Read my deep-dive article on the website: https://weirddarkness.com/Jonestown44Minutes

Jim Jones started the Peoples Temple preaching racial equality and winning civil rights awards, but by 1978 his Jonestown compound had become an isolated nightmare of beatings, forced labor, and "suicide rehearsals" where followers practiced drinking poison. On November 18th, when a congressman's investigation threatened to expose the truth, Jones ordered his followers to feed cyanide-laced punch to over 300 children first—then recorded audio as 900 people died in the largest loss of American civilian life before 9/11.

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IN THIS EPISODE: We’ll look not only at the horrible events of the Jonestown massacre itself, but what life was like for those in The Peoples Temple cult before the mass suicide took place. Plus, we’ll look through the eyes of first responders who came upon the grizzly scene immediately after, and how they dealt with the horrors they stepped into.
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“Jonestown: Modern History’s Largest Mass Suicide” by Kellen Perry for AllThat’sInteresting.com:https://tinyurl.com/y3ccb3q5 (Includes links to videos with audio files used in this episode.)
“Life in the People’s Temple” by Beth Elias for Ranker.com: https://tinyurl.com/yygj5gey
“The Shock Felt By Jonestown First Responders” by Andy Kopsa for Time.com: https://tinyurl.com/y55coj9u
=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: September 14, 2020
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/JonestownTapes
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#JonestownMassacre #TrueCrime #CultDocumentary #JimJones #UnsolvedMysteries