This week, Liz and Tyler head straight into the sweaty “this-is-definitely-not-a-cult-except-maybe-it-definitely-is” world of Ashtanga yoga.

Our guest, Magnolia Zuniga, was one of only 20 women in the world to become a Certified Ashtanga teacher. She spent 22 years inside the system — traveling to India, waking up before the crack of dawn, giving up apartments, and building her entire life around the practice and the man who created it.

Then, on her very first day studying with master Pattabhi Jois — the “grandfather” of modern yoga — she witnessed something that shattered everything she thought she knew.

What followed was years of confusion, devotion, cognitive dissonance, community pressure, and the slow unraveling of everything she believed Ashtanga Yoga to be.

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FOLLOW MAGNOLIA

YouTube: @MagnoliaSezSo

Instagram: @magnoliasezso

Magnolia's Newsletter

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we got the email inviting us to interview journalist Natalie Robehmed about her new CBC + Campsite Media podcast, Allison After NXIVM, we weren’t sure what to do. Talking about Allison Mack — someone who caused very real harm, including to people we’ve had on this show - is complicated.

And honestly? We didn’t want to accidentally platform or sanitize that harm.

But then we listened. And what we found wasn’t a redemption story. It was complexity. It was discomfort. It was a journalist tracing how someone can be both a victim and a perpetrator.

In this conversation, Natalie takes us behind her interviews with Allison: childhood exploitation, Hollywood pressures, the hunger to be “the best,” and the dynamics of NXIVM’s inner circle that turned all of that into something horrifying.

We’re not here to tell you how to feel about Allison Mack.

But we are here to sit in the space where victimhood and violence blur -

the space where a person realizes the monster they were running from is the one they learned to be.

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LISTEN TO "ALLISON AFTER NXIVM"

Hear Natalie's full 7-part investigation into Allison Mack (or search Allison After NXIVM wherever you get your podcasts.

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If you believe in what we’re doing - shining a light on manipulation, coercion, and the messy psychology behind it - please rate, review, and share the podcast.

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We’d love to hear from you - drop us a line at info@wasiinacult.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

She survived a violent polygamist cult.

She survived a husband who collected wives like property.

She survived the blood atonement doctrine that stalked her childhood like a shadow.

But this is the part of Pamela Jones’s story where she does the impossible:

she runs.

In this final chapter of our three-part series, Pamela plans an escape nearly as dangerous as the life she’s leaving behind—nine children in tow, no legal paperwork for half of them, almost no money, and the very real fear that leaving could mean death.

This episode isn’t just about leaving a cult.

It’s about rebuilding an identity from scratch.

It’s about motherhood as revolution.

It’s about reclaiming a life she was told she never owned.

And it’s the story of what Pamela built on the other side—freedom, love, a business, and a legacy that’s inspiring other women to walk out of the same darkness she escaped.

Her transformation is staggering.

Her resilience is unforgettable.

Her ending is exactly what she deserved.

Pamela’s memoir, The Dirt Beneath Our Door, is linked in the show notes.

_____________

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For more culty content —

follow us on Instagram & TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you believe in what we’re doing (and want to help us keep shining light on the dark corners of control and charisma), please rate, review, and share the podcast. It helps more than you know.

Want to go deeper down the rabbit hole?

Join us on Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus content, and our eternal gratitude for helping us keep these stories alive.

HAVE A CULTY STORY?

We’d love to hear from you — drop us a line at info@wasiinacult.com.

CONNECT WITH PAMELA JONES

You can follow Pamela Jones — speaker, author, survivor, and all-around badass — here:

• Her Book: The Dirt Beneath Our Door
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.