Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between.Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most h
Pitch Analysis
Required Pod Score for this show. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.
Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
37%
Guest openness
Selective
Verified email on file
80/100
Required Score
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What is Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation?
Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation is a society podcast hosted by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts, with 273 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
About the host
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts hosts Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation, a society show with 273 episodes published.
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Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation
Michele McPhee – The Polygamist, the Criminal, and Their Multibillion-Dollar Scam
Aug 19, 20261h 5m
This week, Meagan and Lola sit down with Michelle McPhee, investigative reporter and host of podcast Kingdom of Fraud, to discuss how Jacob Kingston, a fundamentalist Mormon from the secretive polygamist sect known as the Kingston clan, or the “Order,” teamed up with a shadowy Armenian tycoon nicknamed “the Lion” to commit one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history. She’ll explain how Jacob’s drive to prove himself as one of over 100 siblings within the insular Kingston hierarchy got him in over his head with Levon Termendzhyan, his unlikely partner in the massive scheme they embarked on: it involved renewable fuel tax credits, international money laundering, powerful political connections, and billions of dollars. Plus, how they finally got caught–with the help of a couple of Trust Me’s previous guests. SOURCES Kingdom of Fraud See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anke Richter, Part 2 - Harem Culture, Leaving ISTA, and DeCult
Aug 12, 202643 min
This week is part 2 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group ISTA, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In part 2 with Anke, she explains how the founder of International School of Temple Arts had constructed a sort of harem culture and was sleeping with all the women, where the line is between normal dating in a community vs. coercion, and how her journalistic investigation into a different tantra group while still actively in this one finally set off her alarm bells. They discuss what’s positive about the tantric world, how the flip side of sex-positive groups can be a pressure to act sex positive when you don’t actually FEEL sex positive, and why she started cult conference Decult. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Anke Richter, Part 1 - Ecstatic Dancing, Tantric Sex, and Joining ISTA
Aug 5, 202659 min
Today is part 1 with Anke Richter, journalist, author of Cult Trip, former member of Tantric group International School of Temple Arts, and founder and director of New Zealand’s cult conference DeCult. In this week’s episode she shares how she began as a journalist investigating cults, but when she went to a tantric sex festival, she had a peak experience with ecstatic dancing that made her never want to go back to her old way of life. She’ll talk about doing her first training in tantric pleasure, which got her deeper into ISTA and the idea of tantric polarity and exploring her feminine energy that she’d felt she’d been missing, and how the intensity and the highs she felt in these communities made real life seem boring. Plus, how there often aren’t a lot of sexual communities to choose from in general, which can create room for the sketchier ones to flourish. SOURCES Cult Trip DECULT See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sophie Fergi, Part 2 - Living with Piper, Constant Control, and Being Shunned by the Squad
Jul 29, 20261h 1m
This week is part two with Sophie Fergi, former child influencer featured in the Netflix docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. In this episode, she shares what happened after she and her mom moved in with Piper Rockelle and Piper's mom Tiffany, how Tiffany's explosive rage became impossible to ignore, and what it was like filming long, highly controlled days--and then spending their nights cleaning up after more than 70 cats. Sophie also reveals how Tiffany manufactured conflict between the other kids' parents, how her inappropriate behavior escalated through her bizarre animal characters, and why Tiffany secretly sent photos and inappropriate personal belongings to a fan named "Megan"—who was later revealed to be an adult man. Sophie discusses the breaking point that led her to leave, what it was like to be completely shunned by the Squad after she left, and the advocacy work she's been doing to protect other kidfluencers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jasper Hoffman, Part 2 - Undercover Therapy, Leaving the Mennonites, and the Aftermath
Jul 15, 202650 min
This week, the girls are back with Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part two today, Jasper explains what the perfect Mennonite woman looked like, how concerns were raised when she wasn't compliant enough, and how over time she became depressed and developed an eating disorder in response to the pressures of the group. She’ll share how her mom secretly found her a therapist on the outside, even though it was against the rules, and how that therapist helped her write a letter to withdraw her membership, which led to the harassment of her family. We’ll talk about how she tried to go back after she left but realized she really didn’t belong, and why she started the Plain People’s Podcast. SOURCES The Plain People's Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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