Episode 42 – Cults in 20th Century America

JONES1/B/1977/Photo by Nancy Wong, SPECIAL TO THE San Francisco CHRONICLE REVEREND JIM JONES IN FRONT OF THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL IN SAN FRANCISCO’S CHINATOWN ON KEARNY & JACKSON STREETS DURING A RALLY TO SAVE THE I HOTEL IN 1977.

This week we continue the discussion we started last time about utopian experiments and cults by covering two of the most fascinating and disturbing figures of the twentieth century, Jim Jones and Charles Manson. What made these two men turn to violence and how did their lives and the people they convinced to do unspeakable things reveal deep fissures and anxieties in post-war America. Join us this week to find out.