A Little Bit Culty

A Little Bit Culty: Navigating Cults, Control and Coercion dropped on Amazon this past weekend and has already hit #1 new release in the psychology & religion category!

The Kindle version is coming any day now, and the book will be up at other online retailers in the next few weeks. Thank you! We love you!

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.

Buy the A Little Bit Culty book on Amazon!
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 SPONSOR:
If you’re ready to start searching safely online, go to surfshark.com/culty or use code CULTY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.

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

In this episode, Dr. Nancy Ross—religious studies professor, longtime Mormon feminist, and co‑author of the forthcoming book Mormon Garments: Sacred and Secret—joins us to talk about what it’s like to grow up LDS in small‑town Maine, move into the hyper‑gendered world of southern Utah, and then turn all of that lived experience into rigorous research on faith, clothing, and control.

She walks us through the secretive temple “endowment” where young adults first receive their garments, the lack of informed consent around covenants like “wives obey their husbands,” and the confusing mix of sacred language, modesty rules, and unexpected physical exposure that shape how Mormon women understand their bodies from day one. Nancy also shares how online Mormon feminist communities helped her name what felt “off,” why she launched a massive survey that gathered 4,500+ anonymous stories about garments, and what those responses reveal about gender hierarchy, shame, sensory discomfort, and the emotional toll of wearing mandated underwear you’re not even allowed to talk about.

For more in-depth info on her survey, pick up her book, Mormon Garments, and follow her on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of religious and spiritual abuse, sexism, body‑shaming, and non‑informed consent around touching.

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:
If you’re ready to start searching safely online, go to surfshark.com/culty or use code CULTY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.

Set a new standard for how you relax and connect. Access 10% off for life and redefine your nightly ritual today at Piquelife.com/culty.

As an exclusive offer, new listeners can get their choice between organic ground beef, chicken breast, or shrimp in every box for a year, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/culty.

Right now, go to Quince.com/culty for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will. Now available in Canada, too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last.
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, Magnolia Zuniga goes deeper into how the Ashtanga world responded—or failed to respond—to decades of sexual abuse by Pattabhi Jois and what that reveals about belonging, power, and performative “accountability” in yoga culture. She describes discovering that early Western students had deliberately suppressed photographic evidence of his assaults, how senior teachers minimized or rebranded what happened as “adjustments,” and why Me Too exposed not just one predator but a whole ecosystem of victim‑blaming, choice‑feminism rhetoric, and leaders more invested in their status and income than in telling the truth.

Magnolia also talks about closing her own Mysore school, losing her coveted certification after speaking out, and building a new, Ayurveda‑informed way of teaching that centers individualized practice, honest power literacy, and doing yoga without funding or protecting abusive lineages—even when that means giving up enormous social and financial capital. For more context, check out The Walrus’s article on the topic.

Follow Magnolia Zuniga on her YouTube channel, Facebook, or on Instagram @magnoliasezso.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of sexual assault and molestation, victim‑blaming, mention of elite child abuse networks, 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 SPONSOR:
If you’re ready to start searching safely online, go to surfshark.com/culty or use code CULTY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.

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 this two‑episode conversation, Magnolia Zuniga—one of only about 20 certified Ashtanga teachers worldwide as of 2015—joins us to unpack how a practice she loved became a textbook example of how charisma, secrecy, and male‑centered power can warp modern yoga. She traces her path from early days in Bikram to that first Ashtanga class in Los Angeles, explains the demanding Mysore method (memorized sequences, 5–6 day‑a‑week practices, and three‑hour sessions), and walks us through the Ashtanga hierarchy of authorization, certification, and total dependence on a single male guru in India for legitimacy.

Magnolia also describes, in detail, witnessing Pattabhi Jois’s sexual assaults on women during adjustments in Mysore, the way “choice feminism,” sunk‑cost fallacy, and the promise of advancement kept her and others silent, and why she now sees Ashtanga as a system that consistently protects “the practice” and male authority over the safety and bodies of overwhelmingly female students. For more context, check out The Walrus’s article on the topic, and stay tuned for Part 2.

Follow Magnolia Zuniga on her YouTube channel, Facebook, or on Instagram @magnoliasezso.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of sexual assault and sexualized “adjustments” in yoga settings, molestation, gaslighting, misogyny, and patriarchal dynamics in yoga lineages.

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:
Your emotional wellbeing matters. Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/culty.

If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at MintMobile.com/culty.

Right now as a listener of our show, you can get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping at MeUndies.com/culty, promo code culty.

Find furniture, decor, and essentials that fit your unique style and budget. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.

Right now, go to Quince.com/culty for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will. Now available in Canada, too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last.

If you’re ready to start searching safely online, go to surfshark.com/culty or use code CULTY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.

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

Welcome back for Part 2 with Bjorn Bolinder: dancer, photographer, and the guy whose heart was screaming “GET OUT!” louder than any cult alarm system we've ever heard. We pick up in 2016 as Bjorn signs up for SOP (the men's program) in a moment of pleaser panic, and then experiences a full-body revolt between the commitment meeting and his Washington Heights apartment. He listened, backed out, and his intuition proved prophetic.

He walks us through the weird Festival of Flowers, staying at Allison's overcrowded house, the underwhelming reveal of his “life issue” at the end of the student track, and the exact moment his internal guidance system said, “You're done—get out NOW.” He returned to V-Week 2016 on work exchange after negotiating a refund, and observed late-night DOS activity he couldn’t yet contextualize.

Then comes August 2017: Coach V’s text, the Frank Report, Sarah’s disappearing photo of a brand, and the surreal experience of attending an ESP event the same day he learned the truth. Bjorn described the whiplash of connecting puzzle pieces, the validation of his year-old exit, his spiritual mentor’s eerily accurate read on Keith Raniere, and where he was when the guilty verdict came through in June 2019. We reflected on people still loyal to Keith, Bjorn’s healing journey, and why “excited state” actually worked for his depression (even if we're not saying “Thank you, Vanguard” anymore).

Be sure to follow Bjorn’s work at findthelightphotography.com and on Instagram @findthelightphotography.

Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of depression and suicidal ideation.

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 SPONSOR:
If you’re ready to start searching safely online, go to surfshark.com/culty or use code CULTY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.