Case 60
Jonestown
(Part 2)
*** Warning: This case involves a child victim ***
[Part 2 of 3]
In the late 1970s, Jim Jones and hundreds of his followers relocated to The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project in the South American country of Guyana – more commonly known as ‘Jonestown’.
It was far from the communist utopia Jones and his inner circle had promised. Members were forced to perform arduous physical labour while receiving little food. At night, their sleep was disrupted by repeated mass suicide rehearsals, which Jones dubbed “White Nights”.
Back in the United States, loved ones of Peoples Temple members had had enough. They began campaigning for politicians to do something about the cult leader once and for all.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
RESOURCES
BOOKS:
A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Jonestown – Julia Scheeres
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple – Jeff Guinn
IMAGES:
Transcription of Marceline Jones
The Eight Revolutionaries Letter to Jim Jones
ARTICLES:
Nurture Failure: A Psychobiographical Approach to the Childhood of Jim Jones– James L. Kelley
Indiana University Reflects 30 Years After Jonestown Massacre – Indiana Daily
Nine Places to Hide – Esquire Magazine
Sex in Peoples Temple – David Parker Wise
‘Caravan of Hope’ Crosses America – Proclaims Brotherhood and Cooperation as Cure for Nation’s Ills
Was Peoples Temple Responsible for the Deaths of Some of its Former Members?
Inside Peoples Temple – New West Magazine
VIDEOS:
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
Jonestown Cult Suicides: The True Story