That’s because most of the black cult members died. Besides Leslie I have seen numerous documentaries with Stanley Clayton, Odell Rhodes, Jim Cobb, Johnnie Cobb, and Jim Jones Jr. so you don’t know what you’re talking about. You see racial inequality where YOU WANT to see it. Why does everything have to be turned into a race vs. race thing?

Hear, hear. I could listen to Yulanda all day. She is an inspiration. And a glamorous one at that.

I agree. I wish that someone would please give Capt. William’s and other survivors a forum to share their experiences while they’re still with us. Wether or not they ever went to Jonestown or left the church before. Their stories must be told.

Forgive me. I don’t mean to offend anyone or appear to be racist. But I especially think that it’s 40+ years fast due for the back remaining members to have their opportunity to release what’s in their hearts and minds.

Sadly, the AA members voices have been largely ignored, silenced or forgotten.

With the exception of Capt. Williams and her friend and fellow Uber smart Jonestown survivor Leslie Wagner-Wilson. No other AA survivor has had many offers to speak.

And it would be so amazing to hear from the remaining “Gang of Eight” college students. So, so, sadly Teresa Cobb and Wayne Pietila have both passed away. Which is so crushing. They like the others seemed to be wonderful compassionate people.

Please People’s Temple former members come share your powerful voices with us.

Thanks.

I thought Yulanda’s points about why police and law enforcement are not properly equipped to deal with cults and cult mentality were spot on – and summarized in a way I’ve never thought of prior. It’s refreshing to see someone in law enforcement come to the table with a fresh perspective on what needs to be changed; Yulanda not only did her story and those of Jonestown justice, but she also was not afraid to go toe to toe with the current law enforcement officials by calling them out for the moral and ethical failings of the current leadership.

Yulanda’s episode will most definitely be one I listen to again, the dialogue between all three of you is far and beyond an experience that makes me both laugh & cry.

I think it is important to continue to drive home how it is rarely “idiots” “falling for” the scam of a cult. Yulanda’s story is extreme, what with her dad’s miraculous recovery and all, but people gain real things from these groups in the beginning. As Leah says, listening to Yulanda’s tales of the early days is enough to make anyone want to join.

And especially with cults like the Peope’s Temple and Scientology, the people who get trapped are often the most energetic, caring people who are heavily motivated to make the world a better place.

I also appreciate the part where Yulanda casts doubt on the mainstream narrative that those who died all did so willingly. The idea that all 900+ souls (or at least the adults) happily drank the Kool-Aid is both somewhat insulting to their memories and also dangerous because it obscures the reality that this was clearly a situation of intense coercive control, peer pressure, economic/practical restructions (being in the middle of the jungle in a foreign country with no passport or money), but also physical control and the threat of violence with armed patrols and the like. Surely, some folks did willingly commit suicide, but just as surely others thought they were submitting to another loyalty test and others knew they and their children were about to be murdered.

The people in these situations on not merely unfortunate kooks. They needed help and they didn’t get it in time.

Jonestown is an extreme, but how people got there isn’t that extreme. People losing money and years of their lives, plus enduring ruptured relationships, seems to be more common, but that stuff is also terrible. How wonderful that Yulanda and her family escaped and she is now in a position to do something to help others and maybe change the law and law enforcement practices so that others can be protected in the future.

Keep doing the work that you are doing, Mike!

Sorry — you will find it again now on the home page. Hadnt noticed it was gone in the recent transition to the new Host.

FDLS cult groups should be shut down not to protect their members, but to protect society. Their polygamy causes a society-wide male surplus. That kind of thing causes strife in the Middle East, and may even cause China and/or India to go to war.

I read about “Light of the World” – another cult. I read “Helter Skelter” which a sibling left lying around. I was literally frozen with fear one night with the book nearby. I could not move. My mother found me like that and my sibling caught living hell for having that book around.

Years later I lived in Tampa and how could I not be intrigued/revolted by the Cadillac of Cults in Clearwater? I was angry and sad to hear that there was a Tampa org.

Yulanda brings so much memory and emotion flooding back into my mind. My childhood was pretty ideal, honestly, so I have no personal experience to speak of regarding cults beyond my interest. This podcast was very moving to me. Thanks, Yolanda, Leah and Mike!