On November 18, 1978, 918 people died in a mass murder suicide in the remote jungle of Guyana. Jim Jones, a charismatic evangelical preacher turned socialist revolutionary influenced his followers to sell their possessions and follow him to the promised land. Once isolated in the heart of darkness, Jim Jones, consumed by drug fueled paranoia, ordered his followers to drink cyanide after killing a Congressman.
The tapes and documents left behind by those who died and the words of those who survived, tell a deeper story.
Join us as we investigate what happened in Jonestown, and examine the history of Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple.
Latest Episodes
“Someone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” - Voltaire
“There is something so deeply sacred about worship. Its our romance together on a higher plane. “ - JJ
“As I lost control, the tire blew out and instantly, I thought of the Christ force of our Pastor Jim Jones, and a way was made. Thank you Jesus. A way was made! “ - PT member
“I did say there would be fiery trials, but I reiterate, and I do declare that I will not allow more to be put on you than you are able to bear.” -JJ
“Let’s keep on sharing and doing good, for other in our world. Let’s keep on living a better way so that others will change their minds and follow too. Yes, the world is changing, will you? “ - lyrics by Jack A Beam
“No, we don’t like to think of it becoming a desert wasteland, prophetic as I’ve seen it. It’s not the American people or the American country, it’s landscape that we’re opposed to, it’s the system, the false system that does not represent the people.” -JJ
“ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:14
“You wanna know how I feel, I never feel so good as when I say I am God.” - JJ
“A tiny kitten sits next to me. Watching. A dog barks. The birds gather on the telephone wires. Let all the story of this Peoples Temple be told. “ - Suicide note found in Jonestown
“It had to be someone who put on hands” - JJ
“Finally living the dream. On the back of the truck, riding out to the field, rocking back and forth bobbing through the crater potholes, beautiful jungle all around.” -Jordan Vilchez’s Poem “Sweet”
“I mean, I understand the Universe. But I know one damn thing: our mind goes beyond the Universe. It don’t stop in no damn casket. When you commit suicide, you’re in the worst kind of hell you ever were in.” - JJ
“You’ll find out how much special love there is for you. Ah yes sure yes, the files, the myriad numbers of files, COINTELPRO, and system files now, that push a button– A policeman can push a button out on the beat, and in a manner of minutes, he’s got your full report. - JJ
“For the first time in human history there seems to be no land of exile or immigration where groups of people sharing unpopular spiritual beliefs and practices can remove to live in peace. Turn on, tune in, drop out.” - Timothy Leary
“Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed” - JFK
“The truth about Jonestown is being covered up because our government agencies were involved in its destruction up to their necks. I am convinced of this because, among many other reasons, I was an informant when I first joined Peoples Temple.” - Mike Prokes