For Episode 120 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS, we will talk about Leslie Van Houten, the now elderly ex-con, formerly the acid drenched, brainwashed, violent killer of the infamous Manson Family cult. We will talk about her surprisingly and comparatively normal, loving background and why she chose to turn her back on it. We will discuss the draw to Charles Manson and his commune and what propelled them from being free-loving hippies to ghoulish killers.

We will address the processes of penitentiaries and parole, and Van Houten's journey through each.

Finally, we will talk about why the Manson Family murders, in particular, ripped such a big gash in the tenuous fabric of America's collective psyche.

BEDTIME STORIES FROM THE ACOUSTIC BOOKSHELF ends this episode with the lyrics from, "Jailhouse Blues", by Lightnin' Hopkins.

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