Don Lattin, a former journalist, is author of Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge; Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today; The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America; Changing Our Minds: Psychedelic Sacraments and the New Psychotherapy; and Distilled Spirits: Getting High, and then Sober, with a Famous Writer, a Forgotten Philosopher, and a Hopeless Drunk. His newest book is God on Psychedelics.

Don shares insights from his investigative work on cults, messianic figures, and the spiritual movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. Lattin explores the intersections of spirituality, psychology, and power dynamics in religious movements.

00:00 Introduction

04:04 Jonestown and the religion beat

07:00 The evolution of cults and religion

11:51 Adida and the Fijian Ashram stories

23:01 OneTaste and sensual spirituality

29:00 Christian nationalism and Trump as a messiah

41:00 Historical roots of authoritarian spirituality

44:44 Parallels between cults and modern movements

45:57 The complexity of charismatic leadership

46:58 Conclusion

(Recorded on September 28, 2025)

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Published on October 20, 2025