March 1997. A mansion in Rancho Santa Fe. 39 bodies in matching Nike sneakers and purple shrouds. The largest mass suicide on U.S. soil.

This is the finale of our Heaven's Gate series - the story of how Marshall Applewhite convinced 38 people that a comet was their spaceship home.

⚠️ Content Warning: Suicide, cult manipulation, death. Call 988 if you're struggling.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Hale-Bopp comet discovery (665 million miles away, visible for 18 months)
• Heaven's Gate as internet pioneers (they were web developers before Amazon existed)
• Chuck Shramek's Art Bell appearance that validated the UFO hysteria
• Inside the "Monastery" - the final months of preparation
• The three-wave suicide protocol (March 22-26, 1997)
• Rio DiAngelo discovers his 39 dead classmates
• Why heavensgate.com still runs today

THE SHOCKING TRUTH: Before they were a death cult, Heaven's Gate was a cutting-edge web design company. Their clients included Hollywood production companies and the San Diego Polo Club. They used Java, VRML, streaming video, and advanced HTML in 1996 - years before most corporations.

Marshall Applewhite didn't just see the internet as a tool. He saw it as theological proof that humanity had completed its experiment. Time to graduate.

Series Conclusion: 25 years. Two leaders. 39 deaths. One comet.

This is what happens when the search for meaning meets a broken teacher with absolute certainty.

Previous episodes: Part I (The Two), Part II (The Cult), Part III (The Castration)

Research sources include FBI files, medical examiner reports, survivor interviews, documentary footage, and archived Heaven's Gate materials.

Hosted by Lee, Josh, and Jen.
Audio/Video: Jeremy of Schroeder Audio

🕯️ Come Curious. Stay Strange.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988