Articles and Perspectives by Bonnie Yates

yatesBonnie Yates earned a B.A. in Psychology from Northern Illinois University. She has performed work in an Adolescent Suicidology lab, including the gathering, compiling and interpretation of data. Bonnie has researched many different aspects of Peoples Temple and Jonestown. She lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and beloved pets. She may be reached here.

An appreciation of Bonnie’s work as a volunteer for this site may be found here NEW.

A Conversation with Clare Bouquet (2022)

John Victor Stoen: The Unfortunate Son (2021)

Leo Ryan: How Did His Trip to Jonestown Come Together, and Why? (2020)

Joe Mazor and His Interactions with Peoples Temple: What the FOIA Files Tell Us (2019)

Representative of a Hero (2019)

Filling in Gaps in Jonestown Video with Re-Enactments (2018)

On the Use of Actors and Re-enactments in Documentaries (2018)

Jim Jones: Purveyor of Fake News (2017)

The Presidential Candidates and Jim Jones: Clinton and Trump Tarred by the Same Brush (2016)

The Negative Effects of the Social Isolation of Jim Jones in Jonestown (2015)

The Nursery & West House: Tracing the Path of Barbiturates in Jonestown (2014)

Murder by Thorazine: A Look at the Use of Sedatives in Jonestown (2013)

The Courage of Dissent (2012)

Eugene Chaikin: A Story from Jonestown (2012)

Drawing the Line: The Blame Game (2011)

Flying Home (2011)

Again (2011)

Could Peoples Temple Have Survived? (2010)

Jonestown’s Last Letter, 32 Years Later (2010)

John Victor Stoen: Son of Jonestown (2009)

Overturning the Vat (2009)

The Many Meanings of “Revolutionary Suicide” (2008)

“There, but for the Grace of God, go I” (2008)

The Stigma of Suicide: What It Means for Those Who Died In Jonestown (2007)