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 r

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