Love & Light Confessionals
40 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago -The new-age & holistic wellness world is all about love, light, authenticity and wellness for all, right? Not always. Love & Light Confessionals, formerly Kumbaya Confessional, is the insider exposé on the bizarre epidemics of the crunchy hippie world: cults, spiritual charlatans, toxic positivity culture, illegal pyramid schemes, fad diets and more.
Hosted by holistic wellness practitioner Katya Weiss-Andersson of the Queer Wellness Podcast, theme music by Will Shishmanian, logo by Nikkita Tetreault. To support this work, go to patreon.com/katyaweissandersson
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Episodes
The Fall of the Coaching Industry
July 26, 2023 13:42 - 1 hour - 97 MBDespite what most coaches would have you to believe, many of them are struggling to make the kind of money and bring in the kind of engagement, attention and enrollment they used to. Why is the coaching industry crumbling? To answer that question, we delve into several more: Why do people say the coaching industry is a giant pyramid scheme? What should people do if they feel that they've been scammed by their coach? And what's about ethical coaches? Clinical input and research courtesy of ...
The Wellness Perfectionism Plague
February 09, 2022 21:49 - 21 minutes - 23.7 MBWhat happens when spirituality and wellness-related tools end up giving us material for obsessive and unhealthy fixations?
Uncanceled: Surviving Susun Weed
February 02, 2022 03:42 - 58 minutes - 66.8 MBSusun Weed is a well-known herbalist living on a farm in Upstate New York. For decades, her survivors have told stories of being beaten, broken down, drugged and trafficked by her while paying for her courses and apprenticeships, yet Susun remains praised and platformed in the American herbalism community. How can this be, when so many (including law enforcement) have known about her abuse for so long?
Uncancelled: Surviving Susun Weed
February 02, 2022 03:42 - 58 minutes - 66.8 MBSusun Weed is a well-known herbalist living on a farm in Upstate New York. For decades, her survivors have told stories of being beaten, broken down, drugged and trafficked by her while paying for her courses and apprenticeships, yet Susun remains praised and platformed in the American herbalism community. How can this be, when so many (including law enforcement) have known about her abuse for so long?
How the Grift is Grifted
January 21, 2022 20:02 - 40 minutes - 47 MBHow exactly do new-age and wellness influencers successfully convince people to give them so much money? This episode explores nine specific sales tactics, from love-bombing to prosperity gospel
The Sisterhood of the Sacred No Homo
January 06, 2022 23:17 - 35 minutes - 40.4 MBGuess what- most of those divine femininity influencer ladies? sleep with each other. all the time. While simultaneously building brands off of content that only acknowledges the validity of heterosexual relationships. This is the story of how a community that claims to accept everyone manages to be homophobic as hell.
Homeopathy
December 15, 2021 20:53 - 30 minutes - 34.6 MBwtf is homeopathy? Does it refer to all holistic health practices, or one modality in particular? How is it different from herbalism? And most importantly, does it have any credibility?
Culty Hot Yoga
December 08, 2021 20:40 - 1 hour - 72.1 MBWhat drives someone to do vigorous exercise in a hot room packed with smelly, stinky people? Is sweating actually an effective form of detox, and does hot yoga really deliver the workout you think it does? This episode investigates three specific hot yoga brands- Bikram Yoga, Forrest Yoga and Baptiste Yoga- and explores the question of whether or not it's ethical to create your own trademarked yoga name brand in the first place. CW: sexual abuse Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to 'Co...
James Arthur Ray
July 06, 2021 02:51 - 1 hour - 74.2 MBWhat happens when cultural appropriation becomes deadly? James Arthur Ray killed three people in October 2009, but has been able to successfully re-launch his career as a spiritual self-help salesman. How was he able to manipulate people to override their most hard-wired survival instincts, and how was he able to bounce back and even profit off of the story? Seeksafely.org Support this work: https://www.patreon.com/katyaweissandersson
A Cult Murder Mystery Dilemma
June 25, 2021 20:25 - 50 minutes - 59.6 MBThis episode does two things: 1. Explores the story of the mysterious death of Carla Jean Shaffer and the local self-fashioned guru, Aaravindha Himdara, who swears he had no part in it 2. Explores the dilemma of what happens when both sides of a story give you red flags Scofield's original piece on Carla Shaffer's death Scofield's Love Has won Audio Documentary Support this work
Holistic Pseudoscience Diets
June 16, 2021 21:59 - 56 minutes - 63.3 MBThis episode delves into two particularly dogmatic and pseudoscientific diets within the holistic wellness world: raw veganism and the Weston A Price diet. We also revisit the Medical Medium as Katya reports back after doing his celery juice challenge Support this work: https://www.patreon.com/katyaweissandersson
The Twelve Tribes Cult
June 02, 2021 04:01 - 53 minutes - 62.8 MBThe Twelve Tribes is a messianic cult with communities and businesses worldwide; they camouflage themselves seamlessly with hippie communities and recruit new people as actively as they can. Not only are their teachings horrifically racist, antisemitic and homophobic, but countless survivors have reported experiencing child abuse, sexual abuse and more. What's worse: no one quite knows who's died and been buried on their grounds. FBI Document Support this work
"I Am a Mirror of Your Unhealed Traumas"
May 22, 2021 01:03 - 19 minutes - 22.3 MBIn the new-age world, one particular tactic is being used more and more frequently to dismiss and silence criticism. It's being used by Bauhauswife, Angela Sumner, The Holistic Psychologist, followers of the Love Has Won cult and its now-deceased leader Amy Carlson, and countless others. This episode identifies and takes apart this tactic.
The Love Has Won Cult
May 11, 2021 00:43 - 22 minutes - 25.9 MBThe Love Has Won cult has been preying on people, abusing their followers and drawing in money for years, but it looks like their leader, 45-year-old Amy Carlson aka "Mother God," has been found dead. This episode takes a closer look at this QAnon-aligned, Colorado-based spiritual group. https://www.risingabovelhw.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lovehaswon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxD3eH19hE Support this work at: http://www.patreon.com/katyaweissandersson
Conspirituality
May 05, 2021 15:58 - 36 minutes - 41.6 MBKatya gives an uncomfortable and belated answer to a very popular set of questions and concerns regarding the Conspirituality Podcast
Polarity Part 2: Mars & Venus Edition
April 30, 2021 01:53 - 21 minutes - 24.3 MBToday's new-age polarity scene not only shares an alarming overlap with Conservative Christian "Traditional Gender Roles" culture, but also owes much of its origins to the 1992 relationship self-help bestseller Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by fraudster and scammer "Doctor" John Gray.
The Polarity Trend
April 22, 2021 23:30 - 40 minutes - 47.3 MBIs it the hottest trend sweeping the new-age and self help world, helping people hack their lives and relationships with a fundamental law of the universe, or is it just centuries-old recycled misogyny?
The Natural Birth Extremists
April 15, 2021 02:57 - 50 minutes - 58.6 MBThis episode dives into the controversial "Freebirth" movement and their views on everything from birth to surrogacy to COVID to race to...porn and the rights of transgender people?
Not Your Studio's Token Black Yoga Teacher
April 07, 2021 01:25 - 32 minutes - 27.9 MBAfter many years of experience, Davidia Turner was tired of being used as the “token Black teacher” at yoga studio after yoga studio. So in the midst of a wild 2020, she walked away from studio teaching. On this episode, Davidia tells her story in her own words. Davidia's Website Patreon to support this podcast Yoga is Dead Episode
The Whole Foods Façade
March 29, 2021 17:32 - 54 minutes - 63.8 MBWhat happens when a corporation puts on a performance of values and makes a brand out of wholesomeness, but carries out a very different reality behind the scenes? Whole Worker Union
Bonus: NXIVM & New-Age Predation ft: Doe Paoro
November 22, 2020 20:19 - 54 minutes - 45.9 MBThis episode tells the story of the sex trafficking cult NXIVM, and how devastatingly NXIVM's story of abuse parallels existing groups and leaders in the new-age and wellness world. Doe Paoro features in a powerful guest interview telling her own story of experiencing woo-sphere predation, and the factors that enabled it.
Bonus: Essential Oil MLMs
November 09, 2020 01:53 - 46 minutes - 43.3 MBDelving all the way into the spicy past and present of the two biggest multi-level marketing corporations in the spiritual and holistic wellness world: Young Living and doTerra. A story about fake certifications, bogus product lines and a guy named Donald Gary Young.
Pseudoscience ft: Mercola & Medical Medium
October 15, 2020 07:33 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBThis season finale episode tackles the woo-sphere's epidemic of bad medical advice- featuring alternative health superstars Joseph Mercola and the Medical Medium- and the question of how exactly do you figure out what health advice is trustworthy when you can't trust the Western medical establishment either?
Is Cancel Culture Unspiritual?
October 10, 2020 17:29 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBHow do you gently, firmly and effectively "call someone in" when they're doing harm...and what happens when it doesn't work? Is it ever ethical or spiritually sound to call someone out, or even "cancel" them? This episode talks about Kindness Yoga, JK Rowling and most of all, our old friend Dr. Nicole LePera, aka The Holistic Psychologist. Be prepared for fraud, anti-Blackness and some spicy DMs.
10 Questions with Katya
October 02, 2020 03:27 - 29 minutes - 27.7 MBListener-submitted Q&A featuring why we tell spiritual women to stop competing with each other, how to balance not being a charlatan with not being driven by impostor syndrome, how the show almost made Katya break up with woo, and "What's the deal with The Holistic Psychologist?"
Yoga & Vegans
September 25, 2020 03:55 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBTwo woo-sphere hallmarks and the antics that come with them Resources mentioned: The Yoga is Dead Podcast, Susanna Barkataki, @abcdyogi
The Purity Obsession
September 18, 2020 02:57 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBWhile purity culture is usually associated with Christianity, the woo-sphere has its own pretty intense purity culture around sex, bodies, food, water, healthcare, thoughts, emotions, EMFs...we've got detoxes and diseasemongering all day long. What's more toxic: toxins, or obsessing about toxins?
Cults & Kool-Aid
September 11, 2020 00:49 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBCults are fascinating, horrifying and in the woo-sphere, they're popular. But how do we know what's a cult and what isn't? This episode discusses the Landmark Forum, a mystery school cult from the eyes of a survivor, MLMs (again) and...Mormon fortune telling? Featuring interviews by Erin Aquarian and Katie Smith, LPCC Resources mentioned: the Landmark Article, Stronger After, the McKenna Denson Article, Decolonizing Therapy, the Conspirituality and IndoctriNation Podcasts.
Good Psychics & Bad Psychics
September 03, 2020 06:18 - 35 minutes - 31.4 MBWith intuitive modalities such as astrology, tarot, runes, spirit communication, etc., there are two ways readings go badly: the person doing the reading isn't actually as skilled in that modality as they think they are... and/or the person goes about doing the reading in unethical ways. Katya is joined by therapist-astrologer Kris Rahbany (@the.celestial.alchemist on IG) to talk about four elements of ethical readings for any intuitive modality.
Guru Culture and the Divine Masculine
August 31, 2020 02:05 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBWhy does the woo-sphere have such an epidemic of predators masquerading as gurus? What is divine masculinity work and how does it tie into all this? https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/episodes/2019/7/21/guruskilledyoga
Spiritual Selective Empathy: Human Trafficking
August 20, 2020 08:12 - 32 minutes - 28.3 MBWhy are so many people on your social media feed posting about child trafficking and #savethechildren lately? Why are so many of these anti-child trafficking activists also anti-Black Lives Matter? Why is this such a big trend in the woo-sphere in particular...and what do Mormons have to do with all this? Most importantly, is this kind of activism effective in doing the important work of fighting human trafficking? This episode discusses indoctrinated gullibility, the fetishization of all thi...
Life in Spiritual Girlboss Hell Ft: Teal Swan & The Sophia Code
August 13, 2020 04:43 - 24 minutes - 20.9 MBLast week's episode laid out spiritual boss babe culture- now let's talk about what it looks like to be a truly, wildly successful spiritual girl boss, through the examples of Teal Swan and Kaia Ra. What does it look like to be a woman who makes money- a LOT of money- off spiritual teachings, programs and merchandise? CW: mention of suicide at 19:10-19:35 Music by Will Shish, art by Chelsea Amato, episode co-researched by Aubrey Zinaich
Girl Boss Culture & the Divine Feminine
August 06, 2020 21:46 - 35 minutes - 31.5 MBIs girl boss culture actually empowering for working women? What about when spiritualized by the woo-sphere doctrine of divine femininity? What does all that look like? #bossbabe #femmepreneur #mompreneur #girlboss #drinkthatsacredliquid Female spiritual entrepreneurs shouted out in this episode, by instagram handle: @cosmic.mama.herbalism, @ladyspeech, @davidia.turner, @mynameisjessamyn, @aubrey.zinaich, @yogawithkeis
Toxic Positivity Culture
July 30, 2020 06:25 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBHow can positivity be so...negative? This episode breaks down spiritual gaslighting, spiritual bypassing in its two different types, boundary-shaming, anger repression, high-vibe-low-vibe culture, and toxic manifestation ideology. Hosted by Katya Weiss-Andersson, music by Will Shishmanian, art by Chelsea Amato.
The Hippie Love Affair with Alt-Right Conspiracy Theory
July 16, 2020 04:19 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBBelieve it or not, the holistic wellness & spirituality world has a massive love affair with extreme right-wing conspiracy theory. How did that happen, how did it become so widespread among the woo-sphere, what does it look like, and what does all the pro-Trump, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory play in the world of Love&Light? This episode is all about 5G, chemtrails, anti-vaxxers and QAnon. Hosted by Katya Weiss-Andersson, music by Will Shish, art by Chelsea Amato
Sacred Capitalism
July 09, 2020 04:56 - 26 minutes - 21.7 MBThe woo-sphere is full of weird contradictions, perhaps none bigger than the spectacle of "sacred capitalism." This looks like small children being paid next to nothing to mine the rose quartz on your altar, or women in the Philippines being paid next to nothing to make you inspirational memes for your brand's Instagram. Is it possible to come up with a version of capitalism that can truly coincide with spiritual and wellness principles?
Empaths & Twin Flames
July 03, 2020 22:58 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBThis episode explores how certain trendy "spiritual" buzzwords normalize and even glamorize some particularly harmful dynamics, using the examples of "empath" and "twin flame." Hosted by Katya Weiss-Andersson, Music by Will Shish, Art by Chelsea Amato
Spiritual Influencer Culture
June 27, 2020 06:11 - 33 minutes - 29.9 MBVery few things are more bizarre than spiritual influencer culture. Kumbaya Confessional describes this strange breed of "sacred" capitalism and how it played out for the late Denver yoga giant Kindness Yoga, as well as an aspiring wellness influencer and her brand, The Goddess Ceremony. Music by Will Shishmanian Art by Chelsea Amato IG @kumbaya.confessional
Sacred Pyramid Schemes
May 27, 2020 08:21 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBIllegal pyramid schemes have always been extremely popular in the woo-sphere- particularly in divine femininity circles- but why? Learn how this classic scammer trick is now wreaking more havoc than ever amidst spiritual and holistic communities.