Buddha Not At The Gas Pump

Peter Cutler Shared this: Rick Archer's comments about why he has taken down certain interviews on Buddha at the Gas Pump. This is Rick's response from a question on BATGAP's Facebook page:

"We often get feedback from people regarding people I've interviewed. Most of it positive, some of it negative. In the latter category, some of it just personal opinion, some of it credible and disturbing. Frank Hand's comments above are mostly spot on. Most people I interview enjoy a surge in book sales, retreat attendance, etc. as a result. I call it the "BatGap Bump". (This was definitely true for me. It was actually a bit overwhelming.)

We do our best to vet guests before interviewing them, because we feel a great responsibility to our listeners. Sometimes we learn things about guests after I've interviewed them that would have dissuaded us from inviting them. Sometimes these things aren't too serious, and I leave the interview up. Other times they're serious enough to justify taking the interview down. "Serious" usually means the teacher is not what they appear to be. They may be taking advantage of students sexually, financially, etc.

I generally can't publicly divulge reports I've received in private. If I did so, the teacher would usually deny them anyway, and there might be legal repercussions. Sometimes I feel clear and confident in taking down an interview. Other times it's a struggle for me because the teacher is a mixed bag - doing good while having some troubling shadow issues.

The stuff I received about Anadi I can't post publicly. Just proceed with caution. I know people who have really enjoyed his retreats. The troubling info was from a friend who speaks Hindi, attended a retreat, and got "behind-the-scenes" info that others might have missed. She was also was disturbed by what she saw publically.

Regarding Teal, I don't know anything that isn't public knowledge. I'll watch her answer to allegations. Even the guy she was married to when I did the interview says there's something rotten in Denmark. I see Batgap as a stew, Certain ingredients may spoil the taste of the whole thing.

Just so you know, I've also taken down Andrew Cohen, Bentinho Massaro, James Swartz, and a couple who asked for theirs to be taken down because they were too dated, they no longer wanted the public exposure as a spiritual teacher, etc.

I hope that helps and I'll be happy to respond to feedback as time allows."