“The Workers' Institute” - Aravindan Balakrishnan

Donald DeFreeze was a gun-obsessed drifter throughout the 1960s. But he didn't use his guns — he had nothing to fight for. At least, not until he was radicalized and began to build a coalition to exec...

13 Aug 201948min

In the early 1980s, Hulon Mitchell, Jr.'s Nation of Yahweh became a fixture in Miami's black community. However, while Hulon used his influence to reduce crime rates, he was committing atrocious abuse...

6 Aug 201951min

From the moment Hulon Mitchell, Jr. was born in 1935, he was raised to think he was special.  But growing up in segregated Oklahoma, he realized that black men and women lacked the same opportunities ...

30 Jul 201949min

Just before the Summer of Love, 22-year-old John Griggs discovered LSD and had an epiphany – he would serve as the Hippie Messiah and guide the world to psychedelic revolution. John set out to the bea...

23 Jul 201955min

The more Marcus Wesson retreated from society, the more extreme his behavior became. He led his family of 16 children deep into the woods, claiming it was for their own protection. But away from pryin...

16 Jul 201957min

His version of faith, was placing himself on the same level as God and demanding his children serve him as such. But when Marcus Wesson needed more followers to control, instead of recruiting he turne...

9 Jul 201953min

Along with his wife Susan, they grew The Alamo Christian Foundation from a few dozen homeless teenagers to over 3,000 followers on sophisticated compounds around the United States. Their dreams of sta...

2 Jul 201952min

When he moved to Los Angeles in 1960, Tony Alamo was convinced that his big break as a musician was just around the corner. What he found instead was the voice of God, which commanded him to collect y...

25 Jun 201953min