Peoples Temple Collection; Box 13, Virtual item 7, Q318b - Part 2, Jones leads community in discussion of news (August 1, 1978) | Special Collections & University Archives
Jim Jones leads the Jonestown community in a discussion of the news. People answer questions which he poses, and receive rewards of time (whether they are allowed time off of work, or are granted another dispensation of time commitment, it is unknown). Jones offers his own expansion on the answers or provides additional commentary on almost each reply, and sometimes, he uses the answer as a point of departure to offer some lesson or opinion which is only tangentially related. In the context – since he comments upon the complexity and subjectivity of the questions themselves – it is apparent someone else has written them for him. The writer could be Eugene Chaikin, whose own commentary show more thoughtfulness and analysis than mere responses to questions about the news.
Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.
Series 2: Audiovisual Materials, 1957-2019 Sub-Series 1: Audio Cassette Tapes, Summaries, and Transcripts, 1957-1979, 2019 Sub-Series 1: Audio Cassette Tapes, 1958-1978 Box 10 Item 34: Q318 - Jones leads community in discussion of news, August 1, 1978 Item B: Q318b - Part 2