1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: A zone. 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Media welcome, take it up here. I'm Andrew Sage of 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,880 Speaker 2: the Future Channel and Andeurism, and hap been digging into 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 2: political cults there drawn from the work of Dennis Turish 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: and Tim move Fourth in their book On the Edge 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 2: Political Cults Left and Right. I've spoken before about the 7 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 2: cult recruitment process, the contradictory positions held by cult members, 8 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 2: ideological totalism, and the commonalities of political cults, including rigid 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 2: belief systems, immunity to falsification, authoritarianism, arbitrary leadership, deification of leaders, 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 2: intense activism, and the use of loaded language. If you 11 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,919 Speaker 2: want the details on all that, you can check out 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 2: the first episode in the Political Cult series, or you 13 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 2: can check out my video on the topic, or you 14 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 2: can pick up the book on Political Culture yourself. As 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 2: I said, on the Edge Political Cults left and Right. Previously, 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: i've touched on the Laruche movement and the United Red 17 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 2: Army of Japan. Today we'll be looking at another key study, 18 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 2: this time of the various groups associated with Fred Newmann 19 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 2: refused politics seamlessly with psychotherapy. Today I'm joined by. 20 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 3: Oh this is my cue. Oh No, I've been waiting 21 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 3: for que and I've missed it. It's me a long 22 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 3: misser of queues. Uh sometimes host of this podcast. I 23 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 3: don't This guy's name sounds really familiar, but I cannot 24 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 3: remember what he was up to, so I'm very excited. 25 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, he has some interesting connections, very interesting connections. 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 2: If people want to learn more about him, they can 27 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 2: of course pick up the book, or they can check 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 2: out Terror, Love and Brainwashing, Attachments and Cults and Titalitarian 29 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 2: Systems by Alexandra Stein. But anyway, let's get into it. 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 2: Fred Newman was a Korean War veteran who earned a 31 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 2: PhD in the philosophy of science from Stanford University with 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 2: no formal training in psychology. Newman took a turn towards 33 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 2: Maoism in the mid nineteen sixties, as one is apt 34 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 2: to do. In the mid nineteen sixties, in a time 35 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 2: when the mantra the personal is political was coming into prominence. 36 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 2: There was a greater interest in fusing personal development and 37 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: political action, so that era bothed new psychotherapies cateringto a 38 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 2: mass market that sought both happiness and social justice. Psychotherapy 39 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 2: became something like a secular religion, which of course opened 40 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 2: it up to Charlatan's who would propagate their innovative therapies 41 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: and gain a following without actually testing or without any 42 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 2: scrutiny of the effectiveness of the ideas. By nineteen seventy, 43 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 2: Newman assembled a small collective in Manhattan, sharing an apartment 44 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 2: on the Upper West Side. By this time post By 45 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 2: this time, post the collapse to the Students for a 46 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 2: Democratic Society in the Broaden You Left, and coinciding with 47 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 2: the fervor of the Cultural Revolution, people were looking for 48 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 2: a new direction in a time when the psychotherapy bubble 49 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 2: was growing. Newman, as another of those charismatic therapists, would 50 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 2: attract a group of individuals who were yeunion for Hope. 51 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 2: New One's collective was first named if dot dot Dot then, 52 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 2: and it was indeed a fusion of radical sixties politics 53 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 2: and the New Age therapy of the seventies. Newman's concept 54 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 2: of social therapy or crisis normalization blurred the lines between 55 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 2: therapy and political activities, and the group would give rise 56 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: to the Centers for Change the CFC by nineteen seventy three, 57 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 2: which proudly identified itself as a Marxist Leninist Maoist organization. 58 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 2: The communal Roots of Newman's group had cast a cult 59 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: like aura from its inception. Core members were expected to 60 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 2: leave their jobs, sell their possessions, and sustain themselves through 61 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 2: activities like fundrais and on street corners, while embracing shared 62 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 2: living spaces within the group. Now buckle up for a 63 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 2: bit of a crossover episode here, because from nineteen seventy 64 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 2: three to nineteen seventy four Newman crossed paths with Lyndon LaRouche. 65 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 2: Oh God, yes, of course he did, mind you. He 66 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 2: links up with Laruche just after Laruche had completed Operation 67 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 2: mop Up, So he was just attacking his enemies on 68 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 2: the left and started shifting right wood if the use 69 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 2: those terms, and Newman is like, yeah, this is my guy, 70 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 2: this who I want to link up. So their collaboration 71 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: formed the United Front, comprising of Laruge's National Caucus of 72 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 2: Labor Committees, the NCLC at Newman's Center for Change, and 73 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 2: a third group led by Eugenio Parenti Ramos, which later 74 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: transformed into the Communist Party USA Provisional, which I have 75 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 2: to note. I have to note is distinct from the 76 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: Communist Part USA that most people know about. 77 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,799 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I'm pretty sure there's another. I'm pretty 78 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 3: sure it's also distinct from the Communist Party USA Revolutionary 79 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 3: Committee and also the Communist Party USA Provisional Committee. I 80 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 3: think those are if I'm remembering correctly, those are all 81 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 3: separate organizations. 82 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 2: Yes, yes they are. Yeah, Parentes group is actually connected 83 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 2: with the National Labor fre Federation. So anyway, these joint 84 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 2: forums were established and activities were coordinated among these groups. 85 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 2: By nineteen seventy four, in fact, the Center for Change 86 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 2: disbanded and Newman and his followers merged into the NCLC. 87 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 2: Oh God, there was sort of a convergence between l 88 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 2: Arusha and Newman and their perspectives of leadership, contre formulation, 89 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 2: and the manipulation of membership as Lucia's Apocalypse, Fair Moongarin and 90 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 2: elitism would merge very well with Newman's use of psychotherapy. 91 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 2: Of course, and you learn this quickly with cult leaders. 92 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 2: They don't get along well for along with other cult leaders. 93 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 2: So the fusion with Laruge led to inevitable clashes, while 94 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 2: within the NCLC, the Newman Group continued its operation and 95 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 2: tensions eventually reached a breaking point later in August nineteen 96 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 2: seventy four, Newman and his thirty eight followers left the 97 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 2: NCLC to established the International Workers Party or IWP, which 98 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 2: he declared was the vanguard of the work in class. 99 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 3: Oh, I love the seventies. 100 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 2: Indeed still you know Newman's association with Laruche had a 101 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 2: big impact on his thinking and future development. He aligned 102 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,600 Speaker 2: with a lot of Larusie's ideologies and was just as 103 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 2: dismissive of various left movements. Even though they split, they 104 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 2: still shared a distain for common citizens, their group's members, 105 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 2: and the principles were free society. Yet, despite dismissing most 106 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 2: left movements and saying that liberalism is fascism, Newman would 107 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:09,679 Speaker 2: occasionally dip his toes into democratic primaries infortate existing leftist organizations, 108 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: and utilized prominent black leaders to advance his own objectives. 109 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 2: But I realized I haven't fully explained the focus of 110 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 2: Newman's ideology. In most cases, cult leaders' ideologies ultimately hinge 111 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 2: on follow me. I'm the best, but you know they 112 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 2: have their unique quirks. Hey in there as well. Lucky 113 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 2: for us, Newman published a book on his ideas the 114 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 2: same year he parted with Rouge. In nineteen seventy four, 115 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 2: so the book was called Power and Authority, and he 116 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 2: basically cooked up a theory about the mind and society. 117 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 2: They became the gospel for his cult and the ultimate 118 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 2: manual for keeping his followers in check. According to Newman, 119 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 2: revolution wasn't just about overthrowing the bourgeoisie. He also had 120 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 2: to overthrow the bourgeoisie ego inside people's minds. So in 121 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 2: a sense, we cook in, you know, because you do 122 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 2: you have to sort of undo that brainwashing that you 123 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 2: get in a capitalist society. I mean, there's nothing wrong 124 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 2: there necessarily, but you see, he was taken cues from Marx, 125 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 2: Lenin and LaRouche, and his solution involved something called the 126 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 2: proletarian psychotherapy, where the workers of the mind took down 127 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 2: the rulers of the mind through therapy sessions that would 128 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 2: attack the bourgeois ego. Of course, he would be the 129 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 2: one lead in the therapy, because you know, he hated 130 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,559 Speaker 2: Freudian and other psychotherapies as just boosting the bourgeois ego, 131 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 2: and he especially hated that regular therapy is aimed to 132 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 2: cut the emotional umbilical cord with the therapist and restore 133 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 2: a healthy, independent ego. When his social therapy meant to 134 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 2: build up a forever dependent proletarian ego that would only 135 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 2: wither away when the proletarian stayed with us away, so 136 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 2: basically never Newmann's doctrines worked for his purposes, though his 137 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 2: followers were stuck in this sloop of dependency for over 138 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 2: twenty five years. He had an additional component his control mechanisms, though. 139 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 2: He developed a concept called friend or sexuality. So in 140 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,839 Speaker 2: his organizations, casual sexual relationships were arranged where a designated 141 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: friend that you also had sex with monitored and critiqued 142 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 2: individuals to maintain control. If pregnancies ever arose, they were 143 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 2: usually told to get abortions. And as for new And himself, 144 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 2: his inner circle was referred to as his haram or 145 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 2: his wives, and they served as both trusted lieutenants in 146 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 2: the administration and trusted lieutenants in the bedroom if you 147 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 2: dig ah, So yeah, now let's get into those segments 148 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,559 Speaker 2: that we can call Newmann and the FBI sitting in 149 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 2: the tree essig. Because after the IWP was formed and 150 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 2: briefly flirted with Marlene Dixon's Democratic Workers' Party, which was 151 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 2: another cult, Newman ended up contacting the FBI. By the way, 152 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 2: we are still in nineteen seventy four, very eventful year. 153 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 2: So what happened was a guy named Jim Rutherford bailed 154 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 2: on Newman's cult and took the child that was probably 155 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 2: conceived in the cult with him. But you see, the 156 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 2: child's mother and Green, who stayed in the cult, and 157 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 2: she wanted her child back. So Newman recruited two cult 158 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 2: members that were also lawyers to get the FBI involved 159 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 2: and finding Rutherford and the child. So the dial of 160 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 2: the FBI set up a meet in between Green and 161 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 2: the agents, and then Green spilled a tea that Rutherford 162 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 2: used to roll with the Weather Underground and also had 163 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 2: connection to the fugitive named Jane Albert. Fast forward to 164 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy six and Newman's IWP gets exposed by a 165 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 2: splinter group for working with the FBI. But instead of 166 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 2: denying it, Newman pins the blame on Anne Green and 167 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 2: the two lawyers and basically pretends that they acted on 168 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 2: their own without his direction, because obviously the man's only 169 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 2: looking off himself. So that was a fun of a side, right, 170 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 2: little collaboration with the FBI. 171 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like if you're going to be a snitch 172 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 3: at least have like at least have the basic decency 173 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 3: and self respect to admit that you were the snitch 174 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 3: and not blameing and on someone else. 175 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 2: No better cultader would ever do that, though no terrible 176 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 2: stuff carrying on chronologically. In nineteen seventy seven, Fred Newman 177 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 2: shifted his focus to the political scene of New York 178 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 2: City's Upper West Side and basically rebranded his group as 179 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 2: the New York City Unemployed and Welfare Council. At this point, 180 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 2: he abandoned the idea of an open vanguard formation and instead, 181 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 2: while recruiting through therapy, gained political influence within other groups 182 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 2: and formed a broad and ill defined front organizations that 183 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 2: could pursue the cult schools without too much heat on 184 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 2: himself personally. Newman was actually able to get one of 185 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 2: his cult members elected on the local school board, and 186 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 2: that led to some liberals digging into Newman's background and 187 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 2: group dynamics, where they found that indeed he was running 188 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 2: a therapy cult where they relinquished jobs, severed political ties, 189 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 2: and surrendered all property and savings. The cult, cut off 190 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 2: from the outside world, busy with group activities and trapped 191 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 2: in endless meetings, the Newmanites lacked feedback from reality, which 192 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 2: kept them in line. So Newman's electoral victory in the 193 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 2: form of the school board member of his own cult, 194 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 2: gave him a taste a little for electoral activism. So 195 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 2: when he crossed paths with Black nationalist Leonora Fulani, together 196 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 2: they formed the New Alliance Party or NAP in nineteen 197 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 2: seventy nine. I'll just call it the NAP, right. 198 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 3: If I feel like we need to start like a 199 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 3: party counter we're at like four five already. 200 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, IWP, THENAP, yeah, the Communist Party professional yeah. 201 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 2: Flanni ran for lieutenant governor of New York in nineteen 202 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 2: eighty two, and in nineteen eighty eight and ran for president, 203 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 2: becoming the first black woman to do so, gaining ballot 204 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 2: status in all fifty states and receiving nearly one million 205 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 2: dollars in federal matching funds. She ran again in nineteen 206 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 2: ninety two and again qualified for ballot status in all 207 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 2: fifty states, this time receiving two million dollars in federal 208 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 2: matching funds, and she secured a whop in seventy three 209 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 2: thousan seven hundred and eight votes. 210 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 3: That's always the depressing thing with these like the vanity 211 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 3: electoral campaigns is seeing how much money they spent getting 212 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 3: like seven votes. 213 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I mean you'll never guess where this money 214 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 2: was going. 215 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: Oh no. 216 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 2: In the background, new Ones financial maneuvers seem to be 217 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 2: fundling a lot of the party's funds into other organizations 218 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 2: affiliated with Newman. Lauren Redwood, working class lesbian, actually shared 219 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 2: her experiences working under the NAP in a letter to 220 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 2: a gay newspaper in San Francisco. I won't read the 221 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 2: whole thing, but she basically talks about how she was 222 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 2: excited to help a black woman run for president, and 223 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 2: she even found a lover while working on the campaign 224 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 2: in Indiana. But quote, when it came time for NAP 225 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 2: to leave Indiana, she I'm assuming the lover asked me 226 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 2: to go with them, and I did. I was given 227 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 2: forty eight hours to prepare. I quit my job, left 228 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 2: my whole my friends put me belongings in storage, found 229 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 2: a home for my pet, and gave the use of 230 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 2: my car to NAP for in exchange for their take 231 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 2: and over the pay months as a working class lesbian, 232 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 2: I thought I had finally found a political movement which 233 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 2: included me. What I found instead, was an oppressive, disempowered, 234 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 2: and misogynistic organization. All my decisions were made for me 235 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 2: by someone else. I was told where to go and 236 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 2: who to go with. I worked seven days a week, 237 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 2: sixteen to twenty hours a day. I had two days 238 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 2: off in two and a half months. There was an 239 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 2: incredible urgency which overrode any personal needs or considerations, an 240 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 2: urgency that meant complete self sacrifice. I felt totally powerless 241 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 2: over my life, forced into a very submissive role where 242 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 2: all control of my life belonged to someone else. I 243 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,120 Speaker 2: had given up everything for the campaign, my job, my home, 244 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 2: and my support system. I felt desperate and late in 245 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: the letter, she said that I was completely exhausted, so tired, 246 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 2: I was unable to work well. Being unable to work, 247 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 2: I had no income as I was expected to raise 248 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 2: my salary myself in addition to raising money for the campaign. 249 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 2: And she also spoke about losing herself in this social 250 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 2: therapy thing that Newman was doing, as a lot of 251 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 2: independent thought was discouraged. This was Newman's whole emo, you know, 252 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 2: manipulating individual distress to transform members into political activists under 253 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 2: total control, replacing the traditional support structures that people would 254 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 2: have been coming from with the cult as a new family, 255 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 2: and despite some claims of dissolution, the evidence suggested that 256 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 2: the International Workers' Party continued to exist even as the 257 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 2: NAP was in existence, as members divested assets and funding 258 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 2: towards the idol be the whole time. Now, it's quite 259 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 2: interesting to learn the justification for why new and picked 260 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 2: Leonora Fulani in particular, and then would also link up 261 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 2: later with some of the people that I'm about to 262 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 2: talk about. So you're familiar with Antonio Gramscie, right, Yeah. 263 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 2: He introduced the concept of the organic intellectual, suggesting that 264 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 2: each social class naturally produces a stratum capable of projecting 265 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 2: its historic mission and a Germany on the flip side, 266 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 2: Lenin in his What Is to Be Done Manifesto, envisioned 267 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 2: a vanguard of professional revolutionaries from the intellectual elite to 268 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:40,439 Speaker 2: bring socialism to the working class. Neumann was influenced by 269 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 2: both concepts and considered his core group to be a 270 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 2: vanguard mainly composed of white, middle class traditional intellectuals, often 271 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 2: working as therapists for newmanite fronts. But here's the twist. 272 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 2: He borrowed gram Shee's organic leader's term and connected with 273 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 2: pull of color that had organic basis of support in 274 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 2: their communities and would use them to advance the interests 275 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 2: of his secretive white. 276 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 3: Vanguard ah the PSL. 277 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 2: Indeed, so that's why Newman would create his own version 278 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 2: of the Rainbow Coalition with his Rainbow Assembly, and also 279 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 2: would engage with people like Lewis Farkhan, Al Sharpton and else. Yeah, However, 280 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 2: and political incoherence goes BurrH, he'd also link up with 281 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 2: vague populist movements like Ross Peru's Reform Party, who he'd 282 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,679 Speaker 2: work to register voters for, and in an effort to 283 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 2: gain more voters for the right winger Ross Peru's Reform Party, 284 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,199 Speaker 2: Newman and Fulani would encourage the Patriotic Party at the 285 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 2: Independence Party of New York to link up with Peru, 286 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 2: and then in nineteen ninety nine, the Newmanites threw their 287 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 2: support behind the Paleo conservative pat Buchanans presidential campaign. So 288 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 2: in addition this political activity is Fred Newman wore many hats. 289 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,920 Speaker 2: He considered himself a playwright and sales the artistic director 290 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 2: of the Castillo Theater. He also directed train in at 291 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 2: the East Side Institute for Short Term psychotherapy, authored books 292 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 2: featured at the Castillo Bookstore, and operated social therapy centers 293 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 2: in various cities, describing them as a unique development community. 294 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 2: Despite the deprivations imposed on his followers, as they can imagine, 295 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 2: Newman lived quite comfortably. In nineteen ninety three, he bought 296 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: a substantial greenwich for thee Brownstone for nearly a million dollars. 297 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 2: I mean, who says a cult of revolution and therapy 298 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 2: can't be profitable, right? 299 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,080 Speaker 3: Keep I keep thinking about that. Oh God, I forget 300 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,879 Speaker 3: which of the the Nepali Maoist parties it was. But 301 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 3: one of the guys who was the head of one 302 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 3: of the Nepalese Maoist parties been like fighting a guerrilla 303 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 3: war for a long time. The end of it was 304 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 3: he moved into the house of the guy, the mansion 305 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 3: of the guy who'd been like Nepal's chief security minister. 306 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 2: That's wild. 307 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 3: It's a revolution because it goes in a circle, and 308 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 3: you went up right back where you were. 309 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:23,120 Speaker 2: I don't remember that one. That's a that's a good quote. Yeah, 310 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 2: a lot of these organizations like blatantly cults. But of 311 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 2: course Newmann, Fulani and others would always deny that they 312 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 2: were in a cult. These cults always do. So you 313 00:20:36,119 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 2: look at the evidence, and the evidence points to cult. 314 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 3: Yeah, my, my, my not a cult. T shirts raising 315 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 3: a lot of questions that are answered by the the 316 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 3: T shirt. 317 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, I love how when I first introduced my 318 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 2: my organization after apply disclaimers were actually not a cult, 319 00:20:53,760 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 2: you know, like that one meme from King of the Hill. Yeah. 320 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: Right. 321 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 2: So one critic of Newman wrote an article called Inside 322 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 2: the New Alliance Party Dennis Surrett, and despite initially thinking 323 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,399 Speaker 2: that the NAP was a progressive organization, he ended up 324 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:22,919 Speaker 2: detailing psychological control, racism, sexism, and the use of millions 325 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 2: of dollars to manipulate well mading individuals, particularly targeting the 326 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 2: black community. The internal structure was, of course hierarchical, as 327 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 2: Newman lived luxuriously while the rank and file members worked 328 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 2: to long hours and even faced mandatory taxes to support 329 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 2: new One's seaside mansion. Oh my god. Newman's political positions 330 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 2: were opportunistic, obviously, they changed based on the perceived benefits 331 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 2: to him and his attacks on individuals. Organizations were ruthless 332 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 2: when they failed to support him. When members joined, whether 333 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 2: through politics or therapy, they were required to reveal all 334 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 2: their resources and turn them over to the organization. They 335 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:11,760 Speaker 2: had to go through mandatory psychotherapy sessions, which served as 336 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 2: a method to recruit vulnerable individuals, exploit their weaknesses, and 337 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:20,880 Speaker 2: control their behavior. Now in another article, Marina Ortiz, who 338 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 2: was a former leader in the New Alliance party, explained 339 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 2: why she resigned from the NAP. What happened was the 340 00:22:29,119 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 2: leadership told her to put her child in foster care. 341 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 2: I assume because the child and her child care was 342 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:40,679 Speaker 2: getting in the way of her full dedication to the cause. 343 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 2: So she revealed the NAP did not live up to 344 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 2: claims of promoting democracy obviously, and would use manipulative tactics 345 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 2: and obstruct minority empowerment, and had a long history of 346 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 2: attacking progressives and embracing Pero's nineteen ninety two presidential bid 347 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 2: and the harsh treatment dissenting voices. In the end. In 348 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 2: the book On the Edge, Denis Turasi tim more Forth 349 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 2: ended up determining Newman's work new age Leninism, which I 350 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 2: think is a really good phrase to use to describe 351 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 2: what he was doing. He had a strong knock for 352 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 2: manipulating politics, and even with Newman dead and gone. The 353 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 2: Newmanites have already proved themselves skilled political operatives, regardless of 354 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 2: their actual size, so the potential for someone to fill 355 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 2: his role in the future definitely remains, especially given the 356 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:40,440 Speaker 2: state of US politics. If you want to learn more, 357 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 2: like I said, definitely read on the Edge and also 358 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 2: check out the article how Totalism Works by Alexandra Stein, 359 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,160 Speaker 2: who was a survivor of a different cult who ended 360 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 2: up doing a dissertation on newman As. For final words, 361 00:23:53,920 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 2: stay away from cults base if it has democrat actic 362 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 2: Workers Party or People's Party of such and such or 363 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 2: popular support, m hm, scrutinize it a little bit. You know, Look, 364 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 2: let's look at the structure. That's like what they're asking 365 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 2: you to do, especially if the leadership considers themselves a 366 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 2: vanguard despite having like fifteen members. Honestly, you probably shouldn't 367 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 2: follow a group of any size that considers itself a vanguard. 368 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 2: But that's typical for something for someone like me to 369 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 2: put that. That's all I have to say on New One. 370 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 2: Check on your friend with sexuals. They're probably going through 371 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 2: it right now. Or power to all the people please. 372 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:55,880 Speaker 1: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 373 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visitor website cool 374 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: zonemedia dot com, check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 375 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,959 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, you can 376 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,679 Speaker 1: find sources for It could happen here, updated monthly at 377 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,959 Speaker 1: coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.