The co-editor of Kink and the author of Cultish discuss what “cults” and kink have in common (and more). As someone who exclusively writes books on topics that tend to make people squirm — sex, feminism, religion, and cults — sometimes I wonder why I can’t be one of those…

A taxonomy of internet mindfuckery. — In our socially and politically fraught culture, social media has become a “place” packed with pseudo-psychoanalysis and finger-pointing. Over the past year or so, amid all the digital turbulence and battles of wits, I’ve witnessed the terms “gaslighter” and “troll” surge in usage to criticize different harmful social behaviors. …

A “cult linguist” breaks down the baleful buzzwords that might be lurking on your social media feeds… — How would you define the word “doctor?” If you’re a fluent English speaker, this should be a pretty simple task: I’d generally characterize a doctor as either a qualified medical practitioner or a PhD. Odds are your definition is pretty similar, close enough that if we were to have a…

A conspiracy theory expert connects one key psychological phenomenon to fanatical belief… — Why do people join cults? And more importantly, why do they stay? These elusive questions have haunted me for most of my life. My father spent his teenage years in a notorious “utopian” cult called Synanon (he was forced to join by his counterculture-minded father in the late 1960s), and…

What goes on inside the minds of those who treat “vaccination” as a dirty word? A reformed zealot opens up — “Subconsciously, I think my thinking was motivated by not wanting to be like the ‘sheeple,’” admits Karina*, a New York City-based mother and recovering addict, who was once ardently opposed to vaccinations. To those of us who trust science, and who agree that COVID-19 was not the product of some…

An explanation for people’s attraction to QAnon, the Plandemic hoax, and more — From the conviction that there is a secret cabal of nefarious liberals puppeteering our lives to the belief that the moon landing was a hoax, conspiracy theories are a constant subject of perverse fascination in American culture. To believers, these theories explain the inexplicable; to outsiders they’re utter poppycock. And…

These manipulative buzzwords might be all over your social media feed… — My fascination with secret code languages took root under the monkey bars. It was 1999, when a fellow seven-year-old in jelly sandals taught me the simple phonological pattern of Pig Latin. Ig-pay Atin-lay. It felt like a superpower. Upon mastering the language, I was an insider, and so was everyone…

A follower entrenched in cultish ideology will not respond well to these phrases — “My brother got caught up with QAnon, and now he won’t speak to me.” “My best friend is obsessed with this sketchy New Age guru, and I don’t know how to talk to her anymore.” “I think my dad is in a cult. How do I convince him to leave?” …