E386. Why Everyone Online Is in a Cult | Andrew Gold - Walk-Ins Welcome

E386. Why Everyone Online Is in a Cult | Andrew Gold - Walk-Ins Welcome

Author: Conversations with people from all walks of life. April 16, 2026 Duration: 2:01:53
Bridget sits down with Andrew Gold, host of the Heretics podcast and author of The Psychology of Secrets, for a conversation about cult dynamics, Islamism in Europe, purity spirals, and what happens when your online tribe starts demanding you sell your soul to keep them. Andrew breaks down how YouTube channels, political movements, and entire cultures operate on the same psychological mechanics as Scientology and Heaven's Gate — just at different points on the spectrum. They get into why the ...

There’s a certain kind of honesty that only comes from a good conversation, the kind where people stop performing and start talking. That’s the space Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy occupies each week. Host Bridget Phetasy brings a deep appreciation for grit and raw authenticity to every discussion, whether she’s unpacking the beautiful failures and frightening successes from her own life or sitting down with a guest from a completely different world. You won’t find formal interviews here; instead, you’ll hear genuine, meandering conversations with real people about the real struggle-the messy, complicated, and often hilarious work of being human. This podcast operates on the belief that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy, but the true mistake is hiding from the full spectrum of experience. By embracing all of it-the doubt, the triumph, the absurdity-these talks celebrate the shared threads in our stories. It’s a blend of society, culture, and commentary, often funny, always candid, that reminds you you’re not alone in the chaos. Tune in for a podcast that feels like a long talk with a brutally honest friend who helps you make sense of it all.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy
Podcast Episodes
E388. What the Internet Did to Girls | Freya India - Walk-Ins Welcome [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:22
Bridget Phetasy sits down with Freya India, British writer and author of Girls: Generation Z and the Commodification of Everything, to dig into why Gen Z women are struggling in ways previous generations didn't. They dis…
E383. Big Tech Owns Society Now - Jacob Siegel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:38:22
Jacob Siegel returns to talk about his new book The Information State: Politics and the Age of Total Control, which explains why the war on disinformation is a continuation of the War on Terror using repurposed counterin…