Join us - Dr Caroline Ansley, Lindy Jacomb and Liz Gregory - as we traverse the cultiverse. Journey with us as we unpack the cult playbook, talk to leavers of controversial groups in New Zealand and beyond, and share their stories. We talk with experts to gain greater understanding of cultishness and call for Kiwis to cult-proof their lives. "Cult Chat" is a home-grown Kiwi programme where each of the hosts are uniquely positioned to host a survivor-centric radio show and podcast, bringing our individual experiences of high control groups to the conversation.
We have each spent years advocating for awareness, education and safety for survivors of controlling groups, and have had our own challenges in the cultisphere.
If we name or discuss a group and their beliefs or practices on our platform this does not mean they are necessarily a cult, or are harmful as a whole. The views and opinions expressed on Cult Chat belong to the speaker alone, and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by Cult Chat.
Lindy founded the Olive Leaf Network in 2023, a volunteer-run charity that seeks to provide aid and advocacy for former members of high-demand religious groups in Aotearoa, and to raise awareness about their experiences. Lindy was born and raised in the Exclusive Brethren (now Plymouth Brethren Christian Church) and was excommunicated after leaving at 20 years old. With lived experience of religious trauma and spiritual abuse, a deep interest in the sociology of religious idealism and a passion for advocacy for the wounded, Lindy is thrilled to be part of Cult Chat.
Liz founded the Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust after years of informally supporting and working with leavers from Gloriavale. She now manages this charitable trust, providing ongoing support to Gloriavale leavers as they integrate into wider society and rebuild their lives. She also actively advocates for changes in social services and government action to better protect New Zealanders from structures that enable harmful group control. Liz’s enthusiasm, passion for change, and roll-your-sleeves-up attitude to the messiness of tricky societal situations makes her a delightful part of the Cult Chat trio.
In 2015 Caroline founded the Centrepoint Restoration Project. This project aims to support child survivors of the controversial community, and to advocate for acknowledgement and accountability for the harm that happened at Centrepoint. She is passionate about highlighting concerns for former and current children of high-demand groups, in particular where abuses are apparent. With personal childhood experience of harm at Centrepoint, Caroline was interviewed in the 2021 TVNZ docu-drama “Heaven & Hell: The Centrepoint Story” which won Best Director Documentary/Factual in the New Zealand TV Awards 2021. With her deep care for the vulnerable, her experience as a medical health professional, and her quiet resistance towards systems of power that enable abuse, Dr. Caroline is a gentle force to be reckoned with on Cult Chat.