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cults

Posted inNonfiction

The Cult That Promises to Cure Addiction

by Longreads August 12, 2021February 22, 2023

For 50 years, Enthusiastic Sobriety programs have offered to help teenagers kick drugs and alcohol. But former followers say ES doesn’t save lives—it destroys them.

Posted inCuration, Highlight, Nonfiction, profile

Dear Mom & Dad: We Need to Talk about QAnon

by Seyward Darby February 17, 2021February 22, 2023

Children Of QAnon believers are desperately trying to deradicalize their parents.

Posted inEditor's Pick

My Childhood in a Cult

by Sari Botton May 9, 2019October 19, 2022

Actor, writer and screenwriter Guinevere Turner recalls growing up in a cult called “The Lyman Family,” and reveals its lingering effects on her, many years after her departure from it.

Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story

To Heil, or Not To Heil, When Traveling in the Third Reich

by Longreads October 10, 2018October 19, 2022

One of the first decisions any tourist had to make when crossing the German border in the mid-1930s was whether or not to “Heil Hitler.”

Posted inBusiness, Food, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes

Pair These Wines With Armageddon and Veal

by Aaron Gilbreath August 27, 2018October 19, 2022

A California cult had more success producing award-winning wine than sustaining their religion, so why are thousands of bottles gathering dust in a storeroom?

Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Essays & Criticism, Fiction, Quotes, Unapologetic Women

When ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Isn’t Fiction

by Pam Mandel May 1, 2017October 19, 2022

Growing up in the fundamentalist Christian “Quiverfull” movement, Hännah Ettinger saw her own story in Atwood’s vision.

Posted inNonfiction, Reading List

Reading List: Religion Gone Extreme

by mikedang November 24, 2013October 19, 2022

Emily Perper is a word-writing human working at a small publishing company. She blogs about her favorite longreads at Diet Coker. Each of these stories this week is about a facet of religion gone extreme, and each is an example of why these pieces of longform journalism are important. There is detailed, professional storytelling, gripping […]

Posted inNonfiction, Reading List

Reading List: Religion Gone Extreme

by mikedang November 24, 2013October 19, 2022

Emily Perper is a word-writing human working at a small publishing company. She blogs about her favorite longreads at Diet Coker. Each of these stories this week is about a facet of religion gone extreme, and each is an example of why these pieces of longform journalism are important. There is detailed, professional storytelling, gripping […]

Posted inNonfiction, Story

Caught Up in the Cult Wars: Confessions of a New Religious Movement Researcher

by Longreads September 28, 2013October 19, 2022

Susan J. Palmer | University of Toronto Press | 2001 | 38 minutes (9,328 words) The below article comes recommended by Longreads contributing editor Julia Wick, and we’d like to thank the author, Susan J. Palmer, for allowing us to share it with the Longreads community. 

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