• Introducing a new podcast: Matter Over Mind
    Feb 4 2025

    Introducing Matter Over Mind.

    Former Cult Hackers host, Stephen has let his daughter Celine have some time off, and instead has recruited her fiancé, Thomas to explore the mysteries of the Universe through physics and psychology. Thomas is an experimental physicist and Stephen is a Business Psychologist, so they quiz each other about hot topics in the science podcast and YouTube ecosystem. A pair of episodes come out every fortnight - one physics and one psychology. Check it out!

    Podcast: https://pod.link/1788940184

    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@matterovermindpodcast?si=GuPFZnOdmsmXV6Ie

    Open FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659

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    3 mins
  • Challenging Leadership
    Oct 29 2024

    Introducing Challenging Leadership, a new podcast with Stephen and Jared. Check out Season 1 now - Season 2 coming soon.

    https://pod.link/1712306504

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    2 mins
  • The End is Nigh: Our last ever Cult Hackers Podcast.
    Aug 9 2024

    This is our last ever Cult Hackers podcast. We say goodbye and thank you to all our listeners and supporters over the years We also explore our final topic of the podcast, that of tribes, and ask whether we are experiencing the cultification of the internet through social media platforms.

    If you'd like to keep in touch you can contact us at:

    https://www.culthackers.com/contact

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    35 mins
  • Why are there riots in the UK?
    Aug 6 2024

    The UK has seen a week of rioting and civil disorder. What is the background, why are people rioting? And reflections from the previous episode about whether culture needs defending in light of these events.

    Contact us: https://www.culthackers.com/contact

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    36 mins
  • Does Culture Need Defending?
    Jul 21 2024

    Was my upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness a multicultural one? Does culture need defending? Should we accept all cultural differences? Is the UK an Islamic country as is claimed by J D Vance? Can different cultural practices live side by side? What is the link between culture and cults? Do businesses have cultures? All questions discussed in today's episode.

    Links

    Reach out to us an d let us know if we can read your email on the show: https://www.culthackers.com/contact

    Riley's Jexit Episode about Race and Jehovah's Witnesses

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zddbVGPmzc0

    Ted Cantle's Report about Community Cohesion

    https://tedcantle.co.uk/pdf/Parallel%20lives%20Ted%20Cantle.pdf

    Denise Wise LinkTree

    https://linktr.ee/DeniseWise

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    37 mins
  • Rituals: The Mind's Magic Trick
    Jul 12 2024

    Rituals are powerful. They have been a part of our shared culture since the beginning - why? And how do cults use them?

    To talk to us: https://www.culthackers.com/contact

    To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/culthackers/posts

    References: The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework

    Video of Speaker being dragged to the chair to take up his role.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k-BXhhCT6c

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    38 mins
  • Getting pushed around: A tyranny of nudges
    Jul 5 2024

    Today's episode explores Nudge Theory, more correctly Behavioral Economics and how too many nudges can start to make us feel pushed around.

    Referenced paper

    https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w20007/w20007.pdf

    Contact us: https://www.culthackers.com/contact

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    23 mins
  • Why quitting can be good
    Jun 30 2024

    Quitting is often treated as a sign of a weak character, but for those of us who quit a toxic cultic group it was one of the best things we've ever done. In this episode Stephen looks at some of the research on quitting and why we need to get good at knowing when to do it. Stephen also uses the topic to consider the fallout from the first US Presidential Election Debate, when it's time to bow out and the risks of groupthink and gaslighting.

    Contact us at: https://www.culthackers.com/

    References: Steven Levitt's podcast https://pod.link/1525936566/episode/bd425d4077c944aefaaca4a4a53bde60

    Steven Levitt paper: Heads or Tails: The Impact of a Coin Toss on Major Life Decisions and Subsequent

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    32 mins