Growing Up Moonie artwork

Growing Up Moonie

8 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 138 ratings

Hideo Higashibaba left the cult he was born into when he was 22 years old. The Unification Church, also known as the Moonies, was founded in Korea by a man named Sun Myung Moon who proclaimed he was the Second Coming of Christ. In Growing Up Moonie, Hideo asks people he grew up with what their childhoods were like and shares his struggle to make sense of his weird sheltered youth and the person he grew up to be. Edited and co-produced by Quinn Myers.

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Episodes

Episode 7: Hideo

March 04, 2019 15:13 - 28 minutes - 39.7 MB

In this final episode Hideo shares his reasons for leaving the Unification and all he lost—and gained—when he left.     TRANSCRIPT Hideo Higashibaba [00:00:01] Thanks for listening to Growing Up Moonie. Just a heads up for our listeners, this episode includes mention of mental health crisis, rape, family abuse, death, hospitalization, homophobia, and child abuse. Please take care of yourself as you listen. And now the final episode of Growing Up Moonie. News Announcer [00:00:21] A ...

Episode 6: Katie

March 04, 2019 15:13 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MB

Katie and Hideo talk about Katie’s recent marriage to another second generation, the struggle to live the values of the church, and the innate need for belonging.     TRANSCRIPT   News Announcer [00:00:01] A decade ago, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon was accused of controlling the minds of young people creating so-called Moonies News Announcer [00:00:08] So-called Moonies, followers of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, who became well-known in the early 80...

Episode 5: Ritual in the Unification Church

March 04, 2019 15:13 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MB

In the textbook definition of a cult, a group must have three things: a charismatic leader, insider/outsider identity, and shared ritual. In this episode, Hideo shares some of the rituals of the Moonies and what he had to leave behind.     TRANSCRIPT News Announcer [00:00:01] A decade ago, The Reverend Sun Myung Moon was accused of controlling the minds of young people creating so-called Moonies. News Announcer [00:00:08] So-called Moonies, followers of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon ...

Episode 4: Teruko

March 04, 2019 15:12 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MB

In the early days of the Moonies, members all lived together in centers across the country and world. But when the second generation were born many families decided to move out and try something new: being totally separate from and yet a part of society. That’s what the second generation had to juggle, all the time and every day. Hideo and Teruko talk about the struggle to understand identity and belonging as the second generation.     TRANSCRIPT News Announcer [00:00:01] A decade ag...

Episode 3: The Mythology of Reverend Sun Myung Moon

March 04, 2019 15:12 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MB

Sun Myung Moon was born the son of poor farmers in present-day North Korea and by the time he died ruled a global cult and was a billionaire. Hideo digs into some of  the stories and legends surrounding the charismatic leader of the Moonies.     TRANSCRIPT Hideo Higashibaba [00:00:03] Thanks for listening to Growing Up Moonie. Just a heads up to our listeners, this episode includes lewd references to women. Please take care of yourself as you listen. Okay, back to the podcast. News...

Episode 2: Jenn

March 04, 2019 15:11 - 25 minutes - 35.7 MB

Hideo and Jenn grew up going to church, Sunday school, and church camp together, but they had wildly different home lives. Hideo talks with Jenn about the pressures, guilt, and strict rules that guarded the childhoods of second generation Moonies.     TRANSCRIPT News Announcer [00:00:02] A decade ago the Reverend Sun Myung Moon was accused of controlling the minds of young people creating so-called Moonies. So called Moonies,  followers of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, head of the Uni...

Episode 1: Have You Heard of the Moonies?

March 04, 2019 15:11 - 10 minutes - 14.2 MB

When Hideo Higashibaba left the Moonies he had no idea how he was going to survive without them. He wondered if other kids born into the church had as much trouble adjusting to adulthood, even if they didn’t leave. In this first episode Hideo reflects on his own strange origins and the history of the Moonies.   TRANSCRIPT Hideo Higashibaba [00:00:03] Thanks for listening to growing up. Moonie I am so excited to share these stories with you. Just a heads up to our listeners this episode...

Growing Up Moonie Trailer

February 20, 2019 16:32 - 2 minutes - 3.3 MB

Join cult survivor Hideo Higashibaba as he talks with people who were also born into the Unification Church, aka the Moonies. Growing Up Moonie is a podcast of stories of the awkwardness, pain, struggles, and even a little hope that can come from growing up in a cult. Subscribe now and get all 9 episodes in your feed March 4.