Podcasts and Press

Latest Press

Healing Religious Trauma with Psychedelics: A Conversation with Mica Ringo

Dr. Chloe West Jacobs | Neuroscience

 

US Magazine: Teen Mania Survivors Share Shocking Experiences in ‘Shiny Happy People’: From Cat Food to Coffins

It wasn’t long before Ringo’s posts reached their intended audience. “We had a really lively comments section, just trying to validate people, like, ‘Yeah, you did go through that and that was heinous,’” Ringo said, adding that what was being shared online “was very shocking” and “over the line abusive.”

Shiny, Happy, People Season 2 Announced

Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War focuses on the controversial organization Teen Mania - once America’s largest youth ministry, attracting millions through their wildly popular stadium shows known as “Acquire the Fire.” The series bursts with peak Millennial nostalgia and cringe, featuring colossal stadiums filled with teens enraptured by religious rock anthems, inspired to swear purity oaths and eagerly embark by the thousands on culturally questionable global missions. But beneath the wholesome youth group illusion lies a darker undercurrent: a high-pressure pipeline of brutal spiritual bootcamps, surreal role-playing scenarios, and relentless psychological control - all under the command of a charismatic leader with endlessly expanding ambitions.

Blog Posts

The False Advertising of Fascism

Christian Parenting Thwarts Secure Attachment

Christian Parenting: Developmentally Appropriate or Developmentally Abusive?

“Breaking the Will” is Disassociation from Self

Emotional Neglect or “Nothing Happened”

Why Spanking Should Be a Crime

Child Abuse Causes Brain Damage

Hostile Parenting Leads to Disassociation

Child Abuse as Church Doctrine

The Christian Brainwashing Industrial Complex