Episode 45 - The Sullivanians Cult + Paralympic Spanish Basketball Cheating

First Adam (he/him) takes us into the world of cults! Saul B. Newton pretended to start a group based around free love, breaking down the nuclear family structure, and working closely with therapists for personal growth. Like every cult though,  it morphed it into something dark to satisfy his own twisted pleasure. The first cult you've ever heard of that moved into a city and started an acting troupe; Saul moves everyone to Manhattan and begins his possessive control over every aspect of his followers lives, especially when they try to leave.

Next Bec (they/them) tells us about how after Spain's basketball team won gold at the 2000 Summer Paralympic games, they were ordered to return their medals. Why? Turns out that 8 out of the 10 members were not disabled at all. Yes, the plot of a Johnny Knoxville movie actually happened in real life.


Adam's Sources:

• The Upper West Side Cult That Hid in Plain Sight | The New Yorker
• Inside the Rise & Fall Of A 1970s Upper West Side Cult - Gothamist
• The Sullivan Institute Was A Psychotherapy Cult Based In New York's West Side That Demonized Nuclear Families 
• The Fourth Wall | 2023 Tribeca Festival 
• Saul B. Newton - Wikipedia
• About – William Alanson White Institute 

Bec's Sources:

• https://www.mamamia.com.au/spanish-basketball-paralympic-team-2000/ 
• https://web.archive.org/web/20020502094647/http://www.accessibility.com.au/news/sport/para_cheat.htm 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMNBXU1rP9M&t=65s 
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2458715/Spanish-basketball-team-pretended-disabled-win-Paralympic-gold.html 
• https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-58598677 
• https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/sep/16/gilestremlett.features11 

​​https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/paralympics-disabled-spanish-basketball-sydney-24834683 

Make sure to follow us on instagram @unscrupulouspod and send us an email at unscrupulouspod@gmail.com