Dorothy Martin and the UFO Cult

This week, Katy and Nathan take a break from queens and head into the world of UFO cults. In 1950s Chicago, housewife Dorothy Martin began receiving messages through automatic writing from beings she believed lived on the planet Clarion. With the help of a small group called the Seekers, she spread a startling prediction: a catastrophic flood would soon destroy Earth, and flying saucers would arrive to save the faithful. The prophecy never came true, but what happened next fascinated psychologist Leon Festinger. His study of the Seekers would eventually lead to one of the most influential concepts in modern psychology: cognitive dissonance. Join us for a story featuring alien Jesus, failed doomsday predictions, flying saucers, and the surprisingly important cult that helped explain why people cling to beliefs even when faced with evidence that they're wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices