The People’s Cult

Over 900 died at Jonestown in 1978 in a murder-suicide that shook the world. How did Peoples Temple go from emancipatory project to disaster?

Illustration by Mark Harris

On November 18, 1978, Harold Cordell had to make a decision that few could ever fathom: leave behind his family and save his life or join them in committing suicide. He was a member of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, also known as “Jonestown,” and at that moment, it was all unraveling. Defectors were gathering […]