Ep.3 Aum Shinrikyo

In this harrowing episode of Hidden Cults, we dive into the chilling rise and catastrophic fall of Aum Shinrikyo, a doomsday cult that began as a fringe yoga group in Japan and evolved into a domestic terrorist organization with apocalyptic ambitions. Led by the self-proclaimed messiah Shoko Asahara, Aum's journey from spiritual seekers to the perpetrators of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack exposes a disturbing fusion of mind control, science fiction, and mass delusion. We unravel the cult's recruitment of elite scientists, their obsession with chemical weapons, and the twisted prophecy that led to one of the deadliest terror attacks in modern Japanese history. Survivors, defectors, and experts help us uncover the cult's hidden inner workings, and the eerie global echoes that remain today. A story of belief turned deadly, this is the nightmare beneath the surface of spiritual salvation.

Part 1 – The Guru in the Shadows: The Rise of Shoko Asahara (1955–1989)
Part 2 – Cult to Command: Doctrine, Devotion, and Domination (1990–1994)
Part 3 – The Tokyo Attack: Chaos Underground (1995)
Part 4 – Collapse and Reckoning: Trials, Trauma, and Aftershocks (1995–2018)
Part 5 – Echoes in the Void: The Remnants and Rebrands (2018–Present)
Part 6 – Reflections on Faith, Fear, and Control

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