I’m on episode three of four of “Shiny Happy People,” which premiered yesterday on Amazon Prime. It’s about the Duggar family (in fact, the subtitle is “Duggar Family Secrets). One of the older Duggar children, Jill Duggar Dillard, is part of the documentary. Worldly “cousin Amy” also speaks.

It’s pretty harrowing watching. Yes, the Duggars are front and center, and their lifestyle is first portrayed as “shiny happy people” but the layers are peeled back and you learn this is a much larger thing. Even the abuse is part of it, because of the authoritarian nature of the teachings of JimBob and Michelle’s cult leader, Bill Gothard, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. The filmmakers also talk to women who attempted to raise their families within the IBLP structures and now adult children who are out.

It’s unpleasant to see how terrible so many people have been harmed by this cult. And yeah, it’s called a cult.