22 episodes

Season One, Worldwide: The Unchosen Church, shares first-hand accounts of growing up inside of a doomsday apocalyptic cult called The Worldwide Church of God. It's a series about the costs and rewards of high-demand religious group, dispels many of the myths about what types of people join cults, and showcases the beauty, comedy, and tragedy of life inside Herbert W. Armstrong's WCG. Season Two of Worldwide travels to Southeast Asia to explore one of the most captivating, unsolved mysteries of the 20th century: the disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Thai silk king.  Join us as we delve deep into the extraordinary life of Thompson and the fateful weekend when he vanished without a trace, leaving behind a perplexing mystery that has confounded investigators, armchair detectives, and conspiracy theorists alike. Through research, expert interviews, and compelling storytelling, we piece together the fragments of evidence to explore the most popular theories about what happened to Jim and shed light on the newest developments in the case.

Worldwide Tricia Jenkins

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.9 • 219 Ratings

Season One, Worldwide: The Unchosen Church, shares first-hand accounts of growing up inside of a doomsday apocalyptic cult called The Worldwide Church of God. It's a series about the costs and rewards of high-demand religious group, dispels many of the myths about what types of people join cults, and showcases the beauty, comedy, and tragedy of life inside Herbert W. Armstrong's WCG. Season Two of Worldwide travels to Southeast Asia to explore one of the most captivating, unsolved mysteries of the 20th century: the disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Thai silk king.  Join us as we delve deep into the extraordinary life of Thompson and the fateful weekend when he vanished without a trace, leaving behind a perplexing mystery that has confounded investigators, armchair detectives, and conspiracy theorists alike. Through research, expert interviews, and compelling storytelling, we piece together the fragments of evidence to explore the most popular theories about what happened to Jim and shed light on the newest developments in the case.

    Ep. 2.0. Getting Out and Moving On (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    Ep. 2.0. Getting Out and Moving On (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    In this brief introduction to season  two of Worldwide, host Tricia Jenkins and guest Glynn Washington (host of the  Snap Judgement podcast)  explain how travel helped lead them out of the Worldwide Church of God. Tricia also  shares how her travels led her to the subject of our next series – a multi-layered mystery that she can't put to rest. Welcome to season two of Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King.

    Have little podcast listeners and want to discover another podcast from Thirteen Media?  Check out ABC Story Sisters, a story time podcast bringing classic children's literature to life for kids, and kids at heart! Worldwide listeners will recognize a familiar voice as one of season five's special guests!

    • 7 min
    Ep. 2.6. Host It or Toast It

    Ep. 2.6. Host It or Toast It

    Want to support Worldwide?

    Visit buymeacoffee.com/worldwidepod and tell us whether you'd rather "host it or toast it" - or both!  You can also support the show by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or other directories, and sharing it with your friends, family and followers. 

    • 1 min
    Ep. 2.5. Another Murder and the Jim Thompson Legacy (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    Ep. 2.5. Another Murder and the Jim Thompson Legacy (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    In this last episode, we examine the story of Jim’s associate, who swears he spotted Thompson in a hotel lobby in Tahiti weeks after he disappeared, as well as the still unsolved murder of Jim Thompson’s sister, Katharine, five months after Jim vanished.   We'll also explore the  legacy of Jim Thompson and how it continues today.  Join us for the final twists and turns in the Thompson tale.

    Information for this series was taken from William Warren's book, Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery  (1999); Joshua Kurlantzick's book, The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War (2012);  a variety of popular newspaper and magazine articles, and Lew Toulmin's extensive report on the Thompson case, which can be found here:  http://www.themosttraveled.com/The%20Disappearance%20of%20Jim%20Thompson%20FINAL%20redacted.pdf

    Have little podcast listeners and want to discover another podcast from Thirteen Media?  Check out ABC Story Sisters, a story time podcast bringing classic children's literature to life for kids, and kids at heart! Worldwide listeners will recognize a familiar voice as one of season five's special guests!

    • 12 min
    Ep. 2.4. “We Had to Eliminate Him:” An interview with the CIA's Barry Broman (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    Ep. 2.4. “We Had to Eliminate Him:” An interview with the CIA's Barry Broman (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    In 2013, former CIA officer Barry Broman received a phone call from someone claiming to know who killed Jim Thompson. Join us as we follow that lead from Thailand to Singapore and evaluate whether Jim was killed by a communist plot to eliminate him.

    To watch Broman's short film, Who Killed Jim Thompson The Thai Silk King?, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cic9Wh-MSw

    Information for this series was taken from William Warren's book, Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery  (1999); Joshua Kurlantzick's book, The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War (2012);  a variety of popular newspaper and magazine articles, and Lew Toulmin's extensive report on the Thompson case, which can be found here:  http://www.themosttraveled.com/The%20Disappearance%20of%20Jim%20Thompson%20FINAL%20redacted.pdf
     Have little podcast listeners and want to discover another podcast from Thirteen Media?  Check out ABC Story Sisters, a story time podcast bringing classic children's literature to life for kids, and kids at heart! Worldwide listeners will recognize a familiar voice as one of season five's special guests!
     

    • 25 min
    Ep. 2.3. Retracing Fading Steps: An interview with Dr. Lew Toulmin (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    Ep. 2.3. Retracing Fading Steps: An interview with Dr. Lew Toulmin (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    In the mid-2010s, Dr. Lew Toulmin, a search and rescue operations specialist, went to Malaysia and Thailand to research the Jim Thompson case extensively and to evaluate the possible causes of his death. Was Jim Thompson the victim of foul play?  Was he attacked and eaten by a tiger?  Was he caught up in a communist conspiracy?  Or did he simply stumble upon something in the jungle that sealed his fate? Listen and make your own conclusions.

    Information for this series was taken from William Warren's book, Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery  (1999); Joshua Kurlantzick's book, The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War (2012);  a variety of popular newspaper and magazine articles, and Lew Toulmin's extensive report on the Thompson case, which can be found here:  http://www.themosttraveled.com/The%20Disappearance%20of%20Jim%20Thompson%20FINAL%20redacted.pdf

    Have little podcast listeners and want to discover another podcast from Thirteen Media?  Check out ABC Story Sisters, a story time podcast bringing classic children's literature to life for kids, and kids at heart! Worldwide listeners will recognize a familiar voice as one of season five's special guests!

    • 27 min
    Ep. 2.2. Peter Hurkos and The Dangers of Psychic Detectives: An Interview with D.J. Grothe (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    Ep. 2.2. Peter Hurkos and The Dangers of Psychic Detectives: An Interview with D.J. Grothe (Worldwide: The Disappearance of the Thai Silk King)

    When the police fail to turn up leads in missing persons cases, families sometimes get desperate and ask psychic detectives to “help.”  In the case of Jim Thompson, his sister, Eleanor, hired the world’s most famous psychic celebrity at the time – Peter Hurkos – to locate her brother when the police could not. But psychic detectives are rarely helpful, and we sit down with professional skeptic and former psychic entertainer, D.J. Grothe, to discuss the dangers of  psychic detectives and the tactics they employ to convince grieving people to depart with their money.

    Information for this series was taken from William Warren's book, Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery (1999); Joshua Kurlantzick's book, The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War  (2012);  and a variety of popular newspaper and magazine articles about the Thompson case.

    Have little podcast listeners and want to discover another podcast from Thirteen Media?  Check out ABC Story Sisters, a story time podcast bringing classic children's literature to life for kids, and kids at heart! Worldwide listeners will recognize a familiar voice as one of season five's special guests!

    • 30 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
219 Ratings

219 Ratings

pod-diddy ,

*blank stares abound*

So surprisingly great to hear lingo I’ve only heard from occasional conversations with family or from myself futilely attempting to explain my background haha

Also very surprising to hear so many similar thoughts and conclusions that I’ve come to recently about my own wcg experience and so very helpful. Thank you. Brilliant idea to share so many different perspectives instead of the typical “cult pods” that I’ve listened to.

Chnvaldez ,

💯

This podcast is well-produced and fascinating. I highly recommend it!

Jenefrost ,

For EP 1.6

Money from the third tithe was used in the worldwide church of God for the widows and orphans BUT the widow had to PAY IT BACK! So that made the third tithe stolen funds from the church members who was treated like trained dogs. We weren’t even allowed to ask a question we was told if you question the church then that means you are not saved. That church did not and still don’t believe in Jesus Christ for Salvation. They are another anti-Christ religious group. And they cover up sexual sin on children. They put widows and orphans in the most unsecured unsafe places to stay during the Feast Of Tabernacles, our motel room wouldn’t lock, the bed had blood on the sheets, and told me the church doesn’t like helping people like you! By the feast coordinator. I was had no clue what that meant other than you are beneath us. I became severely depressed after a few years and told I had demon issues. Well the demon issues was the church I was a 3rd generation and my children was 4th generation. I have since left that church and it took me years to overcome the lies the mind control and I now know who Jesus is He is my Savior by Grace through Faith! No other name not this plus Jesus all the while being told we are an embryo not yet born again as we were so often told! Sick crazy stuff! If you’re in a splinter get out all they did was whitewash the crimes HWA committed along with his false teaching. They are built on sinking sand!

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