CULTS & RELIGION
These episodes detail how religious beliefs can venture into the bizarre... and sometimes evil.
Episode 19: The Heaven's Gate Cult
In March 1997, an anonymous 911 call directed authorities to a mansion in California, where they would find 39 bodies, neatly placed in their beds, all wearing identical black shirts, black pants, and black Nike shoes, faces covered with purple cloths. It was soon discovered the scene was a mass suicide by members of a cult known as Heaven's Gate- and the ritualistic suicides were performed because the group believed doing so would allow them to exit their earthly bodies and be transported to a spacecraft they believed to be in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet that was passing by earth. This event became a media sensation, largely due to the group's heavy internet presence, and the website of the cult, which is still operating to this day. We discuss in detail the cult and the events of March 1997, and feature an actual email interview with one of the surviving members of the cult that maintains the website. So lace up your Nikes, and join us on this VERY interesting journey.
Episode 16: This Flavor-Aid is awfully bitter- a trip to Jonestown, Vol. 1
Tonight marks the 41st anniversary of the Jonestown massacre... but what if I told you there was more to it than a crazed cult leader and his followers? A LOT more? We dive into what led to that tragic day in 1978, and explore the insane and disturbing connections Jim Jones and the People's Temple had to some very powerful entities. Just another crazy religion, or something far more sinister? Listen on and decide...
Episode 9: The "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's
Tonight, Disquietude recounts the mass hysteria that swept the nation in the 80's with the belief that satanic cults were abusing our children in bizarre ceremonies that became known as "Satanic Ritual Abuse". Spurred on by the book "Michelle Remembers" along with sensationalist media, false accounts spread like wildfire. It eventually culminated in the most infamous and expensive child abuse trial in American history. We discuss how the fallout still affects media and culture to this very day. *WARNING*- this episode contains descriptions and victim accounts of sexual abuse and torture involving children.