December 6, 2024 • 8 mins
Ever heard the term “drinking the Kool-Aid”? It all started with Jim Jones and his people’s temple cult in the 1970s. After outspoken support from people like Jane Fonda and First Lady Roselyn Carter, he led his followers to the jungles of Guyana in South America in 1978. In the end, over 900 people drank his cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right. Can you imagine needing emotional, intellectual, or spiritual
comfort so much that you'd be willing to sign your
life away to a powerful, mind controlling individual. Some call
it a fad, others a cult. And what happens when
you drink the kool aid and give up your life
for the cause. I'm Patty Steele. The Jonestown Massacre was
(00:21):
the actual origin of the term drinking the kool aid
and it left over nine hundred dead. That's next on
the backstory. We're back with the backstory. So cults are
nothing new. You can go back to ancient times in Greece, Rome, Egypt,
and so many other societies and see the rise of
(00:42):
these powerful influencers who basically hypnotized people into joining their cults.
In Greece and Rome, a lot of them were what's
called mystery cults. It was about the mystery of life itself.
Join them and you had the opportunity to control your
own life. That's what they told you. In order to join,
(01:02):
you had to be initiated in order to prove your
devotion to the belief system. Cults back then and now
are all about accepting the absolute authority of the leader.
Never questioning their decisions when it comes to your life,
and accepting their unreasonable fear of upcoming catastrophes and evil
conspiracies from the outside world, and most importantly, accepting without
(01:26):
question that the group leader is always right. In ancient times,
the belief in these spiritual cults allowed people to figure
out a reason for distressing events like hailstorms, winds that
prevented them from sailing, fires, and crop failures. If they
then put their faith in these beings, sometimes gods that
(01:46):
controlled their spiritual life, they could ask for their intervention
in times of struggle. So at the end of the day,
cult leaders, whether they're gods or human entities, attract people
who simply want to feel safe through the process of
being led, and over thousands of years that desire never
went away. How many of us feel safe around a
(02:08):
powerful figure. There's an old adage in the military that
in a time of crisis, people will listen to the loudest,
most powerful voice they can hear, and that is what
happened almost fifty years ago during the rise and the
ultimate fall of Jim Jones and his People's Temple. Jim
Jones was born in Indiana at the dawn of the
(02:28):
Great Depression. His parents were poor, his dad a World
War One vet, his mom totally unemotional, except for her
belief that her son was destined for greatness. Even as
a kid, Jim was fascinated by religion. He'd stage funerals
for dead animals or animals he'd killed himself. Neighbors said
he was an intense kid who was obsessed with death
(02:50):
and power, but he also had an ability to captivate people.
He saw religion as a tool for control. It wasn't
about salvation, simply domination. By the nineteen fifties, Jim Jones
was a minister in Indianapolis and opened to church he
named the People's Temple. It was progressive. He preached racial
integration and social justice. He welcomed black members into his
(03:14):
mostly white congregation and adopted children of different races to
form what he called his Rainbow Family. Those who felt
alienated by mainstream society saw him as a revolutionary, a savior.
But as the People's Temple grew, so did his need
for power. He started using faith healing to draw in followers,
performing miracles to heal the sick and disabled. The problem
(03:38):
is most of these healings were secretly staged. He would
plant people in the audience to fake their illnesses. He
moved his congregation finally to California and drew some pretty
powerful people under his spell. People like Jane Fonda sang
his praises for his devotion to Marxism, and California Governor
Jerry Brown even spoke at the People's Temple. President Carter's wife,
(04:01):
Rosalind Carter, appeared on stage with him, and Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist Herb Kane called Jim Jones a profoundly decent man.
The more powerful he became, the more power he wanted.
He demanded total loyalty and made his followers cut ties
with anybody outside the church, saying they were all out
to destroy the faithful. Meantime, members were viciously disciplined and
(04:25):
publicly humiliated if they didn't follow the rules. Fear and
paranoia were at the base of his cult's identity, and
he made it clear he was the only one that
could trust what to do escape. In nineteen seventy four,
Jim Jones founded a utopian community in the Jungles of
Guyana in South America. He promised that Jonestown would be
(04:48):
a paradise free from racism, inequality, and the outside world.
Hundreds of followers sold their homes, gave up their savings,
and followed him into the jungle. Problem is, it was
no paradise. There was nothing there but dense jungle. They
worked hours in the sweltering heat, clearing land, building primitive homes,
(05:09):
and growing crops. Descent was not tolerated. He had loud
speakers throughout Jonestown, broadcasting his voice day and night, paranoid
tirades about enemies closing in and the need for total loyalty.
He staged what he called white Knights, which were rehearsals
for mass suicide. He wanted his followers to see death
(05:30):
as an act of devotion. At this point, back in
the US, relatives started to freak out a little bit.
As stories about what was going on leaked out. A
congressman named Leo Ryan decided to launch an investigation. In
November of nineteen seventy eight, Ryan went to Jonestown with
a number of journalists and worried family members. At first,
(05:50):
things looked fine. Jim Jones offered a warm welcome with
smiling followers and happy speeches. About the joys of life
in Jonestown, but it all began to fall apart. Some
residents slipped notes to Ryan's team, begging for him to
help them escape. As Ryan got ready to leave, armed
guards from Jonestown rushed the airstrip. They ambushed the group,
(06:13):
killing Congressman Ryan, three journalists, and a defector. There were
some survivors, but the violent sealed Jonestown's fate. Back at Jonestown,
Jim Jones told his followers the enemies would storm them
and destroy their community. He said, the only solution is
revolutionary suicide. Cyanide was mixed with a fruit flavored drink,
(06:35):
Thus the kool aid and mothers were instructed to give
it to their children first. As the children died, the
adults followed. Armed guards made sure everybody did as told,
and anybody who resisted was forced to drink it. Jim
Jones himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to
the head. In all, authorities found over nine hundred people dead,
(06:56):
including around three hundred children. How did Jim Jones convince
so many to give up their lives? Pure manipulation, isolating
his followers, breaking their spirits, and enforcing blind loyalty to him.
In the end, Jonestown was the culmination of one guy's
quest for absolute control. Hope you like the Backstory with
(07:25):
Patty Steele. I would love it if you'd subscribe or
follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and
feel free to dm me if you have a story
you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele
and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis
(07:47):
Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history
(08:08):
you didn't know you needed to know.
All right. Can you imagine needing emotional, intellectual, or spiritual
comfort so much that you'd be willing to sign your
life away to a powerful, mind controlling individual. Some call
it a fad, others a cult. And what happens when
you drink the kool aid and give up your life
for the cause. I'm Patty Steele. The Jonestown Massacre was
(00:21):
the actual origin of the term drinking the kool aid
and it left over nine hundred dead. That's next on
the backstory. We're back with the backstory. So cults are
nothing new. You can go back to ancient times in Greece, Rome, Egypt,
and so many other societies and see the rise of
(00:42):
these powerful influencers who basically hypnotized people into joining their cults.
In Greece and Rome, a lot of them were what's
called mystery cults. It was about the mystery of life itself.
Join them and you had the opportunity to control your
own life. That's what they told you. In order to join,
(01:02):
you had to be initiated in order to prove your
devotion to the belief system. Cults back then and now
are all about accepting the absolute authority of the leader.
Never questioning their decisions when it comes to your life,
and accepting their unreasonable fear of upcoming catastrophes and evil
conspiracies from the outside world, and most importantly, accepting without
(01:26):
question that the group leader is always right. In ancient times,
the belief in these spiritual cults allowed people to figure
out a reason for distressing events like hailstorms, winds that
prevented them from sailing, fires, and crop failures. If they
then put their faith in these beings, sometimes gods that
(01:46):
controlled their spiritual life, they could ask for their intervention
in times of struggle. So at the end of the day,
cult leaders, whether they're gods or human entities, attract people
who simply want to feel safe through the process of
being led, and over thousands of years that desire never
went away. How many of us feel safe around a
(02:08):
powerful figure. There's an old adage in the military that
in a time of crisis, people will listen to the loudest,
most powerful voice they can hear, and that is what
happened almost fifty years ago during the rise and the
ultimate fall of Jim Jones and his People's Temple. Jim
Jones was born in Indiana at the dawn of the
(02:28):
Great Depression. His parents were poor, his dad a World
War One vet, his mom totally unemotional, except for her
belief that her son was destined for greatness. Even as
a kid, Jim was fascinated by religion. He'd stage funerals
for dead animals or animals he'd killed himself. Neighbors said
he was an intense kid who was obsessed with death
(02:50):
and power, but he also had an ability to captivate people.
He saw religion as a tool for control. It wasn't
about salvation, simply domination. By the nineteen fifties, Jim Jones
was a minister in Indianapolis and opened to church he
named the People's Temple. It was progressive. He preached racial
integration and social justice. He welcomed black members into his
(03:14):
mostly white congregation and adopted children of different races to
form what he called his Rainbow Family. Those who felt
alienated by mainstream society saw him as a revolutionary, a savior.
But as the People's Temple grew, so did his need
for power. He started using faith healing to draw in followers,
performing miracles to heal the sick and disabled. The problem
(03:38):
is most of these healings were secretly staged. He would
plant people in the audience to fake their illnesses. He
moved his congregation finally to California and drew some pretty
powerful people under his spell. People like Jane Fonda sang
his praises for his devotion to Marxism, and California Governor
Jerry Brown even spoke at the People's Temple. President Carter's wife,
(04:01):
Rosalind Carter, appeared on stage with him, and Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist Herb Kane called Jim Jones a profoundly decent man.
The more powerful he became, the more power he wanted.
He demanded total loyalty and made his followers cut ties
with anybody outside the church, saying they were all out
to destroy the faithful. Meantime, members were viciously disciplined and
(04:25):
publicly humiliated if they didn't follow the rules. Fear and
paranoia were at the base of his cult's identity, and
he made it clear he was the only one that
could trust what to do escape. In nineteen seventy four,
Jim Jones founded a utopian community in the Jungles of
Guyana in South America. He promised that Jonestown would be
(04:48):
a paradise free from racism, inequality, and the outside world.
Hundreds of followers sold their homes, gave up their savings,
and followed him into the jungle. Problem is, it was
no paradise. There was nothing there but dense jungle. They
worked hours in the sweltering heat, clearing land, building primitive homes,
(05:09):
and growing crops. Descent was not tolerated. He had loud
speakers throughout Jonestown, broadcasting his voice day and night, paranoid
tirades about enemies closing in and the need for total loyalty.
He staged what he called white Knights, which were rehearsals
for mass suicide. He wanted his followers to see death
(05:30):
as an act of devotion. At this point, back in
the US, relatives started to freak out a little bit.
As stories about what was going on leaked out. A
congressman named Leo Ryan decided to launch an investigation. In
November of nineteen seventy eight, Ryan went to Jonestown with
a number of journalists and worried family members. At first,
(05:50):
things looked fine. Jim Jones offered a warm welcome with
smiling followers and happy speeches. About the joys of life
in Jonestown, but it all began to fall apart. Some
residents slipped notes to Ryan's team, begging for him to
help them escape. As Ryan got ready to leave, armed
guards from Jonestown rushed the airstrip. They ambushed the group,
(06:13):
killing Congressman Ryan, three journalists, and a defector. There were
some survivors, but the violent sealed Jonestown's fate. Back at Jonestown,
Jim Jones told his followers the enemies would storm them
and destroy their community. He said, the only solution is
revolutionary suicide. Cyanide was mixed with a fruit flavored drink,
(06:35):
Thus the kool aid and mothers were instructed to give
it to their children first. As the children died, the
adults followed. Armed guards made sure everybody did as told,
and anybody who resisted was forced to drink it. Jim
Jones himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to
the head. In all, authorities found over nine hundred people dead,
(06:56):
including around three hundred children. How did Jim Jones convince
so many to give up their lives? Pure manipulation, isolating
his followers, breaking their spirits, and enforcing blind loyalty to him.
In the end, Jonestown was the culmination of one guy's
quest for absolute control. Hope you like the Backstory with
(07:25):
Patty Steele. I would love it if you'd subscribe or
follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and
feel free to dm me if you have a story
you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele
and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis
(07:47):
Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history
(08:08):
you didn't know you needed to know.
Host
Patty Steele
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