PODCAST: HEAVEN’S GATE
In 1997, thirty-nine people took their
own lives in an apparent mass suicide. The events captivated the media and had
people across the planet asking the same question...‘Why?’ 20 years later,
those who lost loved ones and those who still believe - tell their story.
Hosted by Glynn Washington of Snap Judgment.
MY VERDICT: I knew a little about
the cult known as Heaven’s Gate before I listened to this podcast so I wasn’t
expecting to hear much that I didn’t know. I was wrong. All the information I’d
heard before were mostly about the leader of the cult, Marshall Applewhite, and
how his life had lead him to become a cult leader. (The best example of this is
the Heaven’s Gate episode on Last Podcast on the Left)
This podcast started with interviweing
people who had joined the cult, it was fascinating to hear from some survivors.
It meant questions could be asked of them that you couldn’t ask to the 39
people who killed themselves in the 90s. We were able to hear what made the
cult a desirable group for some to join, and it was interesting to hear stories
about the good times that they had, a side that is rarely noted on most
documentaries or tellings of this cult’s story.
I think the most compelling thing
about this podcast, was the host. The man who put this podcast together, Glynn
Washington, had a unique perspective into a story about a cult, as he used to
be in one. I found this perspective fascinating. His main point was, that we
should not think of these cult members as crazy or mentally ill because he knew
that normal people joined cults and they were easier to fall into than some
people thought.
This podcast does a good job of
telling the whole story, Washington is able to get a lot of interviews with
integral characters in the cult’s history that I’d never heard from before,
including the families of some of the members of the cult who participated in
the mass suicide and the daughter of one of the cult leaders. Which meant we
saw yet more sides to these people.
I would thoroughly recommend this
podcast, it’s more like listening to a documentary than a traditional podcast
and the only down side I could mention is very random long pauses (I’ve noticed
this in a few podcasts and I have no idea why they exist.)
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