As the largest independent repository of Peoples Temple audiotapes, the Jonestown Institute receives scores of requests for tapes each year. Some of them seek nothing more than the "Death Tape," but many of them look for a fuller understanding of the Jonestown community and the people of Peoples Temple.

We are curious about why people request the tapes they do, so we asked several who returned to us for additional tapes - or those whose initial order was broad and general - to write about their interest in the subject. What made them choose the tapes they did, we wondered, what did they expect to find, what did they actually find, and how did their findings change (or reinforce) their previous perceptions?

The following articles represent the answers we received.