Episode 286: The Cult of Synanon - Part 2

Charles Dederich’s sanctuary for those fighting drug addiction had morphed in its first decade of existence. It expanded from helping those with substance issues to becoming a utopian community with a growing list of business assets and resources. With its leader running things like a corporation, Synanon residents soon found their every hour accounted for, but they had no idea what was in store for their own futures or the future of their children. This week’s episode is The Cult of Synanon - Part 2.

SOURCES

Part 1 Sources: https://www.sinisterhood.com/shownotes/ep285-cult-synanon-pt-1

Books

• From Miracle to Madness:  The True Story of Charles Dederich and Synanon by Paul Morantz: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Madness-2nd-Charles-Dederich/dp/0578163055

Articles

• HBO Original Documentary Series "The Synanon Fix" Debuts April 1, The Futon Critic: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2024/03/20/hbo-original-documentary-series-the-synanon-fix-debuts-april-1-764111/20240320hbo01/

• Life After Synanon, Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-29-tm-33727-story.html

• It's Time for Morning Meeting - Sharing our Synanon Stories: https://synanon.com/2021/06/13/thoughts-on-synanons-history/

• New Religious Movements: Synanon, Luca's Thoughts:

• https://www.blog44.ca/lucao/2021/06/04/new-religious-movements-synanon/

• Quitting Smoking Hard for Addicts, New York Times Archives (May 1971): https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/23/archives/quitting-smoking-hard-for-addicts-synanon-reports-success-with.html

• Synanon celebrates 1-year anniversary of new building (Archival News Footage from 1972), SFSU: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/239381

• The Cult of Synanon, Westport Connecticut Virtual Museum: https://virtualhistorywestport.org/exhibits/cure/cult/

• The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry, Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/cult-spawned-tough-love-teen-industry/

• The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich by Paul Morantz, Cult Education Institute: https://culteducation.com/group/1179-synanon/20127-the-history-of-synanon-and-charles-dederich.html

• The Rise and Fall of “The Synanon Fix”: “Like Frogs Boiling Slowly in Water”, Sundance: https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-synanon-fix-like-frogs-boiling-slowly-in-water/

• The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre, Los Angeles Magazine: https://lamag.com/lahistory/synanon-cult