Rethinking Steiner: Chloe Weise on Waldorf Schools

A Little Bit Culty

Sarah Edmondson & Anthony “Nippy” Ames

True Crime, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2023

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

If you had a good Waldorf experience, we’re thrilled for you. Not all the schools are the same. Just like not all churches are the same. Don’t get your knickers in a knot. But if there are things about Waldorf that chap your ass, pour yourself some tea because we have just the guest for you.

In this episode Chloe Weise sheds light on her decade and a half in a Waldorf School before leaving for college and grad school. Now steeped in the scientific method and working in the tech industry, Chloe raises questions about Waldorf’s founder, Rudolf Steiner, and teachings openly called “Occult Science.”

Was Rudolf Steiner an early 20th Century German mystic, or an arrogant semi-Christian evangelist for things like astral bodies, clairvoyance, and overtly racist pseudoscience. We're here to find out what Chloe thinks. This is Chloe’s first time speaking publicly about her misgivings with Waldorf. We’re honored she trusted us with her experience. Without further adieu, here’s our chat with Chloe Weise.

NOTES:

Chloe Weise holds an MS in Evolutionary Biology and is a data analyst at Lumen Energy. Her research on paper wasps and logical reasoning was published in Proceedings B, the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal. You can find links to Chloe’s research on Twitter.

Chloe’s Instagram: @chloeweise

Chloe’s Twitter @WeiseChloe

Waldorf Watch: https://sites.google.com/site/waldorfwatch/welcome

Jennifer Sapio, PhD on why she “wouldn’t drink the kool-aid”: https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/waldorf-schools-are-inherently-racist-cults-91193d1fbef6

Please note, this series includes details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

Also…

Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, medical, or mental health advice.
0:05.2	The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast
0:10.0	and are not intended to malign any religion group club organization business individual anyone or anything.
0:17.0	I'm Sarah Edmondson and I'm Anthony air quotes nippy Ames and this is a little bit
0:30.5	guilty a podcast about what happens when things that seem like a great thing at first go bad.
0:35.6	Every week we chat with survivors, experts, and whistleblowers for real cult stories told directly by the people who live through them.
0:42.6	Because we want you to learn a few things we've had to learn the hard way.
0:46.1	Like if you think you're too smart to get sucked into something culty,
0:49.7	you're already prime recruitment material.
0:52.2	You might even already be in a cold.
0:54.0	Oops, you better keep listening to find out.
0:56.6	Welcome to season depths of the ocean
1:05.0	hanging on to win my love.
1:09.0	If I let go of it all I could leave, but I know. Welcome back to a LBC everybody, we have a great episode on the docket here, Sarah, what do you say?
1:17.0	Welcome back to a LBC, everybody.
1:20.0	We have a great episode on the docket here, Sarah.
1:23.2	What do you say?
1:24.2	I think so, and this is something that has been brewing since the beginning
1:28.2	as a topic many of you have requested,
1:31.4	and I just didn't have the right person to interview and I was thrilled
1:35.3	when Chloe Weiss reached out to us as a former student of the Waldorf School.
1:42.4	From the onslaught of never-ending plastic everything to school shootings
	...

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