DANIELLA MESTYANEK YOUNG is an American author and speaker who was raised in the religious cult, Children of God. She later served as an intelligence officer for the US Army for over six years, making the rank of Captain, and became one of the first women in US Army history to conduct deliberate ground combat operations when she volunteered to serve on a Female Engagement Team and received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Daniella lives with her husband and daughter in Maryland and holds a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the Harvard Extension School ..read more

Access the full episode on Patreon HERE Also here: https://www.patreon.com/4ndrewpledger Sydney Davis Jr. Jr. has been performing standup comedy and storytelling for 15 years. She is the host of the podcast "Growing Up Fundie," as well as a faculty member of The Second City Training Center, and Third Coast Comedy Club. Her comedy special "TRASH" is currently available on Amazon Prime. She lives in Nashville. Sydney comes back on the show to talk about her experiences of growing up with the Duggar family. Listen to Growing Up Fundie on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Support her podcast ..read more

Sydney Davis Jr. Jr. has been performing standup comedy and storytelling for 15 years. She is the host of the podcast "Growing Up Fundie," as well as a faculty member of The Second City Training Center, and Third Coast Comedy Club. Her comedy special "TRASH" is currently available on Amazon Prime. She lives in Nashville. Listen to Growing Up Fundie on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Support her podcast on Patreon My Episode on Her Podcast: https://youtu.be/boEdq7QhlaA Connect with Sydney Davis Jr. Jr. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Connect with Andrew Pledger Linktree Support on ..read more

Singer-Songwriter Nicole Zell has finally found her voice on debut album, Asleep To My Own Magic, undoubtedly her most mature, enlightened work yet. After achieving minor success throughout her twenties such as touring nationally with American Wolves, fronting THRILLCHASER, co-billing with acts such as KT Tunstall and Vanessa Carlton, and being featured on numerous press outlets such as Billboard, Fuse TV, and TODAY with Hoda and Jenna, Nicole took a step back to "evaluate my position around the age of 27" as she sings in "7 Years" - a song penned as an apology for not believing in her younger ..read more

Kati Tovah comes on the show to share her experience of escaping a cultic environment and finding meaning in practicing Judaism. Connect with Katie Tovah Linktree YouTube Instagram Facebook Connect with Andrew Pledger Linktree Support on Patreon Instagram TikTok Twitter YouTube Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Cynane, a nuclear engineer in SC, escaped a special brand of Floridian white Christian nationalism. Her childhood normalized conspiracy theories, but 2020, with COVID and Q4n0n, finally made her realize something was deeply wrong. Now Cynane is writing a book, “Taking Off the Tinfoil Hat,” to process the deconstruction of her fundamentalist evangelicalism and propagandistic patriotism. From the IBLP cult to Jewish space lasers, she pulled the thread and cracked her faith. Connect with Cynane Instagram Website Connect with Andrew Pledger Linktree Support on Patreon Instagram TikTok Twi ..read more

Keven Gilbert was born in Washington, he is the son of two Indian Conservative parents. He is currently a college student and making money on the side. He shares his story of growing up in a strict Christian household. Connect with Andrew Pledger Linktree Support on Patreon Instagram TikTok Twitter YouTube Website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Ruwan Meepagala is a podcaster and coach. In his early twenties, he became involved in the matriarchal cult, known as One Taste, which was recently covered in the Netflix documentary Orgasm Inc. Ruwan describes his time with the group as one of the most formative experiences of his life, giving him a crash course in some of the darker parts of human nature. The memoir of his years in the cult, along with his other writing and podcasts can be found at his Substack. Connect with Ruwan Meepagala Website Podcast Connect with Andrew Pledger Linktree Support on Patreon Instagram TikTok ..read more