What do a mosque shooting victim in Christchurch and a Hollywood supermodel have in common? Anke Richter looks at the mental health fallout of cult-like conspiracy movements. Three weeks ago, I sat in the High Court in Christchurch for the sentencing of the mosque terrorist and listened to 91 victim impact statements over four days. … Read more
Engineer Keith Jacob, from Northland, is one of 11 New Zealand crew members spending the winter at Scott Base in Antarctica. It’s the only continent free of Covid-19, yet one where isolation is part of the usual drill. Anke Richter: How was your last weekend, Keith? Keith Jacob: Very social. We had a whole … Read more
One woman’s online mission to blow the cover of false prophets around the world is becoming more and more taxing. Anke Richter talks to guru hunter Be Scofield, who is determined to bring sexual abuse in spiritual disguise to light. On our first meeting, via video link, Be Scofield was somewhere on the east coast … Read more
When we arrived to live in New Zealand we were shocked to discover how tolerant many people were of flagrant expression of neo-Nazism, writes Anke Richter When we migrated to New Zealand 16 years ago as a family, many things were different to our old life. Bus drivers were friendly. “North facing” meant sunny and … Read more
How did Conscious Light, a ‘documentary’ on cult leader Adi Da, end up getting shown at a public library? Anke Richter goes down the rabbit hole. Give me a cult doco like Holy Hell, The Family or Wild Wild Country any day. I’d happily pay a lot more than the small koha they ask you … Read more
Protester and performance artist Jazmine Rose Phillips talks to Anke Richter about the assault and police inaction which led to her naked protest on Karangahape Road. NB: The following images contain nudity Last week, performance artists Kyah Dove and Jazmine Rose Phillips stood naked and covered in fake blood in front of St Kevin’s Arcade … Read more
Angel, Dove, Mercy and the rest of the flock are back, as happy as ever in blue. Writer Anke Richter, a cult observer, watches Gloriavale: The Return. This was originally published on 14 May 2018. The best thing I could do to prepare myself for Gloriavale: The Return was to catch up on the latest … Read more
It’s free, four hours long and promises ‘A World of Adventure and Discovery’. But does the Gloriavale concert present a true reflection of the fundamentalist group? Anke Richter heads along. Fog hovers over Lake Haupiri while the sun sets behind dense West Coast bush. A yellow sign at the turnoff from the empty road says … Read more
Hopeful Christian’s death might flatten the spirit at Gloriavale but it has spiked their potential for mockery – and celebrity. Can something so discomforting also be humorous, asks Anke Richter Only a PR God could have made this happen: the patriarch of Gloriavale died last Tuesday – the same day that the new episodes of … Read more
Angel, Dove, Mercy and the rest of the flock are back, as happy as ever in blue. Writer Anke Richter, a cult observer, watches Gloriavale: The Return. The best thing I could do to prepare myself for Gloriavale: The Return was to catch up on the latest episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’d be a … Read more
Zoë Brock is one of six women who have launched legal action against Harvey Weinstein, arguing that the sexual misconduct by the mogul – who has repeatedly denied any illegality – is akin to organised crime. The New Zealander now speaks for the first time since the class-action lawsuit was filed last week: about her … Read more
For an ex-member of New Zealand’s one and only ‘sex cult’, the parallels between Centrepoint and Gloriavale raise some serious questions about the government’s handling of sexual abuse accusations in religious communities, writes Anke Richter. Three years ago I spent many afternoons on a sofa in Barri Leslie’s living room in Brown’s Bay, recording her life … Read more