From Academia to Infotainment: “Jonestown: The Women Behind the Massacre”

Infotainment and the Desire to Blame There have been some important works on the subject of Peoples Temple and Jonestown in fairly recent years; books and documentaries alike. It’s noticeable, however, that we still don’t want to see ambiguity, especially when it comes to responsibility and blame. We really don’t want to accept any diffusion …

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Reflections and What I’ve Been Up To

Thought I’d give you all a small update on what I’ve been up to lately. As many of you know, I’ve been working on a book about Peoples Temple. In the midst of researching many writings, documents, audio, and the wealth of material that exists on the subject, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to …

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Q & A with Dr. Rebecca Moore

Over the past several months, I've corresponded with Dr. Rebecca Moore. In case you don't recall, she is the sister of Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore, who were prominent figures in Peoples Temple and in Jonestown (Check out the Jonestown category/tag to read previous posts on this topic). Dr. Moore is also the co-founder and …

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Anger, Blame, Empathy, and Understanding in the Wake of Extreme Violence

CW/TW: Discussion of suicide and violence I felt compelled to write this opinion piece after recently reading Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple by Rebecca Moore, who is the sister of two prominent Temple members, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore. After reading this book, I think that, in my anger over the death of so many …

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