Avatar

Avatar

Author: Sarah Steel February 13, 2024 Duration: 49:44

Harry Palmer created Avatar after his presidency of the Church of Scientology's Elmira Mission ended in the mid-1980s, as a result of legal proceedings around trademark infringement. Avatar says that it aims to create an 'enlightened planetary consciousness' or EPC through its courses, which are expensive and numerous. Former students say they have been left with massive debts as a result of their attendance.


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Each month on Let's Talk About Sects, host Sarah Steel selects a different group for a thorough and thoughtful examination. The approach is narrative, building the story of each organization from the ground up. You’ll hear about the origins and the figures who founded these movements, the specific methods used to draw people in, and the lived realities of those who joined. Steel delves into the psychological frameworks at play and recounts the significant, often troubling events that defined each group's timeline. This award-winning documentary series fits within broader conversations about society, culture, and belief, but its strength is in the specific, human details. The tone is engaged and curious, avoiding sensationalism in favor of a clear-eyed look at complex histories. For those who find this podcast compelling, there are additional ways to engage with the work beyond listening. Sarah Steel has also authored a related book, *Do As I Say*, which expands on these themes. The monthly format allows for deep research into each subject, making every episode a comprehensive portrait rather than a superficial overview. It’s a resource for anyone interested in the mechanics of belief and control, presented through careful storytelling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Let's Talk About Sects
Podcast Episodes
NXIVM [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:38
Edgar Bronfman Sr. of the Seagram liquor fortune once wrote a testimonial for a course he had taken through an organisation called Executive Success Programs, or ESP. He said, quote, “If everyone were to go through this…
Interview Episode: The Family update with Chris Johnston [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:55
On the 14 June 2019, news broke in Australia that many people had been waiting on for a number of years. That news was the death of this country’s most notorious cult leader, Anne Hamilton-Byrne.In this bonus episode, I’…
Chung Moo Quan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:39
Chung Moo Quan positioned itself as a superior martial arts school that taught eight different practices at once. Though this may have originally struck prospective students as a bargain-and-a-half, many who chose to tak…
Order of the Solar Temple [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:36
The Order of the Solar Temple was a secret society that would go down sharing the pages of history with Jonestown, the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate. But is it fair to compare the groups? When it comes to incidents…
The Seaside Sect [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:33
A New Zealand-born man who moved to Australia in the 1970s and started a sect, telling his eventual 9 wives and 60-plus children that he was Jesus Christ, was put behind bars for 7 years in Victoria in 2000. In spite of…
Joy Kuo & Iphigenie Amoutzias' Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:59
Joy Kuo and her husband moved to Sydney from Taiwan in 2000, and the couple both began working for the University of Sydney Library the following year. They both studied for and gained their masters degrees, and enjoyed…
Outreach International – Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:00
Laura left Outreach International when she was 32 years old, having been born into the sect in the late 1970s. Hear her story as she relates the experience of being a young woman in a highly patriarchal and controlling o…
Outreach International – Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:09
In May 2017, a sect that started in Melbourne, Australia, 50 years ago, and has been highly secretive over the last few decades, decided to change its closed-doors policy and go public with a website. Whilst up until now…

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