In this episode, I had the honour of speaking with the world's foremost authority on cults, sects, and minority religions - Prof. Eileen Barker OBE FBA of LSE (London School of Economics). Eileen has been studying cults etc for 50 years (wow!!!!!!!!). We spoke about why people join 'cults' (and other related groups), what function they serve in society, whether there will always be cult-ish groups, and how they change over time. Eileen also debunked various conspiracy theories regarding brainwashing, indoctrination, and that kinda stuff. Enjoying Aleks Listens? You can support it on Patreon, https://www.patreon.com/join/alekslistens — for more of my work, visit https://www.aleks.co — or follow me on instagram @alekslistens https://www.instagram.com/alekslistens — or subscribe on YouTube ~~~~ sending love your way, Aleks