Kirsten Johnson Podcast
This podcast is about courage in real time—facing fear, trusting yourself, and actually doing the things you know you’re here to do.
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Ep 202 AA Cult Whistleblowing with Monica Richardson
<p>Today on the podcast we have 13th Step Filmmaker Monica Richardson sharing about 15 year journey of dissenting AA.</p><p>Monica first spoke up within AA wanting to make the rooms safer. Then she, along with others, wrote AA HQ in New York.</p><p>But people weren't wanting to hear about the crimes in AA and how to make it safer. This led her to speak up outside AA and eventually to make a documentary about the s*xual assualt and m*rder inside Alcoholics Anonymous. Monica's film is called The 13th Step.</p><p>Monica Richardson links:<...
Ep 201 AA Cult Whistleblowing with Carrie
<p>Today we have Carrie back on the pod with a livestream marathon conversation on what it's been like to dissent AA. </p><p>Carrie first "broke her anonymity" a year ago with her leaving and deprogramming AA Substack which you can find here. </p><p></p><p>🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here</p><p>🧠 Brain optimization tools → here</p><p>❤️🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here</p><p></p><p>Come vibe with me:</p><p>Kirsten's Facebook</p><p>Kirsten's Instagram</p><p>Kirsten's TikTok</p><p></p><p>📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighti...
Ep 200 AA Cult Whistleblowing with Quackaholics Anonymous
<p>April is dissent month around here. Today we're vibing with Victor from Quackaholics Anonymous (YouTube Channel and Facebook Group) about his experience dissenting AA for the past decade.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps: </p><p>00:00 Quackaholics Anonymous Speaks Out </p><p>03:00 12 Step Cult Whistleblowing Intro </p><p>07:19 Deprogramming While Dissenting </p><p>11:28 Deciding To Speak Out Against AA </p><p>18:37 Dissenting AA Early Days </p><p>25:53 Not Diseased, Defected, Broken </p><p>31:38 Hardest Part of Dissenting AA </p><p>40:02 Most Surprising Part of Dissenting AA </p><p>44:49 How Dissenting AA Grew Quackie </p><p>49:59 AA Cult Religion </p><p>1:04:06...
Ep 199 12 Step Cult Whistleblowing with Burn The Stigma
<p>Today we're sitting down with Tara Grace from Burn The Stigma YouTube, Burn The Stigma Facebook and Burn The Stigma TikTok to discuss what it's been like for her to 12 step dissent since 2020.</p><p>📚 Explore Deprogram AA, Cult Recovery and Critical Thinking books → here.</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Cult Whistleblowing Intro</p><p>05:26 Deprogram Book List </p><p>05:58 First starting to dissent </p><p>10:25 We are more than addiction </p><p>13:58 Evolving as a dissenter </p><p>18:03 Becoming a 12 step dissenter </p><p>20:52 Navigating initial pushback </p><p>26:50 What keeps Tara going </p><p>34:41 Thriving beyon...
Ep 198 Speaking Out Against AA: What No One Tells You
<p>Today marks one year of dissenting! And today is my 6 year anniversary of leaving Alcoholics Anonymous. What a wild ride this past year has been.</p><p>Today we're diving into what it's been like dissenting this past year. I've timestamped it in case you want to skip around and alll the links are below.</p><p>It's been great to have you hear this past year!! What a liberating year it's been. Team Freedom all the way.</p><p>We'll be feature some of your fave AA dissenters later this month to hear about their dissenting journey. As...
Ep 197 Kirsten's Leaving + Deprogramming AA Story
<p>Katie Lain of Thrive Alcohol Recovery interviews me (Kirsten!) about joining, leaving and deprogramming AA. We also talk about trauma, autism, ADHD and what can be going on beyond the misdiagnosis of "alcoholism." We dive into The Sinclair Method, which Katie's program is based upon, and discuss what dissenting has been like.</p><p></p><p>🔥 Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here</p><p>🧠 Brain optimization tools → here</p><p>🌶️ Neurodivergent Discovery Portal (with self assessments) → here</p><p>❤️🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here</p><p></p><p>Katie's YouTube</p><p></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Sobrie...
Ep 196 How AA Harms ADHD & Autistic People
<p>🔥 Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here</p><p>🧠 Brain optimization tools → here </p><p>🌶️ Neurodivergent Discovery Portal (with self assessments) → here </p><p>❤️🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here</p><p>Timestamps: </p><p>00:00 How AA Harms ADHD & Autistic People Intro </p><p>04:49 Bill W.'s Blind Spot Still Harms Neurodivergents </p><p>06:39 AA, Autism + ADHD Timeline </p><p>09:33 ADHD + Alcohol Use Disorder </p><p>11:02 AA + Misdiagnosis of ADHD </p><p>12:57 How AA Harms Neurodivergent People </p><p>14:20 Deprogram, Neurodivergent + Brain Resources </p><p>16:36 My Fave Brain Optimization Tool Come vibe with me: </p><p><br></p><p>Come vibe with me:<...
Ep 195 Sobriety Bestie Deprogramming AA Resources
<p>I'm super excited to gather all of the deprogramming resources (including ones you haven't seen before!) in one space.</p><p>It's all accessible from SobrietyBestie.com which is now like a deprogram 12 step hub.</p><p>I've moved my website to a new location with my name Kirsten-Johnson.com so that Sobriety Bestie can live on as a one stop deprogramming extravaganza start to finish freedom experience for those navigating the mindf*ck of leaving AA, realizing they were in a recovery cult and wanting to reclaim their mind, autonomy and life.</p><p>My hope is that...
Ep 194 Why I'm No Longer Deprogramming AA
<p>My AA deprogramming journey feels complete. I unpack it all in today's podcast.</p><p>I highly recommend getting the deprogramming checklist that's inside the free 👉 Escape Kit (It's in the very first lesson inside there along with an hour video unpacking it all. But you really only need the checklist at a glance to see where you may be.)</p><p>This of course is not the "rule" but it's a guide that I have found super helpful in my own deprogramming journey.</p>
Ep 193 Is ChatGPT Brainwashing You?
<p>A week ago I switched from ChatGPT to Claude and I want to share WHY with you. This was before the headlines and has nothing to do with politics.</p><p>This is about the language ChatGPT uses, even when you ask it not to, and the potential long term consequences of repeated exposure to this language.</p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Why I Switched From ChatGPT To Claude </p><p>05:59 ChatGPT Can't Stop Doing This </p><p>12:26 ChatGPT Authoritarian Language </p><p>16:13 Is AI Brainwashing Us? </p><p>17:28 My Cult Programming Experience </p><p>22:06 Taking Space From ChatGPT <...
