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This, Again

This, Again

De : Mallory Faust
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You may think you know these stories, but not like this. This, Again is where historical disasters, delusions, downfalls, and déjà vu collide with human psychology. From palace scandals, space shuttle explosions, nightclub fires to witch trials, host Mallory Faust takes the moments in history you thought you understood and reveals the blind spots, egos, and eerie echoes you missed. It’s darkly funny, sharp, and empathetic - and it just might change how you see the past repeating in real time.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. Science Sciences sociales
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  • Inside the Minds of Cult Leaders and Followers: Pt. 2 (The Digital Era)

    Inside the Minds of Cult Leaders and Followers: Pt. 2 (The Digital Era)
    Mar 12 2026
    In the second episode of this two-part series on cults, we look at what happens when cult psychology collides with the digital world. The online relationship movement known as Twin Flames Universe promised followers that a single destined partner existed for each person and that spiritual coaching could reunite them with that soulmate. Behind the scenes, former members describe a system that pressured followers to pursue relationships that had already ended and invest thousands of dollars in coaching programs. We also examine the strange and disturbing story of Love Has Won, a livestreamed spiritual movement built around a woman who claimed she was guiding humanity through a cosmic transformation. For years, followers broadcast their lives online while building a belief system around the figure they called Mother God. These modern movements raise an unsettling question. Are we witnessing the emergence of a new age of cults driven by digital platforms and online communities? Or are the same psychological patterns that fueled earlier cults simply finding new ways to organize and spread? Drawing on research from psychologists and sociologists who study high control groups and digital culture, this episode explores how belief, belonging, and identity operate in the networked world. Because while the technology surrounding these movements may look new, the forces shaping them may be far older. Attribution Notes: Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust. Sources and Further Reading Hines, Alice. “Inside the Twin Flames Universe and Its Always Online, All-Consuming World.” Vanity Fair, December 3, 2020. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/12/inside-the-all-consuming-world-of-twin-flames-universe Associated Press. “Michigan Attorney General Says She Is Investigating a Company Promoting ‘Twin Flame’ Romance.” Associated Press, March 5, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/a03d0734e11b6ebde2e5f7331818b1d8 Netflix. Escaping Twin Flames. Accessed March 12, 2026. https://www.netflix.com/title/81615919 Borden, Jane. “Mother God, Robin Williams, and Alcohol as Medicine: Inside Love Has Won.” Vanity Fair, November 14, 2023. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/11/love-has-won-mother-god-cult-amy-carlson Buchanan, Kyle. “The True Story Behind HBO’s Love Has Won.” Time, November 14, 2023. https://time.com/6333436/love-has-won-true-story-hbo/ Lifton, Robert Jay. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of ‘Brainwashing’ in China. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. https://uncpress.org/book/9780807842539/thought-reform-and-the-psychology-of-totalism/ Hassan, Steven. Combating Cult Mind Control. Freedom of Mind Press. https://freedomofmind.com/combating-cult-mind-control/ Tufekci, Zeynep. Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Yale University Press, 2017. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300231212/twitter-and-tear-gas/ Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bowling-Alone/Robert-D-Putnam/9780743203043 Cialdini, Robert. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Business, 2006. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/influence-new-and-expanded-robert-b-cialdini Lalich, Janja, and Madeleine Tobias. Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships. Bay Tree Publishing, 2006. https://www.janjalalich.com/books/
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    30 min
  • Inside the Minds of Cult Leaders and Followers: Pt. 1 (1960s-1990s)

    Inside the Minds of Cult Leaders and Followers: Pt. 1 (1960s-1990s)
    Feb 26 2026
    In this episode of This, Again, we trace the evolution of cults from the obvious monsters of the 1960s and 70s, the Manson Family, Jonestown, and Heaven’s Gate, to the respectable reinventions of the 1980s and 90s like NXIVM, Scientology, and multi-level marketing empires. What do these groups share beneath the costumes, the jargon, and the business cards? The same psychological mechanics: obedience, conformity, charisma, sunk cost fallacy, and the intoxicating promise of belonging. Drawing on scholars like Robert Lifton, Margaret Singer, Janja Lalich, Steven Hassan, and Philip Zimbardo, I explore how cult leaders weaponize trust and how ordinary people, people like us, become devoted enough to give up their freedom, their money, even their lives. And by the end, we land on a harder question. If the robes and UFOs were easy to spot, what happens when cult dynamics put on a suit and walk into the boardroom? This is Part 1 of a two-part series. In Part 2, we move into the modern era, where cult dynamics no longer stand out at all, but blend into our feeds, our fandoms, and our politics. Attribution Notes: Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust. Books and Major Works Cited Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Harper Business, 1984. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/influence-robert-b-cialdini.Hassan, Steven. Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults. Freedom of Mind Press, 2015. https://freedomofmind.com/product/combating-cult-mind-control/.Lalich, Janja, and Madeleine Tobias. Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships. Berkeley: Bay Tree Publishing, 2006. https://baytreepublishing.com/take-back-your-life/.Lifton, Robert Jay. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of Brainwashing in China. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1961. https://uncpress.org/book/9780807845045/thought-reform-and-the-psychology-of-totalism/.Singer, Margaret Thaler, and Janja Lalich. Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Cults+in+Our+Midst%3A+The+Continuing+Fight+Against+Their+Hidden+Menace%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9780787953729.Swann, William B., Jr., and Colleagues. Identity Fusion: The Interplay of Personal and Social Identity in Extreme Group Behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. (Foundational research summary). https://global.oup.com/academic/product/identity-fusion-9780199604481. Historical and Case Sources Bugliosi, Vincent. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. New York: Norton, 1974. https://wwnorton.com/books/Helter-Skelter/. Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor’s Story of Life and Death in the People’s Temple. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2006. Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton: 9780385489843 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Academic Studies and Classic Social Psychology Festinger, Leon. “A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.” Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance | Stanford University PressJanis, Irving L. Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972. Victims Of GROUPTHINK Irving L. JanisMilgram, Stanley. “Behavioral Study of Obedience.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67, no. 4 (1963): Behavioral Study of Obedience / by Stanley Milgram. - University of Texas at AustinZimbardo, Philip G. “The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment.” Naval Research Reviews 30, no. 9 (1973): 4-17. Stanford Prison Experiment Authoritative Summaries and Reporting on Cults “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.” PBS. Watch Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple | American Experience | Official Site | PBS“Heaven’s Gate Cult: Members Found Dead.” History.com. Heaven's Gate cult members found dead | March 26, 1997 | HISTORY“Scientology: What It Is, Facts and History.” BBC News.“Multi-Level Marketing Schemes and How They Work.” Federal Trade Commission. Multi-Level Marketing Businesses and Pyramid Schemes | Consumer Advice Psychology Theory Summaries Swann, William B., Jamie L. Jetten, and Colleagues. “Identity Fusion: The Role of Shared Identity in Extreme Group Behavior.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 18, no. 1 (2009): 38-42. Identity Fusion on JSTORFestinger, Leon, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter. When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group That Predicted the ...
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    29 min
  • The Radium Cover-up and Dangers of Institutional Delay

    The Radium Cover-up and Dangers of Institutional Delay
    Feb 12 2026

    In the early 20th century, hundreds of women were employed to paint luminous watch dials using radium-based paint. Despite early warnings from medical experts, companies continued to insist the work was safe. This episode examines the history of the Radium Girls, focusing on what corporate leaders knew, how they delayed accountability, and the lasting legal and public health consequences. It also draws a direct line to modern chemical exposure cases, including PFAS contamination. Supported by court records, contemporaneous news reports, and government data, this episode explores how institutional denial functions, and why the same patterns persist today.

    Attribution Notes:

    • Every effort was made to cross-check primary sources and modern research. Where paraphrasing is used, it’s drawn from the texts below with narrative license for clarity and flow.
    • If you spot an error or have a source to suggest, DM @thisagainshow

    Follow This, Again on Instagram: @thisagainshow

    This, Again is written, produced, and hosted by Mallory Faust.

    While this episode has some narrative interpretations, it draws heavily from primary source materials, historical journalism, and expert reporting.

    Moore, Kate. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2017. https://www.sourcebooks.com/9781492650959-the-radium-girls-tp.html

    Clark, Claudia. Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910–1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. https://uncpress.org/book/9780807846407/radium-girls

    Martland, Harrison S., Philip Conlon, and Joseph P. Knef. “Some Unrecognized Dangers in the Use and Handling of Radioactive Substances.” Journal of the American Medical Association 85, no. 23 (1925): 1769–76. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/238584

    Rich, Nathaniel. “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare.” The New York Times Magazine, January 6, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-duponts-worst-nightmare.html

    Library of Congress. “Radium Girls: Living Dead Women.” Headlines and Heroes (blog), March 11, 2019. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/03/radium-girls-living-dead-women

    Fryer v. U.S. Radium Corporation, Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County, 1927–1928. Records Related to Radium Dial Painters, 1917–1949

    Leach v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Circuit Court of West Virginia, Wood County, No. 01-C-698, filed 2001. Class action settlement available via DuPont C8 Health Project. Dupont_case.pdf

    United States Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021–2024. Washington, DC: EPA, October 2021. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-10/pfas-roadmap_final-508.pdf
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    38 min
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