thinking about deprogramming, for no reason whatsoever
One of my favorite genres of content is the comparing & contrasting of splashy twin docuseries treatments, even if I don’t actually intend to watch a single episode myself. Last winter, we had the Fyre Festival double-feature weekend; this year, we have the two NXIVM cult series, HBO’s The Vow and Starz’s Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult. I just really love how, when the docu-stars occasionally align like this, these corresponding series provide excellent case studies on the tangly mess that comes of trying to unearth some sort of “truth” while also making a good story out of it.
So even if we aren’t planning to watch either NXIVM series (one long-running presidential cult of personality is enough for me personally, thanks), it’s good practice to dig into pieces like Sophie Gilbert’s analysis for The Atlantic, How to Tell the Story of a Cult, especially for journalists and media workers who make a living out of parlaying relationships with semi-reliable sources (who always have agendas of their own) and figuring out the dividing line between a juicy narrative and the reality. Just something to think about as all the Trump admin post-mortems come a’rollin in!
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Bound by Magick by Lauren Dane: Someone is illegally siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. The problem falls to Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country. She strikes an unusual deal that may plunge them all into the heart of darkness.
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