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Has the Left devolved into a cult? In this episode, I explore that uncomfortable question — not as an outsider throwing stones, but as someone who lived inside it. Through historical parallels like the Salem witch trials and modern cult psychology, I unpack how fear, belonging, and moral certainty can turn even the most idealistic movements into systems of control.
At the heart of the episode is Carey Burtt’s satirical short Mind Control Made Easy / How to Become a Cult Leader (1999) — a disturbingly accurate guide to manipulation. Using it alongside Steven Hassan’s BITE Model and insights from Andrew Doyle’s The New Puritans, I reveal how today’s Left mirrors many of the same psychological mechanisms once confined to fringe cults.
0:00 – The New Puritans
8:06 – Conformity and Control
19:43 – Applying the B.I.T.E. Model to the Left
39:22 – The Macro-Cult in Action
This isn’t about left or right—it’s about how good intentions lose their soul when ideology replaces humanity. If you’ve ever felt torn between belonging and truth, or sensed something deeply off in leftest hysteria, this episode is for you.
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You may also like my video: The 10-Year Smear: How the Truth Changed My Mind About Trump (Abridged): • The 10-Year Smear: How the Truth Changed M...
🎶 Featured Music:
1. “Heard Morality” — Power Starfish by Nehedar • Meditation on Violence - Nehedar
2. “Scapeghost” — Diana’s Mirror by Nehedar • Wet Dreams of Persecution
Nehedar made us a playlist of her music that aligns with the themes of The Mirror! How cool is that?! 🎶Check it out and give her some love — thank you, Nehedar! ❤️ Control Your Own Damn Mind Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/023...
🎬Credits (Used under fair use):
1. Steven Hassan: The BITE ModelDr. Steven Hassan — Cult Expert • Steven Hassan: The BITE model
2. Apocalypse Cults: Inside the MAGA MindsetDr. Steven Hassan — Cult Expert • Apocalypse Cults: Inside the MAGA Mindset
3. Who Are “The New Puritans”? Alex O’Connor Interview with Andrew Doyle • Who Are “The New Puritans”? | Andrew Doyle
4. The Differences Between Cults And Religions by The Atheist Voice • The Differences Between Cults And Religions
5. Mind Control Made Easy / How to Become a Cult Leader Carey Burtt • Mind Control Made Easy (or How to Become a...
6. Asch Conformity Experiment (1973) — Recreation of Solomon Asch’s 1950s social conformity study. Posted by EQUI Videos.
• Asch Conformity Experiment
7. What’s the Difference Between a Religion & Cult? Summit Ministries • What’s the Difference Between a Religion &...
8. Die Hexen von Salem (1957) — Dir. Raymond Rouleau French film Les Sorcières de Salem, written by Jean-Paul Sartre and based on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
• Die Hexen von Salem (1957) Original Traile...
9. Woke Leftists Say They Are in a Civil War […] by Make Sense of It Marie
• WOKE Leftists say they are in a CIVIL WAR?...
10. The Scarlet Letter (1934) — Directed by Robert G. Vignola
• The Scarlet Letter (1934) Hers the Shame, ...
11. What Really Happened During the Salem Witch TrialsTED-Ed (Brian A. Pavlac) — Directed by Lucy Animation Studio • What really happened during the Salem Witc...
📚 Further Reading
1. Doyle, Andrew. The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. London: Constable, 2022.
2. Hassan, Steven. Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults. Newton, MA: Freedom of Mind Press, 2018.
3. Lifton, Robert Jay. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
Keywords: cult psychology, social justice cult, woke culture critique, leftist ideology, groupthink, Andrew Doyle The New Puritans, Steven Hassan BITE Model, Carey Burtt Mind Control Made Easy, Salem Witch Trials, macro-cults, political conformity, resist fascism, moral panic, ex-activist story
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