00:00 I think that a lot of people just can't blanch, always think to themselves, "These things
00:04 would never happen to me."
00:06 And that's the real intrigue, because most of the things that we do as intelligent, articulate
00:11 human beings, we do for the right reasons, at the right moment, for the right intent.
00:17 And that means that most things that we do are full of good intentions.
00:22 We're not actively going out of our way to find ourselves in trouble.
00:25 It's a bit like when people talk about domestically violent relationships.
00:29 No one enters a relationship which is domestically violent because it's domestically violent.
00:33 You never do that.
00:34 You enter a relationship because you're in love and you think you've got a future, and
00:37 it's great.
00:38 It's fantastic at the first instance.
00:40 It's only as time progresses, when you actually might be devoted and have real strong feelings
00:45 for that partner, that then the aggression starts.
00:48 And by then, you're all in.
00:50 So the very truth about our human behavior is it's so rare that there's any malevolence
00:55 in our actions that are intentional or problematic that are intentional.
00:59 It's where we arrive in the end.
01:01 And to some degree, that's what this particular tour is about.
01:04 It's to really, really unpick the reality of the fabric of a cult.
01:10 As I said, whether you're somebody who might find yourself in a situation where you would
01:14 unknowingly and unwittingly join one, and of course, why people who are, like I said,
01:19 incredibly intelligent, often in great jobs, with the world at their feet in so many ways,
01:26 why would they follow some charismatic leader, sometimes to their death?
01:32 Because it's such an unusual set of events that leads you there, but one that nonetheless,
01:38 so many people could find themselves in, even though to all intents and purposes, the world
01:43 around them sees them as an individual who would never fall foul of such a situation.
01:47 Is there anything that would make somebody susceptible to joining a cult?
01:53 I think that there's a lot of myths around why people end up in cults, and I think some
01:57 of that is unhelpful, because a lot of times people will talk about the fact that they're
02:02 easy to manipulate, or they'll be oddballs, and that's just simply not true.
02:07 The last thing you want as a cult leader is somebody who cannot connect, somebody who
02:11 cannot work, somebody who isn't able to recruit others.
02:15 You want charismatic, intelligent, articulate, clever, and engaged people, because that makes
02:21 your cult better, right?
02:22 So the idea that these cult leaders are looking for fringe, yes, they'll look for vulnerability,
02:28 like anyone will, like any predator will do.
02:31 You look for vulnerability.
02:32 If you can find somebody who might be going through a difficult transitional phase, it
02:35 might be they've lost a baby, it might be they've got divorced, it might be they're
02:39 going through a grief process, or maybe they just feel like there isn't that much that
02:44 holds them to their current life, and then somebody provides them all those answers,
02:49 that's the type of person, and that's what makes it so powerful, because that means that
02:53 so many of us, in our moments of vulnerability, or searching, or even just feeling like people
03:01 don't notice us as we wish to be noticed, because that's one of the most powerful connectors.
03:06 How likely is it that the average person on the street is going to encounter this in some
03:13 way in their life?
03:14 If they are seeking, then they'll have an opportunity to encounter it.
03:18 If I'm in a scenario, walking down the street, and somebody pulls me over and says, "Listen,
03:24 life's probably great for you, but there's this opportunity to do A, B, or C," let's
03:28 see like the Scientologists do.
03:29 You know, off they go, they kind of recruit you, "Come and do this course, come and do
03:34 this, and it'll be great, and it'll be fabulous, and you'll be embraced by everybody, and it
03:37 will fill a gap," right?
03:40 It's hard not to be a little bit intrigued by that, and to think, "Well, okay, I'm not
03:45 really going to go down this path," or what can be the issue with maybe attending a few
03:49 more lessons, or a few more sessions?
03:51 And you see, that's the way it works, it's incremental.
03:54 So anybody walking down the street who may be just looking for something new, different,
04:01 interesting, expanding their mind, finding a new path, even thinking about a new career,
04:06 because bear in mind, there are a lot of life coaches out there, there are a lot of self-help
04:11 organizations out there, who it's all about, "You'll be able to do anything, just give me
04:15 this money.
04:16 You can do this course in 24 hours, and you'll be qualified in A, B, and C," and then hooking
04:21 them back in again, and again, and again.
04:24 And whenever I see that, I'm like, "Cult behavior, cult behavior, cult behavior."
04:29 And I think it's very easy for the average intelligent human, and I think that's one
04:34 of the things that I always want to impress, it's not that you are stupid, because it's
04:39 the same as I said earlier on, you get yourself in a coercive control relationship, you ain't
04:43 a stupid person, they're just very clever.
04:46 And if you don't see it coming, then how do you know that you're even there?
04:50 And that's the key.
04:53 Killer Cult starts at Blackpool, obviously, at the Grand, which is lovely, because it's
04:59 such an amazing place to actually start a tour.
05:02 So that's the first night when I'm in Blackpool.
05:05 It's a bit terrifying, because the first night, you always are aware that you've never really
05:09 been able to put it into practice until that moment.
05:13 So I have this fear that I'll be there three days after starting, because there's so much
05:16 to pack into a two-hour show that people might not be allowed to leave.
05:20 It's as simple as that.
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