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A Little Bit Culty

A Little Bit Culty

Auteur(s): Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames
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 Think you might be in a cult? Want to know the signs? Join Sarah Edmondson and Anthony “Nippy” Ames to talk about things that are..a little bit culty. Or in their case: a whole bunch of culty. As whistleblowers documented in the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Vow,” Sarah and Nippy have a lot to say about their experience, and burning questions to ask people with similar stories. They’re here to help people understand, heal from, and avoid abusive situations one little red flag at a time. Listen in as they share their stories, have frank and unscripted conversations with other survivors and cult experts, and do a deep dive on how devotion can turn to dysfunction.© © 2022 A Little Bit Culty Sciences sociales
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  • The Guru Wears Prada: Sofia May on Surviving Tibetan Buddhism at Tara Mandala (Part 2)

    The Guru Wears Prada: Sofia May on Surviving Tibetan Buddhism at Tara Mandala (Part 2)
    Feb 12 2026

    In Part 2 of our conversation with Sofia May, she continues sharing her experiences connected to Tara Mandala and the community around lama Tsultrim Allione. We get into the messy, nuanced territory where Buddhist teachings, spiritual leadership, and real-world power dynamics intersect. We explore what draws people to Tibetan Buddhist communities and retreat centers in the first place, and how things can get complicated when reverence, hierarchy, and human behavior collide. Sofia shared her perspective on navigating doubt, loyalty, and disillusionment, and what happens when your spiritual home starts raising hard questions instead of providing easy answers.


    We also zoom out to look at broader patterns across guru-centered and high-demand spiritual communities, including teacher-student dynamics, accountability gaps, community pressure, and spiritual bypassing. This conversation isn’t about flattening every Buddhist or Tara Mandala experience into one story, but about building discernment, consent, and self-trust when engaging with any spiritual teacher or organization. If you’ve ever wrestled with concerns about a spiritual leader or practice community, this one’s for you.


    Be sure to check out the article in Guru Magazine in which Sofia May first shares her Tara Mandala experience, and follow her comedy journey on Instagram or TikTok @sofiamaycomedy.


    Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of child and sexual abuse, coercive influence, and religious/spiritual trauma.


    Also…let it be known that:

    The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.


    **PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book here

    Check out our amazing sponsors

    Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon

    Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag

    Support the pod and smash this link

    Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources

    Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred


    CREDITS:

    Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

    Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

    Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

    Audio production: Will Retherford

    Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore

    Writer: Sandra Nomoto

    Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane

    Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin




    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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    59 min
  • The Guru Wears Prada: Sofia May on Surviving Tibetan Buddhism at Tara Mandala (Part 1)

    The Guru Wears Prada: Sofia May on Surviving Tibetan Buddhism at Tara Mandala (Part 1)
    Feb 9 2026

    In Part 1 of this conversation with stand-up comedian and former Tara Mandala practitioner Sofia May, she joins us to talk about how a beautiful Tibetan Buddhist retreat center in the Colorado mountains—founded by western author lama Tsultrim Allione—slowly revealed a deeply culty underbelly beneath the goddess imagery and tantric empowerment language. Sofia traces her path from sincere Buddhist seeker to close student of lama Tsultrim inside Tara Mandala’s residential community. She describes the powerful draw of the center’s practices, trauma‑informed branding, and female‑centered spirituality, and how all that coexisted with secrecy, hierarchy, and a guru culture where doubt was pathologized and obedience was framed as devotion.


    We also get into the day‑to‑day dynamics at Tara Mandala—unpaid or underpaid labor justified as spiritual service, pressure to attend costly retreats and trainings, complex power plays in teacher–student relationships, and how survivors are now comparing notes about gaslighting, spiritual bypassing, and psychological harm in a place that promised healing above all. You’ll want to read the article in Guru Magazine in which Sofia May first shared her experience, and stay tuned for Part 2.


    And be sure to follow Sofia May’s comedy journey on Instagram or TikTok @sofiamaycomedy.


    Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of sexual abuse and violence, spiritual and psychological abuse, financial and labor exploitation misogyny and boundary violations, and trauma.


    Also…let it be known that:

    The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.


    **PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book here

    Check out our amazing sponsors

    Join A Little Bit Culty on Patreon

    Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag

    Support the pod and smash this link

    Check out our cult awareness and recovery resources

    Watch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, Scarred


    CREDITS:

    Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

    Production Partner: Citizens of Sound

    Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

    Audio production: Will Retherford

    Production Coordinator: Lesli Dinsmore

    Writer: Sandra Nomoto

    Social media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke Keane

    Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin




    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    35 min
  • I Belong to Me: Tia Levings on Rebuilding After Religious Trauma (Part 2)

    I Belong to Me: Tia Levings on Rebuilding After Religious Trauma (Part 2)
    Feb 5 2026
    In Part 2 of our conversation with author Tia Levings, we go even deeper into what it actually takes to leave a high-control Christian fundamentalist marriage and rebuild a life on the other side. Tia shares more about how religious doctrine, patriarchy, and fear were used to justify control, submission, and abuse, and how difficult it can be to recognize harm when it’s framed as God’s will or “biblical womanhood.”We talk about spiritual abuse, domestic abuse in religious communities, and the psychological gymnastics required to survive when obedience is treated as virtue and autonomy is treated as sin. Tia unpacks the long-term impact of purity culture, religious trauma, and coercive control, especially for women and children raised inside authoritarian belief systems. We also dig into grief, anger, and the slow, radical work of reclaiming agency after leaving a marriage and a faith structure that demanded self-erasure.As always, we look at the bigger patterns: how fundamentalist Christianity and other high-demand belief systems create conditions where abuse is normalized, victims are silenced, and leaving comes at an enormous personal cost. Tia’s voice is clear, compassionate, and unflinching—and her story is a powerful reminder that survival itself can be an act of defiance.Paperback copies of A Well-Trained Wife are available February 20, and you can pre-order Tia’s upcoming book, I Belong to Me, coming May 5. Follow her at tialevings.com and on social media @tialevingswriter.Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of domestic and spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and misogyny.Also…let it be known that:The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.**PRE-ORDER Sarah and Nippy's newest book hereCheck out our amazing sponsorsJoin A Little Bit Culty on PatreonGet poppin’ fresh ALBC SwagSupport the pod and smash this linkCheck out our cult awareness and recovery resourcesWatch Sarah's TED Talk and buy her memoir, ScarredCREDITS:Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony AmesProduction Partner: Citizens of SoundCo-Creator: Jess TardyAudio production: Will RetherfordProduction Coordinator: Lesli DinsmoreWriter: Sandra NomotoSocial media team: Eric Skwarzynski and Brooke KeaneTheme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel AsselinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    42 min
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I loved this episode. It gave strong insight into the experiences both during and after leaving the cults.

excellent!!

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