Episode 50
Sword and Scale20 Jul 2015

Episode 50

On November 18, 1978, in a remote settlement of northwestern Guyana, 909 Americans lost their lives in what is considered to be the largest mass suicide of the twentieth century. This compound, informally known as Jonestown, was established by a charismatic preacher named Jim Jones who led his People's Temple to their ultimate demise. In this episode, we welcome Julia Scheeres, author of the book "A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Jonestown", to tell us the story of how this story evolved into a tragedy. The religious organization he established was called People's Temple, and it was shrouded in secrecy and isolation. After drawing some unwanted attention from concerned family of People's Temple members, Jones moved his followers to a 3,800 acre plot of jungle he leased from Guyanese officials. Once there, Temple members were trapped. Late night meetings known as "White Nights" were used as drills to keep residents prepared for an imminent invasion by the CIA or other intelligence agencies which Jones referred to as "capitalist pigs." Temple members were tricked into committing "revolutionary suicide", as Jones called it, for the sake of their cause during staged sessions. Eventually, the paranoia and drug abuse of Jones would lead Jonestown down a dark path to which there was no other alternative but the death of every resident of Jonestown. If you're familiar with the term "drinking the Kool-Aid", this is where it comes from. However, the derogatory term simply doesn't fit the set of facts. Many of the residents of Jonestown simply didn't have a choice and almost a third of them were children. This mass "suicide", wasn't suicide at all. It was murder.

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Episoder(319)

Episode 215

Episode 215

What would you do if you worked your whole life to achieve the American dream and then you perceived that someone was on the cusp of taking it all away? How far would you go and what would you be willing to do to stop them? On a beautiful summer morning in 2008, land surveyors arrived at the home of 36 Nicholas Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. Their job was to stake the property, but soon after they began working, the surveyors heard loud and desperate cries for help. The screaming led the surveyors to a backyard where they found a horrific and bloody scene.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

11 Jul 202259min

Episode 214

Episode 214

The town of Groton, Mass had never witnessed such a tragedy. A tragedy that would test the love and loyalty of one family. The bond between family can never be broken but the love and loyalty between can sometimes be tried so hard that it’s severed. Orion Krause learned this lesson all too well in the summer of 2017.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

27 Jun 20221h 2min

Episode 213

Episode 213

Thanksgiving of 2012 started off very poorly for the Redwine Family. When one member of their clan, 13-year-old Dylan Redwine vanished on November 18th, an expensive and lengthy search of the Colorado Mountains ensued. What they found over the course of a decade exhausted investigatory resources and frustrated the community. By the time an arrest was made, everyone already knew who had taken Dylan.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

13 Jun 20221h 7min

Episode 212

Episode 212

It wasn’t an easy life for Ashley Biggs, a young woman from Ohio. Raised by her single mother and her grandmother, she suffered abuse in school for her sexual orientation. The ridicule only escalated when she became pregnant. Ashley quit school, had the baby girl, and enlisted in the army. When she returned, she would find that one of her haters was closer to home than she had imagined, and this hater was out to destroy her life. How far would they go? And would they get away with it?Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

30 Mai 202253min

Episode 211

Episode 211

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the city known for making overalls, tension was mounting between two Marine veterans over the repair of a vehicle. Both were highly trained with weapons and both were trained to “shoot to kill.” On August 4th, the conflict came to a boiling head, and now one of them stumbled, wounded through a driveway full of casualties.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

16 Mai 202258min

Episode 210

Episode 210

In 2010, Indiana sentenced the third minor in the state's history to life in prison without parole. This is the story of a small town boy without a criminal history who by nature saw the world through a different lens and whose nurture led to preoccupations of murder.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

2 Mai 20221h 6min

Episode 209

Episode 209

When Patricia Velazquez left her 12-year-old daughter Yhoanna home alone for a few hours on August 10th, 2017, she expected to return home to a living, breathing child. Yhoanna was a good kid who followed all of her mother’s rules, so Patricia felt no need to worry. The nightmare Patricia returned home to that evening would change her life forever. Yhoanna hadn’t been abducted from her home like many children are, she was dead on her bedroom floor.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

18 Apr 20221h 8min

Episode 208

Episode 208

Who killed Carla Walker? In February of 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted after attending a Valentine's Day dance with her boyfriend. Three days later, her body was found inside a cold, dark culvert near Benbrook Lake in Tarrant County, Texas. After an exhaustive investigation, the police were unable to solve the murder and Carla’s case went cold. Very cold. 46 years would go by before a new team of detectives could uncover the truth about her murder and finally get justice for Carla Walker.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

4 Apr 20221h 10min

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