{"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":"Martina Castro, Part 1 - Psychic Surgeries & John of God's Spiritual Celebrity","slug":"martina-castro-part-1-psychic-surgeries-john-of-god-s-spiritual-celebrity","published_at":"2026-02-18T08:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/trust-me-cults-extreme-belief-and-manipulation-1320347/martina-castro-part-1-psychic-surgeries-john-of-god-s-spiritual-celebrity","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/martina-castro-part-1-psychic-surgeries-john-of-gods-spiritual-celebrity","audio_url":"https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f804eed6-dd2f-4bf9-ba37-b2de011a8b27/e7b1fff0-642c-4766-8797-b3f001258503/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=462fb424-93c4-4e4b-8e00-b2de011a8b44","summary":"This week’s guest is Martina Castro, creator of podcast Two Faced: John of God, Exactly Right’s new podcast series about John of God, the Brazilian self-proclaimed healer and “psychic surgeon.” In part one, Martina explains John of God’s history and mythology, how he became internationally famous for his alleged healings (amplified by celebrities like Oprah), and the carefully primed environment he created called “the Casa.” Everyone dressed in white! Crystals! Waterfalls! And of course, lines of pilgrims watching him channel “doctor spirits” to supposedly heal the town's many visitors. They discuss how his “free healings” weren’t as free as promised, his so-called “invisible surgeries” that supposedly worked from across the globe, and the in-person healings he did that involved putting objects up uncomfortably far up people’s nasal cavities. And next week, we’ll get into the explosive allegations that came out during the #MeToo movement. SOURCES Two-Faced: John of God Dos Caras: Juan de Dios See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","meta_description":"This week’s guest is Martina Castro, creator of podcast Two Faced: John of God, Exactly Right’s new podcast series about John of God, the Braz…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2973,"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/martina-castro-part-1-psychic-surgeries-john-of-god-s-spiritual-celebrity/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/martina-castro-part-1-psychic-surgeries-john-of-god-s-spiritual-celebrity.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}