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Sarah Steel

@letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social
1.2K followers 424 following 271 posts

Podcaster: Let’s Talk About Sects | Author: Do As I Say linktr.ee/letstalkaboutsects

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Reposted by Sarah Steel
Simon Rosenberg @simonrosenberg.bsky.social · 7h
"It should not go unnoticed that whenever the inflation conversation takes hold, profits never enter the chat. The usual suspects are happy to talk further cuts – to services and jobs – but never actually raising funds from those businesses that benefit from our pain." #RBA #inequality #auspol
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Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 25/09/2026
Many people don’t realize that many people in the tech industry, especially in its upper echelons, have developed a deeply harmful and delusional worldview they’re trying to impose on everyone else. That’s at the root of their misguided view of where AI is going. disconnect.blog/the-media-ha...
No, the real threat, according to these supposed geniuses, is that in ten years AI could break free from its human developers and decide it wants to kill humanity. If you’re big into science fiction, you might recognize that kind of a narrative: whether HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Terminator himself, this notion that our technology will come for us makes for compelling entertainment.

For more than a decade, people in the tech industry have been slowly deluding themselves into thinking those science fictional storylines were far closer to being realized than they are in practice. They think our future is one where we need to merge with computers, cover the face of the planet with data centers, and eventually start building them on other planets to fill with digital “people.”
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
m.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_8...
m.youtube.com
Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street
YouTube video by Musk
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 24/09/2026
over the past few weeks several AI evaluation/cybersecurity experts have explained how what's happening is a result of human incompetence rather than "AI going rogue". I'm begging the media to show a shred of journalistic integrity and stop parroting what altman or amodei say
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Josh Taylor @joshtaylor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If ultimately there's no criminal responsibility for this incident here then FOI just became a lot easier if we ask AI agents to go find those documents for us. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Albanese says OpenAI hacked Medicare and told Australia months later via email to generic inbox
Prime minister says he told Sam Altman he was disappointed it had taken OpenAI ‘way too long’ to disclose breach
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Leroy @leroylynch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Jehovah's Witnesses governing body has changed longstanding doctrine to allow followers to choose whether to accept red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma or platelets. There has been relief and anger in the wake of lives lost after transfusions were refused. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
Anger over lives lost as Jehovah's Witnesses shift on blood transfusion
The daughter of a Jehovah's Witness who died after refusing a blood transfusion on religious grounds in 2019 has expressed anger after the church altered its longstanding opposition last week.
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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"It is perfectly honest to say, 'I chose a private school because I want the best for my kid, but it is also true that private schools are bad for society and do more to reproduce inequality than to remedy it." Great @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social piece. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/private-sc...
hamiltonnolan.com
Private Schools Are Bad for Society
The starting point for any honest discussion.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
‘Many adherents believe humans must merge with AI to become a new species, or even that sentient AIs should replace humanity altogether. Some want to colonise the universe with “digital beings”.’ cheekmedia.substack.com/p/will-ai-re...
cheekmedia.substack.com
Will AI really lead to human extinction? An AI researcher unpacks the ideology behind the headlines
By Isabelle Kohout
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“Four sources with knowledge of the sect’s secret election influence campaign said Brethren elders had shifted their attention even before the Coalition’s 2025 defeat, with church middlemen reaching out to One Nation and other smaller parties with offers to help.” www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
smh.com.au
‘More power to redheads’: Brethren leader backs Hanson, building nuclear bombs
In a speech praising Hanson, the Exclusive Brethren leader also told his flock Australia should use its uranium to “build a few bombs”.
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Andy Fleming @slackbastard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.mediaweek.com.au/how-ai-helpe...
mediaweek.com.au
How AI helped flood the ABC with thousands of complaints
The ABC received 5,259 campaign-linked complaints as AI tools helped groups target its journalism over the Middle East conflicts in 2025-26.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Feels like the govt maybe isn’t doing enough to make the public understand that the support of an aging population lies in welcoming immigrants into the workforce
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“I want to draw your attention to another reality: Right now, the US economy & our financial futures are riding on Silicon Valley's bet that Al will soon be immensely profitable… that bet isn't looking good. The formula for a profitable business isn't complicated: make more than you spend…“
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Very worth reading this comprehensive overview of a lot of elements of the belief systems behind the hype that are less covered than they should be, in spite of many working to shift this
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I’m hanging out for @alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social’s Musk, but Going Clear (and the book, and so much more from survivors) has been available long enough now that it honestly surprises me how many people don’t have any qualms about watching TC films. Saddened that Iñárritu cast him.
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/09/2026
It's a Python loop and a chatbot. The people responsible didn't accidentally create god: they created autonomous malicious software and then failed to closely monitor it, resulting in it doing something both foreseeable and bad.
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Melanie Mitchell @melaniemitchell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I wrote down my thoughts about the last several weeks of AI hell. aiguide.substack.com/p/misleading...
aiguide.substack.com
Misleading Metaphors, Real Risks
What To Fear from AI Agents and How to Reclaim Our Human Agency
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Anyway, good piece in the Times here. (It still happens!) People are starting to talk very weird about AI on this site, and honestly it's kind of distressing seeing people fall into the abyss thinking it's alive. That ain't good. The rest of us should expect boring bad stuff and guard against it.
nytimes.com
Opinion | How Scared Should We Be of A.I. Right Now? (Gift Article)
The dark and distressing way that Silicon Valley talks about A.I. can be traced to a philosophy that influenced many tech executives.
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Ali Rubie @alir5.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
“Our governments are ramping up suppression of protest instead of tackling the very real threat to Australians’ welfare.” Yes, they do know something we don’t know. Climate refugees, food and water insecurity, unaffordable insurance and climate ‘permacrisis’ - good word @davemilbo.bsky.social
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Can’t wait for Alex Gibney’s latest “adventurous but methodical movie grounded in the thesis that, as he sees it, a dangerous huckster is stealthily aggregating power to exploit us”
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Eryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This thread (and essay) on a chain of AI-first private schools points to the staggering influence of the optimization cult. It reminded me of reading about children of acid cults or EST workshops. Kudos to Ben for digging in and laying this out.
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Kate Littlejohn @kelittlejohn.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I'm currently in the middle of PhD research that is showing unequivocally that this is not even close to a thing. Women are still massively underrepresented in the curriculum and almost every teacher I interviewed raised the manosphere's influence on male students as an explicit blocker.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Never in human history have so many people been forced from their homes, by persecution, by violence or climate shocks, by economic instability and political fragility.”
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A good primer on the PBCC and the accusations of election interference on 7am today 7ampodcast.com.au/episodes/the...
7ampodcast.com.au
The “cult” church accused of paying far-right activists for election stunts
Last year, the Prime Minister was ambushed in his hotel lobby by far-right figures boasting of being fed “private intel” during the last election campaign.  The incident was one of about a dozen stun...
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Esther Rockett 🚀 @estherrockett.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A Times Reporter went undercover at Scientology’s Edinburgh headquarters and uncovered labour exploitation including serious exploitation of children podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Undercover at the Church of Scientology
Podcast Episode · The Story · 13 August · 39min
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
bsky.app/profile/lets...
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Enshrined
A tattoo of a dog who has stolen some socks. It is a cartoon-like outline with a pop of orange colour striped on the socks.
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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 04/08/2026
Australia Institute research showed in 2023 that 69% of the inflation above the RBA's target after COVID was due to excess corporate profits. But the Reserve Bank continues to ignore profits driving inflation. #auspol @richarddenniss.bsky.social
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Esther Rockett 🚀 @estherrockett.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Your next thrilling read? Universal Predator is a true courtroom drama like no other. How I faced aggressive retaliation and defamation action when I exposed sleazebag guru Serge Benhayon and his creepy Universal Medicine scam #cults youtu.be/mcqETL6UlA0?...
youtu.be
Universal Predator - Esther Rockett reads the first 2 chapters of her memoir
YouTube video by Esther Rockett
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
A few more tix on sale for this one, will sell out again soon… festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/how-...
festivalofdangerousideas.com
HOW TO START A CULT // Anke Richter [GER/NZL], Laura McConnell
Inside of the world of coercion and control.
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Reposted by Sarah Steel
Senator David Shoebridge @davidshoebridge.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
It’s honestly outrageous that META continues to ban queer accounts across Facebook and Instagram. On the face of it a very obvious breach of discrimination law that the Government should be looking to enforce.
Sydney morning herald queer venues locked out as meta suspensions hit Melbourne and Sydney Some of Melbourne and Sydney’s best-known queer venues have been locked out of Facebook and Instagram accounts that they spent more than a decade building, in a wave of Meta suspensions that operators say cut their advertising to zero and left them with no way to reach a human being at the company.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
"For survivors of high-control groups, often referred to as cults throughout the inquiry, the 'monumental' report offers a sense their experiences were heard, and there was hope ahead." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...
abc.net.au
Cult inquiry recommends outlawing coercive control in groups
A Victorian inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups is recommending world-leading laws against group coercive control.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
The report is out! Much reading to do: www.parliament.vic.gov.au/cofg-reports
parliament.vic.gov.au
Reports - Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups - Parliament of Victoria
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into cults and "organised fringe groups" will table its report this week, earlier than we were expecting. Patrick McIvor (co-author of the Beyond Belief submission) has put together a scorecard by which we can measure it: patrickmcivor.com.au/2026/07/27/w...
patrickmcivor.com.au
What Victoria’s Cult Inquiry Needs to Deliver
This week, the Victorian Parliament’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is expected to table the final report of its inquiry into cults and organised fringe groups. The report follows an avalanche …
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Reposted by Sarah Steel
Fiona Parker @fionaparker1.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
FINALLY. Christian Brothers tried to say they had no money to pay out abuse survivors when they’d divested $billions into their education arm but said it had nothing to do with them. Lawyer says “It was a cruel, shocking way to treat people who were raped as children.” www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...
abc.net.au
Edmund Rice Education to pay out victim-survivors of Christian Brothers
Victim-survivors of abuse by members of the Christian Brothers organisation will be able to receive compensation for civil claims under a new payout proposal.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
My book will never earn out its advance, but you know what royalties I retain and receive each year in Australia? Public lending royalties!
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Being involved in something like this has been an intensely stressful experience, and seeing her face constantly pop up in the headlines I guess is a kind of weird exposure therapy at least? Pleased that this prolonged chapter of it is done now.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Single session tix are now available for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas just in case anyone was waiting for these… looking forward to it.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
“That Segal, the government’s official envoy, would present false material and bad-faith arguments to a royal commission is disturbing, but it also draws attention to deeper flaws in the commission.”
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
‘Christianity is an important part of the Australian story but it does not own that story. And if being “insulted and mocked” becomes a mechanism for eviction, every artist who challenges power is vulnerable.’
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Weird that letting people know about the terrible things done by the Israeli government does not, somehow, make people like Israel more. The only way we could possibly change this is censorship
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Petter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · 07/07/2026
Why does it matter what term we use? Because diagnoses imply remedies. If the problem is polarization, the solution is civility. Dialogue. Lowering the temperature. Finding common ground. Compromise. But what if the problem is right-wing radicalization?
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Finding out single points of failure is likely to be a big part of our lives from here on in yeah
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Overheard at lunch: “In Australia, high school is where you meet people who determine your future.” Yikes.
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Everybody in the "climate space" (which means everyone on earth...) needs to understand these mind-blowing figures. Google's "total electricity consumption jumped from 31 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 to 43 TWh in 2025." In ONE year. The AI corporate arms race is eating the world.
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Fight for the Future @fightforthefuture.org · 01/07/2026
If you’re as grossed out as we are at Meta’s latest AI surveillance state glasses, Kylie Jenner edition, you could always make it really uncomfortable for people to wear them & get them banned at places you frequent. Here’s the toolkit to do so: www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/glas...
Image of women with meta glasses sloped down on bridge of nose looking up at camera with tweet below image that says ‘meta glasses are cyber trucks for the face’
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Stoked to be chairing Anke Richter’s session at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas on 22 August, also featuring the excellent Laura McConnell. We will not be encouraging anybody to start a cult. festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/how-...
festivalofdangerousideas.com
HOW TO START A CULT // Anke Richter [GER/NZL], Laura McConnell
Inside of the world of coercion and control.
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Sarah Steel @letstalkaboutsects.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Admiring the strength of the complainant currently standing up in the latest court case against William “Little Pebble” Kamm (The Order of St Charbel) www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...
abc.net.au
Court hears girl was groomed to repopulate 'post-apocalyptic' world
A complainant has told a court that alleged NSW South Coast cult leader William "Little Pebble" Kamm groomed her for more than a decade.
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Briony Kidd @brionykidd.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Some useful insights for anyone worried about the encroaching data centre mess. #politas #auspol
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The Xylom @thexylom.com · 20/06/2026
The doomsday "cult" AllatRa has had extraordinary access to the late Pope Francis since 2024. AllatRa members have also participated in the two most recent UN summits on the climate crisis – COP29 in Azerbaijan, and COP30 in Brazil – as well as the 2025 Bonn climate conference.
thexylom.com
In Parliaments, TikTok and COP Summits, This Atlanta-Based Doomsday ‘Cult’ Spreads Climate Disinformation
AllatRa, a “religious cult” founded in Ukraine and now headquartered in Atlanta, has spread climate misinformation from parliaments and TikTok to COP summits, including the false claim that…
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
U.S. government claiming Musk has the right to poison Memphis because xAI is "vital" to national security, because the Pentagon signed a contract with them. Elite immunity is a cancer that causes cancer, among countless other ills. www.wired.com/story/doj-la...
wired.com
DOJ Lawyers Argue xAI Is ‘Vital’ for National Security in NAACP Lawsuit
In a bid to dismiss a lawsuit over xAI’s polluting gas turbines, the Justice Department claimed the company is integral to military operations—including the Iran War.
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