You may be familiar with Ayn Rand because of her popular novels, “The Fountainhead,” and “Atlas Shrugged.” But, you may not be aware that Rand was an authoritarian cult leader, and her ideology promoting selfishness continues to influence the GOP. Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia…
Ayn Rand’s Cult Leadership and Influence on the GOP and Celebrities Read More
The story of Aaron Kyereh-Mireku, a former member of a left-wing Trotskyist cult (IMT), is very important for two reasons. His experience is more proof that anyone can be seduced into a cult, no matter
International Marxist Tendency (IMT): A Left-Wing Trotskyist Cult Read More
This is Part II of my recent conversation with Yuri Shvets and Craig Unger about American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery. Part I focused on KGB cultivation of Donald Trump as an asset and Russian influence in the 2016 US election. In our conversation, both Shvets and Unger emphasized that the United States government needs to engage in counterintelligence based on the updated understanding of Russian operations. This would include tighter regulations on lobbying on behalf of Russia and more accountability for real estate and other business transactions that may support money laundering. Some modest changes have been proposed through the Corporate Transparency Act, but these regulations will not be sufficient.
Putin, Navalny, Ukraine and Russian Influence: Part Two Read More
My usual practice is to interview one person at a time and prepare a blog post based on that interview. But the opportunity to have a conversation with two people possessing such a depth of knowledge and personal experience was wonderful! The amount of information on Russian influence that came from our conversation requires more than one post.
Russian Influence on Trump and World Politics: American Kompromat Read More
On Sunday, January 10, 2021, I was invited to answer questions during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) for the subreddit group QAnonCasualties. This is a link to the entire thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/comments/kukco0/ama_with_steven_hassan_phd/. Below are most of
How to Help People Involved in QAnon–A Reddit AMA: QAnonCasualties Read More
When I was researching to write The Cult of Trump for Simon and Schuster, I was advised to read Dr. Scaminaci’s academic writings on Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW). What is it? It is a form
4th Generation Warfare and The Christian Right: A Discussion With James Scaminaci III Read More
Russian history expert Dr. Chrissy Stroop is back with a follow-up interview. She is an author, editor, and Stanford Ph.D., not only an activist. One of the reasons I wished to have her on was to discuss and promote the book she helped to edit, along with Lauren O’Neal, Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church. There is an exodus of people leaving authoritarian Christian organizations that use BITE model influence methods characteristic of destructive cults. Today’s religious media conglomerate which includes talk radio, television, and internet channels are a vast source of influence throughout the world. These are run by religious figures who have amassed huge fortunes from donations by true believers. Many of these pastors, preachers, apostles, and prophets preach a form of prosperity theology- give your money to the leader at their “church” and donors will be blessed and receive great wealth in return. Supposedly. But usually, they do not but they are told that they did not pray hard enough or that they had “sin” they need to confess. Faith must be total with no room for doubt.
I am excited to share another interview with my first mentor regarding thought reform and brainwashing, Robert Jay Lifton M.D.. (See the list of our previous interviews below). I last interviewed Dr. Lifton in January
A few weeks ago, Russian journalist Kseniya Kirillova asked me to do an interview with her about my book The Cult of Trump. I asked my friends if they knew of her work and they responded affirmatively, confirming that she was well respected. So, I decided to read a number of her articles which were highly critical of Putin, Russia, and activities that are despicable. Her article was entitled, “Veneration of Donald Trump is a Personality Cult.”
Many of you are aware that I have been writing a large number of blogs concerning the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. I have been working tremendously hard on an extremely short deadline to produce a book that connects the dots with my involvement with the Moon cult since 1974 and my fasting on the Capitol stairs for President Richard Nixon because “God wants Nixon to be President” despite Watergate and calls for impeachment. Sun Myung Moon was brought to meet Nixon right after the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast in 1974. Jeffrey Sharlet wrote about this group in two books, The Family and C Street. Recently, Netflix put online a docuseries on the Family which is a must see. My book goes into much, much more than this one group.
Announcing My New Book with Simon and Schuster Entitled The Cult of Trump Read More
This week, I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with Dr. Warren Throckmorton. He currently is Professor of Psychology at Grove City College. Dr. Throckmorton has his B.A. in psychology from Cedarville University, an M.A. in clinical psychology from Central Michigan University, and a Ph.D. from Ohio University in community counseling/counselor education. He is a professor, author and a Christian evangelical.
In 2012, he and GCC colleague Michael Coulter published Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President which fact-checks common claims made by Christian Nationalists about Thomas Jefferson.
Dominionism, Evangelicalism and Government: A Discussion With Dr. Warren Throckmorton Read More
This is the blog I did a while back about my friend Arno Michaelis. This new video interview at the bottom of this blog with Arno Michaelis is eye-opening, to say the least. It is certainly very educational. Learn about this courageous person. I believe it will inspire you and give you hope. People can and do leave hate groups, neo-Nazism, and White supremacy groups and go on to become wonderful citizens. He describes what it was like to be so full of hate:
Leaving A White Nationalist Cult of Hate: Helping and Serving Others with Love Read More
