Let's Talk About Sects

Hoyt Richards spent over two decades in Eternal Values, after first meeting the man who called himself Frederick von Mierers on a beach at the age of 16. Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult, out now on HBO Max with episodes releasing weekly, explores Hoyts’ journey alongside other actors and models of the era, and Hoyt has spent the years since his exit dedicated to educating people about the red flags to watch out for so that they don’t ever have to go through the experience that he did.

When Hoyt finally left Eternal Values, at the age of 37 and years after Freddie himself had died, it wasn’t because he had realised it was a cult; he had hit rock bottom, felt like he wasn’t up to the group’s work and was letting everyone down. Until he reconnected with fellow former member, actor and filmmaker Dar Dixon, and they started examining their experiences more deeply together, he really didn’t know exactly what had happened to him – even though cult accusations had been brought against the group for years.

Links
Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult — HBO Max
East Side Alien — by Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair, March 1990
Hoyt Richards IMDB profile

Credits:
Produced by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at www.iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we talk about cults, we tend to picture the ones that make headlines: isolated compounds, charismatic leaders, dramatic exits. But what about the church down the street? The one with the worship band and the small groups and the Instagram presence? In this episode, Sam Sellers and Elise Heerde, co-founders of the Religious Trauma Collective, talk about what happens when coercive control operates inside institutions that look, from the outside, like ordinary community. We also touch on evangelical support for Trump in the USA, and how Australia is not immune from those who would like to see a theocracy here.

Links
Religious Trauma Collective — official website
RTC Annual Online Event — running 19-21 June 2026
Sam Sellers — Anchored Counselling Services
Elise Heerde — official website

Credits:
Produced by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sphinx Spiritual takes instruction from a council of entities that includes Leonardo da Vinci, Lady Di, Sir Francis Bacon, Mahatma Ghandi, an alien called Zootor, and married Mornington Peninsula couple Ian and Pearl Rogers. Forum posts dating back to 2012 allege that the organisation is run as a cult. And the operation goes back long before this – but it’s only now that former members have started speaking out.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

Credits:
Written and hosted by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould

Links:
Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 4, Session 1988-92
Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 3, Session 1988-91
‘To strike a balance’: A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme, 1985–2010 — by Marianna Stylianou, Monash University, June 2011
WorkCare funds $2m lawsuit against ABC — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 17 November 1991
Lengthy defamation case draws to close — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 22 March 1992
ROUX AND OTHERS v AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION [1992] 2 VR 577 — BYRNE J., 13 Mar 1992, Victorian Reports
Public Service ‘spy’ wins compo claim — by Gay Alcorn, The Age, 2 December 1990
Who are the Council? - more than 7 Historical icons! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 31 March 2023
Inside the Sphinx Spiritual School — A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
Inside the controversial spiritual school run by former detectives — by Sam Cucchiara, A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
The 11 Spiritual Values - Revealed! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 17 February 2023
The Wisdom of Crazy Horse — Ian Rogers’ blog with posts dating back to April 2012, visited April 2026
sphinxspiritual.com.au Ian and Pearl Rogers — Cult Education Institute forum posts dating from 22 September 2012
Spiritual LoveMatch — various archived versions of the Sphinx Spiritual dating platform website between 2015 and 2018
Pythagoras Investing — archived versions of the official website
Stock Nostradamus — archived versions of the official website
Everything you must know about Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning — by Amelia Swan & Brooke Grebert-Craig, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
Former student of Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning speaks after leaving controversial sect — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 5 January 2026
The mystical Mornington Peninsula sect drawing in wealthy, single women — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
FYI - THIS IS VERY RARE! If you want to see a true High Maintenance relationship at work - look at Ian & Pearl! — Sphinx Spiritual Facebook post attributed to Ian Rogers, 21 May 2016
Anyone come across the Sphinx Spiritual cult? — Reddit thread dating back to 13 January 2022
A warning about a widespread, local "Spiritual School". — Reddit thread dating from 2 November 2025
Posts by Jamie123 — Cult Education Institute forum posts about Sphinx Spiritual dating from 24 March 2024
Sphinx Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning Facebook video, 4 July 2025
Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning page about the modality, visited April 2026
Parenting Spiritually: In support of your child — by Ian & Pearl Rogers, 2013

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spiritual school in Victoria teaches that we each have a spiritual guide who we can rely on to help us through life, and that the couple who run the school – Ian and Pearl Rogers – sit on a council alongside entities who have lived many lifetimes before this one. Students are lucky enough to gain access to incredible knowledge through this council, which boasts Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, and Lady Di amongst its members. But forum posts dating back to 2012 allege that Sphinx Spiritual has been operating as a cult for many years. It’s only now that former members have started speaking out.

Part 2 is already available to Patreon supporters, and will be released on the main feed on Wednesday 27 May.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

Credits:
Written and hosted by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould

Links:
Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 4, Session 1988-92
Legislative Assembly Victoria Clerk of the Papers — Notices of Questions, Volume 3, Session 1988-91
‘To strike a balance’: A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme, 1985–2010 — by Marianna Stylianou, Monash University, June 2011
WorkCare funds $2m lawsuit against ABC — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 17 November 1991
Lengthy defamation case draws to close — by Paul Robinson, The Age, 22 March 1992
ROUX AND OTHERS v AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION [1992] 2 VR 577 — BYRNE J., 13 Mar 1992, Victorian Reports
Public Service ‘spy’ wins compo claim — by Gay Alcorn, The Age, 2 December 1990
Who are the Council? - more than 7 Historical icons! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 31 March 2023
Inside the Sphinx Spiritual School — A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
Inside the controversial spiritual school run by former detectives — by Sam Cucchiara, A Current Affair, 16 February 2026
The 11 Spiritual Values - Revealed! — Sphinx Spiritual YouTube channel, 17 February 2023
The Wisdom of Crazy Horse — Ian Rogers’ blog with posts dating back to April 2012, visited April 2026
sphinxspiritual.com.au Ian and Pearl Rogers — Cult Education Institute forum posts dating from 22 September 2012
Spiritual LoveMatch — various archived versions of the Sphinx Spiritual dating platform website between 2015 and 2018
Pythagoras Investing — archived versions of the official website
Stock Nostradamus — archived versions of the official website
Everything you must know about Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning — by Amelia Swan & Brooke Grebert-Craig, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
Former student of Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning speaks after leaving controversial sect — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 5 January 2026
The mystical Mornington Peninsula sect drawing in wealthy, single women — by Brooke Grebert-Craig & Amelia Swan, Herald Sun, 4 January 2026
FYI - THIS IS VERY RARE! If you want to see a true High Maintenance relationship at work - look at Ian & Pearl! — Sphinx Spiritual Facebook post attributed to Ian Rogers, 21 May 2016
Anyone come across the Sphinx Spiritual cult? — Reddit thread dating back to 13 January 2022
A warning about a widespread, local "Spiritual School". — Reddit thread dating from 2 November 2025
Posts by Jamie123 — Cult Education Institute forum posts about Sphinx Spiritual dating from 24 March 2024
Sphinx Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning Facebook video, 4 July 2025
Spiritual Surgery — Sphinx Spiritual School of Learning page about the modality, visited April 2026
Parenting Spiritually: In support of your child — by Ian & Pearl Rogers, 2013

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, or ACMTC, is a hardline fringe religious cult that was led by a former hippie who went by the name Deborah Green. In The Oracle’s Daughter, author Harrison Hill tells the story of the group through the experiences of three women: Deborah, the self-proclaimed oracle; Maura, who nursed Deborah’s ailing brother and became one of her first followers; and Sarah, the oracle’s daughter of the title.

The group’s practices included harsh punishments of children and extreme forms of exorcism, and its crimes included kidnapping and abuse. Through his book, Harrison examines the dwindling gap between the fringe and the mainstream in the United States, and shows how we may be much more vulnerable to extremism than we think.

Links
The Oracle's Daughter — by Harrison Hill, Scribner, April 2026
The Oracle’s Daughter: Sarah Green escaped her mother’s cult 22 years ago. She still thinks about those she left behind. — by Harrison Hill, The Cut, 8 June 2021
harrisonhill.me — Harrison's website

Credits:
Produced by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould

You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.