Delving into the term “cult” means looking at unlikely case studies. This week we talk about Netflix documentary OneTaste: Orgasm, Inc. —the story of boss babe Nicole Daedone, who made big business out of personal pleasure. Hers is a love story between capitalism and heteropatriarchy, with supporting roles from yoga, meditation, sexual awakening, exploitative profiteering, and coercion. Questions abound, including but not limited to: What happens to a cultural narrative when it’s rendered “religious”? When do scholars get interviewed, and when do they not? What kinds of conditions would foreclose a company like OneTaste from succeeding in the first place? When is exploitation a story people pay attention to, and when is it just a regular day at the office? Come for the answers, stay for the conversational bookends. Merinda gives a reading! Mike learns what mycology is! And remember, kids, context always shapes the stuff we call special.

Links:

2009 NY Times article on Daedone and OneTaste:https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/fashion/15commune.html

Follow us on the socials at @cultfavoritepod.

Production assistance from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Theme music produced with Udio.

Mike and Merinda are back in 2025 to discuss one of the most popular cult documentaries of 2024. Breath of Fire, streaming on Max, tells the story of Kundalini yoga, Yogi Bhajan and Guru Jagat. It's a story of an American counter-cultural movement that turned into a conspiritualist wellness business. Along the way we discuss toner scams, millennial audiences, and Robin Hood. It's good to be back!

Follow us on socials at @cultfavoritepod.

Production assistance from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.

Theme music produced with Udio.

Happy merry holly jolly, everyone! It’s our season finale, and we have a dubious gift for you! Holiday movies already have the magic market cornered, so we’re here to offer balance by demystifying some things that might otherwise seem to fly around in the ethers with Santa’s sleigh. Spoiler alert: they’re to do with religion! While Merinda’s taste in holiday horror tracks toward the 1974 Black Christmas movie, Mike serves up some this year with How to Become a Cult Leader—the 2023 Netflix series that greets religious minority groups with snark and disdain. Sit back and listen to the feelings fly, friends! What is it about

“religion” that tends to flatten structural inquiry? When are we willing to be reflective about our own complicity with exploitative systems and when are we not? What is it about the us/them dichotomy that gives a bear hug to our worst impulses? And how do other binaries like private/public and sacred/profane get in on that action? Why is it so much harder to give the reality media treatment to religion than to something like love? Merinda is incredulous and tries not to swear too much. Mike provides insights about authenticity claims. Ghosts of episodes past (particularly, casting callbacks and young-Mike lore) appear! We reflect on what we’ve learned over the last few months and gear up for a long winter’s nap. We’ll be back in a few weeks, friends! Until then, sit back with a cup of cocoa and settle in for some comparative analysis. And remember: every time a bell rings, a metanarrative gets its wings.