Owen Kelly and Ken Worpole follow their discussion about the ways in which experiments with living arrangements regularly occur and then reoccur. In this month’s episode they look at cults: at how we can define these, why they grow and spread, and what this means for cultural democracy.

Their conversation begins with an article of Ken Worpole’s called 6 Days in a 70s Utopia, which New Humanist published in their Summer 2019 edition. This recounts the story of a visit from a group in Hackney to a small town in Denmark where a dedicated group led a radical experiment in education and living.

The discussion then broadens to take in questions of definition: between cults and sects, and between religious communities and political groups. This draws from a wide range of reference points.