Running River – the Divine Madness School (Interview Episode)

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

AJ was sent to Running River school around 2007, to attend kindergarten when she was five or six years old. The school was headed up by longtime Divine Madness community member Nancy Monson, and founder Marc ‘Yo’ Tizer didn’t have a whole lot to do with it. AJ stayed in the school up until sixth grade when a new teacher became concerned and shared with parents some of the things he had found out. As soon as AJ’s parents realised the serious deficits in her education, as well as some other worrying details, they pulled her from Running River. The school shut down soon afterwards, around 2014.

Before you listen to this interview episode, if you haven't already you can get some background on this group with our deep dive on Divine Madness here and a more recent installment about the group with Deru Youmans here.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com).

EPISODE LINKS

• Running River — archived snapshot of the school website from 5 April 2005

• Inner Journey Wilderness Camps — archived snapshot of the 'Summer overnight camps for girls' website from 11 March 2022

• Inner Journeys Wilderness Camp for Girls — a new listing for the girls' camp, added to this page January 2025