Cult Leaders Target You At Your Weakest. Never Confess This To Them | Rick Alan Ross

Rick Alan Ross (0:00)

Cult leaders are very unusual characters. Charles Manson, David Koresh, Keith Ranieri, often described as psychopaths.

Mayim Bialik (0:09)

How are cults actually part of our life today?

Rick Alan Ross (0:13)

They use social media. They're everywhere. Could be a religious group, political group, therapy group.

Mayim Bialik (0:20)

Where is the line between religious devotion and religious insanity?

Rick Alan Ross (0:25)

The line is not about what you believe. It's how the group behaves.

Mayim Bialik (0:31)

Rick Alan Ross, one of the leading experts in the world on cults and cult intervention, explains why cults are more prevalent today than ever before.

Rick Alan Ross (0:40)

I've deprogrammed well-educated professionals. What frequently is the narrative of people entering cults is a time of vulnerability, depressed, going through a divorce, lost their job, someone close to them dying. Cult leaders can take over a person's critical thinking, isolating them, gaslighting them. We all want to think that it couldn't happen to me. Given the right set of circumstances, anyone can be had.

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Mayim Bialik (1:14)

Go.

Rick Alan Ross (1:14)

Easy.

SPEAKER_3 (1:15)

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Rick Alan Ross (1:16)

Amazing offer.

Mayim Bialik (1:18)

Really?

Rick Alan Ross (1:18)

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Mayim Bialik (1:20)

Did the scratcher come to your house and hand you a check?

Rick Alan Ross (1:22)

No. How many scratchers did you hit to get that?

SPEAKER_3 (1:25)

I hit a button on carvana.com once.

Rick Alan Ross (1:28)

Okay. That's fair.

SPEAKER_3 (1:29)

It's like the lottery, except you always win.

Mayim Bialik (1:32)

Not like the lottery at all, actually.

SPEAKER_3 (1:34)

Exactly.

Mayim Bialik (1:35)

Inexplicably good. Offer's worth bragging about.

SPEAKER_3 (1:39)

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Mayim Bialik (1:40)

Pick up.

SPEAKER_3 (1:41)

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Mayim Bialik (1:44)

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Hi, I'm Mayim Bialik and I am here solo today. Jonathan Cohen is not with us today, but he wishes he was because this is a great episode. Are you fascinated by cult psychology, Scientology, manipulation tactics, narcissism in relationships, brainwashing, deprogramming, or the psychology of influence? Well, if you're even concerned that cults might be influencing our very own government, you are in the right place. We have got the expert here to break it all down.

I'm here today with Rick Alan Ross. He is a private consultant, a lecturer, and expert in cult interventions. He began his work as an anti-cult activist in the 80s.

He's one of the leading experts in the world today on cults. He's consulted with the FBI, a ton of law enforcement agencies, as well as governments of other countries. He's been qualified, accepted, and testified as an expert court witness in 11 different states within the United States, including US Federal Court. He's the author of Cults Inside Out, How People Get In and Can Get Out. Rick has facilitated more than 500 interventions to rescue people from cultic situations. He's gonna be talking with us today about why cults seem so much more prevalent than ever before.

Do cult leaders actually believe what they're preaching, or is it one giant gaslighting? I'm gonna ask Rick to explain if religion itself, 12-step programs, Scientology, how they qualify or don't qualify for the status of a cult, and what can you do if you're in a relationship that seems to be cult-like? We're gonna be diving right into conversations about the role of cults in our very own government, as conversations about Tulsi Gabbard's involvement with an established cult seem to be making their way into policy and communication. Rick consulted on this cult, and he shares the warning signs that he wishes someone had listened to. Rick's also gonna walk us through how the belief in UFOs can be exploited by cult leaders to make people do things they never expected they would do. We're also gonna talk about how cult-like behaviors can make their way into abusive and controlling relationships, how to identify if you are dating a narcissist, and the crucial differences between overt and covert narcissism and the dangerous psychological trap known as the fear of disequilibrium, which makes its way into many of our relationships without us even knowing it. It's a pleasure to welcome to the breakdown Rick Alan Ross.