{"podcast":{"title":"Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and Manipulation","slug":"trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347","podcast_index_feed_id":1320347,"rss_url":"https://www.omnycontent.com/d/playlist/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f804eed6-dd2f-4bf9-ba37-b2de011a8b27/462fb424-93c4-4e4b-8e00-b2de011a8b44/podcast.rss","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/trust-me","image_url":"https://www.omnycontent.com/d/playlist/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f804eed6-dd2f-4bf9-ba37-b2de011a8b27/462fb424-93c4-4e4b-8e00-b2de011a8b44/image.jpg?t=1749574865&size=Large","author":"Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts","episode_count":270,"summary":"Trust Me is a weekly interview podcast about cults, extreme belief, and the fine line between devotion and delusion—told through firsthand accounts from the people who lived it. Hosted by two women who’ve been in cults themselves, Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth, the show features survivors from groups like Heaven’s Gate, the Manson Family, NXIVM, OneTaste and more–sharing personal stories of how they got in, how they got out, and everything in between. Each week, they invite these guests alongside experts who can dive deep into seductive leaders, the darker aspects of organized religion, and the subtler shades of groupthink and the psychology of influence. Trust Me explores it all with unfiltered honesty, dark humor, and a lot of heart. This isn’t a sensationalized deep dive into cults—it’s a compassionate, first-person exploration of what it means to believe, to belong, and to break free. At the end of the day, wanting to believe in something bigger than yourself is one of the most human instincts there is.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T16:18:33.645391+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347"},"episode":{"title":"Jasper Hoffman, Part 2 - Undercover Therapy, Leaving the Mennonites, and the Aftermath","slug":"jasper-hoffman-part-2-undercover-therapy-leaving-the-mennonites-and-the-aftermath","published_at":"2026-07-15T07:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347/jasper-hoffman-part-2-undercover-therapy-leaving-the-mennonites-and-the-aftermath","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347","url":"https://omny.fm/shows/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation/jasper-hoffman-part-2-undercover-therapy-leaving-the-mennonites-and-the-aftermath","audio_url":"https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f804eed6-dd2f-4bf9-ba37-b2de011a8b27/b7c3cf18-aa88-4131-b3c6-b483012f36cb/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=462fb424-93c4-4e4b-8e00-b2de011a8b44","summary":"This week, the girls are back with Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part two today, Jasper explains what the perfect Mennonite woman looked like, how concerns were raised when she wasn't compliant enough, and how over time she became depressed and developed an eating disorder in response to the pressures of the group. She’ll share how her mom secretly found her a therapist on the outside, even though it was against the rules, and how that therapist helped her write a letter to withdraw her membership, which led to the harassment of her family. We’ll talk about how she tried to go back after she left but realized she really didn’t belong, and why she started the Plain People’s Podcast. SOURCES The Plain People's Podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","meta_description":"This week, the girls are back with Jasper Hoffman, writer, podcaster, and former Mennonite. In part two today, Jasper explains what the perfect Mennonite…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3018,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347/episodes/jasper-hoffman-part-2-undercover-therapy-leaving-the-mennonites-and-the-aftermath/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347/jasper-hoffman-part-2-undercover-therapy-leaving-the-mennonites-and-the-aftermath.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}