logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2017
52m 14s

Episode 86

Sword and Scale
About this episode
The 20 year anniversary of one of the strangest tales in modern American religious history is quickly approaching. On March 26th, March 26, 1997 Marshall Herff Applewhite led a group of 39 devoted followers to their final destination. In their minds they were headed to a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp Comet where they would be taken and transformed into perfect angelic alien beings, a state in which they would live forever. We're joined by Benjamin E. Zeller, Religious Historian and Author of the book "Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion."

Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
Up next
Nov 17
Episode 328
In a quiet Ohio town shaped by coal and tradition, Brad McGarry is found dead in his basement. At first, it looks like a break-in. But as detectives dig deeper, they uncover a complex friendship, a hidden relationship, and a web of lies that unravels in the interrogation room. Th ... Show More
1h 8m
Nov 6
Episode 327
When Kajavia Globe disappeared, her family’s worst fears came true in a city hardened by loss. As frustration with police mounted, the community - neighbors, a sanitation worker, a mother who refused to give up - kept pushing forward. In the end, justice came not from the system, ... Show More
58m 1s
Nov 2
Episode 326
A night of celebration at a remote cabin takes a horrifying turn when a fight breaks out and a young father steps in to calm things down. Within moments, the party descends into chaos, and a single act of violence changes lives forever.Get instant access to all episodes, includin ... Show More
1h 16m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2017
“Heaven’s Gate” - Marshall Applewhite & Bonnie Nettles
Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettle believed their bodies were merely hosts for extraterrestrial angels, and that they would one day ascend on a UFO to the “kingdom-level-above-human.” How did they come to believe this? Greg and Vanessa dig into the early lives and first meetin ... Show More
44m 14s
Feb 2023
What UFOs Say About Us
With the recent spate of UFO shootdowns by the U.S. Air Force, Heather and Joanne discuss America’s historical fascination with aerial mysteries, from John Winthrop and Increase Mather’s colonial reports of sightings, to the 1890s “Mystery Airship” craze, to the 1942 “Battle of L ... Show More
55m 30s
Nov 2022
Waco Siege & Branch Davidians Pt. 1
On February 28th, 1993, ATF agents raided a compound in Waco, Texas, belonging to a religious group known as the Branch Davidians. A 51-day standoff ensued, ending in a violent siege. Eighty-one people lost their lives, many of them children — but to this day, no one knows which ... Show More
33m 53s
Jun 2021
Full-Length Trailer
When Mars Hill Church was planted in Seattle in 1996, few would have imagined where it would lead. But in the next 18 years, it would become one of the largest, fastest-growing, and most influential churches in the United States. Controversy plagued the church, though, due in no ... Show More
3m 26s
Oct 2023
Exeter Incident
After dozens of UFO sightings plagued Exeter, New Hampshire in 1965, a skeptical investigative journalist named John G. Fuller came to town. The hours of interviews he conducted changed his mind – and led to the first Congressional hearing that discussed UFOs. Conspiracy Theories ... Show More
31m 56s
Aug 2019
E161: “Ritual Sacrifice” - Jeannette DePalma
16-year-old Jeannette DePalma disappeared one August afternoon in 1972 in the quiet suburb of Springfield, New Jersey. Six weeks later, her body was found decaying on a wooded bluff. It was surrounded by what some investigators thought were satanic symbols. But as the story of ri ... Show More
48m 26s
Feb 2022
152. American Crusades
On today's episode Tom and Dominic are joined by Andrew Preston, a Cambridge University professor whose new book focuses on religion in American war and diplomacy. What is the role of religion in the American outlook? How has it shaped foreign policy? What is the relationship be ... Show More
45m 49s
Feb 2019
Roswell
One morning in 1947 a rancher discovered debris on his property in Roswell, New Mexico. The debris didn’t look recognizable and the army was quickly called to the scene to declare it as a crashed weather balloon… but that’s not the only story. Many believe aliens were found at th ... Show More
44m 40s