Cults

In the late 1940s, the eccentric Krishna Venta founded the Fountain of the World and claimed to be the embodiment of Christ. However, he had an apocalyptic warning. The world was going to end in 1965,...

17 Dec 201949min

As a wandering lecturer who opened up a religious compound in the San Fernando Valley in 1949, Krishna Venta claimed to be from a mythical valley in India. He preached about love and knowing oneself, ...

10 Dec 201948min

When former Nazi serviceman Paul Schäfer fled Germany in 1961, he founded a rural community called Colonia Dignidad in Southern Chile. But the community’s bucolic appearance hid a culture of torture, ...

3 Dec 201948min

In the 1990s and 2000s, Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans and the Lev Tahor preyed on impressionable youths. The ultra-orthodox Jewish community was known to use brainwashing tactics on its followers, and would b...

19 Nov 201945min

Charming, electric, and persuasive are just some of the ways people described Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans. As the leader of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the 1990s and 2000s, he was known for brainw...

12 Nov 201941min

While the church became notorious for its aggressive recruiting practices through the 80s and 90s, it also experienced incredible growth—eventually reaching Los Angeles. However, Kip McKean’s hubris—a...

5 Nov 201945min

Before his church became one of the fastest growing—and most controversial—religious organizations in the United States, Kip McKean developed strict beliefs as a Bible literalist in 1960s Florida. Lea...

29 Okt 201949min

Witness the growing pains Wicca went through as it transitioned from a small secret society to a global religion, and explore the fallout from Gerald Gardner’s decision to speak publicly about their p...

22 Okt 201951min