I am going to link some of my favorites- listening to these podcasts where they interview people from all cults is so informative that we are all more the same than different. I think also, you are right, and experts agree with you, that cults have always existed. They also probably will exist as long as humans do. One person I am following is Daniella who was in the Children of God- who wrote Uncultured. She says all human groups have elements of cultiness and it’s just a spectrum-
Or
I love that her first cult criteria is paraphrased- charismatic leader (and his skinny white woman) she’s very funny. She knits while she talks about cults on social media.
My favorite podcasts about cults-
Generation Cult is really good for understanding the problems of kids who grew up in cults. I consider myself not in this group, because my mom wasn’t a premie even if my stepfather was, plus I was 13 and by that age you have a pre cult identity- but the way all these kids describe that there is no pre cult identity- very interesting.
I can’t speak for anyone but I am especially interested in people who grow up surrounded by people who worship their parents and without real access to people who don’t believe their father is “the master” until they are allowed to go to an outside school. There are kids interviewed who grew up the children of leaders-
