How to Become a Cult Leader

Season: 1

Look inside the cult leader's playbook for achieving unconditional love, endless devotion and the power to control people's minds, bodies, and souls.

Documentary, Crime

1Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Build Your Foundation

Embrace your calling and reinvent yourself by studying the life of petty criminal and folk rock troubadour-turned-murderous legend Charles Manson.

2Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Grow Your Flock

Build a fervent following by retracing the steps of Jim Jones, whose messiah complex turned a small healing grift into a dangerously loyal congregation.

3Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Reform Their Minds

Return to Buddhafield and unlock the mastery of manipulation with Jaimie Gomez, a failed actor who built an army of servants by promising enlightenment.

4Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Promise Eternity

Apocalypse, anyone? Create credible danger and consolidate power by studying the spiritual, sci-fi narrative of Heaven's Gate leader Marshall Applewhite.

5Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Control Your Image

Leverage media coverage to cultivate a pious image like Shoko Asahara, who built the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo on positive PR and deadly methods.

6Fri, Jul 28, 2023

Become Immortal

Avoid unhappy endings and cement your legacy by studying Sun Myung Moon, who transformed the Unification Church into a still-thriving economic machine.