Smoke Screen S2: I Am Rama Promo

Season 2 tells the story of Frederick Lenz, a brilliant-but-troubled spiritual leader in the 80s and 90s. Beloved by many -- and eventually reviled by many others -- Lenz promoted his own brand of New Age spiritualism, calling himself Rama and helming what his detractors would describe as a cult. Rama defied society’s archetypal vision of a spiritual leader, eschewing minimalism for wealth andcelebrity. He was, in a word: cool. Rama also seemed to be a man ahead of his time, encouraging his followers to develop careers in computer science before that was mainstream, and asking them to funnel much of their wages back to him. For some of his followers, following Rama's lead worked out spiritually, and financially too. But for others, Rama's actions contradicted his cool persona; some eventually came forward with accusations of abuse. Others vanished. Whistleblowers went to the media, and the group began to shrink and splinter. Things got ugly for everyone, including Rama. In 1998, in physical andemotional pain, Rama took a lethal dose of barbiturates, walked out to the end of a dock in Long IslandSound, and never came back. Hosted by award-winning storyteller Jonathan Hirsch (Dear Franklin Jones), this series will examine the rise and fall of Rama, and the long tail of his legacy of followers.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices