Best Cult Hackers Podcasts (2024)

1
HACKERS 1:11:13

1h ago1:11:13

1:11:13

We never experienced Hackers when it came out in our glorious year of 1995, but man, the nostalgia still hits hard here. The dress, the aesthetic, the cyberspace visuals - all of that is so '90s it hurts sometimes, and we're here for it. We're talking all things cybertechnic here, from the techno score to the complex virus warfare to... Penn Jillet…

1
The world votes and so do I 24:06

5d ago24:06

24:06

In this episode Stephen reflects upon what it's like to be prevented from voting, the psychological consequences of being a social bystander and having no stake in society, and the feeling of then being able to be part of the democratic process. Also reflections on democracy under attack. Contact us https://www.culthackers.com/contact…

1
46. The True Story of Athletic Greens (and the Real Estate Scam that Started it All) 28:05

1d ago28:05

28:05

If you’ve listened to just about any podcast in the last few years you’ve probably come across a green slurry macro-nutrient shake called AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens). The supplement shake has garnered endorsements from the most influential people in science communications—from Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia—and just about every health and welln…

1
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA 1:21:38

15d ago1:21:38

1:21:38

Hot on the heels of George Miller's masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road (only 9 years later), we get Furiosa, an origin story to the iconic character. Spanning a length of time and showcasing the vengeance driving her, Furiosa delves into the death-defying foibles of Anya Taylor-Joy as she attempts to get revenge on Dementus. We talk about the stunts, C…

1
The Infected Blood Scandal: Reflections of an Ex Jehovah's Witness 44:40

16d ago44:40

44:40

Stephen reflects upon the infected blood scandal affecting thousands of people and how it relates to his own former religious beliefs, conspiracies and questions about institutions. Kacey's Research Questionnaire and Information BBC Reporting into children being exposed to infected blood Copy of letter talking about uninfected patients being expose…

1
Difficult Films II (4) THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT 1:16:27

21d ago1:16:27

1:16:27

We're going back to Lars von Trier's filmography with a look at The House That Jack Built for this final installment of Difficult Films II. A serial killer story with a nice series of vignettes, this look at Matt Dillon's murdering antihero is at times bleak and also darkly comic; we talk about the funniness inherent in the film as well as its most…

1
Difficult Films II (3) A SERBIAN FILM 1:08:31

1M ago1:08:31

1:08:31

Perhaps infamously known as one of the most difficult films, A Serbian Film has been disgusting audiences since 2010. For our second round of difficult films, it's only fair we tackle this offensive classic to throw our own input into the mix. We talk the grit and grime of this movie, its production values, whether it has redeeming value, and a who…

1
Cults, addiction, politics, religion, intrigue and big worms: Dune 42:36

1M ago42:36

42:36

This special episode is about the Frank Herbert story, Dune, including the recent film adaptation. This story covers many of the topics we've been interested in over the years doing the podcast and we hope you enjoy this discussion about a shared favourite of ours. More news to come soon about the future of the podcast. Links The latest movie direc…

1
Difficult Films II (2) A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1:23:11

1M ago1:23:11

1:23:11

While it may not be considered a difficult film today, A Clockwork Orange has always been deemed a shocking affair thanks to Stanley Kubrick's display of deviancy and debauchery. Here, we take a look at the film and explore the themes of reform, incarceration, moral choice, and a whole lot more; and also, yes there's talk of all the phallic imagery…

1
Difficult Films II (1) CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST 1:33:24

2M ago1:33:24

1:33:24

Difficult Films month is back and we're starting with a big one, the controversial film banned in a number of countries and speculated to be a snuff film Cannibal Holocaust. Of course those elements are untrue despite its icky real-life animal killings, but we're talking about the film's virtues as a historical marker in the cannibal film genre, mo…

1
TOMBSTONE 1:32:05

2M ago1:32:05

1:32:05

We're back with the Earp boys and Doc Holliday in our coverage of Tombstone, the 1993 Avengers of Westerns that blends spaghetti and hamburgers together for an Italian-American action thriller starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, and Sam Elliott. We talk about the film's historical context, some memorable scenes, Kilmer's excellent acting, and a lot …

1
45. Power, Sex and Psychopathy with Dr. Kate Balestrieri 1:00:52

2M ago1:00:52

1:00:52

Today we're going to talk about some hard subjects--adultery, violence, power, and psychopathy. During the last few weeks I've been in touch with many amazing people from all around the internet who are trying to understand how deep the problems with Andrew Huberman really go. One of the people I met was the sex and relationship counselor Kate Bale…

1
THE OMEN (1976) 1:28:06

3M ago1:28:06

1:28:06

Since The First Omen is currently terrorizing theaters, we thought it would be a good time to do the first Omen, aka The Omen 1976 with Gregory Peck as a father finding out his adopted son may just be the Antichrist. Here we talk about the film's lasting effects, the similarities and differences to The Exorcist, the various outfits of Robert Thorn,…

1
44. The New Science of Ice Bathing | Brad Schoenfeld 39:54

3M ago39:54

39:54

The science of ice bathing has been evolving a lot in the last few years. Brad Schoenfeld is a PhD in physiology and hypertrophy (literally building muscle) who just completed a metastudy analysis that showed that ice bathing after working out could kill the muscle gains. Read more on his blog post about it here:https://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/…

1
43. What's Wrong with Huberman's Science? | ft Dr. Andrea Love 57:07

3M ago57:07

57:07

So maybe you don't care about what happens in Andrew Huberman's personal life. So long as his science checks out, what's the harm? Well, I hate to break it to you but his science doesn't really check out either. From cherry-picked results to quack "protocols" Huberman frequently overextends his knowledge and starts shilling pseudoscience. This week…

1
ASTEROID CITY 1:31:59

3M ago1:31:59

1:31:59

We've been fans of Wes Anderson for some time, so we thought we were about due for a new episode on his most latest output, Asteroid City. Here we talk about how the film further expands the border of Wes Anderson-isms, being a natural extension of The French Dispatch, the meta-contextual elements, the massive cast, and the bloat that sometimes cre…

1
42. The Skeleton Business's Murderous Legacy 57:32

3M ago57:32

57:32

At its height, the bone factories in Calcutta exported more than 60,000 anatomical skeletons a year to medical programs all over the world. Most of the bones had been looted from graves and burning ghats. Still, anatomy processors made millions of dollars stealing and then exporting those bodies abroad. Today, those hundreds of tons of human remain…

1
41. How Sholto David took on a $1.7 Billion Pharma Behemoth 50:53

3M ago50:53

50:53

How many scientific papers are rotten with fake data? It turns out a lot more than you might think. Even some of the most well-respected medical institutions in the world have been caught out making things up in what should have been life-saving cancer research. Citizen sleuth, David Sholto came on the show today to talk about his role in unmasking…

1
LEPRECHAUN: ORIGINS 56:10

4M ago56:10

56:10

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We're continuing our journey through the Leprechaun series with a look at the WWE Studios reboot Leprechaun: Origins starring Hornswoggle as the titular horror character. The biggest thing about this movie is the fact that it is so generic and unmemorable, and we struggle to put into words just how humdrum the whole thing i…

1
40. Why did the USA pay $500 Billion to Nigerian Hackers? | ft. Jack Rhysider of Darknet Diaries 1:06:05

4M ago1:06:05

1:06:05

Why did the US Government give $500 billion to Nigerian hackers? What is Pig butchering? How will artificial intelligence change the the way hackers operate? What is the future of cyber warfare? These are all true stories from the dark side of the internet.Today I had the opportunity to talk with Jack Rhysider--the amazing host of the podcast Darkn…

1
STARSHIP TROOPERS 1:09:53

4M ago1:09:53

1:09:53

With all the success of Helldivers 2, we thought it would be appropriate to finally cover Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers on our show. This has all of the things you've come to know from the director: parodical elements, propaganda pieces, ultragore, and a healthy satirical take on fascism. We talk about all of this plus the Dina Meyer/Costas Ma…

1
39. Gurus, Gatekeepers, and the Conspirituality Wellness Cult with Derek Beres of the Conspirituality Podcast 1:09:20

4M ago1:09:20

1:09:20

This week the author and hose of the Conspirituality podcast, Derek Beres joins me to talk about the strange axis between spirituality, wellness and conspiracy theories that have taken over the internet. We don't pull any punches in this conversation, touching on the rise of anti-vaccine conspiracies, lizard people, coffee enemas, and how the neuro…

1
38. The Night Hag: Sleep Paralysis in the Age of Insomnia 1:22:54

4M ago1:22:54

1:22:54

Have you ever woken up while you were dreaming, only to find that you couldn't move a muscle? Or, perhaps even more terrifying: have you woken up and felt a deep weight on your chest and sensed that an evil creature was pushing down on your chest? That, my friend, is the night hag--another name for sleep paralysis. I recently had a chance to chat w…

1
FOXY BROWN 1:17:37

4M ago1:17:37

1:17:37

Happy Black History Month! We of course wanted to celebrate this occasion with another blaxploitation movie since we haven't done all that many on the show. Here, we take on Foxy Brown, released one year after Pam Grier's classic Coffy and featuring a lot of the same themes. We talk about the more exploitative elements in the film, the zany inclusi…

1
The Importance of Having a Voice and Podcast News 46:35

5M ago46:35

46:35

After 267 episodes we've decided that's the end of season 1. In the final episode of the season Celine and Stephen explore why leavers of cults and coercively controlling religions feel the need to express themselves about their experience. To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/ To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/post…

1
37. Captured by Pirates 57:19

5M ago57:19

57:19

In 2011 the journalist Michael Scott Moore was on assignment in Somalia on an assignment to document the spread of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Just before he took a flight home, gunman stopped his car and forced him to get out. This was the beginning of 977 days in captivity. I had the opportunity to speak with Moore before he left for Somalia on h…

1
Order, obedience, compliance and silence: Kendra Petty's story. 57:20

5M ago57:20

57:20

Our guest today is Kendra Petty, author of the memoir "I Can't Believe I'm Not Dead". Coercively controlled by her mother and a child member of a fundamentalist Christian group, only to leave and experience multiple threats to her life. It's an extraordinary story and Kendra is an engaging and fascinating guest. Kendra's website https://kendrapetty…

1
THERE WILL BE BLOOD 1:34:24

5M ago1:34:24

1:34:24

17 years after its release, Ryne finally gets to see the movie that spawned one catchphrase about milkshakes. We talk about this fantastic picture from Paul Thomas Anderson, including the overall throughlines of the film including capitalism and religion, the score, put on our best Daniel Day-Lewis impressions, and a lot more. We're rounding out Dr…

1
Is Religion Good For You? 1:06:44

5M ago1:06:44

1:06:44

Celine raises the question whether there is a link between religious belief and long life. Following the Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones the question of whether religious belief increases wellbeing is discussed by Stephen and Celine. Is there good data to suggest there is a link? If there is, is it a causal relationship or can…

1
DJANGO 1:06:04

5M ago1:06:04

1:06:04

We knew we wanted to do a spaghetti western, but after a misfire - we picked a movie we already did, and we'll explain - we decided on the originator of all of those Django westerns. Here we talk about Franco Nero as the protagonist, the machine gun, how this relates to A Fistful of Dollars and Django the Bastard, and of course, Maria! We're also d…

1
Filmmaker Carmel Mikol talks Apostate, her Short Documentary Film 1:05:00

5M ago1:05:00

1:05:00

This week Celine and Stephen's guest is Carmel Mikol, a filmmaker, musician, artist and former Jehovah's Witness. Carmel talks about her own experience as a young Witness finding herself in an abusive marriage and her difficulties escaping the relationship and then leaving the group. Carmel talks about the misogynistic attitudes and policies within…

1
Behaving Badly for the Org. 58:33

6M ago58:33

58:33

A high profile case of people behaving appallingly on behalf of an organisation is big news in the UK, known as the Post Office scandal. The question of why people do unethical things to support the business, religion or cult to which they belong, has been researched and is multi-faceted. Today Stephen and Celine explore the psychological research …

1
THE IRON CLAW 1:20:05

6M ago1:20:05

1:20:05

Welcome to 2024. For our first episode of the new year, we're taking on familial dysfunction and wrestling in A24's The Iron Claw, based on the lives of the Von Erich brothers. We talk about the film's historical accuracy, the depiction of wrestling, Ric Flair woos, and a whole lot more. We're also drinking Athletic Brewing Company's Wit's End belg…

1
Interview With Apostate Barbie 1:01:45

6M ago1:01:45

1:01:45

Celine and Stephen are joined by Micki, AKA Apostate Barbie, from Instagram and Tic Tok. Micki tells us about her journey out of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Challenging an aunt about outlandish QANON conspiracy theories, made her consider her own beliefs - not the first time we've heard our guests speak of this type of exit, from Christian Fundamental…

1
36. The Neuroscientist Who Dared to tell the truth about Meditation 1:24:41

6M ago1:24:41

1:24:41

When Willoughby Britton set out to study the potential negative side effects of meditation she never expected that the community would want to hound her out of her job. But that's what happened after her study on the "Varieties of Contemplative Experience" came out and she documented how one out of every ten people who start meditating have a clini…

1
Bonus Crossover: Magical Thinking Part 2 53:49

6M ago53:49

53:49

A follow-up to the conversation Stephen had with Spencer Watson from the Truth Unrestricted Podcast about magical thinking. This time Stephen was a guest on Spencer's show and this audio is brought to you by his permission. They discuss developmental psychology and how babies and children develop an understanding of a world apart from themselves an…

1
Chaberting Gifts (5) WINTER IN VAIL 1:20:20

6M ago1:20:20

1:20:20

Sorry for the late episode due to the holidays, but we're finishing our Chaberting Gifts series for this holiday season with a look at the generically winter-themed Winter in Vail starring Lacey Chabert as... an event planner again. Yes, we've covered similar movies in the Hallmark output this season, and we discuss all of the great things that mak…

1
Legal Fights: Jehovah’s Witnesses Vs Norway, with Jan Frode Nilsen 1:08:47

6M ago1:08:47

1:08:47

Jan Frode Nilsen has a long-form interview with Stephen about his work exposing the damaging shunning policies of Jehovah's Witnesses, and his appearance as a witness for the Norwegian government in recent court cases. He also talks about his own experience as a former member raised in the group. Documents related to the case on: Avoid JW website R…

1
Finding Friends After Leaving a Cult; Patron Takeover 1:07:02

6M ago1:07:02

1:07:02

Losing friends, making new ones, reuniting with old ones, all at the same time as finding yourself. Friendships can be a tricky thing after leaving a cult. This week some of the Cult Hacker Patreon supporters join Celine and Stephen on a panel of former Jehovah's Witnesses, to explore the process of finding and making friendships outside a high-con…

1
Chaberting Gifts (4) A CHRISTMAS MELODY 1:11:27

6M ago1:11:27

1:11:27

For our last episode before Christmas, we're taking on the unicorn of Lacey Chabert Christmas Hallmark movies: one that has a child's talent show, romance, and MARIAH CAREY! That's right - in 2015 the Queen of Christmas herself directed and "starred" in this Hallmark movie about a little girl writing the song "Oh Santa!" for her talent show perform…

1
Bonus Audio Blog: Am I Awake Yet? 15:27

6M ago15:27

15:27

This short bonus episode is the audio version of a blog Stephen recently published on Medium. Many leavers of high control religions use 'waking up' as a metaphor for realising the group we had been a member of had been telling us lies, and that we had a warped worldview. The film 'The Matrix' holds resonance for many of us. In this short piece Ste…

1
Living in Keith Green’s Cult Commune; Last Days Ministries 1:00:58

7M ago1:00:58

1:00:58

In the late 70s Sharon and Tracey were attracted to "The Jesus People" and joined the Last Days Ministries, living on a cult commune as teenagers with rock star Keith Green and the community he built. As teenagers they believed Jesus return would happen in 1981 and that they would be saved if they stayed within the group that was following Jesus pr…

1
Chaberting Gifts (3) CHRISTMAS AT CASTLE HART 1:20:40

7M ago1:20:40

1:20:40

We continue our Lacey Chabert Christmas Hallmark movie journey with Christmas at Castle Hart, which this time transports us to Ireland for a meet-cute between Lacey's event planner character and an earl of Ireland! We talk about the CGI decorations, the lack of romance yet again, the foibles and conflict that Lacey faces, and a whole lot more. We'r…

1
The Cultic Bug In The System 58:08

7M ago58:08

58:08

For this week's podcast Celine and Stephen discuss the "software bug" inherent in human beings that makes us vulnerable to cults and their leaders. The article on Medium https://medium.com/ To reach out to us: https://www.culthackers.com/ To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/postsBy Cult Hackers

1
Chaberting Gifts (2) HAUL OUT THE HOLLY 1:17:23

7M ago1:17:23

1:17:23

On our second episode of Chaberting Gifts, we take a look at 2022's Haul Out the Holly, a shameless rip of Christmas with the Kranks that sees Lacey Chabert heading home for the holidays only to butt heads with her parents' HOA. This is a bizarre Christmas tale that is extremely light on romance, while at the same time offering a weird theme that m…

1
Understanding Magical Thinking with Spencer Watson 1:43:40

7M ago1:43:40

1:43:40

This week Stephen talks to Spencer Watson from the Truth Unrestricted Podcast about the question of 'Magical Thinking'. What is it? How is it different from scientific thinking? Why is it attractive? Why do ex cult members have a special interest in it? and many more questions. It's a bumper discussion this week that gets into some deep stuff as we…

1
Chaberting Gifts (1) CHRISTMAS IN ROME 1:15:56

7M ago1:15:56

1:15:56

Our Christmas season is going to be a little different this year; that's because we're bringing you a holiday full of Lacey Chabert in Hallmark Christmas movies. We start off by visiting Roma in Christmas in Rome, a yuletide tale of a travel agent meet-cuting with a property mogul hoping to land a big acquisition in Rome. We assess the romance, the…

1
35. Can Technology Save us from Climate Change? 51:19

7M ago51:19

51:19

Bigger storms, receding coastlines, and unlivable heat: climate change is coming and sometimes it feels like there's nothing we can do to stop it. This week I talk with Stephen Miller who has combed the history of humankind's attempts to control nature. He has some ideas about what adaptation will look like and how big tech projects have faired ove…

1
Deconstructing the Certainty of Fundamentalism with Olivia Jackson 58:30

7M ago58:30

58:30

When you're a member of a fundamentalist religious group, you find comfort in the certain knowledge that you have "The Truth". Leaving is partly a journey of coming to terms with uncertainty. Olivia Jackson herself a former member of such a group, has created an impressive piece of work, where she has interviewed 140 former members at various stage…

1
THANKSGIVING 1:19:13

7M ago1:19:13

1:19:13

Happy Thanksgiving! As a special release on Thanksgiving Day, we're bringing you an episode on Eli Roth's new film Thanksgiving, influenced by his own trailer for the Grindhouse films in 2007. We talk about making a feature-length film out of short schlock, the gory details, whether these characters are even relatable, and a whole lot more in this …

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