A guide to identifying cultic groups including Rick Ross’s three characteristics all cults share, Alexandra Stein’s 19 warning signs and Steven Hassan’s BITE model.

In May of 1976 a member of The Way was kidnapped from her campus in Moorhead, Minnesota. Seventeen days later she was seen walking down a city street by herself, hundreds of miles from where she was abducted. The young woman flagged down a car and called the authorities, setting in motion a false imprisonment case that would reach the Supreme Court.

Writer Amethyst Rhodes goes on an extended vacation to the Hawaiian island of Kauai and discovers a cult compound on the land where she’s staying. Her suspicions about the group grow over time as she takes advantage of opportunities to talk to people living around the mansion and the leader himself. Once she’s made up her mind about the group, Amethyst explores other cults that have made the island home.

At the turn of the 20th century yoga crashed onto American shores bringing mystic gurus in tow. In the ‘60’s the practice exploded as a phenomenon and coercive leaders became visible. The history and future of yoga cults is explored in this article by Stewart Lawrence.

#igotout is the best cult story we’ve heard all year. In this interview with the founders we discuss how the movement came to be and where we’d like to see it go from here.

An interview about TM and why it’s important to tell cult stories with Patrick Ryan.

The Baptist church seems to be responsible for a lot of cults. Jade Justice investigates a few active organizations that show up on her radar.

Lisa Mildred continues her quest of visiting active cults by dropping in on the Rod of Iron Ministries. Will she find her crown?