Brooks Poston was a member of the Manson family who testified for the prosecution during the Tate/Labianca murder trial. This recording was made on 3 October 1969, after Manson’s arrest for the Tate/LaBianca murders, when Poston was interviewed by the Inyo County police. As Poston explains, he was a devout follower who believed in Manson’s magic powers. When he was first introduced to Manson, at Dennis Wilson’s Sunset Boulevard home, Charlie walked up to Poston and kissed his feet. Poston, who’d just taken some LSD, was deeply affected by the meeting. For a while, he believed Manson was Jesus Chris, and took his teachings literally. In his interview, Poston describes life with the Manson family at the Spahn ranch, and the family’s beliefs, including the idea of Helter Skelter. After the trial, he formed a band called Desert Sun, which recorded two of Manson’s songs.

Listen to the episode here.