shunned
Religious and cult ideologies often use the practice of shunning to silence their critics and to control their members through fear. This podcast sheds light on shunning through real life stories as told by the people that have lived through it. Learn what their lives were like and where they have ended up in life after being shunned. Featuring stories from Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, Amish, Mennonite, FLDS, the Moonies, and more, you will learn about the real lives of former members that have been shut out by their former communities. The host is an exJW himself, a professional cult recovery coach, and provides insight into the psychology of coercive control and the impacts on those subjected to it through these high control groups.
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 120 minutes
- Episodes
- 219
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Episode Thirty Eight - Nicole's Life With Jehovah's Witnesses
Nicole was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is a tough story to listen to and my heart goes out to her but she has overcome a truly traumatic childhood to create a good life for herself. Un…
Episode Thirty Seven - Adrian is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Adrian was raised one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, born into the cult. His father even believed himself to be one of the 144,000 chosen to go to heaven. You’ll see through this interview that Adrian was o…
Episode Thirty Six - Linda is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Linda was a devout Jehovah’s Witness, one that believed it all and really put her heart and soul into it. Today she’s been out of the organization for 25 years and our discussion involves Buddhist te…
Episode Thirty Five - Andie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Today we are talking with Andie, formerly one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This story really involves so many things. First, we’re talking about a family that goes all the way back to the Rutherford days …
Episode Thirty Four - Lyla is shunned by Die Uitverkore Volk (The Chosen People)
In this episode we’re going to meet Lyla Illing from South Africa, now living in New York City. She was involved in a cult early in her life that, translated from Afrikaans to English, means “The Cho…
Episode Thirty Three - Naomi is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Naomi was raised in one of those JW families that didn’t have a tv and that limited books because they were reflective of Satan’s world. Their lives, even their limited traveling, revolved around the…
Episode Thirty Two - James Schwartz - Growing Up Gay and Amish
James was a member of the Old Order Swiss Amish but James is gay and that obviously caused a lot of difficulty for him. Just this week he had his story shared in The New York Times. He’s taken his li…
Episode Thirty One - Dave Warnock - Dying Out Loud
Today we have a story that’s different than the norm. We’re going to get to know Dave Warnock, former pastor and member of a charismatic evangelical Pentecostal church who is shunned by his children.…
Episode Thirty - Chloe is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Chloe’s family was in the circuit work as Jehovah's Witnesses, but her family also had a lot of pressure in the house, pressure that she’ll describe in a way that will put you right there, pressure t…
Episode Twenty Nine - Nico is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Today we have Nico’s story. Nico has actually already been on the podcast, at the end of episode 23 after Sherrie’s interview. He told the story of his first Christmas in the Facebook group and it wa…
Episode Twenty Eight - Yolanda and Jehovah's Witnesses
I really had to think about how to describe this episode. A word kept popping out at me and that’s “tough”. Yolanda faced verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse inside the cult of Jehovah’s Wi…
Episode Twenty Seven - Georgia is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Georgia grew up in what Jehovah’s Witnesses often refer to as a “divided household”. Her mother was a faithful JW, her father violently opposed. In this episode you’ll see how that opposition actuall…
Episode Twenty Six - Nicholas is shunned by Is, Was and Will Be
Nicholas was a member of an online ministry that seems to have some hallmarks of a cult called Is, Was, and Will Be. This is a really unique look into how what seems to be a cult can get its hooks in…
Episode Twenty Five - Daniel is a PIMO Jehovah's Witness
PIMO – \pee-moe\ noun – short for Physically In, Mentally Out, a person held captive to the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses because although they are awake, to let others know would cost them everything …
Episode Twenty Four - Silvers is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Homeless at just 13 years of age, married at 16, raised by extended family that claimed him as their own to create the young Jehovah’s Witness that they wanted, Silvers led a life that encompassed th…
Episode Twenty Three - Sherrie is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Today we have a really cool live recording from my living room. A listener to the show from Australia named Sherrie came to the Unites States with her Auntie Bev and they took time out of their trip …
Shunned VIDcast #5 - 2019 Goals
This episode is the audio from my latest VIDcast that I do on my Youtube channel called shunnedpodcast. In it I outline where this podcast is headed, what I plan on introducing to it, dreams I have …
Episode Twenty One - V - Shunning In A Racist Family Cult
This episode features a fascinating interview with someone that was raised in a racist family cult. It was very small, just 14 people or so in actuality, but the teachings of the leader were found on…
Episode Twenty - Tamara is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
Narcissism is a trait that is both attracted to the cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as a byproduct of their culture. One begins to see others as objects to be controlled, and often becomes tone d…
Episode Nineteen - Lyndi is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses
A young girl finds herself in a new life, with new exciting hopes and dreams as part of the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses, but with very real fears of doom with a looming Armageddon. This story develop…