Witness Underground Podcast
Artists Escaping Cults - Podcast - Documentary - Series
Follow the Witness Underground Podcast as we dive in to stories of artists escaping cults from around the globe.
Build that ecclectic playlist with art from people who successfully navigated cult mind control. Created by the team who brought the award winning feature documentary by the same name, the director and featured artists interview fascinating artists, musicians, actors, directors, authors etc. who also left a cult. Through making our documentary, artists all over the world emerged with amazing music, art, and stories. Listen in and let us know what you think.
Film short synopsis:
Witness Underground is a feature documentary that reveals the insular DIY music community that emerged within a high-control cult. Music, fame, and success are typically forbidden in this faith, who instruct its members to “beware of independent thinking.”
The artists at the heart of the music scene have their faith tested in deeply personal ways. They battle for positive mental health and push the boundaries of their religion’s norms, where leaving means being banned from interacting with your entire family and social circle for life.
Although severely restricted, they create the record label Nuclear Gopher and produce over 30 albums of earnest and personal music that spans singer/songwriter, riot grrrl, psychedelic rock, pop, EDM, shoegaze, and post-rock. Carefully curated songs and live performances punctuate their stories of friendship, deep loss, and personal growth.
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Witness Underground Podcast
Excommunicated LGBT Exclusive Brethren - Decult Cult Awareness Conference
In this special episode, I sit down with Craig Hoyle, an LGBT+ author, journalist, and religious refugee from Auckland, who will be speaking at the Decult Cult Awareness Conference in Christchurch. Craig's powerful personal story, as told in his book Excommunicated: A Multigenerational Story of Leaving the Exclusive Brethren, sheds light on the traumatic consequences of ex-communication and the multigenerational impact of leaving a high-control religious group like the Exclusive Brethren New Zealand.
After coming out as gay, Craig was excommunicated from the church, forced to say goodbye to his family forever, and thrust into a world he had never experienced. His book not only tells his coming out story, but also uncovers his family's deeply rooted history with the Exclusive Brethren, spanning over two centuries. We discuss what it was like leaving the Exclusive Brethren and how the emotional toll of ex-communication fueled his advocacy for human rights and religion, with a focus on religion, human rights, and social justice.
Craig will be one of the featured speakers at the Decult Cult Awareness Conference, a vital cult conference addressing the hidden world of cults and coercive control. His talk will dive deep into the intersection of cult trauma recovery and human rights, sharing insights on what it means to be an ex-Exclusive Brethren member and a religious refugee, while also advocating for LGBT+ rights. His work exemplifies how journalists can play a key role in supporting human rights, and in this conversation, Craig shares his experiences with Journalists for Human Rights and the importance of covering stories about cult survivors.
As part of this Christchurch event, we also explore Craig's broader mission to raise awareness about cult dynamics, the importance of addressing cult awareness issues globally, and the fight for the rights of those impacted by religious and social oppression.
Don’t miss the chance to join this important discussion at the Decult Cult Awareness Conference!
Get your live stream tickets for October 19th & 20th here:
https://events.humanitix.com/decult-cult-awareness-conference-tickets
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Craig Hoyle’s presentation and participate in meaningful conversations on cult trauma recovery, religious justice, and the global fight against coercive control.
#DecultCultAwarenessConference #CraigHoyle #ExCommunicated #ExclusiveBrethren #ExExclusiveBrethren #CultAwareness #Excommunication #CultTraumaRecovery #CultConference #WitnessUnderground #MyComingOutStory2024 #LGBTWriter #HumanRightsAndReligion #ReligionHumanRightsAndSocialJustice #ChristchurchEvent #JournalistsForHumanRights
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-Scott
