Jonathan Hirsch, Part 1 - A Guru, a Compound, and the Cult of Adi Da

This week's guest is Jonathan Hirsch, podcaster, producer, and author who grew up in Adidam, a cult led by new age guru Franklin Jones - also known as Adi Da. In this week's episode, Jonathan explains how his parents joined the group while on a spiritual journey that started with them following a different guru, how many of Jones's followers were indoctrinated by listening to his tapes, and the cult's constantly changing belief system. They discuss one follower's fascinating experience seeing the doctrine differently after translating it into another language, what it was like growing up on the cult's compound (with parents that were acupuncturists for the leader), and how helpful it is to know that there are other "cult kids" out there. SOURCES Dear Franklin Jones

You can listen to Jonathan Hirsch, Part 1 - A Guru, a Compound, and the Cult of Adi Da online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Jonathan Hirsch, Part 1 - A Guru, a Compound, and the Cult of Adi Da is an episode from Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and the Abuse of Power by iHeartPodcasts.

This episode is 59:11 long.

This episode was published on Jan 21, 2026.

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