Couverture de Hoodwinked with Dr. Mara Einstein

Hoodwinked with Dr. Mara Einstein

Hoodwinked with Dr. Mara Einstein

De : Dr. Mara Einstein
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What if your favorite brand—or your favorite influencer—used the same playbook as a cult?

Hoodwinked with Dr. Mara Einstein unpacks how modern marketing borrows tactics from cults, MLMs, and political movements to win hearts, minds, and wallets. Through conversations with academics, activists, and insiders, Einstein—author of Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults—reveals how belief and commerce became inseparable in the digital age.

From influencer culture and wellness scams to pyramid schemes and political persuasion, Hoodwinked traces the hidden connections between belief and manipulation. Each episode explores how the same tools that keep followers loyal also keep consumers buying—and how to recognize when inspiration turns into indoctrination.

Produced by Multitude

© Dr. Mara Einstein Développement personnel Hygiène et vie saine Psychologie Psychologie et psychiatrie Réussite personnelle Sciences sociales
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    Épisodes
    • Getting Out: Cult Recovery, Religious Trauma, and How to Help Someone Leave

      Getting Out: Cult Recovery, Religious Trauma, and How to Help Someone Leave
      Feb 3 2026
      When it comes to cults–from MLM to MAGA–the question everyone wants answered is: how do I get my loved one out? In this episode, Dr. Mara Einstein tackles that question with Dr. Tanya Johnson, a therapist specializing in religious trauma, cult recovery, and high-control groups. She explains the cult recovery process while providing insights from her experience growing up Mormon.In this episode, you’ll hear:Dr. Johnson’s personal background growing up in the Mormon church in Salt Lake City and what “normal” looks like when the belief system is the culture.How doubt begins: the strain of “mental gymnastics,” and what it feels like to allow the thought “what if it isn’t true?”The “shelf break” metaphor—the point where accumulated contradictions collapse, and belief can’t be forced back into place.Belief isn’t purely a choice—and why high-control systems can be especially brittle when core truth-claims fail.The more a group demands obedience to an external authority over your own judgment, the more “high-control” it is.The aftermath: grief, anger, disorientation, community loss—and why leaving can feel like a death and a divorce at the same time.How cults and high-control groups work (and how to recognize them):Dr. Johnson references frameworks like Steven Hassan’s BITE Model, but also offers her own practical lens: “location of authority”, who has the final say in your life—you, or an external authority you’re expected to obey?If you’re trying to help someone who’s still inside:Why arguing facts often fails (closed-loop logic, thought-stopping clichés, fear, exhaustion).What works better: staying connected, asking calm questions, and keeping the relationship intact so there’s somewhere safe to land when the shelf finally breaks.Why vulnerability—not intelligence—is the real risk factor. There is no category of “people who could never fall for this.”For therapists and clinicians:This work requires specific training, because clients from high-control environments may instinctively transfer authority to the therapist, making it essential to keep handing power back.Transcript: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6356d82640973e1b507b0d53/t/6981db95b11b345ec4a7d8e0/1770118037527/Ep8_Transcript_HoodwinkedWithDrMaraEinstein.pdfAbout the guestDr. Tanya Johnson is a licensed mental health counselor, clinical supervisor, and professor with specializations in religious trauma and cult recovery, neurodivergence, and cross-cultural communication. As a Cuban-American, queer, neurodivergent ex-Mormon, Dr. Tanya blends personal insight and over 15 years of clinical experience to her work. She supports clients through her private practice, Evolve Counseling Center, mentors early-career therapists in her membership community, Colorful Minds Collective, and teaches counseling students as an adjunct professor at Antioch University. Based in Miami, Florida, Dr. Tanya is licensed in both Florida and Washington State. She holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Utah, an MA in Counseling from Liberty University, and a PhD in Counseling with a specialization in Marital and Family Therapy from Barry University.Counseling: www.evolvecounselingcenter.com Colorful Minds Collective: www.colorfulmindscollective.com About the hostDr. Mara Einstein spent a decade in corporate marketing working for some of the world’s biggest brands before turning her focus to exposing the industry’s inner workings. Now a tenured professor of media studies at CUNY, she’s dedicated to helping people understand how marketing shapes what we buy, what we believe, and even who we think we are. With a background spanning business, media, and the arts, Dr. Einstein brings sharp insight and humor to the systems that sell us our identities—and the power we have to push back.Pick up Dr. Einstein’s book Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults on Bookshop.org (and beyond): https://bookshop.org/a/116018/9781493086153Website: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com Books: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com/writing Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @drmaraeinsteinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Drmaraeinstein CreditsProduction: MultitudeLead Producer & Editor: Bren FrederickMusic: Marc LangerCover art: Cayla EinsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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      42 min
    • Influencers, Algorithms, and the Business of Belief

      Influencers, Algorithms, and the Business of Belief
      Jan 20 2026
      What happens to democracy, trust, and shared reality when influence is driven by engagement rather than truth—and belief itself becomes a business model? In Episode 7, Dr. Mara Einstein sits down with two other experts to examine how digital influence actually works today—and why it has become one of the most powerful belief-shaping systems of our time.In Part 1, Dr. Mara is joined by Sam Ogborn, a marketing strategist and content creator who understands platforms from the inside. Sam explains how influencer culture really functions behind the scenes: why follower counts no longer matter, how creators are incentivized to keep producing regardless of pay, and how platforms quietly shift risk onto unpaid labor. Together, they unpack the myths of authenticity, the rise of stealth brand partnerships, and why “values-driven” branding often collapses when tested.So when brands and platforms begin to replace social institutions, what obligations do they actually have—and what happens when there’s no accountability? In Part 2, Dr. Mara speaks with Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Ahmed traces how misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories spread—not because they’re fringe, but because they’re profitable. He explains how algorithms reward outrage, how influencers act as the retail layer of extremist ecosystems, and why young people are now among the most conspiratorial demographics. They also discuss why platforms resist transparency, how Section 230 shields tech companies from accountability, and why generative AI threatens to push disinformation into a new phase—where lies can be generated, tested, and optimized at scale.Transcript: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6356d82640973e1b507b0d53/t/69701683d66c2c128b4013ec/1768953475833/Ep7_Transcript_HoodwinkedWithDrMaraEinstein+%281%29.pdfAbout the guest — Sam OgbornMarketing strategist Sam Ogborn has transformed her corporate experience at Red Bull and Synchrony into a multifaceted career spanning CMO advisory work, content creation, and academia. With 150,000+ followers drawn to her big-picture marketing insights, she's built a professional path that balances strategic consulting, online media, and teaching.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samogborn/?hl=en Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samogbornn About the guest — Imran AhmedImran Ahmed is the founding CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. He is a recognized authority on the social and psychological dynamics of social media, as well as what goes wrong in those spaces, such as trolling, identity-based hate, misinformation, conspiracy theories, modern extremism, and fake news. He regularly features in the media as an expert in online malignant behaviour and how bad actors use digital spaces to harm others and benefit themselves. Imran is a trustee of the UK charity, Victim Support. He advises politicians in the US, UK, Europe, and elsewhere on policy and legislation. Imran was raised in Manchester, England. He holds an MA in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Imran lives in Washington, DC.Website: https://protectingkidsonline.org/ About the hostDr. Mara Einstein spent a decade in corporate marketing working for some of the world’s biggest brands before turning her focus to exposing the industry’s inner workings. Now a tenured professor of media studies at CUNY, she’s dedicated to helping people understand how marketing shapes what we buy, what we believe, and even who we think we are. With a background spanning business, media, and the arts, Dr. Einstein brings sharp insight and humor to the systems that sell us our identities—and the power we have to push back.Pick up Dr. Einstein’s book Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults on Bookshop.org (and beyond): https://bookshop.org/a/116018/9781493086153Website: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com Books: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com/writing Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @drmaraeinsteinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Drmaraeinstein CreditsProduction: MultitudeLead Producer & Editor: Bren FrederickMusic: Marc LangerCover art: Cayla EinsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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      1 h et 26 min
    • Digital media changed the game

      Digital media changed the game
      Jan 6 2026
      Digital technologies have been fundamental to the proliferation and perpetuation of cults of all kinds. Joining Dr. Mara Einstein for an examination of belief, power, and persuasion are two very special guests: one a theologian and the other an internet scholar. Together they make the case that we are not just living with technology—we are living inside its belief systems. And without conscious resistance, reform, and real-world community, those systems will continue to define reality for us. In Part 1, Dr. Mara speaks with Greg Epstein, humanist chaplain at Harvard and author of Tech Agnostic. From founders as prophets to platforms as congregations, tech didn’t just borrow religious metaphors—it replaced religion for many people, without the safeguards, humility, or reform movements that traditional religions developed over time. But if tech behaves like a religion, does it also behave like a cult? Together, Dr. Mara and Greg unpack charismatic leaders, apocalyptic thinking around AI, the myth of “doing good,” and why some of the most powerful people in tech may sincerely believe they’re saving the world—while making democracy, equality, and community harder to sustain.In Part 2, Dr. Mara is joined by Jamie Cohen, a media scholar who studies digital culture, from surveillance capitalism to online radicalization. Algorithms, advertising infrastructure, data extraction, and prediction systems don’t just sell products—they sort people into belief systems. Micro-targeted ads, grievance-based online movements, incel and extremist ecosystems, and how algorithms reward identity silos, free labor, and radicalization all connect directly to cult dynamics: closed information loops, in-group language, moral certainty, and the increasing difficulty of exit.Mentioned in this episode:BooksTech Agnostic — Greg EpsteinGood Without God — Greg EpsteinHoodwinked — Dr. Mara EinsteinLife 3.0 — Max TegmarkThe Drama of the Gifted Child — Alice MillerAbout the guest — Greg EpsteinGreg M. Epstein serves as Humanist Chaplain at Harvard & MIT, where he advises students, faculty, and staff members on ethical and existential concerns from a humanist perspective. He was TechCrunch's first “ethicist in residence” and has been called “a symbol of the transition in how Americans relate to organized religion” (The Conversation). He is the author of the New York Times-bestselling book Good Without God and has also written for MIT Technology Review, CNN.com, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. His most recent book is Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation.About the guest — Jamie CohenJamie Cohen is an associate professor of Media Studies at CUNY Queens College. He is also a Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change faculty fellow. Jamie is a digital culture expert, and his work focuses on internet literacies, memes, and visual media. His current project is Angry Boys Among Us: How the Manosphere Became Culture, and What We Can Do About It, an exploration of the manufactured manosphere created by an interconnected network of online men’s influencers and entertainers who subsist and profit by exploiting vulnerable young men’s fears and anxieties.About the hostDr. Mara Einstein spent a decade in corporate marketing working for some of the world’s biggest brands before turning her focus to exposing the industry’s inner workings. Now a tenured professor of media studies at CUNY, she’s dedicated to helping people understand how marketing shapes what we buy, what we believe, and even who we think we are. With a background spanning business, media, and the arts, Dr. Einstein brings sharp insight and humor to the systems that sell us our identities—and the power we have to push back.Pick up Dr. Einstein’s book Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults on Bookshop.org (and beyond): https://bookshop.org/a/116018/9781493086153Website: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com Books: https://www.drmaraeinstein.com/writing Instagram, TikTok, Threads: @drmaraeinsteinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Drmaraeinstein CreditsProduction: MultitudeLead Producer & Editor: Bren FrederickMusic: Marc LangerCover art: Cayla Einstein See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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      1 h et 11 min
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