エピソード

  • Unveiling the Architect Ep11

    Unveiling the Architect Ep11
    2026/08/31
    The finale.

    Across ten episodes we followed the people drawn into the community around the online wellness figure known as Liana Shanti; here we step back and ask who she is, and how the pattern worked. Drawing on the public record — court files, business filings, and published reporting — and on cult recovery specialists who lay out the mechanics of coercive influence, this episode traces the shape of the whole story, and ends with the plea of a mother still hoping to hear from her daughter. Where a matter is contested or unproven, the series makes no finding; facts are drawn from the record and attributed to it, and the experts speak in their professional opinion.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of coercive control, recovered-memory and
    childhood-abuse allegations, and family estrangement. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:

    A short excerpt of Liana Shanti’s own publicly published recording is used as her own words for the purpose of criticism, comment and review under fair dealing (UK) / fair use (US), credited below. Expert commentary is from original interviews conducted for this series. Published reporting referred to in this episode is credited below.

    • Archive from Liana Shanti, Healing from Narcissistic Relationships (Session Five),
    n.d.
    • Jennings Brown, The Daily Beast (2023)

    Joe Szimhart - Joseph Szimhart - YouTube
    Gerette Buglion - Home | Gerette Buglion | Cult-Recovery Specialist

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 4 分
  • Out of the Rubble Ep9

    Out of the Rubble Ep9
    2026/08/31
    Leaving is rarely the end of the story — it’s the start of rebuilding a life while untangling what was real and what wasn’t.

    This episode follows Riley out of the community: the house in Florida, the slow accumulation of small moments that broke the spell, and one of the darkest threads in the series — the teaching that remembering could kill you. Riley’s father disputes the account of abuse, and the two have since reconnected; the series makes no finding on what did or did not happen. Every contributor speaks for themselves, and contested matters are left contested.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of recovered-memory and childhood-abuse allegations, family estrangement, and suicidal ideation. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    This episode includes a short audio recording of Liana Shanti, in her own voice, provided to the production and confirmed by former members as her own words, used for the purpose of criticism, comment and review. All other audio is the contributors’ own accounts.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間
  • Structural Damage Ep7

    Structural Damage Ep7
    2026/08/31
    The aftermath of the fire.

    This episode follows what happened next for Tom and Joanne — the insurance, the fundraiser, the letters, a welfare check, and the public posts that followed — as a rental arrangement built on trust came apart. Where officials have not stated a cause, we say so; where an account is one person’s recollection or estimate, we attribute it plainly; and where an allegation is unproven, we make no finding.

    Content note: this episode includes references to a house fire, significant financial loss, disputed allegations, and family estrangement. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    This episode draws on the contributors’ own interviews together with court filings and public records. No third-party audio clips are used.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    45 分
  • Crashing Down Ep10

    Crashing Down Ep10
    2026/08/31
    This is where it all comes apart.

    Former members describe the point at which the pattern became impossible to unsee — the shifting goalposts, the people built up and then turned on, the advertised health “protocols,” and the hardest thread of all: the recovered-memory allegations that spread through the community, which former members themselves describe with doubt. Where a matter is contested or unproven, the series makes no finding, and every contributor speaks for themselves. Facts drawn from court and public records are attributed to those records.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of recovered-memory and childhood-sexual-abuse allegations, and the death of a pet. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits: A short excerpt of Liana Shanti’s own publicly published recording is used as her own words for the purpose of criticism, comment and review under fair dealing (UK) / fair use (US), credited below.

    • Archive from Liana Shanti, Healing from Narcissistic Relationships (Session Five), n.d.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 1 分
  • Following the Blueprint Ep8

    Following the Blueprint Ep8
    2026/08/31
    What does it look like when the teachings reach all the way into a family’s daily life — the children’s health, the marriage, the custody of kids?

    This episode follows parents describing a transformation in the people they loved, an advertised health “protocol” set against a dentist’s professional rebuttal, and one of the series’ hardest threads: a daughter’s recovered “memory” that her father abused her, and a therapist-obtained protective order the parents dispute. Where a matter is contested or unproven, the series makes no finding; court outcomes are stated neutrally from the record; and every contributor speaks for themselves.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of recovered-memory and childhood-sexual-abuse allegations, family estrangement, and children’s medical care. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    This episode draws on the contributors’ own interviews together with court records and public documents. No third-party audio clips are used.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    53 分
  • The Architect's Apprentice Ep6

    The Architect's Apprentice Ep6
    2026/08/31
    A house fire in Wisconsin opens onto something much larger: a story of unpaid rent, a legal name change, an insurance claim and a fundraiser, and one follower’s rise inside the community.

    We hear from Dean and Charlotte, and from Tom and Joanne — the homeowners who rented their family home to someone they trusted — about what happened when this world reached into their lives. Where the record is clear we rely on court and public documents; where an account is contested or unproven, we say so.

    Content note: this episode includes references to domestic abuse and family estrangement. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    This episode draws on the contributors’ own interviews and public records. No third-party audio clips are used.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction. Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    56 分
  • Behind the Wall Ep5

    Behind the Wall Ep5
    2026/08/31
    Most people in this series waited outside the wall. Zach went in after her.

    When the community began to absorb his wife — his partner since high school — into its daily life, Zach did something almost no one else did: he quietly joined the group himself and watched from the inside, as, in his account, she was coached line by line on what to say and what to file, his own marriage discussed in real time by people who didn't know he was there. This is his story, told alongside his sister Jackie... about what it is to watch someone you love be rewritten from the other side of a wall, and how far a person will go to reach them.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of recovered-memory and childhood-sexual-abuse allegations, domestic abuse, family estrangement, and references to suicidal ideation. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    A short excerpt of Liana Shanti’s own publicly published recording is used as her own words for the purpose of criticism, comment and review under fair dealing (UK) / fair use (US), credited below.

    • Archive from Liana Shanti, Deep Throat: And By That I Mean Throat Chakra (“Episode Six”), 2023.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction.

    Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    45 分
  • Fracture Lines Ep4

    Fracture Lines Ep4
    2026/08/31
    Behind every framework and every theory, there is a family.

    This episode sits with the people on the other side — parents and a sister watching someone they love change, and then, piece by piece, disappear into the teachings. It also examines a striking contradiction in Liana Shanti’s own words: her denial that she uses the techniques former members and families believe reshaped their relatives’ memories, set against her own archived website.

    Some of this involves contested allegations of childhood abuse; where a matter is unproven, the series makes no finding, and those accused are given the opportunity to respond in their own words.

    Content note: this episode includes discussion of recovered-memory and childhood-sexual-abuse allegations and family estrangement. Support resources are below.

    Sources & credits:
    Short excerpts of Liana Shanti’s own publicly published recordings are used as her own words for the purpose of criticism, comment and review under fair dealing (UK) / fair use (US), credited below.

    • Archive from Liana Shanti, Healing from Narcissistic Relationships (Session Five), n.d.
    • Archive from Liana Shanti, Deep Throat: And By That I Mean Throat Chakra (“Episode Six”), 2023.

    About this series:
    THE INSTASCAMMER is an audio documentary based on interviews, recordings, documents and public records. The experiences you hear are the accounts of the people who lived them. Where possible we distinguish personal testimony from expert opinion and verified records. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect contributors and third parties. Any ongoing legal matters referenced are just that — ongoing; we do not speculate on outcomes, and nothing in this series should be understood as a statement of criminal guilt. When we use the term “InstaScammer” we are not alleging a criminal conviction. Have you experienced something like this?

    Support & resources:
    If anything in this episode resonates with your own experience, you are not alone, and help is available.

    • Recovering from a cult or coercive group: R.A.I.S.E. CIC (UK) — cultic-abuse support and peer-led recovery — recoverautonomy.org.

    • Internationally: the International Cultic Studies Association — internationalculticstudies.org, hello@internationalculticstudies.org.

    • If you’ve lost a loved one to a cult or coercion: The Family Survival Trust (UK) — thefamilysurvivaltrust.org/support.

    • Childhood or sexual abuse: US — RAINN, 1-800-656-4673 (24/7). UK — NAPAC, 0808
    801 0331.

    • In emotional distress or crisis (including suicidal thoughts): UK & ROI — Samaritans,
    free on 116 123, 24/7. US — 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988, 24/7.

    • Domestic abuse or coercive control: UK — National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge),
    0808 2000 247, 24/7. US — National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.

    (If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.)

    Verification & evidence:
    Much of what is described in this series is supported by recordings, documents, court filings and public records. If you are a journalist, researcher, or someone personally affected and you would like to verify what you’ve heard, you can reach the production at cultvaultpodcast@gmail.com.

    A note on names:
    To protect the privacy and safety of contributors and their families, some names and identifying details have been changed. Where individuals appear under their real names, they have consented to do so.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    55 分