Parcast Presents: Summer of '69

Our astrology takeover continues with the stories behind Virgo, Libra and Scorpio — the maiden, the scales of justice, and the vicious scorpion. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The stars can tell us our fates, but they also have stories of their own. Today, hear the tales behind Gemini, Cancer and Leo — the cosmic twins of Rome, a monstrous crab, and the ferocious Nemean Lion.  For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the rest of the Zodiac signs, constellations and more!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From creating costly “healing instruments” to engaging in group sex activities, the Gentle Wind Project claimed to address traumas through spiritual energy work in the 1980s and ‘90s. When former members spoke out about the cult’s abuse, it disbanded, only to reemerge in 2007. If you enjoy this Cults episode and want to hear more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Known as “Babu” to locals, former pastor Ambilikile Mwasapile gained international attention after claiming in 2010 that he had found a cure for cancer, diabetes and AIDS. His alleged medical breakthrough was inspired by divine dreams — but it cost potentially thousands of people their lives.  If you enjoy this Cults episode and want to hear more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Around 2007, a new miracle healer stepped on stage in Brazil, claiming to cure cancer, heart disease and HIV. Followers flocked from all over the world… But the healer wasn’t a traditional preacher, or even a flashy snake oil salesman. She was a 3-year-old girl named Alani Santos. For more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ukrainian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky led hypnotic TV healing sessions in the late 1980s and ‘90s, drawing millions of viewers across Eastern Europe. He laid low after a series of controversies — but made his comeback in 2009, and is still allegedly healing the masses on his hit YouTube channel. For more international crime cases, follow International Infamy with Ashley Flowers, a new Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Amityville, New York home was the site of a brutal family murder in 1974. When a new family moved in less than a year later, they lasted just weeks before being driven out by bizarre and horrifying events. The house is featured in the opening scenes of The Conjuring Two.  For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1980, a family in Connecticut encountered a demon while checking out a rental home. Paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren were brought in to help, inspiring The Conjuring film franchise's third installment, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The building became known as the Brookfield House... and many believe the demon still lurks there, waiting for its next victim. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A single mother and her four children are plagued by paranormal activity at their house in Enfield, England. Everyone who visits has a different explanation for its terrors — medieval yeomen, an evil magician, “ten naughty things''... The haunting becomes one of the most well-publicized cases in modern history, and the inspiration for The Conjuring 2. For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The original film of The Conjuring franchise was inspired by a centuries-old Rhode Island property. Built in 1736, the Old Arnold Estate was allegedly once the home of a satanic witch. When the Perron family moved into the home in 1973, they reawakened her spirit — and famed paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren showed up to investigate.  For more episodes like this one, follow Haunted Places free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wrapping up our deep dive into the world of whistleblowing, we're examining its current state. We look at where marquee whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden are today. And we look ahead at what will happen to whistleblowers in the future. Will technological advances help them — or make their jobs even more deadly? For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2013, NSA systems administrator Edward Snowden handed over thousands of classified documents to journalists. The subsequent revelations of government mass surveillance re-defined whistleblowing in the 21st century and sparked an international conversation about privacy. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ambiguity and risk are par for the course with whistleblowing. The space between people’s rights to government transparency and the government’s need to keep certain secrets can seem nebulous. But whatever a potential whistleblower decides, one thing is clear: whistleblowing stories are most often tragedies.  For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The WikiLeaks releases in 2010 came almost entirely from a single source: Chelsea Manning. While deployed in Iraq, the struggling U.S. Army private was also fighting a private war with her identity. When she was given access to classified information, Manning finally found an opportunity to assert her true beliefs to the world. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hacker and transparency activist Julian Assange founded the website WikiLeaks in early 2006. In 2010, he garnered worldwide attention for several massive information drops that exposed some of the darkest aspects of U.S. foreign relations — and set himself up as one of the most compelling figures of contemporary whistleblowing. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The modern origins of whistleblowing reach all the way back to a surprising source: Benjamin Franklin. The act has developed significantly into the 20th century — and so have the legal consequences. For more episodes like this one, follow Espionage free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investigating the blast and compiling evidence was a huge undertaking. And in the 25 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh was turned into something of a folk hero, with his rhetoric inspiring copycats and seeping into mainstream politics. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the morning of the attack, McVeigh parked a rental truck below the Murrah building’s daycare center. At 9am, he ignited the bomb’s two-minute fuse and fled. The explosion was catastrophic, and the day thereafter was filled with tragic deaths, miraculous survivals — and the hunt for the person at the center of it all. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After coming of age in the early ‘90s, Timothy McVeigh became increasingly radicalized against the U.S. government. Witnessing tragic events at Ruby Ridge and Waco motivated him to plan and execute the most devastating incident of domestic terrorism in American history. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On April 19, 1995, U.S. Army veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring hundreds more. For more episodes like this one, follow Conspiracy Theories free on Spotify.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices