Armchair Anonymous: Cults II
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What is Armchair Anonymous: Cults II about?
Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Anonymous. I'm Dan Shepard. I'm joined by Mon Padman.
Hi. You're trying it out. It doesn't sound right on you.
Not when you do first and last name. Mon Padman? That sounds like Monsoor Padman, which is pretty cool.
Yeah, that is cool.
Maybe it is good. Monty Padman, that sounds crazy too. These nicknames when they're in conjunction with your full name maybe don't work.
Okay, that's fine.
Yeah.
Like D.D. Shepherd.
Ooh, D.D. Shepherd. That sounds fun. Today is part two of one of our favorite prompts ever. Escaping a cult.
This is tough. It's tough out there. It is. We learned a lot. There's some real through lines.
Oh, yeah. There's some consistencies.
Yeah. And it's good to know them.
Some patterns. And maybe if you recognize that one of these things is happening in your life.
And if you're a vegetarian, you're in a cult.
If you get invited to a vegetarian meal, you're dust. No, but I will say it made me think there's a lot more than I'm aware of. I just stupidly assume I'll see a doc about them if they're real. Exactly. It makes me think you're bumping into people all the time that probably were raised in some of these fringy religious tradition. Yeah, cults. Oh, I am a pussyfoot and around about it.
Please enjoy Cults Part Two. You know those creepy stories that give you goosebumps? The ones that make you really question what's real? Well, what if I told you that some of the strangest, darkest, and most mysterious stories are not found in haunted houses or abandoned forests, but instead in hospital rooms and doctor's offices? Hi, I'm Mr. Ballin, the host of Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries. And each week on my podcast, you can expect to hear stories about bizarre illnesses no one can explain, miraculous recoveries that shouldn't have happened, and cases so baffling they stumped even the best doctors. So if you crave totally true and thoroughly twisted horror stories and mysteries, Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries should be your new go-to weekly show.
Listen to Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Hard times come and go Good times take them slow My life, I had them both But one thing you gotta know I'ma keep on shinin'
Hi, is this Taj?
How do Dax and Monica introduce the episode?
Yes, it's so good to meet you guys.
Oh, wonderful to meet you. You're my first Taj. Is this a family name?
My real name is Amy. Oh, okay. I have a very common last name. And about 10 years ago, I decided, you know, there's too many in the world. So I'm just going to pick a different name. Oh, I love this.
You rebranded.
My brother and I both have done this.
And did the people around you immediately accept it? Or did you have people that were still calling you Cassius Clay? No.
Well, I live in Portland, Oregon, where everybody changes their name.
Oh, that's a great place to change your name.
But my mom, who at the time was still living in New Jersey, she has passed since then, she freaked out because she was a therapist and the only person that she knew who had changed their name was a schizophrenic patient.
Oh, okay.
She thought that was a bad omen. She thought that her kids were going cuckoo over here. You know, the topic I would love to briefly touch on with you, Dax, is improv.
Oh, yes, please.
So I used to be painfully shy. And that comes out in the story because it happened just after college. And improv has really changed my life. And it's not that I was ever interested in being in front of the camera, but it's a mindfulness practice and also for helping you be a better human. So I just wondered if you had ever come across that approach to improv.
I want to hear about yours. So someone taught you and it was taught with the intention of the life practice more than a pursuit.
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