It’s been so long! I managed to catch Atsushi between screenings in Tokyo yesterday! Atsushi has been busy with the release in Japan (today is DAY 3!) and I’ve been preparing it to meet the world over! The in-cinema tickets sold out on Day 1, and online tickets were sold out on day 2! I wanted to drop into your feed and say hello and that we’ve been thinking of you!

To catch the film in Tokyo: http://www.imageforum.co.jp/theatre/ (Japanese w/ English subtitles)

and Hong Kong (maybe more online tickets will be available soon?): https://www.hkiff.org.hk/film/getdetail?fid=969

Coming to Kyoto + Osaka in May!

By the demise of the cult, executive members had killed more than 80 people. Here are the stories of the first two murders:  the' ‘accidental’ death of Majima Teruyuki in September 1988 and the cold-blooded murder Taguchi Shuji in February 1989.

Listen Now (& Subscribe, Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Youtube:

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film Me and the Cult Leader. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

10,000 USD for a sip of Shoko Asahara’s blood, anyone? This episode we look into the diverse “initiation” specials Aum Shinrikyo offered that made them **millionaires**

But what makes someone believe in miracles? More importantly, what are the repercussions of believing?

Listen Now (& Subscribe, Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Youtube:

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film Me and the Cult Leader. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

In 1984, Shoko Asahara went to see a private investigator named Mekawa to learn about Tenrikyo, another New Religion which started in the 18th Century. Based on what he learned, he set forth to raise funds and build his own utopia where he would be recognized as the protector of the truth of the universe.

Listen Now (& Subscribe, Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Youtube: https://youtu.be/SYGXb2vWcJI

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film Me and the Cult Leader. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

In 1985-1987, Shoko Asahara goes on a number of trips to India in search of a guru to validate and guide his (so far) self-taught yoga practise. His travels take him to the ashrams of a number of Indian religious teachers including Pilot Baba and the Dalai Lama. Though his actions may seem pure, his sinister intentions soon become clear.

This meeting has long been used against the Dalai Lama by his critics. We also want to be clear that our research about the meetings was sourced from interviews Fumihiko conducted with members of the Tibetan Exiles Government. These may be biased and try to present only one version of the encounters. So taking it all with a grain of salt, Atsushi and Pearl waddle through the series of meetings between the leaders of two very very different interpretations of Buddhism in the modern era.

Listen Now (& Subscribe, Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film Me and the Cult Leader. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

Welcome to our second bonus episode! Cintia Gil, director of the Sheffield Doc Fest speak to us on the process behind the festival! Me and the Cult Leader is world premiering at Sheffield Doc Fest's virtual 2020 edition and available in the #UK from June 10 - July 10. Last 4 days of the screening in UK!!

Listen Now (& Rate and Review!)

Video of the Q&A:

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/befo...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast...

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/be...

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film The Cult Leader and Me. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

Welcome to our first bonus episode! Director Atsushi Sakahara (and a little bit of Pearl Chan) speak to Cintia Gil, director of the Sheffield Doc Fest on the process behind the film. This is part 1 of 2; part 2 will be on the process behind the festival! Me and the Cult Leader is world premiering at Sheffield Doc Fest's virtual 2020 edition and available in the #UK from June 10 - July 10. Catch it if you can!

Listen Now (& Rate and Review!)

Video of the Q&A:

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/befo...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast...

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/be...

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film The Cult Leader and Me. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

Note: Mentions Suicide.

In 1985, Aum Shinrikyo’s recruiting efforts are paying off. This is a radio drama of one early member’s experience. Our exploration of why people join, and why they stay.

Our film Me and the Cult Leader is available NOW in the UK until July 10 at the Sheffield Doc Fest! The reviews from Screen International, The Daily Beast and Eye for Film has been phenomenal, we are absolutely overjoyed!

Listen Now (& Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film The Cult Leader and Me. Find us on twitter at @beforeafteraum.

Music from Blue Dot Sessions.

When we think about Aum Shinrikyo, we often think about the guru Shoko Asahara or the men he was arrested with, but in 1985, in a small Shibuya flat, Aum started with 6 young women who laid the foundations for what would become a multi-million dollar organization.

Note: not for the faint of heart! We talk about some pretty niche yoga practices

Spoilers: Lee Chang Dong’s Secret Sunshine

Listen Now (& Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinrikyo. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film The Cult Leader and Me.

New release schedule:

Every other Friday + the odd bonus episode! Thanks for tuning in!

We’re back to cults! After his second pharmacy closes after a police investigation, embittered Chizuo Matsumoto knocks on the door of Shuo Nishiyama (remember him from episode 2?), answering a job ad. He doesn’t get the job, but instead, a friend, a mentor, and idea, and a new name.

If you haven’t listened from the beginning, we encourage you to listen to episode 1 for information on some of the cults mentioned in passing, and episode 2 on Chizuo Matsumoto’s childhood for some of the things Nishiyama tells the writer Fumihiko.

Listen Now (& Rate and Review!):

Pocket Cast: https://pca.st/8es9u6lt

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/before-after-aum

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/hk/podcast/before-after-aum/id1503524725

Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/before-after-aum-1088487

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. Please rate and review; it helps other people find us. But the best way, is to tell your friends. In the next episode, we’ll move onto the first days of Aum Shinriyko. If you are able, please consider supporting us by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or on Patreon. All funds go towards finishing the film The Cult Leader and Me.

And thank you for your patience. We’re revamping our release schedule as things begin to pick up and we’re (probably) going to have some good news to share with you soon!