Jim Jones: Journey into Madness
Episode 13 · 1998-06-15
- Documentary
Episode overview
Explore the chilling rise and tragic downfall of the charismatic yet deeply disturbed leader of the Peoples Temple. The episode traces Jones’s evolution from a passionate preacher advocating racial equality and social justice in 1950s Indiana to the manipulative cult figure who led hundreds to their deaths in Jonestown, Guyana. Through interviews with survivors, former followers, and investigators, Biography examines how his charm, paranoia, and hunger for control turned faith into fanaticism. Archival footage and recordings reveal the psychological grip Jones held over his congregation and the escalating delusions that culminated in the 1978 mass suicide. The program offers a haunting portrait of a man whose descent into madness destroyed everything he built, serving as a sobering reminder of the dangers of blind devotion and unchecked power.
60 minutes
Season 7 episodes
1. David Berkowitz: Son of Sam1998-03-23
2. Mao Tse Tung: China's Peasant Emperor1998-03-30
3. Amelia Earhart: Queen of the Air1998-04-06
4. Angela Lansbury: A Balancing Act1998-04-13
5. Anne Frank: The Life of a Young Girl1998-04-20
6. Beethoven: The Sound and the Fury1998-04-27
7. Colonel Sanders: America's Chicken King1998-05-04
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Commander-in-Chief1998-05-11
9. Ernest Hemingway: Wrestling With Life1998-05-18
10. Evel Knievel: Hell on Wheels1998-05-25
11. Howard Carter: Triumph and Treasure1998-06-01
12. Jackie Kennedy Onassis: In a Class of Her Own1998-06-08
13. Jim Jones: Journey into Madness1998-06-15
14. John Wayne: American Legend1998-06-22
15. P.T. Barnum: The Greatest Showman on Earth1998-06-29
16. Ray Kroc: Fast Food McMillionaire1998-07-06
17. Satan: Prince of Darkness1998-07-13
18. Vincent Van Gogh: A Stroke of Genius1998-07-20
19. Charles Lindbergh: Against the Wind1999-01-07
20. Fred Gwynne: More than a Munster1999-01-18
21. John Wayne Gacy: A Monster in Disguise1999-01-25
22. Nicolae Ceausescu: The Unrepentant Tyrant1999-02-01
23. The Tiffanys: Mark of Excellence1999-02-08
44. Dean Martin: Everybody Loves Somebody1995-09-04
63. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1995-10-20
67. Nostradamus: Prophet of Doom1995-11-06
