Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong; to find a deeper meaning in life; to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff₂s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it₂s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it₂s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick. The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics, the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast₂s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled here are as disturbing as they are stunning, from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Ral︠, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing.

Title from web page. Table of contents from print edition. Compact discs.

Shame: Charles Manson and the family -- Shame: Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo and the Narcosatanists -- Exploitation: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh -- Exploitation: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple -- Pathological lying: Claude Vorilhon and Raëlism -- Sadism: Roch Thériault and the Ant Hill Kids -- Megalomania: David Koresh and the Branch Davidians -- Sadism: Keith Raniere and NXIVM -- Escape: Credonia Mwerinde and the Movement for the Restorationi of the Ten Commandments of God -- Denial of Reality: Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate.