

#17 – God’s Socialist, pt. 7: A Gallant, Glorious, Screaming End
South Bronx Despair
- The South Bronx in 1973 was a place of despair, with widespread poverty, unemployment, and lack of basic amenities.
- Buildings lacked running water and heat, healthcare was scarce, and crime was rampant, highlighting the extreme urban decay.
South Bronx's Rapid Decline
- The rapid decline of the South Bronx, from a middle-class area to a slum in just over a decade, was shocking.
- White flight, landlord abandonment, and arson contributed to the widespread destruction and social breakdown.
Unexpected Collapse
- The speed of the South Bronx's collapse was startling, resembling war-torn areas, despite no external enemy.
- The optimistic outlook of the early 1960s, fueled by the Great Society programs, made this decline even more jarring.
Jim Jones and Peoples Temple follow the remnants of the 1970s radical left into the fire.
WARNING: Extreme language and disturbing content.
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Huge thanks to the folks behind the Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Project. This podcast wouldn't have been possible without their indispensable hard work recording, organizing, and transcribing the Peoples Temple tapes and other source materials. For further information about Jonestown, you can't do better than their website. I did my best to tell the story here as I understand it, but if you ask me the work they're doing will lead to a fundamental future reassessment of what happened.