The Cult Vault
The Oracle's Daughter with Harrison Hill
In this episode, Kacey interviews journalist Harrison Hill about his first book, The Oracle’s Daughter: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult. Hill describes The Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps (ACMTC), founded in the early 1980s by ex-hippies Jim and Deborah Green, with Deborah claiming prophetic status and building a militarized “spiritual army” using broadcasts and leaflets, later fleeing legal trouble and ending up on a remote New Mexico compound raided in 2017. The book’s through line is their daughter Sarah Green, who grew up in the group, later escaped at 26, and faced an impossible choice involving her children; it also examines who joins extremist groups, how people leave, and broader American religious history. Hill recounts meeting Sarah via his brother, expanding a 2021 Cut article into a book through extensive interviews, travel, and documents, handling hostility from the still-active group, and using its website as a key archive. He discusses balancing perspectives on Deborah, Sarah, and early member Maura, aiming to portray Deborah as a complex, tragic figure. Hill shares that Stephen King praised the book on Twitter, that he narrated the audiobook himself, and that he is returning to magazine work while considering another book. Harrison Hill | Author of The Oracle’s Daughter Aggressive Christianity--Home of Shim Ra Na Holy Tribal Nation Crimecon UK - www.crimecon.co.uk (use code CULT for a 10% discount!)
