https://simplecast.com Out of the Woods Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. Stories of all kinds of these beliefs & experiences are welcome, with a particular interest in those in the digital world. 2020 - Out of the Woods Pod en Thu, 14 Jan 2021 02:38:52 +0000 Tue, 20 Apr 2021 04:25:25 +0000 https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com Out of the Woods https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/6846ebd8-8e6e-4404-83b9-c251ac625d7b/8edb08b7-49df-4616-b11a-fd930d902e2f/3000x3000/out-of-the-woods.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com episodic Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. Stories of all kinds of these beliefs & experiences are welcome, with a particular interest in those in the digital world. Molly Frances yes https://feeds.simplecast.com/6ad_QJRQ crisis of faith, cult, cultish, culty, ideology, leaving a cult, religion, conspirituality, baptist, exvangelical, fundamentalist, mormon, new age, conspiracy, evangelical, woke, social justice, conservative christian, spiritual cult, qanon, spirituality, mormonism, groupthink Molly Frances outofthewoodspod@gmail.com 47f41c3d-47b8-4cc6-946d-64bf7dfe2a4c Ex-communicated from the cult of toxic social justice with Poplar Rose In this episode we talk to my dear friend and former witch colleague Poplar Rose. Poplar and I met in 2017 when we both ran businesses online. They used to write for a site Little Red Tarot and their business was called witch cabinet. Through witch cabinet, they ran a 12-week course on boundaries called Hawthorn Heart. 

They share their story of being a social justice activist, a witch, and their eventual major fall out and extreme crisis of faith in social justice. As they say, "social justice broke up with me." This came after experiencing two back to back call outs. The stress of these coupled with moving to a plot of land in the forest, exposed to the elements after their shelter fell through, led them to shut down their business for the last 2 years. They share the before, during, and after of this experience, and reflect on what social justice means for them now.

There is mention of active suicidal ideation in this episode. 

--

Follow Poplar on Instagram: @poplarrose

Articles by Poplar: 

Why I Stopped Teaching Yoga – My journey into spiritual, political accountability

Excommunicate Me From the Cult of Toxic Social Justice

Instagram post reflecting on the call outs

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Thu, 14 Jan 2021 02:38:52 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Poplar Rose) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/ex-communicated-from-the-cult-of-toxic-social-justice-with-poplar-rose-Bo85adb0 In this episode we talk to my dear friend and former witch colleague Poplar Rose. Poplar and I met in 2017 when we both ran businesses online. They used to write for a site Little Red Tarot and their business was called witch cabinet. Through witch cabinet, they ran a 12-week course on boundaries called Hawthorn Heart. 

They share their story of being a social justice activist, a witch, and their eventual major fall out and extreme crisis of faith in social justice. As they say, "social justice broke up with me." This came after experiencing two back to back call outs. The stress of these coupled with moving to a plot of land in the forest, exposed to the elements after their shelter fell through, led them to shut down their business for the last 2 years. They share the before, during, and after of this experience, and reflect on what social justice means for them now.

There is mention of active suicidal ideation in this episode. 

--

Follow Poplar on Instagram: @poplarrose

Articles by Poplar: 

Why I Stopped Teaching Yoga – My journey into spiritual, political accountability

Excommunicate Me From the Cult of Toxic Social Justice

Instagram post reflecting on the call outs

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Ex-communicated from the cult of toxic social justice with Poplar Rose Poplar Rose 02:22:38 Poplar Rose shares their story of being a social justice activist, a witch, and their eventual major fall out and extreme crisis of faith in social justice. As they say, "social justice broke up with me." This came after experiencing two back to back call outs. The stress of these coupled with moving to a plot of land in the forest, exposed to the elements after their shelter fell through, led them to shut down their business for the last 2 years. They share the before, during, and after of this experience, and reflect on what social justice means for them now. There is mention of active suicidal ideation in this episode. Poplar Rose shares their story of being a social justice activist, a witch, and their eventual major fall out and extreme crisis of faith in social justice. As they say, "social justice broke up with me." This came after experiencing two back to back call outs. The stress of these coupled with moving to a plot of land in the forest, exposed to the elements after their shelter fell through, led them to shut down their business for the last 2 years. They share the before, during, and after of this experience, and reflect on what social justice means for them now. There is mention of active suicidal ideation in this episode. cults, non binary witch, lgbtq, cult, social justice, witch, queer, spiritual cults, woke, spirituality, cultish, accountable, yoga, accountability, queer witch, new age, yoga cult, non binary, witchcraft, call out, hold accountable, call out culture, cancel culture, religion, cancellation, religious cults yes full 10 fc533ffb-0273-49a4-92e3-af295b91bc38 Heart-Centered Spiritual Gatherings with Aliza  Aliza, at age 40, ended up undergoing a series of distressing life events that threw things into disarray. It was at this time, while dealing with the aftermath of bed bugs, she ended up in a  heart-centered, new age spiritual gathering at her mysterious massage teacher’s house. Aliza attended these gatherings as make up sessions for massage school classes she missed while in the midst of all the chaos. Things got peak weird in the group when her teacher’s guru came into the picture. Aliza eventually left the gathering behind, but not before some heartbreak. 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Sun, 10 Jan 2021 07:18:54 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Aliza) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/heart-centered-new-age-spiritual-group-with-aliza-hEIUegA_  Aliza, at age 40, ended up undergoing a series of distressing life events that threw things into disarray. It was at this time, while dealing with the aftermath of bed bugs, she ended up in a  heart-centered, new age spiritual gathering at her mysterious massage teacher’s house. Aliza attended these gatherings as make up sessions for massage school classes she missed while in the midst of all the chaos. Things got peak weird in the group when her teacher’s guru came into the picture. Aliza eventually left the gathering behind, but not before some heartbreak. 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Heart-Centered Spiritual Gatherings with Aliza Aliza 01:17:05 Aliza, at age 40, ended up undergoing a series of distressing life events that threw things into disarray. It was at this time, while dealing with the aftermath of bed bugs, she ended up in a heart-centered, new age spiritual gathering at her mysterious massage teacher’s house. Aliza attended these gatherings as make up sessions for massage school classes she missed while in the midst of all the chaos. Things got peak weird in the group when her teacher’s guru came into the picture. Aliza eventually left the gathering behind, but not before some heartbreak. Aliza, at age 40, ended up undergoing a series of distressing life events that threw things into disarray. It was at this time, while dealing with the aftermath of bed bugs, she ended up in a heart-centered, new age spiritual gathering at her mysterious massage teacher’s house. Aliza attended these gatherings as make up sessions for massage school classes she missed while in the midst of all the chaos. Things got peak weird in the group when her teacher’s guru came into the picture. Aliza eventually left the gathering behind, but not before some heartbreak. heart centered, cults, essential oil, cult, past lives, spirituality, cultish, conspirituality, soul, new age, r, essential oils, doterra, soulmate, religion, new age cult, religious cult, spiritual cult yes full 9 6550c1f9-41b1-4386-9a74-dca61ba0a5b2 New Age Priestess LARPing & Self-Actualizing with Avery In this episode I sit down to talk with Avery, who shares their story about being involved in a new age spiritual cult-y group. They got involved with this cult and felt like after so many years struggling to find solid queer community—that they had found a home. Their story details the ups and downs and struggles of being embedded in such a cultish community, their mental anguish, and their eventual break out into a new life: getting the right support for their neurodivergence, pursuing a degree in STEM, and coming out as trans. 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Thu, 7 Jan 2021 04:50:00 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Molly Frances, Avery) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/new-age-priestess-larping-self-actualizing-with-avery-5_aEPjFd In this episode I sit down to talk with Avery, who shares their story about being involved in a new age spiritual cult-y group. They got involved with this cult and felt like after so many years struggling to find solid queer community—that they had found a home. Their story details the ups and downs and struggles of being embedded in such a cultish community, their mental anguish, and their eventual break out into a new life: getting the right support for their neurodivergence, pursuing a degree in STEM, and coming out as trans. 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> New Age Priestess LARPing & Self-Actualizing with Avery Molly Frances, Avery 02:00:21 In this episode I sit down to talk with Avery, who shares their story about being involved in a new age spiritual cult-y group. They got involved with this cult and felt like after so many years struggling to find solid queer community—that they had found a home. Their story details the ups and downs and struggles of being embedded in such a cultish community, their mental anguish, and their eventual break out into a new life: getting the right support for their neurodivergence, pursuing a degree in STEM, and coming out as trans. In this episode I sit down to talk with Avery, who shares their story about being involved in a new age spiritual cult-y group. They got involved with this cult and felt like after so many years struggling to find solid queer community—that they had found a home. Their story details the ups and downs and struggles of being embedded in such a cultish community, their mental anguish, and their eventual break out into a new life: getting the right support for their neurodivergence, pursuing a degree in STEM, and coming out as trans. priestess, spiritual, feminist witch, cults, hippie, lgbtq, cult, witch, queer, spirituality, cultish, mental health, weed, queer witch, new age, spiritualist, feminist, astrology, crunchy, religion, tarot, spiritual cult, witches, religious cults yes full 8 b6c7a573-bbc2-438d-a581-6472009fbe1a Cancel culture and identitarianism with Clementine Morrigan In this episode, we hear from Clementine Morrigan, a writer who has recently started speaking out against “cancel culture.” She started a podcast with her partner Jay, Fucking Cancelled, and published a zine called Fuck the Police Means We Don’t Act Like Cops to Each Other. Clementine shares her story entering and exiting what she refers to in her podcast as “the nexus,” or identitarianism, what Mark Fisher refers to as “the vampire castle,” and what episode 1 of Out of the Woods would call social justice culture. 

Her story begins with her as a teenager who dropped out of high school because of homophobia, then started attending a queer alternative school in a new city. This is where her entry into social justice & identitarianism began. After years of active alcoholism she got sober, re-entered social justice culture and gradually her career as a self-employed writer creating zines about trauma, sobriety, being queer succeeded big time on social media. This summer, she was, in her words, Fucking Cancelled. 

We hear her story, but we also talk together extensively about cancel culture, identitarianism, abolitionism, concerns about how this ideology may impact workers, and our desire for a leftist critique of this ideology. 

--

Clementine's website

Clementine's patreon

Fucking Cancelled podcast (Clementine's co-host & partner Jay has a lot of great essays on their Patreon about the nexus and neoliberal identitarianism) 

Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other - Zine

Instagram: @clementinemorrigan

--

References & reading list: 

Planet of Cops - Freddie deBoer 

Exiting the Vampire Castle - Mark Fisher

Kai Cheng Thom

Adolph Reed

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Social Justice Industry Isn’t Helping Oppressed People - Jen Pan & Ariella Thornhill on Jacobin

The Year of Racial Reckoning and the Dead End of Identity w/ Vivek Chibber - The Jacobin Show hosted by Ariella Thornhill, Jen Pan and Paul Prescod 

Nonsite.org - Peer-reviewed, online, open access journal. Today, the various theoretical forms of neoliberalism—from the postmodern to the posthuman, from the new historicism to the new pluralism—have become so pervasive that they are nearly invisible. nonsite.org seeks first to make them visible and then to make them less pervasive. Our goal is to criticize what is and replace it with what we think ought to be.

—

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Sat, 26 Dec 2020 23:50:21 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Clementine Morrigan, Molly Frances) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/cancel-culture-and-identitarianism-with-clementine-morrigan-RsXrEHCQ In this episode, we hear from Clementine Morrigan, a writer who has recently started speaking out against “cancel culture.” She started a podcast with her partner Jay, Fucking Cancelled, and published a zine called Fuck the Police Means We Don’t Act Like Cops to Each Other. Clementine shares her story entering and exiting what she refers to in her podcast as “the nexus,” or identitarianism, what Mark Fisher refers to as “the vampire castle,” and what episode 1 of Out of the Woods would call social justice culture. 

Her story begins with her as a teenager who dropped out of high school because of homophobia, then started attending a queer alternative school in a new city. This is where her entry into social justice & identitarianism began. After years of active alcoholism she got sober, re-entered social justice culture and gradually her career as a self-employed writer creating zines about trauma, sobriety, being queer succeeded big time on social media. This summer, she was, in her words, Fucking Cancelled. 

We hear her story, but we also talk together extensively about cancel culture, identitarianism, abolitionism, concerns about how this ideology may impact workers, and our desire for a leftist critique of this ideology. 

--

Clementine's website

Clementine's patreon

Fucking Cancelled podcast (Clementine's co-host & partner Jay has a lot of great essays on their Patreon about the nexus and neoliberal identitarianism) 

Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other - Zine

Instagram: @clementinemorrigan

--

References & reading list: 

Planet of Cops - Freddie deBoer 

Exiting the Vampire Castle - Mark Fisher

Kai Cheng Thom

Adolph Reed

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Social Justice Industry Isn’t Helping Oppressed People - Jen Pan & Ariella Thornhill on Jacobin

The Year of Racial Reckoning and the Dead End of Identity w/ Vivek Chibber - The Jacobin Show hosted by Ariella Thornhill, Jen Pan and Paul Prescod 

Nonsite.org - Peer-reviewed, online, open access journal. Today, the various theoretical forms of neoliberalism—from the postmodern to the posthuman, from the new historicism to the new pluralism—have become so pervasive that they are nearly invisible. nonsite.org seeks first to make them visible and then to make them less pervasive. Our goal is to criticize what is and replace it with what we think ought to be.

—

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Cancel culture and identitarianism with Clementine Morrigan Clementine Morrigan, Molly Frances 01:51:35 In this episode, we hear from Clementine Morrigan, a writer who has recently started speaking out against “cancel culture.” Her story begins with her as a teenager who dropped out of high school because of homophobia, then started attending a queer alternative school in a new city. This is where her entry into social justice & identitarianism began. After years of active alcoholism she got sober, re-entered social justice culture and gradually her career as a self-employed writer creating zines about trauma, sobriety, being queer succeeded big time on social media. This summer, she was, in her words, Fucking Cancelled. We hear her story, but we also talk together extensively about cancel culture and social justice. In this episode, we hear from Clementine Morrigan, a writer who has recently started speaking out against “cancel culture.” Her story begins with her as a teenager who dropped out of high school because of homophobia, then started attending a queer alternative school in a new city. This is where her entry into social justice & identitarianism began. After years of active alcoholism she got sober, re-entered social justice culture and gradually her career as a self-employed writer creating zines about trauma, sobriety, being queer succeeded big time on social media. This summer, she was, in her words, Fucking Cancelled. We hear her story, but we also talk together extensively about cancel culture and social justice. cults, political cult, ideology, dirtbag left, social justice culture, cult, marxism, social justice, ideological cult, cancelation, clementine morrigan, fundamentalism, toxic social justice, cancelled, capitalism, communisim, accountability, canceled, abolitionism, fundamentalist, call out, politics, ideological, call out culture, toxic, idpol, identitarianism, socialism, cancel culture, religion, identity politics, cancellation, abolitionist, religious cult, abolition, anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist yes full 7 110b181c-8c92-4e5b-aa29-f7bfc00e5bfc Attending a conservative Christian college & being queer with Gabi (This episode includes discussion of suicide) 

Gabi shares her experience growing up as an evangelical Christian and then choosing to attend a nearby wealthy conservative Christian college. Although she was deeply tied to her faith growing up, and found meaning in it, the homophobic and repressive culture of the school onset not only mental heath struggles but a crisis of faith in her religious beliefs. Gabi reflects on this time in her life and shares what happened after leaving campus and graduating.

 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Wed, 9 Dec 2020 07:52:48 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Gabi, Molly Frances) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/attending-a-conservative-christian-college-being-queer-with-gabi-NzpBf0m2 (This episode includes discussion of suicide) 

Gabi shares her experience growing up as an evangelical Christian and then choosing to attend a nearby wealthy conservative Christian college. Although she was deeply tied to her faith growing up, and found meaning in it, the homophobic and repressive culture of the school onset not only mental heath struggles but a crisis of faith in her religious beliefs. Gabi reflects on this time in her life and shares what happened after leaving campus and graduating.

 

--

Subscribe to the podcast on Patreon!

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Attending a conservative Christian college & being queer with Gabi Gabi, Molly Frances 01:39:56 Gabi shares her experience growing up as an evangelical Christian and then choosing to attend a nearby wealthy conservative Christian college. Although she was deeply tied to her faith growing up, and found meaning in it, the homophobic and repressive culture of the school onset not only mental heath struggles but a crisis of faith in her religious beliefs. Gabi reflects on this time in her life and shares what happened after leaving campus and graduating. Gabi shares her experience growing up as an evangelical Christian and then choosing to attend a nearby wealthy conservative Christian college. Although she was deeply tied to her faith growing up, and found meaning in it, the homophobic and repressive culture of the school onset not only mental heath struggles but a crisis of faith in her religious beliefs. Gabi reflects on this time in her life and shares what happened after leaving campus and graduating. cults, evangelical, rich, wealthy, cult, conservative christian, church, evangelical church, evangelical cult, bourgeoisie, cultish, grove city, fundamentalist, fundamentalist cult, conservative, tradcath, baptist, exvangelical, bougie, wasp yes full 6 9b95d9ec-ecec-44f7-a399-776c5e518c94 Fat Acceptance and the Amberlynn Reid Community with Megan Anne YouTuber Megan Anne shares how, upon discovering Tess Holliday, she became a believer in the fat acceptance movement. After receiving news that she was on track to develop fatty liver disease at age 21, she made the decision to leave the movement behind and pursue weight loss surgery. She has since lost 115lbs and quickly gained a large subscriber base on YouTube after posting her video, My 315lb Life + Why The Fat Acceptance Movement Kinda Sucks. Suffice it to say, she is out of the woods.

However, that's not the only cult-ish community she left behind. Megan also discusses her involvement in the Amberlynn Reid community, in which she would watch commentators reacting to (or perhaps more accurately: hating on and bullying) the controversial YouTuber. She has since spoken out against the community, in a recent video, The Amberlynn Reid Community + Why I Stopped Watching.

YouTube: Megan Anne 

Instagram: @heylooksitsmegan

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/meganannesayshello

Etsy/Merch Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeStation

---

Megan's Videos:

My 315lb Life + Why The Fat Acceptance Movement Kinda Sucks

The Amberlynn Reid Community + Why I Stopped Watching

My 115lb Weight Loss + Why Fitness Influencers Kind of Suck

YouTuber Obese to Beast

Obese to Beast (John) response to Megan's video

Virgie Tovar's video No I Won't Cut You a Smaller Slice of Cake 

Glitter and Lazers YouTube Channel

]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:36:58 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Megan Anne, Molly Frances) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/fat-acceptance-and-the-amberlynn-reid-community-with-megan-anne-4hlCsoGi YouTuber Megan Anne shares how, upon discovering Tess Holliday, she became a believer in the fat acceptance movement. After receiving news that she was on track to develop fatty liver disease at age 21, she made the decision to leave the movement behind and pursue weight loss surgery. She has since lost 115lbs and quickly gained a large subscriber base on YouTube after posting her video, My 315lb Life + Why The Fat Acceptance Movement Kinda Sucks. Suffice it to say, she is out of the woods.

However, that's not the only cult-ish community she left behind. Megan also discusses her involvement in the Amberlynn Reid community, in which she would watch commentators reacting to (or perhaps more accurately: hating on and bullying) the controversial YouTuber. She has since spoken out against the community, in a recent video, The Amberlynn Reid Community + Why I Stopped Watching.

YouTube: Megan Anne 

Instagram: @heylooksitsmegan

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/meganannesayshello

Etsy/Merch Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeStation

---

Megan's Videos:

My 315lb Life + Why The Fat Acceptance Movement Kinda Sucks

The Amberlynn Reid Community + Why I Stopped Watching

My 115lb Weight Loss + Why Fitness Influencers Kind of Suck

YouTuber Obese to Beast

Obese to Beast (John) response to Megan's video

Virgie Tovar's video No I Won't Cut You a Smaller Slice of Cake 

Glitter and Lazers YouTube Channel

]]> Fat Acceptance and the Amberlynn Reid Community with Megan Anne Megan Anne, Molly Frances 01:29:32 YouTuber Megan Anne shares her story getting involved the fat acceptance movement, then leaving it behind after developing health issues and undergoing weight loss surgery. She also talks about getting out of the Amberlynn Reid community. YouTuber Megan Anne shares her story getting involved the fat acceptance movement, then leaving it behind after developing health issues and undergoing weight loss surgery. She also talks about getting out of the Amberlynn Reid community. losing weight, cults, obese, weight loss surgery, ideology, fat positivity, cult, body positivity, obese to beast, fat, self acceptance, self love, lose hate not weight, weight loss, wls, eff your beauty standards, megan anne, feminist, fat justice, feminism, tess holliday, virgie tovar, fat acceptance, obesity yes full 5 27b6a5b5-406b-4074-825f-0eade5b1d47e Leftbook, safe spaces, and trigger warnings with Skye Skye reflects on their experience in "Leftbook," a constellation of leftist Facebook groups that were popular around 2016-2018. They started out in a group called "political aesthetics escape pod," and eventually became tied up in a group about mental illness and trauma. It was in this group where they encountered a militant approach to "trigger warnings." 

Follow Skye on Instagram @buttrepreneur 

--

Suggested reading to learn more about Leftbook 

Leftbook: Destroying the Leftist Movement in America

Facebook’s 'Free Emotional Labor Club' Is Ready for Your Questions

On Authoritarian Social Media: Political Aesthetics Escape Pod Exemplified

Leftbook Comments Over Photos Of Revolutionaries

--

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Thu, 5 Nov 2020 07:06:34 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Molly Frances, Skye) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/leftbook-safe-spaces-and-trigger-warnings-with-skye-hkCN6lTY Skye reflects on their experience in "Leftbook," a constellation of leftist Facebook groups that were popular around 2016-2018. They started out in a group called "political aesthetics escape pod," and eventually became tied up in a group about mental illness and trauma. It was in this group where they encountered a militant approach to "trigger warnings." 

Follow Skye on Instagram @buttrepreneur 

--

Suggested reading to learn more about Leftbook 

Leftbook: Destroying the Leftist Movement in America

Facebook’s 'Free Emotional Labor Club' Is Ready for Your Questions

On Authoritarian Social Media: Political Aesthetics Escape Pod Exemplified

Leftbook Comments Over Photos Of Revolutionaries

--

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Leftbook, safe spaces, and trigger warnings with Skye Molly Frances, Skye 01:10:32 Skye reflects on their experience in "Leftbook," a constellation of leftist Facebook groups that were popular around 2016-2018. They started out in a group called "political aesthetics escape pod," and eventually became tied up in a group about mental illness and trauma. It was in this group where they encountered a militant approach to "trigger warnings." Skye reflects on their experience in "Leftbook," a constellation of leftist Facebook groups that were popular around 2016-2018. They started out in a group called "political aesthetics escape pod," and eventually became tied up in a group about mental illness and trauma. It was in this group where they encountered a militant approach to "trigger warnings." cults, anarchy, ideology, leftist cult, social justice, trigger, triggered, ideological cult, tankie, leftism, trigger warnings, leftist, anarcho-primitivism, anarcho-communism, idpol, leftbook, safe space, religion, communism, identity politics, religious cult, anarchist, chapo yes full 4 f0eeb051-8d7d-4616-8b58-3abcd5b93e99 Living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites, getting sober, transitioning, and entering queer social justice community Felix McLean begins his story by reflecting on his time living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites in the UK. Although he found the community unlike anything else he has found outside of the sites, he made the decision to leave after a series of site evictions and realizing that he needed to medically transition--something that sort of doesn't neatly fit into the anarcho-primitivist worldview. He quickly got involved in queer social justice spaces, and eventually got sober. Felix shares all of this and more in this 4th episode of Out of the Woods. 

Follow Felix on Instagram @soccermomzen

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Felix's suggested reading: 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (guaranteed to make people fall in love with nature) 

Days of War, Nights of Love by Crimethinc (general anarcho stuff) 

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (a kind of anti/post civilisation novel) 

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Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2020 06:49:20 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Molly Frances, Felix McLean) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/living-at-anarcho-primitivist-protest-sites-getting-sober-transitioning-and-entering-queer-social-justice-community-2KOWRVIl Felix McLean begins his story by reflecting on his time living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites in the UK. Although he found the community unlike anything else he has found outside of the sites, he made the decision to leave after a series of site evictions and realizing that he needed to medically transition--something that sort of doesn't neatly fit into the anarcho-primitivist worldview. He quickly got involved in queer social justice spaces, and eventually got sober. Felix shares all of this and more in this 4th episode of Out of the Woods. 

Follow Felix on Instagram @soccermomzen

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Felix's suggested reading: 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (guaranteed to make people fall in love with nature) 

Days of War, Nights of Love by Crimethinc (general anarcho stuff) 

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (a kind of anti/post civilisation novel) 

-----

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites, getting sober, transitioning, and entering queer social justice community Molly Frances, Felix McLean 01:08:32 Felix McLean begins his story by reflecting on his time living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites in the UK. After leaving, he quickly got involved in queer social justice spaces, and eventually got sober. Felix shares all of this and more in this 4th episode of Out of the Woods. Felix McLean begins his story by reflecting on his time living at anarcho-primitivist protest sites in the UK. After leaving, he quickly got involved in queer social justice spaces, and eventually got sober. Felix shares all of this and more in this 4th episode of Out of the Woods. aa, cults, anarchy, ideology, lgbtq, getting sober, marxism, social justice, trans, protest site, queer, fracking, environmentalism, environmental justice, punk, protest, hippies, marxist, hippy, anarcho-primitivism, anarcho-communism, clut, diy, community, 12 steps, protests, anarchist, religious cults yes full 3 f7efb476-4094-4fa9-ad93-41dceac9607d Growing up Baptist; coming out as queer, non-binary, and polyamorous with Ky McGinniss Ky shares their story about growing up Baptist in a family that was not only deeply integrated with a local Baptist college where their father taught in the seminary, but had ties to prominent Evangelical figures. They reflect on learning how to read the Bible starting at age 5, learning about the end of the world, and constantly asking questions.

When they really sat down and tried to understand why their faith was so ardently against lgbtq people, their entire worldview began to crumble. After trying to explore different theologies, they eventually made the decision to leave behind Christianity--as well as black-and-white ways of thinking. 

Now, Ky is living life no longer identified as a Christian and openly non-binary, queer and polyamorous. 

Follow Ky on Instagram on @floweryspacepunk

To read an in-depth documentation of Ky's crisis of faith in Christianity, as well as a recent reflection "On Comfort," check out their blog at http://dangerouslythoughtfulblog.wordpress.com/

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Ky's Suggested Reading & Resources

Evangelical info: 

Dare to Discipline by James Dobson

Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams


Other information: 

Behind the Bastards Podcast

Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

Executing Grace  by Shane Claiborne 

The Divine Dance by Richard Rohr (Didn't reference this but it was super formative)

Strange Rites by Tara Burton

The Liturgists Podcast 

The History of The Christian Church Podcast by Lance Ralston

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Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2020 21:55:27 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Ky McGinniss, Molly Frances) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/growing-up-baptist-coming-out-as-queer-non-binary-and-polyamorous-with-ky-mcginniss-OdKlVf3i Ky shares their story about growing up Baptist in a family that was not only deeply integrated with a local Baptist college where their father taught in the seminary, but had ties to prominent Evangelical figures. They reflect on learning how to read the Bible starting at age 5, learning about the end of the world, and constantly asking questions.

When they really sat down and tried to understand why their faith was so ardently against lgbtq people, their entire worldview began to crumble. After trying to explore different theologies, they eventually made the decision to leave behind Christianity--as well as black-and-white ways of thinking. 

Now, Ky is living life no longer identified as a Christian and openly non-binary, queer and polyamorous. 

Follow Ky on Instagram on @floweryspacepunk

To read an in-depth documentation of Ky's crisis of faith in Christianity, as well as a recent reflection "On Comfort," check out their blog at http://dangerouslythoughtfulblog.wordpress.com/

-----

Ky's Suggested Reading & Resources

Evangelical info: 

Dare to Discipline by James Dobson

Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams


Other information: 

Behind the Bastards Podcast

Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

Executing Grace  by Shane Claiborne 

The Divine Dance by Richard Rohr (Didn't reference this but it was super formative)

Strange Rites by Tara Burton

The Liturgists Podcast 

The History of The Christian Church Podcast by Lance Ralston

-----

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on Out of the Woods? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Growing up Baptist; coming out as queer, non-binary, and polyamorous with Ky McGinniss Ky McGinniss, Molly Frances 01:31:00 Ky shares their story about growing up Baptist in a family that was not only deeply integrated with a local Baptist college where their father taught in the seminary, but had ties to prominent Evangelical figures. When they really sat down and tried to understand why their faith was so ardently against "homosexuality," their entire worldview began to crumble. Ky shares their story about growing up Baptist in a family that was not only deeply integrated with a local Baptist college where their father taught in the seminary, but had ties to prominent Evangelical figures. When they really sat down and tried to understand why their faith was so ardently against "homosexuality," their entire worldview began to crumble. cults, evangelical, queer christians, political cult, apocalypse, lgbtq, bible, veggie tales, evangelicals, cult, trans, conspiracy, baptist church, queer, trans stories, revelation, cultish, evangelicalism, lgbt, christian cults, biblical, baptist, baptist bible college, conversion therapy, leaving a cult, exvangelical, religion, conspiracy theory, coming out, christianity, religious cults yes full 2 4c265a16-b338-46bb-8e1e-e8260ae4364d Shame, punishment & social justice culture with Kira Rosen Kira Rosen shares her story of separating from punitive online social justice culture. She recounts how the concurrent experience of her escalating bipolar disorder symptoms and a dysfunctional intimate relationship forced her to confront the reality that the shame and punishment normalized in the culture was unsustainable for her. 

Follow Kira on Instagram @kira.rosen.7

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[Kira's suggested reading]

Brene Brown: Her work on shame and connection

Clementine Morrigan: Clementine's writing on shame, attachment theory, trauma, queerness, cancel culture

Kai Cheng Thom: Book (mentioned in the episode) I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World, on critiques of social justice culture specifically within the queer community

Molly-Margaret Johnson (Not active online currently):  Molly-Margaret’s work on queerness, communication, boundaries, relationships, healing, and handling harm 

IG @bearherbert_: Work on race and capitalism, perfectionism, shame, handling harm, attachment theory

IG @andrearanaej: Racism, performative activism, handling harm, complex view of relationships

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Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on OOTW? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Wed, 7 Oct 2020 03:38:11 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Molly Frances, Kira Rosen) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/1-shame-punishment-social-justice-culture-with-kira-rosen-PFntwV63 Kira Rosen shares her story of separating from punitive online social justice culture. She recounts how the concurrent experience of her escalating bipolar disorder symptoms and a dysfunctional intimate relationship forced her to confront the reality that the shame and punishment normalized in the culture was unsustainable for her. 

Follow Kira on Instagram @kira.rosen.7

----

[Kira's suggested reading]

Brene Brown: Her work on shame and connection

Clementine Morrigan: Clementine's writing on shame, attachment theory, trauma, queerness, cancel culture

Kai Cheng Thom: Book (mentioned in the episode) I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World, on critiques of social justice culture specifically within the queer community

Molly-Margaret Johnson (Not active online currently):  Molly-Margaret’s work on queerness, communication, boundaries, relationships, healing, and handling harm 

IG @bearherbert_: Work on race and capitalism, perfectionism, shame, handling harm, attachment theory

IG @andrearanaej: Racism, performative activism, handling harm, complex view of relationships

----

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

Do you have a story you'd like to share on OOTW? Email outofthewoodspod@gmail.com. 

]]> Shame, punishment & social justice culture with Kira Rosen Molly Frances, Kira Rosen 01:26:58 Kira Rosen shares her story of separating from punitive online social justice culture. She recounts how the concurrent experience of her escalating bipolar disorder symptoms and a dysfunctional intimate relationship forced her to confront the reality that the shame and punishment normalized in the culture was unsustainable for her. Kira Rosen shares her story of separating from punitive online social justice culture. She recounts how the concurrent experience of her escalating bipolar disorder symptoms and a dysfunctional intimate relationship forced her to confront the reality that the shame and punishment normalized in the culture was unsustainable for her. cults, trauma, ideology, social justice culture, shame resilience, queer theory, reparative justice, restorative justice, cult, social justice, queer culture, queer, ideological cults, spiritual cults, woke, boundaries, leftism, transformative justice, attachment theory, political cults, queerness, politics, dogma, feminism, call out culture, shame, cancel culture, religion, religious cults yes full 1 b65f3e5a-709c-4c12-b591-1be0becb0747 Trailer - Intro to the Concept Welcome to...Out of the Woods! Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. This first episode is a "concept-trailer" that explains why this podcast exists, how it came to be, and what sorts of experiences it hopes to share.

Zine about my crisis of faith that I mentioned: yr problematic (crisis of) faith 

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Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

If you have a story you’d like to share, email outofthewoods@gmail.com.

]]> Mon, 5 Oct 2020 05:12:52 +0000 outofthewoodspod@gmail.com (Molly Frances) https://outofthewoods.simplecast.com/episodes/pilot-intro-to-the-concept-C0unKyhL Welcome to...Out of the Woods! Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. This first episode is a "concept-trailer" that explains why this podcast exists, how it came to be, and what sorts of experiences it hopes to share.

Zine about my crisis of faith that I mentioned: yr problematic (crisis of) faith 

——

Follow the podcast on Instagram! @outofthewoodspod

If you have a story you’d like to share, email outofthewoods@gmail.com.

]]> Trailer - Intro to the Concept Molly Frances 00:14:05 Welcome to...Out of the Woods! Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. This first episode is a "concept-trailer" that explains why this podcast exists, how it came to be, and what sorts of experiences it hopes to share. Welcome to...Out of the Woods! Out of the Woods is a podcast for stories about not-quite-cults but not-quite-not-cults. People share their experiences being strong believers in something--a religion, an ideology, a community, anything--and share how they came to realize it was, well...cult-ish. This first episode is a "concept-trailer" that explains why this podcast exists, how it came to be, and what sorts of experiences it hopes to share. movement, cults, why i joined a cult, ideology, recruiting, qanon, recruitment, cult, abuse, conspiracy, sex cult, gaslighting, internet cults, spiritual cults, leaving religion, why i left, brainwashing, movements, rituals, firebrand, beliefs, call out culture, leaving a cult, leaving christianity, joining a cult, cancel culture, controversy, conspiracy theory cult, conspiracy theory, crisis of faith, religious cults yes trailer