Transmissions From Jonestown
On November 18, 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana, over 900 people died in one of the largest mass murder-suicides in modern history. Locked deep within an FBI vault, the audio tapes documenting the rise and fall of Peoples Temple were sealed away until they were finally made public more than 20 years later. From Jim Jones' shadowy beginnings as a faith healer to the final, tragic night when his devoted followers drank cyanide laced Flavor Aid, Transmissions from Jonestown pieces together the story of a movement that spiraled into catastrophe. Transmissions from Jonestown is a true crime podcast and investigative audio documentary that exposes the untold story of Peoples Temple and the Jonestown tragedy using rare archival recordings, interviews with survivors, and original research. More than the story of a cult, this is an important chapter of American history that challenges everything we thought we knew about power, belief, and the cost of blind devotion.
Episodes
On November 18, 1978, an entire community of United States Citizens died deep in the jungle of Guyana. At the command of their charismatic leader Reverend Jim Jones, over 900 members of the Peoples Temple agricultural project lost their lives. Some believed they were sacrificing their lives for revolutionary suicide, others were forced or coerced by the group. A colorful toxic mix of Flavor Aid, Kool-Aid, and cyanide was passed aro...
Leading up to the release of the New West exposé Jim Jones fled to his jungle compound bringing several hundred Peoples Temple members with him. Jonestown ballooned from a small settlement to a makeshift city of over 900. As food dwindled and supplies vanished, Jones's voice echoed day and night through Jonestown's public address system as he ranted paranoid warnings of a coming siege. Under the blistering sun,...
Jonestown prepared for its final reckoning. Unable to postpone Congressman Leo Ryan's inquiry any longer, Jim Jones orchestrated an elaborate facade. Dinner was served, the...
Of all the evidence recovered in the aftermath of the Jonestown massacre, one artifact confirmed the unthinkable: an audio tape found in the pavilion, surrounded by the bodies ...
What happened to the survivors of Jonestown? In the wake of the mass suicide, the killing did not stop. This episode investigates the devastating aftermath of the Peoples Temple tragedy as we investigate the suicides, murders, and mysterious deaths that followed the survivors home. Long after the cries in the jungle faded to silence, a dark reckoning began stateside that echoed the final warnings of Jim Jones. On this ...
Beneath Guyana's lush canopy lies a complicated history. A land where historically, dreams of paradise spiral into madness and ruin. In this episode, we unravel the tangled roots connecting colonial violence, CIA intrigue, Cold War paranoia, with the Jonestown massacre. From the racial an...
Out of the ruins of postwar
Truth often demands we accept coincidence as a force of nature. But what if the connections aren't coincidences at all? On this episode we follow the trail from Jonestown to MKUltra, exploring the tangled web that links Jim Jones, Patty Hearst, Jack Ruby, and Sirhan Sirhan. Was Jonestown a failed utopia or a covert CIA mind control experiment? From the brainwashing of cult members to the psychological manipulation of political assa...
In the aftermath of Jonestown, details emerged of the Temple's deepening relationship with the Soviet Union, a secret petition to emigrate, and the political paranoia that turned the settlement into a Cold War powder keg. Jim Jones promised salvation behind the Iron Curtain inviting Soviet officials to tour his model socialist community and negotiating an escape plan should Jonestown come under attack.
Dec...
40 years ago, 918 Americans died in the largest mass murder/suicide in modern history. Defined by the last day of their lives, the people of Jonestown became a part of true crime lore, overshadowed by their charismatic leader Jim Jones. We all know how the Peoples Temple died, but how did they live? The Attention Span Recovery Project is proud to present this memorial special, honoring the lives of the people of Jonestown, told by...
In the chaotic aftermath of the Jonestown massacre, one artifact continues to defy explanation: Tape Q875, the so-called "November 19 mystery tape." Discovered among hundreds of recordings recovered from the scene, Q875 is unique as it appears to have been recorded after the mass murder-suicide when every resident of Jonestown was presumed dead. Who made this recording—and why?
Its static-f...
41 years ago today, the Jonestown massacre claimed the lives of 918 Americans. When the people of Jonestown died, their bodies remained where they fell for four days. Sprayed with pesticides and sealed in military-issued body bags, their remains were flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for processing. Of the dead, 593 were eventually identified. The remaining 320, many of them children, were never identified. As grieving fami...
True crime history is full of shadows, but none darker than those cast by Jim Jones. In this episode of Transmissions from Jonestown, we revisit California in the years before the massacre, where a troubling question lingers: Was Jim Jones connected to a series of mysterious deaths long before the tragedy in Guyana?
Three fatal automobile accidents involving Peoples Temple members form a di...
I believe in Jim Jones. Many of you have seen the photograph. An elderly woman dressed in her Sunday best with a resolute, if not revolutionary sparkle in her eye. But what did Jim Jones believe? Jim Jones, the pied piper of lies, will forever be remembered as the self-proclaimed prophet who led his flock to the slaughter. Traditional Churches immediately distanced themselves from the Peoples Temple Christian church after the trage...
Long before Jonestown, Jim Jones was preaching a prophecy of nuclear annihilation down to the exact minute it would begin. In this episode, we trace how Cold War hysteria, doomsday visions, and a now-infamous article in Esquire magazine led Jones from Indiana to Brazil, chasing fallout-free havens and gathering power through fear. Was he fleeing scandal, unraveling mentally, or being drawn into something more sinister...
In the charged atmosphere of the mid-1960s, Jim Jones moved Peoples Temple westward, seeking a new beginning in California's radical counter cultural awakening. In Redwood Valley Jim Jones embedded himself within an obscure communal sect called the Church of the Golden Rule, an offshoot of Mankind United. Founded by Arthur Bell, a self-proclaimed messenger of superhuman beings living at the Earth's core, Mankind United...
Music was often peoples first, and last impression of Peoples Temple. From the moment you walked into a temple service, the music created a certain atmosphere. The voices of the choir lifted the spirits of the congregants, electrifying the audience. In 1973 the temple recorded the gospel funk album "He's Able". The altruistic message of equality expressed on the album, the optimism and high energy of the singers juxtaposes what we ...
Denise was three years old when her family joined Peoples Temple. Like so many early childhood memories, obscured by the lenses of time, Denise's recollections are vivid emotional snapshots that paint a portrait of Jim Jones and Temple life rarely seen, one that complicates the narrative shaped by Jonestown's tragic end. As she came of age, Denise gave everything to the cause. But in the world of Peoples Temple, no sa...
Welcome to the Sunday Service, a 3-part immersive experience exploring Jim Jones' paranormal ministry and the mystery of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Your first visit to Peoples Temple will involve a profound, life changing, spiritual experience of the paranormal variety.
The blind shall see, the deaf shall hear and the dead shall rise! Lose yourself in the mystique, as Jim Jones' creates a powerful...
The paranormal healing ministry drew new members to Peoples Temple with Jim Jones' promises of supernatural support for the cause. The divine gifts physically took a toll on Jim Jones as he felt the sickness and pain of others pass through his own body as he healed them. To keep the miracles coming, he began using sleight of hand to "remove" cancers, and strangely, real healings often followed. It was the catalyst to b...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.
"SmartLess" with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!