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Anke Richter

Contributing writer

Anke Richter is an international journalist based in Lyttelton and the author of CULT TRIP: Inside the world of coercion & control (HarperCollins). Her three previous books were published in Germany where she worked in newsrooms and TV. She is a co-founder of FACT (Fight Against Conspiracy Theories) and the director of Decult, New Zealand’s first cult awareness conference.

Escaping Utopia (Photo: Supplied)

Escaping Utopia reveals ‘a whole other level of what the hell’ to Gloriavale

After all that's been revealed by TVNZ's new documentary series, how does Gloriavale still have charitable status?

By Anke Richter | 27th March, 2024

Contributing writer

Images by Tina Tiller

The Sunday Essay: Meds didn’t fix my ADHD. Will meditation?

After trying meds with mixed results, I triggered the nuclear option: a silent meditation retreat.

By Anke Richter | 24th March, 2024

Contributing writer

The mud at Splore (Photo: Supplied, additional design by Tina Tiller)

The magical, the muddy and the mad: A summer of festival hopping

Sauna singalongs? Tick. Free nail polish? Tick. A run-in with anti-vax lawyer Sue Grey? Er... tick.

By Anke Richter | 4th April, 2023

Contributing writer

OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone (Photo: Netflix. Additional design: The Spinoff)

My weekend at OneTaste, the ‘sex cult’ made famous by Netflix’s Orgasm Inc

What happened when Anke Richter got a hands-on lesson in 'orgasmic meditation' at OneTaste in San Francisco.

By Anke Richter | 12th January, 2023

Contributing writer

OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone (Photo: Netflix. Additional design: The Spinoff)

My weekend at OneTaste, the ‘sex cult’ made famous by Netflix’s Orgasm Inc

What happened when Anke Richter got a hands-on lesson in 'orgasmic meditation' at OneTaste in San Francisco.

By Anke Richter | 12th November, 2022

Contributing writer

Image: Supplied/The Spinoff

How alternative festivals became platforms for conspiracy theorists

Covid denial and medical misinformation are rife at wellness festivals, but anti-conspiracy campaigners are fighting back.

By Anke Richter | 21st April, 2021

Contributing writer

Conspiracy cults and the mental health pandemic

Conspiracy cults and the mental health pandemic

The infodemic is spreading as fast as the pandemic. Anke Richter explains how cult-like behaviour can impact our mental health.

By Anke Richter | 19th September, 2020

Contributing writer

It’s business as usual for Keith Jacob at Scott Base

Watching the pandemic from a Covid-19-free continent

It's one of the most isolated places on the planet, but for those hunkering down in Antarctica for the winter, it feels like the tables have turned.

By Anke Richter | 9th May, 2020

Contributing writer

Be Scofield. Photo: supplied

Meet guru hunter Be Scofield, scourge of cult leaders around the world

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.

By Anke Richter | 3rd August, 2019

Contributing writer

A march for Victims of the Christchurch Mosque attacks in Duesseldorf. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

I’m German and I live in Christchurch. Let’s talk about swastikas

When we arrived to live in New Zealand we were shocked to discover how tolerant many people were of flagrant expression of neo-Nazism

By Anke Richter | 10th April, 2019

Contributing writer