Episode 44 – A History of Mormons in America – Part 1

The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built by the LDS Church. Construction began in 1833 and was finished three years later. Only a few years after it was built, the LDS Church lost ownership of the temple to a break-off group, now known as the Church of Christ. The temple is still in use by the Church of Christ today.

Join us for the first in a two-part series about a uniquely American religion, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, or Mormonism. In this episode we discuss the origins of the religion and the competing threads of official church history, non-official folklore, personal accounts, and governmental records and interactions to construct a more complete picture of how this religion developed.

Episode 43 – More Cults in the 20th Century

Hale Bopp Comet in 1997 – Philipp Salzgeber, CC BY-SA 2.0 AT

We continue our exploration of the history of cults in America this week with a discussion of two infamous groups from the 1990s: The Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate. Both cults ended in the deaths of their charismatic leaders, but the trajectories were quite different. If you’re interested in the militia movement, UFOs, Nike sneakers, Star Trek, the Book of Revelations, the FBI, or how to get cheap real estate in Southern California you should join us this week!

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.