Inside The Zizians Cult: AI, Vegan Extremism, and True Crime

How does a brilliant young engineer go from writing about artificial intelligence and ethics to leading one of the most disturbing cult-like movements of the 2020s? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the Zizians — a shadowy group linked to multiple murders across Vermont, California, and Pennsylvania.

We explore how founder Jack “Ziz” LaSota used rationalist blogs, AI risk philosophy, and extreme vegan ethics to recruit vulnerable, high-achieving young people into a circle that demanded loyalty through mind hacking, debucketing, and sacrifice.

From recruitment tactics that started in online forums to the cult psychology that pressured members to sever family ties, we break down how ideas turned into identity — and how identity turned into violence.

If you’ve ever wondered how radical ideologies spread online, why smart pe ...