Cults

Nearly two decades after the Waco Siege, people are still wondering what transpired at the Branch Davidian compound. Though the government officially investigated and exonerated the FBI, some have found evidence of a massive cover-up. Did the government actually fire the first shot that led to 81 deaths? This episode is a crossover with Conspiracy Theories and originally aired October 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On February 28th, 1993, ATF agents raided a compound in Waco, Texas, belonging to a religious group known as the Branch Davidians. A 51-day standoff ensued, ending in a violent siege. Eighty-one people lost their lives, many of them children — but to this day, no one knows which side fired first. This episode is a crossover with Conspiracy Theories and originally aired October 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With more than 900 people dead, the Jonestown Massacre has sparked many theories over the past 40 years. Did the government have a hand in these deaths? Could the cult have been connected to the mysterious MK-Ultra program? And was Jim Jones murdered, or did he fake his own death? This episode originally aired on Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the command of Jim Jones, more than 900 followers of The Peoples Temple drank a beverage laced with cyanide in an act that Jones labeled “revolutionary suicide.” But was this truly a mass suicide, or was it a mass murder? And why do some people think Jim Jones faked his own death? This episode originally aired on Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the finale of our Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories crossover: By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connections to Chicago. Perhaps he traded homemade bombs for poisoned pills. Or maybe the deadly concoctions came straight from the Johnson & Johnson facility itself. In the absence of clear answers, only theories remain… and rumors that someone is still out there, replacing Halloween treats with fatal tricks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you enjoyed part 1 last week, we’re back with part 2: If Roger Arnold wasn’t behind the murders, who was? Police turn their focus to a new suspect: a disgruntled accountant named James Lewis. But the more police dig into Lewis’s life, the more questions they have. The road ahead is paved with extortion, false identities, and revenge. This is a crossover special between Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listeners, we’re popping back into your feed this week to share a special crossover episode from Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fear. Why was this happening? Who would be next? Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called “Mad Poisoner.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Sun Myung Moon decides to step down as the public face of the Unification Church, the ensuing succession drama embroils his family in multiple scandals. Frozen out by his mother, Sean Moon decides to start a new organization — Rod of Iron Ministries. The mass wedding ceremonies continue, but new rituals have cropped up, too. This time centered on guns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘70s see Reverend Moon’s star on the rise in the U.S. His missionaries have spread around the globe, his businesses are raising millions in capital, and his already vast reach is expanding. But the self-proclaimed “True Father” is about to face some of his fiercest backlash yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Branded a heretic in the towns where he preaches, Moon moves his small following to Seoul. There, his ranks begin to swell. Whatever slander and imprisonment he endures, Moon remains uncompromising in his vocation: find a new wife, raise the ideal family — and mobilize his holy mission out into the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In South Korea, a young religious convert thinks he’s destined to become the second Christ. His mission is to unite every Christian and kickstart God’s kingdom on Earth. What he creates along the way is a global empire and infamous political force. In this 4-part special, we examine the Unification Church, nicknamed “the Moonies” after their founder Sun Myung Moon, and explore the new religious cult led by Moon’s son. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the early ‘90s, local authorities had long suspected something was off about the small, religious Florida community. A harrowing incident of child abuse gave them the proof they needed to take a harder look at what was going on. The more they looked, the uglier it got. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fifty years ago, Anna Young got away with murder. But the guilt ate at her. She leaned hard into her Pentecostal faith before moving her family to Florida to start fresh. Her “House of Prayer for All People” was meant to be a place of refuge and salvation. It didn’t take long for things to turn sour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once you’re in, there aren’t many ways to get out. At least, not alive. But that doesn’t mean people haven’t tried. When Alex Sanchez decided he was done with gang life, he retired, and poured his life into helping others do the same. But his path forward was threatened by everyone from a vigilante death squad in El Salvador to the LAPD and FBI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By cult standards, they aren’t one. But MS-13 does share a common language with even the most insidious fringe groups. Bound by loyalty, ideology, and power, the members of MS-13 make up one of the most dangerous gangs to ever exist. And it all started on the streets of Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 2008, Daniel Perez had collected millions in life insurance payouts. Fake identities and fraud had kept him untouchable. But a tip to the FBI gave investigators the fuel they needed to take him down. And what they uncovered was so much darker than what they first suspected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A man claiming to be a thousand-year-old angel moved his small commune from state to state, never staying too long. When money ran tight, the mysterious deaths of his followers — and their life insurance payouts — kept him going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jim Baker might’ve attracted famous diners to his hugely popular restaurants. But “Father Yod” gathered disciples. And they were going to usher in a new age of Aquarius. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ancient aliens. Biblical messages. The final chapter in our new book details how Applewhite created an alternate reality for his followers, ending in tragedy. Listen to this clip from our Cults podcast episode on how his beliefs evolved. Then order the new CULTS book to examine his methods in full: parcast.com/cults Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credonia Mwerinde leveraged the turmoil in 1980s Uganda to lead a movement that ended in death, destruction, and her own disappearance. Today’s clip outlines the political and spiritual context she arose from. Go deeper into her life as a cult leader with Parcast’s first book, available now! parcast.com/cults Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices