia also shares how writing, advocacy, and connecting with other survivors of religious abuse, authoritarian homeschooling, and Christian nationalist culture have become part of her healing—and why she believes telling messy, complicated stories about faith, family, and freedom is one of the most powerful ways to push back on the systems that trained her to stay small and silent in the first place.

Paperback copies of A Well-Trained Wife are available February 20, and you can pre-order Tia’s upcoming book, I Belong to Me, coming May 5. Follow her at tialevings.com and on social media @tialevingswriter.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of domestic violence, religious and spiritual abuse, child and family trauma, and brief mentions of suicidal thoughts.

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 amazing sponsors
Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred

CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Citizens of Sound
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore
Writer: Sandra Nomoto
Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

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In Part 2 with former Landmark Forum staffer Anne Peterson, we dig into what it actually took to leave the Landmark ecosystem emotionally, financially, and socially—and how she began unpacking the “technology” and jargon she once used to coach other people’s breakthroughs. Anne breaks down the aftershocks of working inside a Werner Erhard–inspired large group awareness training (LGAT): the burnout, cognitive dissonance, and shame hangovers that show up once you’re no longer being love‑bombed on course weekends, plus the grief of losing a whole community that insisted it was just about “possibility” and “transformation.”

She also shares what recovery has looked like: learning to trust her own perceptions again, finding language for psychological abuse and undue influence, connecting with other ex‑Landmark and ex‑LGAT survivors, and building a gentler, consent‑based approach to personal growth that doesn’t require signing up for endless trainings, going into debt, or turning every relationship into an enrollment opportunity.

Be sure to pick up Anne’s memoir, Is This a Cult?, follow her on Facebook or Instagram, and follow iLumn8.Life on Facebook and Instagram.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of psychological and physical abuse, financial and labor exploitation, depression, and trauma.

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 amazing sponsors
Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred

CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Citizens of Sound
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore
Writer: Sandra Nomoto
Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Part 1 of this conversation, former Landmark Forum staffer Anne Peterson returns to update us about life post-Is This a Cult? book launch. She takes us back inside the transformational training machine built on Werner Erhard’s EST curriculum, and how something sold as breakthrough personal growth slowly revealed classic high‑control dynamics. Going from enthusiastic participant to full‑time staff, Anne breaks down the structure of Landmark forums, leadership programs, and “enrollment” culture, and what it actually felt like to live inside a world of long days, unpaid labor framed as service, and constant pressure to bring in new people.

She also unpacks the language games, thought‑stopping clichés, and emotional high/low cycles that made it so hard to question Landmark Education or Erhard’s legacy, and shares how she eventually stepped away, began naming her experience as loaded with undue influence, and started rebuilding a life, career, and sense of self outside the Landmark universe.

Be sure to pick up Anne’s memoir, Is This a Cult?, follow her on Facebook or Instagram, and follow iLumn8.Life on Facebook and Instagram.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of parental and physical abuse and trauma.

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 amazing sponsors
Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred

CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Citizens of Sound
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore
Writer: Sandra Nomoto
Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
Give your skin a rest with clean, clinically tested skincare from OSEA. Right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code CULTY at OSEAMalibu.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Priya Hutner, we keep pulling back the curtain on life inside the Kashi Ashram and the world surrounding Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati (“Ma”), including what happens when devotion, hierarchy, and silence collide. Priya continues sharing her lived experience growing up in and around the ashram and how spiritual ideals were often used to excuse harm, blur boundaries, and shut down questions. We talk about the normalization of control and coercion in spiritual communities, the pressure to reframe pain as growth, and what it’s like to realize—years later—that what you were taught was “love” or “service” didn’t actually feel safe.

We explore the long tail of cult recovery and religious trauma, especially for those raised in high-control spiritual environments where obedience was spiritualized and dissent was discouraged. We reflect on the complicated legacy of Ma, the culture of the ashram, and how charismatic leaders and closed communities can create conditions where harm goes unchecked. Priya’s honesty adds to an essential conversation about accountability, healing, and reclaiming your voice after leaving a group that once defined your entire world.

Be sure to check out Priya’s book launching March 3, 2026, Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker's Story of Love, Loss and Liberation, and follow her on her website, Instagram, or Facebook.

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 amazing sponsors
Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred

CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Citizens of Sound
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore
Writer: Sandra Nomoto
Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp.

In Part 1 of our conversation with writer Priya Hutner, she takes us inside her years at the Kashi Ashram, a spiritual community led by guru Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, AKA “Ma,” in New York. She unpacks how an intentional, service-oriented “ashram family” slowly revealed deeply culty dynamics beneath the incense and darshan (beholding). She traces her journey from an earnest young seeker drawn to Eastern spirituality, meditation, and seva (service), to an insider navigating Ma Jaya’s love-bombing, manufactured mystique, public darshans and punishments, and the slow erosion of her autonomy and critical thinking in the name of devotion and ego death.

We also get into the day-to-day life at Kashi—kids raised collectively, money and careers funneled into the guru’s vision, romantic and family relationships controlled from the top—and how Priya eventually recognized spiritual abuse, trauma bonding, and high-demand group tactics that still affect former ashram members decades later.

Be sure to check out Priya’s book launching March 3, 2026, Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker's Story of Love, Loss and Liberation, and follow her on her website, Instagram, or Facebook.

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 amazing sponsors
Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon
Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag
Support the pod and smash this link
Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources
Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred

CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
Production Partner: Citizens of Sound
Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore
Writer: Sandra Nomoto
Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane
Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.