Heaven's Gate (podcast)

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Heaven's Gate is a podcast hosted by Glynn Washington, written by Dan Taberski, and produced by Pineapple Street Media. The 10 episode Stitcher original podcast is a documentary focused on the Heaven's Gate cult.

Contents

Background

The podcast is a documentary about the new religious movement Heaven's Gate, which is often described as a cult. [1] The podcast discusses how Bonnie Lu Nettles and Marshall Applewhite (known within the group as Ti and Do respectively) convinced their followers to leave their families to join them. [2] Glynn Washington discusses the members of the group, as well as their friends and family, and reflects on how someone might end up joining a group like Heaven's Gate. [3] Washington himself grew up in the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong, which taught beliefs known collectively as Armstrongism, described as a cult by Walter Ralston Martin in his book The Kingdom of the Cults (1965). Washington left the group at the age of 19. [4] The group is now known as Grace Communion International. [5] Washington was fascinated by the events that took place in large part because of the similarities to the group he grew up in, [6] which held similarly apocolyptic beliefs. [7]

The podcast debuted on October 18, 2017, [8] and contains 10 episodes. [9] The show was produced in the Sun Basket production studio [10] and produced by Pineapple Street Media [11] as a Stitcher original. [12] Benjamin Zeller, author and professor of religion at Lake Forest College, guided the project with his research on the group. [13] Dan Taberski acted as writer for the show. [14] The show uses archived audio in addition to new interviews. [15] The podcast includes testimonials from members of the group as well as friends and family of members. [16] The show was nominated for best documentary podcast in the 2018 Webby Awards. [17]

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Heaven's Gate was an American new religious movement known primarily for the mass suicides committed by its members in 1997. Commonly designated a cult, it was founded in 1974 and led by Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985) and Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997), known within the movement as Ti and Do. Nettles and Applewhite first met in 1972 and went on a journey of spiritual discovery, identifying themselves as the two witnesses of Revelation, attracting a following of several hundred people in the mid-1970s. In 1976, a core group of a few dozen members stopped recruiting and instituted a monastic lifestyle.

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References

  1. ↑ Quah, Nicholas (September 7, 2017). "The Heaven's Gate Podcast Promises an In-depth Look at the Infamous Cult". Vulture . Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  2. ↑ "10 Jaw-Dropping Podcasts About Cults". Oprah Daily. May 29, 2020. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Heaven's Gate: A podcast about the Heaven's Gate cult". Kotaku. January 8, 2018. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ Cavanaugh, Maureen; Lipkin, Michael (October 24, 2017). "'Heaven's Gate' Podcast Looks Back At San Diego Mass Suicide". KPBS Public Media. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ Booker, Bobbi (November 3, 2017). "Diverse storytelling hardly a snap for Glynn Washington". The Philadelphia Tribune. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  6. ↑ "For 'Heaven's Gate' Podcast Host, The Cult Story Hits Close To Home". NPR . Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Gyimah-Brempong, Adwoa; Radke, Bill (October 24, 2018). "Our beliefs can cage us. But they can also set us free". www.kuow.org. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  8. ↑ "How 'Snap Judgment's Glynn Washington came full circle with new podcast 'Heaven's Gate'". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  9. ↑ "In "Heaven's Gate," a Suicide Cult's Mystery Starts to Unravel". The Pride LA. November 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ "100 word review: 'Heaven's Gate' Podcast". AP News. November 25, 2017. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  11. ↑ Quah, Nicholas (September 28, 2017). "11 Great Podcasts to Check Out This Fall". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Heaven's Gate podcast by Stitcher has you drinking the Kool-Aid". Discover Pods. January 19, 2018. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Lake Forest College professor's expertise on Heaven's Gate cult fuels popular podcast". Chicago Tribune. January 13, 2018. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (October 5, 2017). "'Missing Richard Simmons' Host Dan Taberski Joins 'Heaven's Gate' Podcast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  15. ↑ "9 blood-curdling horror and true-crime podcasts for Halloween". South China Morning Post. October 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Heaven's Gate, and 5 more history podcasts – The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Nominee Heaven's Gate". Webby Awards . Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
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