At the command of Jim Jones, more than 900 followers of The Peoples Temple drank a beverage laced with cyanide in an act that Jones labeled “revolutionary suicide”. Jones himself was found dead from a shot to the head. But the details of this mass suicide doesn't quite line up. Was this truly a mass suicide, or was it a mass murder? And did Jim Jones fake hi ... Show More
Oct 7
Panic in the Streets: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast
On Halloween Eve, 1938 Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds aired on CBS radio. It detailed an alien invasion so realistic that, according to legend, it caused widespread panic among listeners. People really believed aliens were invading Earth. The mass hysteria is an important pa ... Show More
47m 40s
Sep 30
Did a Psych Experiment Turn Ted Kaczynski into the Unabomber?
On April 3, 1996, Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski – better known as the Unabomber – was arrested, ending a 17-year-long bombing spree that left 3 dead and 23 injured. He promised to end his campaign of terror only after outlets published his 35,000-word manifesto; in his view, technolog ... Show More
42m 36s
Nov 2019
November 18, 1978: The Jonestown Massacre
On this day in 1978, Jim Jones, the founder of the People’s Temple cult, led a little over 900 followers to drink poisoned Flavor-Aid in a mass suicide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14m 32s
Mar 2022
Murder Made Me Famous: Jim Jones
Jim Jones was the cult leader and founder of the People’s Temple. Known for his extreme beliefs on Christianity, socialist politics, and racial equality, Jones is infamous for the mass murder-suicide he led of over 900 of his followers in Jonestown, Guyana. Urging his church’s me ... Show More
44m 18s