Thanks for your story. I’m realizing that there never can be a true understanding of why a person joins a cult or why they stay in. This ambiguity, I feel, is important for me to be aware of.

Well done but did not delve into any details and assumed the listener had adequate knowledge and background of who Franklin Jones was and the associated controversies.

I would have liked to have known about the background of his parents, what brought them together, what made them susceptible to following a cult leader and putting up with some pretty weird stuff. What about them made them “drink the kool-aid” and for so long.

I can’t even express the pain that this cult brought to my family. My aunt has been a follower since 1972 and still to this day she believes. Both of her children my cousins were raised in the cult. They endured sexual abuse, neglect, and starvation. PLEASE PLEASE don’t call that evil man a “spiritual advisor”.

It was that good , I wish there was more of it.

Thank you to the author for sharing his own story and his experiences. It’s moving and for sure worth a binge

I’m left not feeling like I learned anything...

A excellent podcast from the interviews to production value.

How did the first couple episodes touch on sexual abuse from victims of this sexual manipulation and insanity and then go on at the end to say that no one regretted their time following Jones or that Hirsch believes that Adi Da didn't set out to hurt or exploit his followers? After saying that he literally was blaming his illnesses on his followers not being good enough to him? Hirsch still needs to sit through some therapy, he sounds like he still loves the guy after hearing all the ugly things and it's disturbing.

I don’t usually listen to biographical podcasts but this really got my my attention

This was well done, a pleasant listen. And the story is quite intriguing.

If you like learning about cults, and the psychology of how people both join and exit, I can’t recommend this enough. Seeing it through the eyes of someone who was indoctrinated from a very young age gives us a glimpse on how mainstream religions shape their young people as well, for good or for I’ll.

This is an interesting podcast but you misrepresented the MASSACRE at Jonestown in ep 3. Those people were murdered by Jim jones. Guns were held to their heads and they were forced to drink. Their children were taken away and murdered before they were forced to drink, themselves. They were victims and it is a disservice to them and their families to refer to it as “the largest mass suicide” in history. There are several interesting documentaries about that tragedy if you are interested.

Started listening yesterday. This is gut wrenching. It is sad how the history repeats itself. This is very similar to the recent revealed bizarre story about the brazilian gury “Joao de Deus”.

Most exciting part of this series was reading the description, then all down hill from there.

Very interesting concept - but the timeline is frustrating and was sometimes hard to follow. Great idea but mediocre execution of it.

A fascinating look into why and how people might be attracted to a cult.

Good coverage of this story.

This narrator has the gall to lightly touch on issues of sexual abuse and then say that no one he spoke to regretted their time in the cult. It makes me tired when people present their own experience and justification of their own experience as the norm.

Went down hill from there..... Boring. Like reading a 14 year old’s diary... oh wait.. that was the podcast. Skip it.

I live for music. I love music. I don’t or can’t make it through a day without hearing music. I thought I knew most of the big stories behind the music of the modern area and now I see the arrogant ignorance I have lived. Thank you thank you. Hands down my new favorite podcast.

I appreciate that Hirsch can only speak from his own perspective. But if you were a teenage girl whose parents dumped you into that cult, you were not afforded the luxury of waxing rhapsodic like Hirsch does in the final chapter. I know because my mother helped a woman and her 3 kids escape from that cult with nothing but the clothes on their backs. We all knew what went on and there was never any question about it, then or now. At least in the case of my mother’s friend, she had tremendous remorse about bringing her kids into it. You won’t find that with this podcast either.

I really appreciated the honesty and sincerity of this personal narrative. It was well-written and eloquent.

s/o to whomever put the Deep Breakfast soundtrack into this podcast. So truly fitting.

Disappointed that it went nowhere in the end

Very riveting testimony and honest! Amazing podcast voice keep it coming!

Thank you for sharing your story with us! I listened to every episode in less than 24 hours and absolutely enjoyed the insight and the interviews, the objective journalism but also the personal accounts. Really great podcast.

I was very excited to listen to this podcast after learning about the author's in depth experience with the cult. However, as the shows go on 25% of the time is taken up by ad placements and then there's the > 60 second bumpers at the start and end of the episode. Overall that amounts to about 15 minutes of content. If all the author was trying to do is profit off his experience, good for you, mission accomplished. However, it doesn't do much to move forward the narrative of the Franklin Jones cult other than the beginning episodes that merely set the stage. If there is a second season that digs into specific aspects of the story line (how his parents dealt with their assimilation back into society, the way the group changed when Jones moved to his island, etc) I might tune in. Otherwise, not really worth the time.

After listening to the 7 episodes...I feel this podcast does a simple, not-indepth, non-engaging retelling of their own narrative and facts. I'll be honest and say I found Al Letson's 'Heavens Gate' more engaging and more in-depth. I'd rate that 'cult expose' much higher than this. It ended on such a non-sequitor. So vague, so weak...That's what I think...It's weak.

I loved this podcast! The music, the storytelling, it caught me immediately. I don’t feel like I really learned much about Franklin Jones or why people followed him, but I still binged this and wish there were more episodes. It was super interesting, getting a peak into the mind of someone who grew up so very differently from most of us. I will say, I am super curious how everyone seems to be able to ‘write poetry and travel’ for years on end. How are people financing this?? I need this life!!

I was curious to hear this because I didn't know about Franklin Jones. It seemed more about the narrator than the church. I didn't think it was enought to sustain so many episodes. It was well-produced and all, but there just wasn't much meat on the bone.

Comprehensive and compelling! Thank you for sharing your story.

High quality serial. Very interesting to hear how growing up in the ‘guru’ culture affected the narrator. Thoughtful and very well produced.

I was expecting a deep dive into this cult and ended up with a meandering personal journey of the reporter. Wish we’d heard from people who weren’t him or his parents.

I appreciated the storyteller's raw frankness in laying out how this happened to him and his family. I appreciated that he didn't make it too black and white. But for the grace of Franklin Jones...

If you are looking for something to fall asleep to this is the podcast for you. You may be startled awake though by one of the very many ad reads scattered throughout each episode.

I really enjoy the podcast “Cults”, but it’s definitely strict educational reporting and doesn’t incorporate anything personal from the hosts. I was excited by “Dear Franklin Jones” because there was going to be some commentary from someone who actually experienced a cult firsthand. I staid interested in this podcast for 3 or 4 episodes. The narrator is a little bland, and the other people interviewed aren’t really interesting enough to make up for it. The episodes toward the end of the series are mostly ramblings from the host about his feelings of Franklin Jones and growing up in a cult. I know that’s what I wanted — it what “Cults” is lacking , but the delivery in this was just really boring for some reason. I would have liked to have heard more interviews from other cult members, former and current. I just got really bored of hearing the same thing from the narrator and his parents. Maybe this was lazy journalism, maybe he couldn’t get anyone to talk to him...I don’t know. I just feel like I had a mediocre meal from what was promised to be a great restaurant. What I really wanted was something along the lines of “Heaven’s Gate” , which is absolutely fantastic. But you know...Gylnn Washington (who also grew up in a cult) is animated and entertaining and earnest and is simply just a better storyteller.

His voice is perfect for podcasts! Loved every episode. Easy to follow and easy to binge!

I was excited to listen to this, but in the end there wasn’t much exploration of what sounded like exploitation of power to take advantage of women and men sexually. The host says no one regrets being a follower of Franklin Jones. That can’t be true from some of the other things he said before. He sounds to me like someone who took advantage of others to get money and power.

The subject is very interesting but I don’t feel as if the story is advanced very much from episode to episode and are too heavily interview based. The episodes are also fairly short with way too much time dedicated to ad reads. I listened to the heavens gate pod cast first so naturally I compare to two and I feel there was way more substance, flow and progression of the events. The story telling was edited much better and I felt that each episode had a theme and that theme was very well fleshed out by episodes end.

I don’t think I’m going to be satisfied with only 7 episodes.

I like this podcast! He’s telling his story, not writing a documentary. It’s interesting and engaging.

This show is very short. The material here is evidently spread thin between each very short episode. This isn’t as much a deep dive as it is a general overview. Almost all of this information can be found on google, and the testimony is far too general to be impactful.

Luke from Catching Foxes recommended this podcast on one of their latest episodes. So glad I subscribed!

I'm loving Dear Franklin Jones. Jonathan's intimate, down-to-earth, honest telling; great interweaving of interivews, archival tape, music, and narration; and most important - a great story. It's riveting with out being sensationalized, which is a tricky balance, but really done right here.

This story is really well told and incredibly interesting. However, the amount of music/ads in each very short episode makes the listener feel cheated. I’d guess about 60% of each episode is actual content. Which is a bummer, because the content is so good!

Really well written and narrated deep dive into Franklin Jones’ cult and one family that was deeply affected by it. Thankyou for telling your story so openly. It’s so brave of you!

The same story as so many others, including the Big Sky Daddy, Son Death & Ghost cult that managed to spread itself too far across the planet, probably destroying decently balanced traditions in its wake. The groups take over lives and when people wake up they discover how much trauma they experienced in the welcoming mega-church or loving guru-turned-god community. Jon doesn’t- yet- seem like he was personally targeted but there’s more to come.

Fascinating to hear first and from people who really experienced Jones from the inside. I find it interesting that people in the ratings are complaining that they are biased. He talks to current followers and former followers. They are speaking from their own experiences; you can’t knock that. I personally feel that they are a lot kinder than you want them to be towards their experiences and honestly has me perplexed. But a interesting show nonetheless.

The story is fascinating but I had to stop watching because of the background music. It drives me insane! The drumming and shaking that gets progressively louder and faster gives me anxiety. Tone it down, please!