The Business of Cults is a three-part series hosted by Rebekah Sebastian with the DIE-ALOGUE Podcast and Javier Leiva of PRETEND podcast. Over the next three episodes, you will hear from; cult experts Rick Alan Ross and Dr. Janja Lalich, author and linguist, Amanda Montell, ABC Correspondent, Rebecca Jarvis, Cult Survivors, Frank Lyford, and Sarah Edmondson.

Cults are businesses too. Like any company, cults recruit, have middle management, and some even have succession plans.

Many of these religious sects are tax-exempt. Like Scientology, even some fringe religions are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.

Not all cults are religious. At first glance, some cults don't seem culty at all. For example, take a closer look at businesses such as multi-level marketing companies. These companies are masquerading as a business, but in reality, they're run by narcissistic ego-maniacs.

The Business of Cults is a three-part series hosted by Rebekah Sebastian with the DIE-ALOGUE Podcast and Javier Leiva of PRETEND podcast. Over the next three episodes, you will hear from; cult experts Rick Alan Ross and Dr. Janja Lalich, author and linguist, Amanda Montell, ABC Correspondent, Rebecca Jarvis, Cult Survivors, Frank Lyford, and Sarah Edmondson.

Part one focuses on The C Suite: Chief Cult Executives. Part two features an interview with former NXIVM member Sarah Edmondson. And Part three explores the question, can a cult survive without its leader?

I watched Cheer Season 2 and decided: We need to talk about Jerry. Our beloved athlete known for his inspiring “mat talks” has had a fall I invited past guests (and current friends) Dr. Shiloh and Dr. Scott, of the LA Not So Confidential Podcast. Learn more about them and their show here:https://www.la-not-so-confidential.com/

In addition to their current roles as forensic psychologists, the doctors bring past experience working with sex offenders to help us process the complicated feelings around Jerry’s arrest and alleged crimes.

This is a tough conversation and I am grateful to Dr. Shiloh and Dr. Scott for their professional insight and ability to explore the nuance in this complex situation.

Let's go back to 1970's Chicago when the mob ruled the courts. What could go wrong? I had an incredible conversation with the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jake Halpern.

Jake is the host of the new investigative podcast, Mob Land, which just dropped this week! The story centers around Bob Cooley - a mafia "fixer" turned FBI cooperator. Jake and I get into whether or not Bob can be trusted, what justice is or isn't — especially when corruption exists — and I think I stun Jake into silence with a Real Housewives analogy.

Ethical, transparent and accessible. Is that what comes to mind when you think of private law practice? Me either. But the work my guest today is doing, is trying to change all that.

Laurie Gilbertson left her work as a Prosecutor in New York City, where she tried everything from fraud to murder cases. In fact her last case was highly unique in that it took three times to get the defendant an attempted murder conviction despite the plethora of evidence and solid witnesses. This was the trial of Christopher Prince in Queens, New York. She now sits on the board of Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice - a legal incubator, designed to operate in a totally new way.

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Today's big question: Is it ever ok to do the wrong thing, for the right reason? We're talking about vigilantes on the show today.

My guest, Sam Walker, is a multi-award winning journalist, broadcaster and podcaster. Her show, American Vigilante, is about a man named KC. KC is the American Vigilante. A hugely complex, intelligent, contradictory man who could save your life but end it too. He leads a group of violent men standing on the blurred line between right and wrong, between revenge and redemption. A man you want on your side when it all falls apart. American Vigilante is true crime, but so much more. It’s saving abducted children, it’s stepping beyond the law. It’s rescue missions, assassination attempts and last-gasp protection. It’s all the stuff you hope never comes to you, until it does.

We discuss how Roo Powell transforms herself from a 38 year old mother of three to a teenage girl online, in hopes of obtaining useful information from online sex predators. She works closely with law enforcement and has a tight protocol to ensure that her team's work is useful should it be needed in court.

This is not a whodunnit. This is a complicated look at what happens when a woman who has endured abuse at the hands of her partner, shoots and kills him. Nikki Addimando went from being viewed as a victim to a cold blooded killer when she shot and killed her partner, Chris Grover, in 2017.

Hope you're ready to laugh about true crime! My guest today is an author, illustrator, (best known for her cartoons in The New Yorker) and comedian. She just launched hilarious yet poignant book on true crime and she isn't shying away from the light side of all this darkness. Please listen so you understand what I mean because you know respect and sensitivity are always really important to me!

Interested in buying an old Victorian home in the historic district of Louisville, David soon learns it was the home where two men stood accused of a vicious murder. And the victim? He was found in the basement buried beneath the dirt floor.

Get comfy and get ready for a twisty tale about Southern Victorian architecture, drugs and drag queens, a brutal murder and … real estate.

Elle Johnson’s book, The Officer’s Daughter: A Memoir of Family and Forgiveness, explores that tragedy, her complicated relationship with her father, and the surrounding criminal justice themes like sentencing and parole. She faces a big question about whether or not to speak out for or against the release of her cousin’s murderer and her memoir will compel you to consider what you would do in the same situation.

Elie Honig is a Senior legal analyst at CNN. We bonded over our Jersey roots and love of Italian food. We cover the code of ethics and conduct within the mafia, our cultural obsession with the mob, and I am most proud that I got him to agree (slightly reluctantly), that Mob bosses are akin to cult leaders!

What a thrill meeting and speaking with Rebecca Jarvis, ABC News Chief business, economics, and technology correspondent, and of course, host of the Drop Out, now in its' second season: Elizabeth Holmes on trial.

Welcome to the perfect storm of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Today's interview is with Sarah Treleaven, a writer, who produced and hosted the new podcast about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, called The Followers: Madness of Two. You will hear a trailer at the top of the episode!

It's a DIE-ALOGUE first! A top 10 list brought in part by my guest, Nick Emel, one host of the super cool show, 10ish Podcast. Nick brings me 5 cults from the year 2000- Present, and I prepared 5 from the years 1980-1999. I don't think you'll have heard of many of these?Listen and quiz yourself, but later on, refer back to the show notes for the full Top 10 list below, complete with our research sources.

I had so much fun talking with Amanda Montell, a linguist, who uses that background as the lens through which to explore cults. Between that and her Dad coming of age in the cult, Synanon, she has a lot to say about cults, and the language we all have grown used to which is ... cultish. This is a fascinating and funny conversation and will make you think twice next time you go to Soul Cycle, recovery meeting, or Boss Babe seminar.

The directors of LuluRich, Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, delve into their why's and how they got LulaRow founders, Mark and Deanne, to talk, and also a burgeoning new category of content: TRUE COMEDY.

Our conversation transcends leggings and gets into a more meta exploration of the genre, our broken country, and how it makes us long for something we can't attain so we end up hawking products to friends in the hopes of a life changing opportunity.

The other fun addition to the show is TRIVIA. That’s right. Once a month, right here on DIE-ALOGUE, I will integrate my other true crime endeavor - YELLOW TAPE. I will be hosting a true crime trivia face-off between YOU the listeners, and some of your favorite podcasters. Listen to this update and hear all the details! Then please consider the following ways you can help DIE-ALOGUE grow as we approach Season 3/ Year 3 of the podcast!

Matthew is perfectly suited to lead this conversation as a former LE officer, frequent guest on news outlets, and security analyst at the Mayo Clinic. He also lives near Minneapolis and talks about the palpable relief in the community. You can learn more about him and his book which we talked about length in his original interview on DIE-ALOGUE:

I spoke with Brittany Bookbinder who is covering his current trial for the 2000 murder of Susan Berman in Los Angeles. Along with Kary Antholis, Brittany reports for, and co-hosts the podcast, JURY DUTY: The Trial of Robert Durst.