Cults & Manipulation: Where Belief Ends and Control Begins

I’m hosting this discussion because I lived it and because I see echoes of it everywhere.

In corporate cultures that demand total loyalty. In political movements that punish dissent. In wellness communities that isolate you from skeptical friends and family. In religious groups that answer every question with the same sacred text.

This event is my way of starting a conversation I wish someone had started with me years ago.

What we’ll explore together:
∙ Daniella Mestyanek Young’s The Culting of America and how cult-like behavior hides in plain sight across American life.
∙ Steven Hassan’s BITE Model — (Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional)
∙ The philosophy of autonomy and free will. Can manipulation truly strip us of our ability to choose?
∙ Why intelligent, critical people fall for cults and why that’s not a character flaw
∙ The hidden cost of leaving socially, financially, emotionally
∙ How to spot the warning signs before you’re in too deep