Just The Gist of... The Jonestown Massacre

In 1978, 909 people lined up, drank poison, and died. More than 300 of them were children.For decades, it was described as the largest mass suicide in modern history, and it remained the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until 9/11.But was it really a mass suicide, or mass murder?Jonestown was founded by Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple, a racially integrated American church that preached equality, socialism, and community care. By the time the world learned its name, 909 men, women, and children had consumed a cyanide-laced drink in a remote settlement in Guyana — while armed guards stood watch.Some believed. Some resisted. Many were too young to choose. But all became part of what the world now shorthand calls “drinking the Kool-Aid.”This is just the gist of The Jonestown Massacre..We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's Breakin' Nooz, JTG After Show AND Bonus eps! You can access them by joining the Gistener Club via the Just The Gist Patreon or Apple Premium Subscriptions.Watch Just The Gist episodes on YouTube @JustTheGistPodcastFollow Just The Gist on Instagram @JustTheGistPodcast and TikTok @JustTheGistPodcastFollow Rosie in all the places at @RosieWaterlandWant to give us a SuGISTion? Tell Rosie to stop singing so much? Email us at [email protected] The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: PocketDon't forget to follow and give us 5 stars, which means something apparently!Thank you, as always, for Gistening. Now go say something impressive at a dinner party..Doco: ‘Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown’ (2025)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYIUjavwqVoDoco: ‘Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple’ (2006)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S_d1eVv0E8TV Movie: ‘Jonestown: Paradise Lost’ (2007)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLh7W5r4zS8Book: ‘Salvation and Suicide: An Interpretation of Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown’ (1982) by David Chidesterhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/835279.Salvation_and_SuicideBook: ‘The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple’ (2018) by Jeff Guinnhttps://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Road-to-Jonestown/Jeff-Guinn/9781476763835Casefile Podcast: ‘Jonestown’ (Three-Part Series)https://casefilepodcast.com/case-60-jonestown-part-1/Wikipedia: Jim Joneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.