Newsletter - What Happens When We Worship Our Leaders
Is Trump About to Collapse?
I recently spoke with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen on his podcast, Mea Culpa. We spoke about Trump’s apparent mental collapse, and I explained the mechanics of mind control, how to protect yourself from it, and also spoke about examples of ethical influence and how we can do better.
Last night, I was honored to speak with the Recovering From Religion online support group at their weekly RFRX meeting; we will post a link to that video talk as soon as it is available, so watch this space.
This week for my Influence Continuum podcast, I was delighted to speak with my friend and spiritual mentor, Reb Moshe Waldoks, founding Rabbi at my own shul, Temple Beth Zion, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is a kind, gentle, and thoughtful man, and I credit him with my return to Judaism after my involvement in the Moonies. We talked about faith, independence, and his upcoming one-man play in Boston.
The New Yorker quoted me in an article about the “Starvation Cult” in Kenya. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) pastor, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested after leading followers to live in a forest compound and starve themselves to death to “meet Jesus.” There are 30-40 million Americans in NAR groups who actually believe Trump won the 2020 election. A huge part of his base of true believers because the followers follow their “prophet” blindly.
Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen, a former guest on my Influence Continuum podcast, experienced the Cult of Trump firsthand and has left with unparalleled insights into the mind of the man who has promised to dismantle the Constitution and Democracy. Why do people follow dictators? I help Cohen unpack the methods of controlling minds and offer hope for the future.
Reb Moshe is the son of Holocaust survivors and an “advocate for joy.” Reb Moshe attended a Yiddish-language yeshiva in New York City, completed an undergraduate degree focusing on the history of Jewish thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and earned a doctorate in Jewish intellectual history at Brandeis University.
Read the blog post or listen to the podcast, below:
In this compelling and heart-wrenching article by Alexis Okeowo of the New Yorker, I help bring some perspective to this ongoing tragedy in Kenya. This cult leader, Paul Mackenzie, is currently facing justice, but the lucrative industry of charismatic, high-control preaching is not going away.
As always, please let us know what you think about these pieces or what you’d like to see us discuss in the future. Thanks so much!
You seem extremely biased against Trump. It’s Biden whose mental health collapsed and they lied to everyone about that for the last few years. Thats a matter of National Security