Originally aired November 1, 2023
In 1981 residents of Antelope, Oregon found their small conservative town of 40 residents overtaken by thousands of orange-clad strangers. The outsiders came to Oregon looking to create a utopian society dedicated to their leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. But years of investigations would find the Rajneeshees responsible for the first and largest bioterror attack on U.S. soil, and multiple attempted assassinations.
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The Safe Passage Foundation provides resources, support and advocacy for people raised in restrictive, isolated or high-demand communities, colloquially referred to as "cults".
Reference:
Keys, Scott. “A Strange but True Tale of Voter Fraud and Bioterrorism.” The Atlantic, 10 June 2014.
Thuras, Dylan. “The Secret’s in the Sauce: Bioterror at the Salsa Bar.” Slate, 9 January 2014.
Bassett, Andreas. “Fall From Grace: The Story of Rajneeshpuram.” The Pacific Sentinal, 10 May 2018
Kent, Dickon. “ What ‘Wild Wild Country’ Didn’t Say: 57 Answers to Questions About Rajneeshpuram from a Teenage Resident.” Medium, 16 April 2018
Wild Wild Country. Directed by Maclain Way and Chapman Way, Duplass Brothers Productions, 2018. Netflix.
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