The podcast is a documentary about the new religious movementHeaven's Gate, which is often described as a cult.[1] The podcast discusses how Bonnie Lu Nettles and Marshall Applewhite (known within the group as Ti and Do respectively) convinced their followers to leave their families to join them.[2]Glynn Washington discusses the members of the group, as well as their friends and family, and reflects on how someone might end up joining a group like Heaven's Gate.[3] Washington himself grew up in the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong, which taught beliefs known collectively as Armstrongism, described as a cult by Walter Ralston Martin in his book The Kingdom of the Cults (1965). Washington left the group at the age of 19.[4] The group is now known as Grace Communion International.[5] Washington was fascinated by the events that took place in large part because of the similarities to the group he grew up in,[6] which held similarly apocolyptic beliefs.[7]
The podcast debuted on October 18, 2017,[8] and contains 10 episodes.[9] The show was produced in the Sun Basket production studio[10] and produced by Pineapple Street Media[11] as a Stitcher original.[12] Benjamin Zeller, author and professor of religion at Lake Forest College, guided the project with his research on the group.[13]Dan Taberski acted as writer for the show.[14] The show uses archived audio in addition to new interviews.[15] The podcast includes testimonials from members of the group as well as friends and family of members.[16] The show was nominated for best documentary podcast in the 2018 Webby Awards.[17]