“I became a sun-worshipper” (George Carlin, 1999)
The incomparable George Carlin explains his conversion to sun worship during his 1999 TV special You Are All Diseased.
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“How to avoid getting drawn into a cult” (BBC Ideas)
Richard Turner, a former cult member who is now a recovery therapist, explores how social groups that establish coercive control often don’t fit the “cult” stereotypes, and don’t need to, in order to pose a threat.
“The TRUTH About Bread and Puppet”
An intrepid reporter goes undercover to expose the bizarre “Bread and Puppet” cult in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom mountains … In actuality, the Bread and Puppet Theater is a venerable and beloved mainstay of the Vermont counterculture scene. Hats off to the vlogger for her hilariously convincing homage to conspiracy nut Alex Jones’ infamous “infiltration” of … Read more“The TRUTH About Bread and Puppet”
The Spiritual Naturalist Society
Brendan Graham Dempsey of the Metamodern Meaning podcast interviews Daniel Strain and Alex Cheruk, the founder and Executive Director, respectively, of the Spiritual Naturalist Society.
“Opus” (2025)
There’s no cult like the cult of celebrity …
“Spirits of the Deep South”
Professor Yvonne Chireau explores the tradition of Hoodoo in the deep south and how its beliefs and traditions in spirituality, ancestors, the hereafter, and defense against evil inform the world and characters of the recent movie Sinners. Wunmi Mosaku, who plays Annie, shares how important her role was in the making of this film and … Read more“Spirits of the Deep South”
“Poetic Faiths: The Art of Embodied Philosophy”
Brian James of the Howl in the Wilderness podcast speaks with Tony Wolf on the recent Poetic Faiths interview anthology and on the practicalities of embodied philosophy.
Nunnyunnini
16000 years ago, the Mammoth Skull God Nunnynunni accompanies his tribe across the land bridge from Siberia to a new world in this mesmerizing sequence from American Gods.
“Touch her heart”
August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) tells the story of the Black Madonna to the Daughters of Mary during a homegrown ritual melding Catholic and African traditions, in this scene from The Secret Life of Bees.
The Cult of Rame Tep (“Young Sherlock Holmes”, 1985)
The teenage Sherlock Holmes (Nicholas Rowe), John Watson (Alan Cox) and Elizabeth Hardy (Sophie Ward) investigate the sinister Cult of Rame Tep in this tense scene from Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). While the notion of a secretive and literally underground ancient Egyptian cult active in Victorian London strikes a romantic chord, various occult and esoteric … Read moreThe Cult of Rame Tep (“Young Sherlock Holmes”, 1985)