It’s been so long! I managed to catch Atsushi between screenings in Tokyo yesterday! Atsushi has been busy with the release in Japan (today is DAY 3!) and I’ve been preparing it to meet the world over! The in-cinema tickets sold out on Day 1, a

Murders (Revised)

Sep 19th, 2020 28m 28s

By the demise of the cult, executive members had killed more than 80 people. Here are the stories of the first two murders: the' ‘accidental’ death of Majima Teruyuki in September 1988 and the cold-blooded murder Taguchi Shuji in February 1989

Miracles

Aug 16th, 2020 29m 13s

10,000 USD for a sip of Shoko Asahara’s blood, anyone? This episode we look into the diverse “initiation” specials Aum Shinrikyo offered that made them **millionaires**But what makes someone believe in miracles? More importantly, what are the r

Building Utopia

Aug 1st, 2020 44m 30s

In 1984, Shoko Asahara went to see a private investigator named Mekawa to learn about Tenrikyo, another New Religion which started in the 18th Century. Based on what he learned, he set forth to raise funds and build his own utopia where he woul

In Search of a Guru in India

Jul 17th, 2020 32m 48s

In 1985-1987, Shoko Asahara goes on a number of trips to India in search of a guru to validate and guide his (so far) self-taught yoga practise. His travels take him to the ashrams of a number of Indian religious teachers including Pilot Baba a

Bonus Episode: Q&A at Sheffield with Cintia Gil (Part 2)

Jul 6th, 2020 17m 51s

Welcome to our second bonus episode! Cintia Gil, director of the Sheffield Doc Fest speak to us on the process behind the festival! Me and the Cult Leader is world premiering at Sheffield Doc Fest's virtual 2020 edition and available in the #UK

Bonus Episode: Q&A at Sheffield with Cintia Gil (Part 1)

Jun 26th, 2020 28m 44s

Welcome to our first bonus episode! Director Atsushi Sakahara (and a little bit of Pearl Chan) speak to Cintia Gil, director of the Sheffield Doc Fest on the process behind the film. This is part 1 of 2; part 2 will be on the process behind the

Join Us, It's Fun！ ( Radio Drama)

Jun 19th, 2020 27m 44s

Note: Mentions Suicide. In 1985, Aum Shinrikyo’s recruiting efforts are paying off. This is a radio drama of one early member’s experience. Our exploration of why people join, and why they stay. Our film Me and the Cult Leader is available NOW

Levitation

Jun 6th, 2020 33m 58s

When we think about Aum Shinrikyo, we often think about the guru Shoko Asahara or the men he was arrested with, but in 1985, in a small Shibuya flat, Aum started with 6 young women who laid the foundations for what would become a multi-million

New Name

May 24th, 2020 47m 50s

We’re back to cults! After his second pharmacy closes after a police investigation, embittered Chizuo Matsumoto knocks on the door of Shuo Nishiyama (remember him from episode 2?), answering a job ad. He doesn’t get the job, but instead, a frie

Interrogation

May 8th, 2020 31m 2s

June 22, 1982, Deputy Detective Takeo Shiroiwa arrives at the gate of 27 year old Chizuo Matsumoto’s home and rings the buzzer, search warrant in hand. This is a short episode including Atsushi and Pearl recreating the interrogation. Listen Now

Formation

May 1st, 2020 59m 6s

Before starting a doomsday cult, Chizuo Matsumoto ran an acupuncture clinic out of his first apartment with his wife and baby daughter. Before manufacturing bio-weapons, he was fined for insurance fraud. Before selling his plasma to believers,

"I plan on marrying you"

Apr 24th, 2020 47m 42s

Emerging from his brother's shadow, Chizuo Matsumoto gets married.For more in-depth notes, subscribe to our newsletter: www.aganai.substack.comListen Now:Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6ltStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-afte

One Eye'd Chizuo

Apr 15th, 2020 49m 26s

Chizuo is sent to a school for the blind at the age of 6. For the next 14 years, he would hope, bribe, bore, and struggle through his experience as the only sighted child at the facility. These are the early years of Aum Shinrikyo cult leader a

Rush Hour of the Gods

Apr 8th, 2020 53m 3s

When I started research for this episode, I thought we would focus on the beginnings of the cult leader Asahara. But instead, everything I was looking at brought me to think more about the context that would allow and nurture a cult like Aum. W

Capsule Prologue: 25 Years

Mar 20th, 2020 1m 49s

On March 20, 1995, Toru Toyoda and Katsuya Takahashi, respectively the perpetrator and driver, planted sarin on the Hibiya line, train B711T. Toyoda boarded the train at Naka Meguro Station, punctured the sarin at Ebisu Station and got off. The

Meet Atsushi

Mar 19th, 2020 1m 48s

Atsushi Sakahara is an energetic man in his 50s. Though he struggles to fit into Japanese society, which he characterizes as having a village mentality, he’s the very definition of a last generation Kyoto fella. Polite and acutely aware of hier