Cult Chat

28/10/2025

Twenty guesses what Lindy, her dog and Liz are watching tonight in Lindy’s home cinema in Wellington?! (Liz is visiting from the Deep South of Timaru!).

28/10/2025

Yay it’s that time of the week!! We have released part two of our episode chatting to the ladies who have left the 2x2’s. Make sure you listen right to the end when the Cult Chat crew dissect the interview.

You Tube: https://youtu.be/ZRwOSFL_VKo?si=Y2KCDptnGsITBXZB

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OAYavLIF7DQU6oVYWIwiO?si=PT2IrCUeQF2fBvsIQS7piw

Plains Media: https://plains.org.nz/episode/617cc903-1587-4dcf-bfdc-8b410c0fc4b8

Join us for Part two of our brave interview with Veronica and Lindsay as they share what life was really like for women growing up in the 2x2's (The Truth, T...

23/10/2025

Why do survivors speak out about cults they have left? Are they really just "bitter" (It seems to be a cult buzz word!)

Here's a sneak peek of this Tuesday's episode (Part Two of our chat with 2x2 women)...

21/10/2025

It's THAT time of the week again! Time for a new episode drop. We know thousands of you watched our little sneaky peeky clip last week... so here you go. Drum roll please....

Join us for a brave discussion as Veronica and Lindsay share what life was like for women growing up in the 2x2's (also known as The Truth, The Way, the Church with No Name). These women are among the first in New Zealand to speak publicly about their experiences inside this secretive religious culty group.

Hear their stories of rules (but no rules), control, silence, resilience, and freedom.

Leave a comment if you know other 2x2's who have been inspired by the wave of TRUTH hitting the shores of NZ.

Watch on your favourite platform:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/HVlAJN-wETs
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ghOOxMnvM4WUgFoPtYPQ8
Plains Media: https://plains.org.nz/episode/451dbdae-6f40-443d-b4f7-20cd1873edb3

Join us for a brave discussion as Veronica and Lindsey share what life was like for women growing up in the 2x2's (Also known as The Truth, The Way, the Chur...

17/10/2025

Guess where we’ve been today? Lindy flew from Wellington and Liz drove from Timaru so we could enjoy each other’s company in the Plains Media studio in Christchurch. We recorded several shows and look forward to sharing them with you over the next few weeks and months. Shout out to Sinclair and Nico, Nicki and Pria who made us feel so welcome at Plains Media. We feel so supported!!

17/10/2025

The Cult Chat trio are back in the studio! Seventy-five episodes in and still going strong, tune in for new chats every second week. Catch up on all their episodes on our website,
Tap 👉 https://plains.org.nz/programme/cultchat

Plains Media is a proud member of CAMA - Community Access Media Alliance and thank NZ On Air for their funding support!

14/10/2025

Just a little hint of what's to come in next week's episode with two brave former Two x Two women ...

10/10/2025

We are excited for this - get in touch with the Olive Leaf Network with any queries or to register, and pass this on to anyone impacted by high-control or coercive group tactics who might benefit from attending

07/10/2025

This may be our strangest, and yet most generous episode yet!!
Have we lost our marbles, or have we been duped by John Lennon’s famous song "Imagine" - where he paints a vision of a perfect world? Cults often promise something similar. So in the spirit of fairness, this week, we take a surprising detour to explore the good things and the benefits that members say about life inside: belonging, structure, shared ideals, and hope for something better. These dreams are powerful — and they can make leaving hard. But are they just an illusion? Listen in to Episode 75 and let us know if we have done the topic justice!

You Tube: https://youtu.be/ydGsCW5l31M
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5SGvysO6JjMGsZcs7TwPwc
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cult-chat/id1693307722
Plains Media: https://plains.org.nz/episode/c3e7d5f7-fc24-4e5e-95ce-7dc9a2828b98

John Lennon’s famous song "Imagine" paints a vision of a perfect world — and cults often promise something similar. So in the spirit of fairness, this week, ...

30/09/2025

This might be our most controversial episode yet... *WARNING: This episode might raise your blood pressure.*

Following our conversation with Dr Steve Hassan in Part 1 about cult apologists and defenders, we just kept talking! In this part 2 of the conversation we talk about why some researchers listen to cult leaders instead of survivors, the arguments they use to defend cults, the importance of survivor voices in research. We also share some illuminating (and frightening) facts about specific cult apologists, and how a minimising narrative from apologists has had impacts in New Zealand.

Listen up and be prepared for your blood to boil!

You Tube: https://youtu.be/vqEuqF56lVY
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1nfUyVEskYPLIHDuZAkCVq
Plains Media: https://plains.org.nz/episode/f8b9b125-a859-4124-9628-e48b44c5a84e

23/09/2025

Special guest Episode 73 has landed! And someone has won a copy of Theo Pratt's book Unveiled: A story of surviving Gloriavale. Was it you??

Regardless you have to listen to today's episode. Our guest Dr Steven Hassan chats about a controversial topic relating to cult defenders (or cult apologists). Did you even know such a category of humans existed?

Dr Hassan is the author of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, the Influence Continuum, and multiple books. (Find out more about him at his website https://freedomofmind.com/). In this fascinating conversation we unpack the history behind this propaganda movement, why survivor voices are not welcome in their narratives, and examine why high profile cult apologists like Professor Eileen Barker might be given a platform to speak at academic conferences whose goal is to examine the harms of cults.

Listen up and leave a comment to tell us what you think of people who support cult and defend them in the public square...

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuFCfXLpSas
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pX1khW9j1Z85G6BVmsXwc
Plains Media: https://plains.org.nz/episode/f8b9b125-a859-4124-9628-e48b44c5a84e

This week we invite Dr Steven Hassan to join us to discuss the cult apologist movement. Dr Hassan is the author of the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control an...

17/09/2025

Today we let the cat out of the bag! Check out this teaser clip in anticipation for next week's episode and see who Dr Steven Hassan says "hooey" too...