7. CULT OR COMMUNE? The Source Family (It’s Totally A Cult)

Los Angeles, CA | The Source Family of 1970s Los Angeles had all of the trappings of a thriving commune with a flair for glamor.  Running one of LA's earliest and most celebrated organic eateries on the Sunset Strip, it’s hard to see a darker reality lurking beneath the surface.  But make no mistake, its leader, Jim Baker, had all of the characteristics of a cult leader, breaking his own rules and placing his members in life or death situations because of them. 

Intrigued by this episode's references to Jack Parsons and Aleister Crowley?  Check out Episodes 1 & 2 - Pioneering Rocketeer & Occultist in Pasadena: The Double Life of Jack Parsons!

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🐇 Go ahead, down the rabbit hole you go… Here’s the complete list of sources for this episode:  
-Baker, W. & Brian Solan (2022). My name was Mushroom: My life as a teenage runaway in the Source Family commune. Think It Publishing.
-Bernstein, R. (Host). (2023, December 20). The Source Family Commune w/ Wendy Baker [Audio podcast episode]. In IndoctriNation.
-Demopoulos, M., & Wille, J. (Directors). (2013). The Source Family [Documentary film]. 
-Linkletter, A., Jensen, B., & Vanek, J. (2019, January 9). Episode 22: The Source Family Cult [Audio podcast episode]. In The First Degree. 
-Polcyn, G., & Richardson, V. (2019, December 31). Best of 2019: The Source Family Pt. 2: James Baker [Audio podcast episode]. In Cults.
-https://calmatters.org/politics/2023/06/child-marriage-california/
-https://www.atlasobscura.com/experiences/exploring-the-source
-https://la.eater.com/2013/5/13/6435783/the-source-las-first-spiritual-vegetarian-restaurant
-http://lifeinthesourcefamily.blogspot.com/2015/11/joining-source-family.html?m=1
-https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11990859/Inside-Source-Family-bizarre-1970s-Hollywood-sex-cult.html
-https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-19-ca-source19-story.html
-https://la.curbed.com/2013/5/13/10245880/the-respectable-la-houses-of-1970s-hippie-cult-the-source
-https://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections/collections/american-religions-collection
-https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-may-15-la-et-mn-source-family-documentary-20130511-story.html
-https://lamag.com/news/yod-hair-a-qa-with-the-filmmakers-of-the-source-family
-https://lamag.com/news/blood-sugar-sex-magick-a-new-documentary-about-the-source-family
-https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89471347
-https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/nyregion/the-source-family-a-concert-and-film.html
-https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/movies/the-source-family-a-documentary-on-father-yod.html
-https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/21/father-yod-the-1970s-cult-leader-whose-wild-psychedelia-was-more-suited-to-disneyland-than-dive-bars
-https://www.library.ucsb.edu/news/american-religions-collection
-https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-04-12/source-family-cult-l-a-father-yod-mark-ruffalo-rick-rubin-vegetarian-restaurant
-https://www.pinterest.com/pin/309411436888787984/
-https://laist.com/news/la-history/source-family-restaurant-vegetarian-dinner-gratitude-kitchen-dec-5

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