look at all of these stars!

Discovered this podcast four days ago after completing a few dance videos on the Zumba YouTube and seriously getting the Fej-y ick, which I desperately needed to have validated via a culty discussion on Zumba…and was so impressed with those episodes that I have been listening to Cult Or Just Weird since! Those two eps, as well as the ecstatic dance one, are really stellar standouts; and the others I’ve heard are great as well. I truly appreciate the research, the humor, the commitment to fairness and integrity, the manner in which the deciding criteria is applied when seeking a conclusion, the giving of credit to sources and pod inspirations, and the passionate social justice stances that permeate the episodes. Many cult-based podcasts just don’t get it right, for a myriad of reasons…Kayla and Chris, though, nail it for me.

Informative but more importantly the vibes between these two is top notch. Enjoy!

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the LA Breakfast Club and felt like I was right there in the room. This quirky banter is sweet and informative. When I have time for a longer form podcast this is definitely one worth listening to on long car rides.

Fun discusion of interesting topics and subcultures

On the hunt for a MFM treatment of cults instead of murders and I tried this. It’s not exactly that but still really enjoyable and they cover crazy things that you’ve never heard of. I like their banter and, while rarely laugh out loud funny, still very entertaining.

Overall I enjoy this podcast. The topics they speak about are interesting and I’ve learned a lot from their guests as well. I also find the hosts’ dynamic casual and funny (which makes sense as they’re a married couple). The only cons to this podcast are, in my view, that many of the episodes are way too long — who can listen to a 3 hour long podcast episode in one sitting? I wish they would break up their longer episodes into shorter segments. Also, sometimes the banter at the beginning of episodes goes on for too long and I wish they would cut to the chase. I can work around those issues by fast forwarding and pausing, but I do wish the hosts/producers would make it easier for their listeners.

Just finished season 1 and I love the vibe of Kayla’s and Chris’s conversations. As a cheerful skeptic, I enjoy the earnest approach they take to their topics which helps me temper my own cynicism so that I listen with a more open mind.

Cult or Just Weird is intellectually curious and compassionate, and refreshingly human and humble. In a podcast world that has an awful lot of self-minted experts who are less expert than they think, a pair of enthusiastic amateurs doing their best are charming and welcome.

I have been a long-time skeptic and am fascinated by pseudoscience, MLMs, and other “cult-like” organizations for years. This podcast delivers insightful, educational, and funny takes on my favorite topics and many more! I have already talked about so many of the episodes with my friends and family because I find them so interesting.

Chris & Kayla are very easily listened to. They seem like great fun people who you would want to be friends with and have an actual conversation with about these things. This is why you listen to podcasts. It's almost like having a face to face conversation as you did before this whole Covid mess. The Q series "Crusaders" is very well done, and almost like they could have done a ton more, but only did the tip of the iceberg into the whole craziness.

Recently found this pod (searching for cult/ mlm content) & it's so great! I'm laughing a lot & learning a little which is just what I need ATM. The hosts have TRULY beautiful banter.

I found this podcast after I defected from an MLM/cult and went down an anti-MLM rabbit hole in podcast land. I love the theme of this show and appreciate any attempts to expose the cult-like elements of MLM scams. But it was Kayla’s episodes on the dieting industry and IF that really put me over the edge into fandom, especially when it came to her recognition of how “the system works; you’re just a failure” applies equally to diets AND MLMs.

I just found this pod and have started listening from the beginning, I haven’t hit the double digits yet but I’m enjoying the episodes a lot. Nicely done y’all. Keep them coming and I’ll catch up eventually.

My main draw to this show is the content and the little quips of jokes rather than the hosts *trying* to make jokes and ending up trying too hard. Keep it up guys! As for the core content of the podcast: it's super cool. I went on a straight three-hours-past-my-bedtime rabbit hole researching one of the topics they covered after listening to their episode (The Primes). They do really good research for an amateur team (meaning like they don't have NYT's research staff to assist or anything lol). My only complaints are very very minor. Be prepared for lower audio quality from Kayla. It isn't like 'recording on a phone on speaker' bad but it is lower than some. And I wish their show notes/work cited was a bit more fleshed out. Sometimes they'll mention something, and I look in their citation links and it's not there. They've gotten better at that, though. In summary, if you like learning about cults/secret societies/subcultures/etc. then this is absolutely for you!

Kayla and Chris approach their cultural dissection from well-researched and personally-grounded perspectives, making Cult of Just Weird both educational and thoroughly entertaining.

Kayla and Chris make delving into the seedy underbelly of Irvine as entertaining as unraveling the insights only a thirty-thousand old warrior spirit can impart.

This podcast is so much fun to listen to! Not just the content, which is always interesting and makes me want to go down the rabbit hole of research after each episode, but also the lovely and entertaining dynamic between Kayla & Chris. Keep ‘me coming you two!

This is a clever gem of a new podcast. The topics are fascinating, disturbing, and sometimes just "I can't believe this is real" wild -- and Kayla and Chris are charming and warm hosts with what is clearly deep passion for their work. Fans of history, sociology, psychology, religious studies, true crime, and the occult will love this great new series.