On the Emmis

Mar 26 2022 2
On the Emmis Podcast artwork

Cults and cult-like organizations are front and center in society today—as they should be. We are becoming more aware of the insidious abuse perpetrated by programs that are supposed to help young people in the Troubled Teen Industry. Combining true crime, cult recovery, and a lot of dry, dark humor, the On the Emmis podcast unpacks and unveils the inner workings of Enthusiastic Sobriety Programs created by Bob Meehan and other high control groups. We'll have bi-monthly episodes that dive deep into specific topics, interviews with professionals and activists or survivors telling their stories.

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Agape Boarding School Survivor: Robert Bucklin // Surviving Institutionalized Abuse

Mar 26 2022 89 mins  
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse of childrenThis week I'm talking to Robert Bucklin, a survivor of the Agape Boarding School for Boys in Stockton Missouri. Robert's story is heartbreaking, horrifying, and infuriating. Now he's working to end the abuse at Agape Boarding School, and he's turning his tra

Janja Lalich, Ph.D.: Life and recovery after leaving Enthusiastic Sobriety programs

Mar 18 2022 77 mins  
I had the best time talking to Dr. Janja Lalich. Janja is a researcher, author, and educator specializing in cults and extremist groups, with a particular focus on charismatic relationships, political and other social movements, ideology and social control, and issues of gender and sexuality. She has been a consultant to educational, mental health, business, media, and legal profes

Anti-MLM stories: Danielle Bolster, LMHC // From Huns to Humans

Mar 09 2022 109 mins  
This week I sit down for a delightful conversation with Danielle Bolster, Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Danielle has her own podcast, "From Huns to Humans" where she talks about the detrimental effects of multi-level marketing on mental health. We talk about toxic diet culture, the allure and danger of "supplements", and the pressure women especially are und

Caroline and Meg, co-CEOs of UnSilenced: Creating real change in the "troubled teen" industry

Jan 28 2022 112 mins  
Meet Caroline Cole and Meg Applegate! They are survivors and the co-CEOs of Unsilenced, a grassroots movement of survivors and advocates speaking out about institutionalized child abuse in the troubled teen industry. Bob Meehan’s enthusiastic sobriety programs are only one example of an abusive adolescent “drug abuse” program. Unsilenced is working with survivors and allies t

Jo-Anne Liakakos, LPC: A licensed therapist weighs in on ES Programs

Jan 19 2022 104 mins  
This week I’m talking to Jo-Anne Liakakos, MA, LPC, NCC, CPCS of Major Counseling Solutions and Consulting in Alpharetta, GA. I wanted to interview Jo-Anne since she is a therapist and counselor who works with adolescents with substance use and general life issues, as well as adults with eating and personality disorders (and a bunch of other stuff). Jo-Anne and I discuss how we m

Survivor Story with Cindy - The Insight Program, Atlanta, Georgia: Abusive relationships after you leave

Jan 12 2022 94 mins  
This week I talk to Cindy, a survivor of the Insight Program in Atlanta. A common thread of survivors of any abusive high-control group is that they continue to find themselves in abusive relationships after they leave.Cindy wanted to tell her story to help others who may currently be in an abusive relationship or recovering from one in the past. ‼TW/CW for discussion of psycholo

Survivor Conversation with Mike Harper - The Crossroads Program, St. Louis, Missouri

Jan 10 2022 96 mins  
This week Mike and I are live on Twitch talking about Dr. Steve Hassan's BITE model. Check out Dr. Hassan's website here: https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/We started with the "B" in BITE: Behavior Control. It didn't take long for us to come to the conclusion that enthusiastic sobriety programs are, in fact, a cult. Enjoy!Wanna come on

Hyde School Survivor Part One: Rachel - The Hyde School, Woodstock Campus

Dec 31 2021 82 mins  
What do cold food, forced exercise, and being blindfolded and walked into the woods in a blizzard have in common? They're all used as forms of punishment at the Hyde School in Bath, Maine! This week's guest is a survivor of the Hyde School's Woodstock campus that has since been shut down. But before you high five us, they are still operating in other parts of New Eng

Survivor Story: Creator of the "Jim Jones" Facebook page - The Pathway Program, Phoenix, Arizona

Dec 17 2021 90 mins  
This week I interview the notorious "Jim Jones". Jim Jones was a Facebook account that popped up circa 2007 and blew up overnight. Jim Jones was speaking the truth about enthusiastic sobriety programs, and people were listening. It was the first place on Facebook for survivors to connect and tell their stories. Our movement would not be where it is today without this Face

Daniel Kolitz, author of "The Love Bomb" (Part One)

Dec 11 2021 56 mins  
In this interview, Daniel and I talk about the article that took over his life for 3 years: The Love Bomb. He explains how he stumbled on the story, and what it was like interviewing survivors of Bob Meehan's programs. We discuss Bob’s shady past that no one can quite verify or explain and whether or not him starting a cult was intentional or accidental. We could have talked