CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/10/2026
Patrick Ryan
The U.S. criminal justice system has long accounted for intellectual disabilities and intoxication when weighing the validity of statements, but a new research synthesis suggests it is ignoring a much more common factor: sleep deprivation.
The study reveals that fatigue doesn’t just make people tired—it fundamentally alters their ability to recall events, resist suggestive questioning, and understand their legal rights. The researchers argue that being awake for 24 hours can impair a suspect more than being legally drunk, making them significantly more likely to give false confessions just to end the “stressful moment.”
MSN: The cult of Mithras: Archaeologists find signs of ancient men-only mysterious religion in Germany
"...Raetia, a Roman province in central Europe that existed roughly from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, encompassed parts of what is now southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy.
The cult of Mithras, or Mithraism, was a mysterious religion. It was particularly widespread in military and commercial centres, and Roman legionaries were often among its followers. Only men were admitted. A local community typically consisted of around 15 to 40 members.
In ancient Persia, Mithras was called "Mitra" and was a god of covenants, loyalty and justice. The Romans turned him into a sun god. The Roman Mithras cult adopted many elements from Persian mythology, but also developed its own fundamental rituals and symbols. The motif of the "tauroctony" (from Latin taurus, bull) became central: Mithras kills the bull as an act of cosmic renewal.
The Romans had a graded system of initiation, with seven levels known to us: Corax (raven), Nymphus (bridegroom), Miles (soldier), Leo (lion), Perses (Persian), Heliodromus (sun-runner) and Pater (father), each with its own symbols, rituals and presumably tests or ordeals.
With the spread of Christianity, the secret cult disappeared."
In Part 1 of this two‑episode conversation, Magnolia Zuniga—one of only about 20 certified Ashtanga teachers worldwide as of 2015—joins us to unpack how a practice she loved became a textbook example of how charisma, secrecy, and male‑centered power can warp modern yoga. She traces her path from early days in Bikram to that first Ashtanga class in Los Angeles, explains the demanding Mysore method (memorized sequences, 5–6 day‑a‑week practices, and three‑hour sessions), and walks us through the Ashtanga hierarchy of authorization, certification, and total dependence on a single male guru in India for legitimacy.
Magnolia also describes, in detail, witnessing Pattabhi Jois’s sexual assaults on women during adjustments in Mysore, the way “choice feminism,” sunk‑cost fallacy, and the promise of advancement kept her and others silent, and why she now sees Ashtanga as a system that consistently protects “the practice” and male authority over the safety and bodies of overwhelmingly female students. For more context, check out The Walrus’s article on the topic, and stay tuned for Part 2.
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