Instructional Video6:21
TED-Ed

TED-ED: Why do people join cults? - Janja Lalich

Pre-K - Higher Ed
Today, there are thousands of cults around the world. Broadly speaking, a cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that's typically embodied in a charismatic leader. But what exactly...
Instructional Video4:23
SciShow

Why Do People Join Cults?

12th - Higher Ed
It’s easy to assume that people who join cults have something wrong with them, but usually the people who join cults are just like the rest of us. So, how does it happen?
Instructional Video10:58
Curated Video

How Cult Leaders Use Language

6th - Higher Ed
New ReviewWhat do Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Hitler have in common? They were all obsessively studied by Jim Jones, the cult leader who convinced and coerced more than 900 members of his "People's Temple" to commit suicide in the...
Instructional Video10:52
PBS

Why Are We Obsessed with Cults?

12th - Higher Ed
What is it about cults that captures the public imagination? Why are we so interested in the stories of Jonestown, Charles Manson, and Patty Hearst? Today Danielle explores how these groups entered the public consciousness and why we...
Instructional Video6:22
Religion for Breakfast

Is There Any Difference Between a Cult and a Religion?

12th - Higher Ed
You've heard the term "cult" before. It conjures images of authoritarian leaders and sheep-like followers. Many people claim that some religious groups are not religions at all...but rather..."cults." But is there any real difference...
Instructional Video2:04
Encyclopaedia Britannica

EB Presents: Key Points of Jonestown Massacre

Pre-K - Higher Ed
Overview of Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and the 1978 massacre at Jonestown, Guyana.
News Clip6:54
Curated Video

Secretive Christian sect under scrutiny for allegations of sexual abuse

9th - Higher Ed
A B.C. woman says she was sexually abused as a teenager by a fellow member of a secretive Christian sect that has no official name but is most commonly called the Two-by-Twos, or 2x2s. CBC’s Karen Larsen breaks down the allegations and...
News Clip3:23
Curated Video

NXIVM leader sentenced to 120 years in prison

9th - Higher Ed
Keith Raniere, leader of the group NXIVM, has been convicted of sex trafficking, extortion and racketeering. He was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
News Clip1:54
Bloomberg

Bitcoin Isn't Good for Money Laundering, Taleb Says

Higher Ed
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Distinguished Scientific Advisor at Universa, says Bitcoin isn't good for money laundering and it's similar to a cult with a financial product. He speaks to Tom Keene at Bloomberg Invest New York 2023.
News Clip6:38
Curated Video

How Cults Work

Higher Ed
Some cults are religious. Others are political, polygamist or apocalyptic, like Q-anon.
News Clip12:55
The Recount

Cult Expert Rick Alan Ross Breaks Down NXIVM Case

Higher Ed
While the religious activities of cults are protected in the US by the First Amendment, the leader of secretive cult NXIVM, Keith Raniere, committed crimes when he exploited and manipulated its adherents, including cult member and former...
News Clip3:23
Curated Video

QAnon 'ReQovery' Meets Reality: U.S. Is Far Behind In Deradicalization

Higher Ed
Some experts say U.S. mental health community is woefully unprepared to help conspiracy cult followers break free.
News Clip1:56
Curated Video

CHINA: FALUN GONG CULT MEMBERS DEFY BAN

Higher Ed
Mandarin/Nat Chinese authorities have stepped up their campaign against the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The country's top religious claims the movement will soon be eradicated. The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong cult in July...
News Clip2:49
Curated Video

HONG KONG: FALUN GONG: NEW ANTI CULT LEGISLATION

Higher Ed
English/Nat China has passed new anti-cult legislation in an attempt to eradicate the banned Falun Gong movement. Their action paves the way for Falun Gong leaders to be given lengthy prison terms and possibly the death penalty. Police...
Instructional Video1:56
Curated Video

GNS WEEKLY NEWS: CHINA: FALUN GONG

Higher Ed
Mandarin/Nat Chinese authorities have stepped up their campaign against the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The country's top religious claims the movement will soon be eradicated. The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong cult in...
News Clip5:25
Bloomberg

Peter Thiel: Facebook Is Not a Monopoly

Higher Ed
Sept. 17 -- Palantir Co-Founder Peter Thiel discusses his outlook for tech companies. He speaks with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on Bloomberg West. (Source: Bloomberg)
Instructional Video
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

9th - 10th
Was it murder, or was it suicide? This documentary [01:30:00] tells the story of Jonestown, The People's Temple, and the over 900 followers of Jim Jones that perished in November 1978.