I was excited to listen to this podcast until I realized that it is right-wing, Christian propaganda masquerading as an exploration of cults. Really disappointing and really harmful.

Unfollowing for the episode about trans folks. Being trans is not an ideology for starters. Won’t waste time on a show that is harmful to my trans loved ones. Shame on you, I’m sure yo think this awful episode will make you brownie points in heaven. Examine your own brains for cultish “ideology”.

I’ve been listening to this show for years, they have SOLID doctrine. I love to see them equip the saints to combat the evil doctrines of man and their many ministries that the evangelical community would not touch with a 10 foot pole. Love yall, I keep you guys in my prayers ❤️

Everything but their very specific, religious faith frame seems to be cultish. It is some thick irony.

I guess I should have read the description before engaging with these weirdos. Calling Buddhists, Muslims, and anyone who believes in evolution “cultists”. Bizarre world view unless you are “Christian”.

Going to tread lightly here… I have heard some interesting information and history from this podcast, yes. Could this podcast help someone who is in a cult wake up to it and find the resources they need to get help? Maybe, ellipses, question mark. Has it changed lives? Some have claimed so. Do I recommend this podcast in any capacity? Not particularly, no, not even slightly. It is called cultish but they seem to be heavy on the Mormon side, I think we’ve heard enough there. They seem to have their own mini cult following going when it comes to Walter Martin, as if he is some kind of prophet— they literally call him uncle Wally. Weird. The hosts are annoying to listen to, they speak as if they know it all, and they are so repetitive you will eventually want to bang your head up against a wall. This just goes to show you that anyone with a mic can produce a podcast. I can’t anymore, I’ve tried to stick around, but I am hitting unfollow as soon as I post this review. And I still don’t understand how we lost one of the original hosts early on with zero explanation as to why, I mean what happened? Did he escape the cultish cult and you’ve shunned him? Orrr worse?!

Informative and Educational Stories and Information

I have been listening since about 2020-2021. There was a period of time between 2021-2023 where I believe it was just the height of the podcast. Y’all were crushing it and I learned a lot of things and got a lot of leads for researching things on my own. I started with the one about Santeria, and that was HUGE for me in recognizing that evil spirits do work (as I’ve heard it stated “Holy Spirit” is not the only spirit at work) in the world. Since about early 2024, I’ve noticed things just aren’t the same. Seems almost as if the quality has taken a dip. I recognize life gets in the way and they funding issues make it difficult, but man I miss those “golden years”. I have to agree with another review that if the goal is to help former cult members find healing and to help inform people on how to minister to cults, it feels as though that mission has been slightly abandoned. This 10 episode one on Under the banner of Heaven has been good, but I’ve had a difficult time following at points and it also feels as though there have been slights against Mormons instead of simply just teaching us how and why. I know content is difficult to come by if you’ve hit almost all the cults, but I hope the new year doesn’t look like the end of last year. Again, love you guys and thank you for how you have blessed many! God bless yall!!

Your episode on the Baha’i Faith has so many easily refuted inaccuracies and distortions! The guest misconstrued basic concepts and insinuated that the Baha’is have a nefarious scheme for some authoritarian global takeover, but Baha’i writings clearly uphold the integrity of all major religions and Baha’is have a long history of promoting interfaith dialogue and fellowship which is a matter of well-established public record. He flippantly calls it a sect of Islam, and scoffs that they call themselves a world religion, however the Baha’i Faith is recognized as an independent religion in over 200 countries and territories, is global in scope, and Islamic authorities overwhelmingly recognize the Baha’i Faith as a separate religion, NOT a sect of Islam. It’s the Baha’is distinct belief in a new Messenger of God that makes them a target for ongoing persecution in many Muslim majority countries. Why not use some intellectual rigor (and honesty) to research the Baha’i Faith and present it accurately, and then do your cult take-down? It also wasn’t clear what criteria your guest was using to establish a cult: was it Hassan’s BITE model? Or something else? I was very curious to hear how you would construct your argument that the Baha’i Faith as a cult, but if your “expert” can’t even get basic facts straight, the whole effort seems either intellectually lazy or willfully disingenuous.

This is good sometimes. The episodes on ICC were good. I like the way that they can point out how high control churches use same tactics as cults but in such a subtle way that you could hardly put your finger on it. The church that I grew up in was like this. You could never have said that they shunned people for leaving. And yet…and yet when someone DID leave, suddenly no one really had time for a friendship with them anymore. It was very, very subtle but very, very real. The part I take issue with is that some of the guests speak as if their own theological understanding is “biblical” and no one else’s is. That’s kind of ironic when they’re trying to call out cultish churches.

I used to really like this show but recent episodes have me questioning continuing to listen. In listening to the ICC series, I was interested in understanding their history and doctrine that don’t follow the Bible. However, it felt more like the guest was there to bash the founder of the denomination and make fun of the people more than anything else. I really think they could’ve gotten away with 2 episodes in that series than 3 (I had to stop the last episode with 20 minutes left because I felt the guest was making fun of the people in the church. If this church is a cult than those people are victims of the cult and should be treated with grace.) I think episodes and guests like this one along with other guests who have led the hosts to believe they are “experts” regarding these groups are reasons why they aren’t getting the listener support they need to continue the show. If they are going to continue, and receive support, I think they should do the following: 1) more research on the cults and the “experts” they use, and 2) actually find people who used to be in these groups/cults and interview them. Maybe that means they have “seasons” or “series” where they can deep dive these groups but it also means that they post 10 or so episodes and GET IT RIGHT then post something and have to take it down because it comes out that their “expert” isn’t such an authority on what they say they are.

I’m listening to the episode about the Pagan origins of Christmas, and I noticed a few issues with the information. There are pagan traditions that have been intwined with Christmas. The Sami people for example, celebrated the return of the sun during the solstice, their sun deity riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer. It doesn’t change the validity of Christmas, but it’s important to remember that cultures affect each other, and Christmas is the latest in a long line of mid-winter holidays.

Referencing the part 2 of the ICC episode, how the heck do you let the guest put MacArthur and that narcissistic heretic Rick Warren in the same sentence without even a rebuttal? You’re no super sleuth. Do better!

The irony. It should be called, “Everyone else is in a cult except us. Our religion is real.” I tried to listen objectively, but since religion defies logic, I had to turn off the podcast. I think the hosts are very nice, earnest, kind, moral, and good people that mean well. I get it. I prayed and studied the Bible for 20 years looking for answers until I realized there aren’t any. There’s no way to make it make sense. It’s a scam. I wish you all well on your journey.

The idea of this podcast is intriguing. I’ve listened to many of the older episodes continuing on to newer ones. While the content is interesting, the hosts sometimes jump right into discussing the topics/people but explain no backstory. This is frustrating if you’ve never heard of some people and have no previous knowledge. They just expect you to have heard of everyone before! I come to learn and then come away more confused. They also use some pretty scholarly terms that most lay people do not use on a day to day basis, and then don’t define them. Instead of looking forward to new episodes, I come away frustrated. Loved the ones where ex-cult members were interviewed though.

Trent Horn and Jimmy Akin did a phenomenal job dismantling James White on Sola Scriptura and Justification. I’ve never seen White look so confused/angry as he did during Akin’s cross examination of him.

If it weren’t for your podcast, I’d still be living a life of confusion within Seventh-day Adventism. I firmly believed in Ellen White but always felt like I didn’t understand or care about the Gospel. I was certain I was lost. I had been listening to Cultish off and on for years, so by the time you came out with the series on SDAs, you had massively gained my trust. At first I felt offended when I saw you were going to be covering SDAs, but that sent me down a rabbit hole and my beliefs were changed very quickly. I believe the Lord used your podcast to pull me out of darkness. Ironically, I was listening to an ex SDA interview on the YouTube channel SDA Q&A (S8E12), and the guy mentioned your podcast as influential to him too! Go listen to it and try to get him on your show! Please keep doing what you’re doing and PLEASE do more episodes on Adventism! It’s one of the biggest wolves in sheep’s clothing out there. I’m so glad my kids won’t be raised in that religion. They will have no doubts about the real gospel.

I have greatly benefited from this podcast. I love how they take a look at cults through the proper understanding of biblical truth and worldview. It’s clear that they come from a Reformed Baptist perspective (Westminster girl here), but you don’t have to hold to the Reformed tradition to get a lot out of it; there’s a lot of room for different Christian denominations. They are very well researched in their content, gracious in their speech, and faithful to the truth. You’ll be offended if you’re a Mormon or JW, but I’ll plead with you to hear the truth, repent, and be saved. Mormonism is not just another Christian denomination; it’s a cult.

I used to follow this show and can’t remember why I stopped but I thought I would try to pick it back up since I really like the hosts and find the coverage of high control groups so fascinating. However, I started back in with the latest episode and they go into it as if we all know who this guy Benny Hinn is and as if we all know what he’s done. I’ve heard of Benny Hinn but know nothing about him. Sad to have to leave because I think this show has so much to offer being that it’s one of the few that covers cults from a Christian perspective. But I can’t follow the dialogue if I know nothing about what they’re talking about.

This show has really given me an interest in the world of cults. I have been speaking to Jehovah’s Witnesses and trying to reach out to them for so long and I’ve gotten some really good insights on how to better connect with them through this show. Thanks for all you do

Partially my bad for not reading into the hosts’ backgrounds/beliefs, but it’s very rich to hear a bunch of Christians (with the historical and current nature of Christendom being what it is) lecturing about all the evils of other faith-based cults. If you are Christian, know all the terminology of Christian culture, and basically wanna be lectured at about why their form of Christianity is the only true good one, this is a great podcast. If you are a non-religious or just not heavily religious person who was hoping to learn about some interesting cults (or god forbid a person wanting to leave a religious cult and not become just a more mainstream Christian), very much not the vibe.

This isn’t an honest look at cults. It’s two Christians grasping at straws to explain how their specific religious beliefs are somehow less cult-like than every other religious movement out there.

I started listening to this podcast in 2019, and God used to help me come out of deception (WoF)! Praise God, it’s been quite a journey, thankful for you guys, but ultimately thankful for Jesus!

This is a podcast by “Christians” trying to convert more people to the hosts particular brand of “Christianity”. The topics, discussions, and entire episodes are put through a weird and ridiculous filter that makes no sense unless you want to drink the evangelical koolaid.

I can’t believe they gall to compare Jordan Peterson to cult like activity, they definitely need to take a look in the mirror

I’ve been listening to your show for a couple of years. I miss the episodes that interview people about their personal cult experience (especially within the Christian church). Hearing their journey and how they are able to rightly divide the truth, leave the cult, and keep their faith is what originally drew me to the show.

This show is fantastic. It has helped me to not only understand what is being taught in these cults but also how to better see the people caught up in them as image bearers.

Let me save you some time. There is no critical analysis of cuts on this show. They are traditional/conservative Christians and anyone outside their faith is a cult. Including other Christians, if they don’t practice the way the hosts do. Also offhand offensive remarks like the Ba’hai episodes where the guy apologizes for the “weird Muslim” names. Bleh.

How are you going to have a podcast about escaping cults when the hosts are in one? The way they talk about Christianity is more cultish then many of the cults they cover. Total lack awareness of what they’re preaching. Is podcast just to get people to join a Jesus cult???

Wow. These guys have very little understanding of church history. Did y’all know that the church didn’t just begin in the 1500’s?! The Christian Orthodox Church is the original Church - way before the Roman Catholics and the Protestant Reformation. You can’t say that anything that isn’t in your Calvinist worldview is just some kid of cult. I love when “church lite” Americans who have never set foot in an Orthodox Church run their mouths about what they think they know about The Orthodox Church. If you spent any time trying to just understand the traditions of The Orthodox Church, you’d find that it’s incredibly Biblical. I’m highly offended. Oh and if you have a Bible, you can thank The Orthodox Church for preserving it. Lots of beautiful Orthodox Christians died to protect the holy scriptures so that it’s still around. BTW Orthodox Christians are encouraged to read their Bibles daily. We don’t put the words of an Orthodox pastor above scripture (as was stated on your program). I generally wouldn’t leave a 1 star rating. But this misinformation is dangerous and offensive. I was born into a family that was in a cult. I know what a real cult is and what it’s not. Cults are dangerous and destructive. Don’t mislabel the original church as a cult because you don’t understand it. SMH.

After listening to 2 episode series (Lindsay Davis on Bethel, and the Worldwide Church of God) I realized that the hosts have absolutely no self-awareness about their hypocrisy. The episodes begin with background on the relevant topic, which is usually not too terrible. However once they get past that they begin to delve into their own theology— this is where things go downhill. It seems that their definition of a cult is someone having any belief that does not conform to what they consider to be right Christian doctrine. Listen, I’m a Christian so I’m not bashing Christianity as a whole (though there are absolutely things to criticize about how some people weaponize it and twist things), but you can’t criticize Herbert Armstrong for discouraging his members to read the Bible themselves and use their own discernment to see if his interpretations were true, and then turn around and say that people who don’t believe exactly what you believe are cultish. If fear is used to control and questioning is not allowed, that’s cultish in my opinion and that is exactly what the hosts seem to be promoting with their own beliefs. I guess everyone should be able to question beliefs unless they are questioning what the hosts believe is right doctrine. How hypocritical. I did have a laugh when the guest on part 2 of the WCG episode seemed to think one of the major clues that her family member’s church was cultish/promoting bad theology was that a book written by the organization included a quote from Gandhi. The quote itself was not revealed, so the issue was clearly not with the content as much as it was with the person who produced the content. I guess anyone who isn’t a Christian can’t have anything truthful or edifying to say? Bizarre. I’d recommend finding a different podcast to listen to. These guys seem to have an inconsistent definition of what cults are, and they honestly don’t provide any valuable insight to the topics presented.

Disappointed. Didn't realize the Calvinist bent until I did. Bless all. Really all. Not just the elect

You all have done a pretty good job of sharing concerns about different religious groups. Super appreciate it! It’s been interesting. However, I have noticed that people brought in tend to be someone who was hurt/ turned off by the religion. It would be a lot more balanced if you would bring someone in to give their side of beliefs as well and have it more of a discussion versus a one-sided “This is what they are doing wrong.” People who do not agree with something tend to misappropriate words and ideas in a skewed way. Even if you started them off with a discussion , they leave and then you end the program with your thoughts.

First off, I’ve been in a cult. The theology would line up for the most part with that of the hosts. I’ve checked the website, the episode titles, but I can’t find where they explain their qualifications for speaking on cults or what their definition of a cult is. Judging from their subtitle they are basing it on the popular Christian book The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin which does not define cults by their practice (as every expert authority on cults does), but by their beliefs and some extreme practices. Yeah, that’s what I learned growing up in Fundamentalism too. I ended up in a Fundamentalist cult. They interview Jinger Duggar Vuolo who, yes, left the Gothard cult (no, it wasn’t “cult-like” but they wimp out on actually calling it a cult because of the foundational theological similarities), but she is in a cult NOW - John MacArthur’s “church.” ANY church can be a cult - because it’s not about your soteriology or eschatology; it’s about practice. Also, where is an episode interviewing Steven Hassan, a leading cult expert today? I haven’t listened to every episode, but I’ve heard enough and there are so many red flags simply in the episode titles, terminology, guests, etc. You can be in an evangelical cult and happily listen to this podcast without having your thinking challenged.

For the most part, I enjoy this podcast but I always feel like there could be more information given. The guys do a lot of talking but there is not a lot said.

Love the content! You guys just need to do more research on the policies on JWs. There is a lot of assumptions of misconceptions on their policies. I am not a JWs, but I do like diving deep into the rabbit hole of knowledge. Believe me, this group IS NOT A CULT!!! Love Always and god bless everyone!!!

Found this podcast after looking for information on cults and found this. Make no mistake this podcast is extremist Christian propaganda presenting itself in a way to encourage exactly this mistake. I could forgive them if they at least included the word “Christian” in the description of the podcast but it seems like this was a calculated choice. Very funny podcast to hate-watch!

I love podcasts about cults. But make no mistake: this is not a serious and informed podcast about cults for people who want that. This is a Christian podcast about how all religions are wrong except their own. If that’s the point of view you’re coming from and want reaffirmed, by all means, this is your podcast.

I’m christian and tend to agree with a good amount of things these guys believe BUT …. Oh man … Jeremiah especially can barely enunciate his words. When he asks questions and speaks it sounds nearly brain damaged and sloppy. I also wish they spoke with a bit more self awareness about why Christianity seems like a cult to those who think all religion is a cult, but what differentiates it from what they are comparing it too. It just comes off as tone deaf. I don’t blame the non Christians who listen to it thinking it’s laughable, even though I can give it a pass because I am already on board with lots of what they’re saying. The hosts are really not helping to bring these topics to an audience beyond Christians who already know why (non culty) Christianity is far more free (and true) than a cult. Egghhh

Fantastic and informative, this show will give you insight into this increasingly complicated world. These speakers are knowledgeable and humble, which keeps me coming back for more. 100% recommend!

A podcast unwrapping cults by Christians who refuse to admit their own beliefs are indeed a cult. They unpackage other groups behaviors while believing their Christian behaviors are the correct way and not just a cult they are familiar and okay with. All advertising is from other memebers of their own cult.

On the surface, the podcast seems fine. But the hosts are not legitimate cult scholars and don’t understand the seriousness of Thought Reform, cults, and totalistic ideologies. They pay lip service to critiquing some Christian cults, but ultimately the whole show boils down to “this cult is wrong and crazy because it doesn’t adhere to our totalistic ideology (white christian nationalism).” Also at least on of the hosts promoted election fraud/Qanon-era conspiracy theories on social media, immediately losing all credibility.

I have been listening to Cultish since the beginning and have never been disappointed with the quality informations, engaging interviews, and breadth of the content. One of the podcasts I listen to consistently!

I really appreciate how well researched and Bible based this podcast is. I have learned so much, even as someone who has followed Jesus and orthodox Christianity my whole life. While you highlight the depravity of cults, thank you for also highlighting the rich depth and truth of the gospel.

I’ve listened to loads of Apologia and a fair bit of Cultish. In fact, the episodes on the Enneagram completely convinced me! However, the episodes on contemplative prayer…guys, that ain’t it. I was so frustrated that she was being interview on this topic. She even said herself multiple times that she wasn’t an expert on these things. It was so frustrating hearing Dallas Willard dragged through the mud by people who clearly know nothing about him. The flippant comparisons and use of terms like “Gnosticism”, “universalism”, or “eastern religions” for anytime anything even remotely resembled something eastern or mystic was poor scholarship. As a seminarian working toward a PhD in theology, I was embarrassed by the low-level of reasoning and scholarship. She never once proved any ACTUAL connections between much of these things other than a few irrelevant connections to Richard Rohr. I don’t even practice contemplative prayer. I’m a Reformed Baptist; but the talk about lectio divina like it was some spell or witchcraft was crazy. She isn’t a biblical scholar, a church historian, nor a theologian. Please don’t interview her for things that don’t pertain. Just asking for higher quality.

I found Cultish through Apologia Radio. I enjoy listening to the entire crew. The info is very well presented and informative!

This podcast is heavily influenced by Christianity, which could be fine if they used terms and characterized other religions correctly. They don’t seem to understand what “pagan” actually means and applies the term willy nilly. The hypocrisy of criticizing a cult for believing in the “wrong truth” while claiming their interpretation of the Bible is undeniably correct is… really stunning. Hard pass.

Most hypocritical podcast I’ve ever listened to. Most of the points they make about cults can also be made about Christianity. “People who aren’t Christian’s have a tough time living in gods world”. I’m not a Christian and I don’t have any problem living in this world.

I downloaded the podcast app just to write this review. I like these guys. I am a Christian and I enjoy their apologetics work. Then I noticed their church of Christ content… As someone who was baptized in the church of Christ, I was interested to see their take. Unfortunately, the men they have on to talk about the church of Christ are uninterested in constructive dialogue or respecting any doctrinal views other than their own position. Very sad… It makes me doubt all of their content because I recognize that they don’t care about proper representation of ideas and are not willing to honestly assess ideas. It is really too bad, because I have been enjoying their content and had trusted them as a reliable source for apologetics material.

I’ve been listening to Cultish for a couple years now & I have to say how refreshing it is to learn about cultish ideologies from a biblical perspective. Hearing about specific experiences with the occult & testimonies of finding Jesus is not only interesting to hear about, but necessary to share. Thanks for doing what you do!