The Cult Playbook

What This Book Covers

1. Prologue
2. Chapter One - The Formula
3. Chapter Two - The Garden of the Gods
4. Chapter Three - The New Prophets
5. Chapter Four - The People’s Temple
6. Chapter Five - Heaven’s Gate
7. Chapter Six - The Children of God
8. Chapter Seven - The Branch Davidians
9. Chapter Eight - NXIVM
10. Chapter Nine - The Cult Next Door
11. Chapter Ten - The Making of a Messiah
12. Chapter Eleven - The Followers
13. Chapter Twelve - The Collapse
14. Chapter Thirteen - Cults of Personality
15. Chapter Fourteen - Digital Obedience
16. Chapter Fifteen - How to Think for Yourself

Excerpt

PROLOGUE YOU’LL NOTICE SOMETHING right away. This book doesn’t use the word cult the way people expect. Not as an insult. Not as a punchline. Not as a judgment. We never say “this is a cult.” We never say “that isn’t.” Because that’s not how the word works anymore. The word cult used to mean devotion. A system of worship. Then it became a label — a way to draw the line between them and us. But here’s the problem: that line isn’t real. The structure is. The structure is always real. This book isn’t about calling anything out. It’s about showing you how the structure works. How a group forms. How a leader rises. How belief becomes obedience. How isolation turns to control. How it always feels...