*TRIGGER & CONTENT WARNING* This episode includes discussions of sexual harassment & assault of women and children in religious spaces. 

This week we’re back in our documentary era and there’s lots to learn. We’re taking a look at the religious institutions that captured the hearts and minds of millions as we discuss the documentaries Shiny Happy People (Prime Video) & The Secrets of Hillsong (FX). Shiny Happy People follows the meteoric rise of the fundamentalist conservative Duggar family and their impact in popular culture and politics, as well as their formation in the quasi religious structure of the IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles) which has negatively impacted many people who have since left with countless stories of sexual, physical, and financial abuse. The Secrets of Hillsong  follows the rise & fall of Hillsong Church in the USA & marginally in Australia following countless scandals involving financial & sexual impropriety, and the abuse of power by its leaders.  We also touch on the similarities of these docs with one of favourite movies of 2022, Women Talking. We discuss the harmful effects of unchecked power and the ways in which cultures that demand purity and complete submission to ‘authority’ in a strict hierarchical culture, all but guarantees conditions conducive to the abuse of its weakest members. This one is illuminating. 

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Music: Humblux - S.H.E. Cali Greens - Artillery (Extended Clip) 8, 14, and 18