Inside the Tribe
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It’s 1996, and a young couple, Mark and Rose, have just returned to Sydney from living overseas. They are in love, with two beautiful kids, but they are at a loose end. One day at a local fair, they come across a Christian sect called the 12 Tribes.
The group, who live in seclusion, offer a utopia of love, peace and communal living, beholden only to the word of Yashua. But before long, Mark and Rose find themselves in a world of bizarre rituals and extreme beliefs, under the influence of a charismatic leader. They are made virtual slaves, the family shuffled around the world to prevent them escaping. So who are the 12 Tribes, and how has their leader managed to build a global following, unchecked for 50 years?
Hosted by Tim Elliott.
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Our Editor's Take
Inside the Tribe is a true crime podcast series that follows a controversial sect. Host Tim Elliott explores the troubling group known as the Twelve Tribes. The fundamentalist Christian religion has branches all over the world. The title of the group comes from the Twelve Tribes of Israel mentioned in The Bible.
This podcast focuses on the story of Mark and Rose, who got pulled into the Australian branch. In the 1990s, the young couple fell prey to the group's promise of a blissful community. What they found was a nightmare consisting of forced labor and horrible abuses.
The podcast host is an Australian author and journalist. His work has appeared in several publications, including The Sydney Morning Herald. He has written for the London-based Financial Times and The Sunday Times. One of his novels, The Bolivian Times, details his experience at the South American paper. With Inside the Tribe, Tim reveals a much more disturbing story.
The podcast follows the history of the Twelve Tribes, which began in the 1970s in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Throughout the '80s and '90s, their radical lifestyle gained followings in several countries. As more people learned about the group's practices, they became known as a cult. From child labor to sexual abuse, the Twelve Tribes have many negative associations. They have unusual courtship and child-rearing practices that border on illegal. Former members have also reported corporal punishment, including beatings and worse.
Inside the Tribe examines how Mark and Rose became trapped in this cult. Through their terrifying story, listeners learn how the Tribes exploit their members. Beyond their experience in the cult, the podcast explores its ongoing downfall. With the leadership crumbling and governments intervening, the abuse may stop. In the 1990s, this wasn't the case. Mark and Rose had no way out, and the cult remained secretive. This series is a narrative exploration of what cult survivors go through and live with.
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