Bonus Episode: Do As I Say, Chapter One

Bonus Episode: Do As I Say, Chapter One

Author: Sarah Steel June 9, 2022 Duration: 30:49

Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is published by Pan Macmillan Australia, and out on 28 June 2022. It will be available in audiobook, ebook and paperback. This is chapter 1, read by Sarah for the audiobook release.


"In times of uncertainty when you long for simple answers and have a deep desire for community, you can find yourself incrementally handing over your agency to a charismatic but authoritarian and manipulative leader or group-think. In this book Sarah Steel has brilliantly charted how this happens in all sorts of ways and for all sorts of people; it provides an invaluable map to navigate this dangerous terrain." - Reverend Tim Costello AO


"This book is a most comprehensive and studied look at cults, the leaders, and perhaps most importantly the survivors. Sarah Steel has given the world a real gem - one that will not only educate but also help to destigmatize those who have been harmed by cults and con artists. Bravo!" - Dr Janja Lalich, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Co-Founder of Take Back Your Life Recovery LLC, International Authority on Cults & Coercion


"Sarah uses the stories of survivors to tease out the common threads of coercive control shared by cults and found in other parts of society. The result is a much-needed spotlight on the behaviours and personalities we are likely to encounter even if we never go anywhere near a cult." - David Gillespie, bestselling author and lawyer


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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…

«1...678910