Investigative podcasts

I really like listening to podcasts that investigate one event. I started with Serial which investigated the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999. The second season of Serial investigated Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl and his abduction in Afghanistan.

Recently I've been listening to Heaven's Gate . It's about the cult that started in the 70's and ended in the 90's when 39 people committed suicide. However, the people who committed suicide didn't think that's what they were doing. They believed that they were going to be beamed up to a space ship and they needed to leave their bodies behind to do it. The Hale Bopp Comet was their sign.

I was only about 12 years old at the time, but I remember all the clamor surrounding the comet. And I think I briefly remember the Heaven's Gate debacle at the time.

It's interesting to hear about how things came to be, 20 years later. There are accounts from cult members who left before the final event, and family members of cult members who were trying to find their beloved.

The highest ranking leader (Ti) who recruited her counterpart (Do) even disobeyed her own rules and stayed in contact with her daughter and even sent her money from the group coffers. When Ti passed away in the 80's, Do took up the mantle of leader.

It's also interesting to hear the farewell tapes and what these people believed and how ready they were to leave their vessels behind. During the podcast, there were discussions about brainwashing and and one episode that focused on the host and how he grew up in a cult.

I'd say that the whole podcast is about 5-6 hours of listening. I highly recommend it to anyone else who is interested in investigative podcasts.