Hear the broadcast version.

Survivors of the Peoples Temple sometimes speak of what happened in terms of "the Jonestown Vortex". For each question that's answered, three more questions spring up to take its place.
We offer these extended clips from the interview for a more complete picture of Carter's story.
Please be aware that Tim Carter is explicit about what he saw in the final hours at Jonestown, and listeners will find some material in the interview disturbing.
--April Baer

In the first few minutes of our interview, Carter talked about first impressions of Jim Jones, and his followers, and how he came to the Peoples Temple when it was based in the San Francisco area. (5 mins)

Hear the segment. (About five minutes)

Carter felt so encouraged by what he saw that he moved to the Peoples Temple Commune in Redwood Valley not long after his first meeting.
While he says he never felt pressure he dove into life at the Redwood Valley. In this excerpt, he talks about life there, and his deepening involvement. (2 mins)

Hear the segment. (About two minutes)

It was during this time that Carter met his partner Gloria, who'd ultimately become the mother of his first son, Malcolm. Carter says it was an exciting & invigorating time, with hundreds of Temple members working together on the commune and in local politics. Plans were being laid for the settlement that ultimately became Jonestown in the South American country Guyana.

At the same time, Jim Jones' reputation was being called into question. Rumors were spreading about Jones' strict leadership style, and his sexual relations with some Temple members. The church's finances were under investigation. Jones' response was to ratchet up the rhetoric of paranoia in his sermons, and blame external forces bent on destroying the Peoples Temple.

This segment is Tim Carter's account of the move to Guyana & what life was like there. Carter says the mood was troubling, but that Temple members were determined not to give up on their dream of a better life. (15 mins)

Hear the segment. (About fifteen minutes)

Congressman Leo Ryan's visit to Guyana ended in a blaze of bullets. Jim Jones, facing the erosion of his authority, and the defection of several Peoples Temple members, sent armed gunmen after Ryan's delegation. They killed Ryan and four others in his party. Jones ordered his inner circle to make plans for a mass suicide, preparing doses of Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. Tim Carter tells how the situation at Jonestown spiraled rapidly out of control. (10 mintes)

Hear the segment. (About ten minutes)

Forensics experts determined that all but three people who died at Jonestown had been murdered.
In this final segment of our interview, Tim Carter tells about his escape to Georgetown, and the aftermath of the massacre.

Hear the segment. (About nine minutes)

Join us this evening on OPB Television for the American Experience documentary on Jonestown.