The Church of Love (Chonda-Za)

The Church of Love: Chonda-Za, Love Angels, lonely hearts, and a whole lot of questionable love letters. Plus, self-delusion and seeing things for what they are.Connect on Facebook or at the Failed Utopia website.Links & ResourcesNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741 741Domestic Violence Helpline: 1-800-799-7233VictimConnect, a referral helpline for victims of crime: 1-855-484-2846For veterans, Make The ConnectionUseful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam & Bill MeslerHidden Brain: Lonely HeartsChurch Of Love Drama: Sex, Money, Angels And Broken Dreams AP News 1988Knights of Chonda-Za Chicago Tribune 1988Church of Love operators plead innocent to fraud The Daily Dispatch 1987‘Church of Love’ wasn’t quite angelic Quad-City Times 1989Successful love angel: ‘Pure and wholesome’ The Des Moines Register 1988Written and produced by Anna RobertsBurning palm tree artwork by Perry VasquezIntro music by Elliot MiddletonMerchandise: www.failedutopia.com/shop

Om Podcasten

This is a podcast about utopian ideas and paradise lost. We look at utopian concepts from the past, present and future, as well as utopian societies and communes, which promise the world to eager followers but inevitably fail when it all starts to unravel. Some of these utopias just fall apart, while others devolve into true horrors and even brutal cults. I’ll break down what these groups’ leaders were thinking, what attracted their devotees in the first place, and how it all went wrong.