They Called It Empowerment. Former Members Call It Control.

Join Dr. Steven Hassan on Cults, Culture, and Coercion for a deep investigation into cult dynamics, sexual exploitation, and the rise and fall of OneTaste. Bloomberg News Reporter Ellen Huet reveals how orgasmic meditation, wellness culture, and startup branding masked mind control, forced labor, and high-demand group dynamics inside a Silicon Valley sexual wellness company.

In this episode, Dr. Hassan speaks with award-winning journalist and author Ellen Huet, whose new book project investigates OneTaste, a sexual wellness company founded by Nicole Daedone. Drawing on years of reporting, court testimony, and survivor accounts, Huet explains how orgasmic meditation functioned as a gateway into deeper coercive control, financial exploitation, and sexual pressure within the organization. Together, they explore how OneTaste presented itself as a progressive, female-led wellness startup while allegedly operating as a high-demand group behind the scenes.

Dr. Hassan applies his decades of experience and the BITE Model to unpack how mind control and trauma bonding operate in modern wellness, self-help, and startup cultures. Ellen Huet also reflects on why survivors may defend leaders even after convictions, how sexual trauma can increase vulnerability to cults, and why cult dynamics are evolving in the digital age, including emerging risks tied to AI and online communities.

In this episode, we discuss:

- OneTaste's orgasmic meditation model which framed female empowerment and sexual practices as spiritual liberation

- Financial exploitation, debt, and forced labor allegations

- The federal trial and conviction of OneTaste leadership

- Why some cult followers remain loyal after a leader is jailed

- How vulnerable pressure points like trauma and sexuality can make an individual susceptible

- How cults exploit wellness culture, startups, and AI spaces

Dr. Hassan brings decades of experience as a cult survivor, mental health professional, and author of The Cult of Trump to contextualize these patterns within a human-rights and psychological framework. Ellen Huet adds investigative depth, showing how modern cults often hide in plain sight — using empowerment language, progressive branding, and claims of personal growth.

📚 Learn more from Ellen Huet:

Empire of Orgasm (book)

Foundering podcast (Bloomberg)

Chapters:

#drstevenhassan #cults #mindcontrol #undueinfluence #coercivecontrol #orgasmicmeditation #onetaste #cultpsychology #sexualexploitation #forcedlabor #wellnesscult #BITEmodel #cultdynamics #ellenhuet

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