Follow The Looking Glass on iHeartRadio - https://ihr.fm/3LG5QTZ Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3B0WQE6 Follow Everywhere Else - https://bit.ly/3M27WPs In Episode 1, we noted a widely held view about the MacDonald murders: namely, that MacDonald’s story is too implausible to be taken seriously. In Episode 2, we ask why. Why does Jeffrey MacDonald’s account of the murders strike so many people as simply not believable? One answer is that these people have a background understanding of another set of murders that happened six months earlier: namely, the Manson murders. And that understanding is that the Manson murders were a singular, unrepeatable, one-of-a-kind occurrence –– not the kind of thing that happens twice in six months, three thousand miles apart. On this understanding of the Manson murders, the MacDonald murders become self-explanatory. Jeffrey MacDonald clearly killed his own family and then reached for the lowest hanging fruit in the garden of American popular culture: he tried to peddle the idea that the Mansons –– or people like them –– had murdered his family. Hence the talk of pigs, acid, and the word written in blood. The question for the historian, then, is obvious: how singular were the Manson murders? Were they, in reality, the product of one madman’s dark vision, or did they emerge from countercultural currents that ran deeper than Charles Manson –– that had, indeed, brought Manson himself screaming to the surface of the popular American imagination? Follow on Social Media Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thelookingglass_podcast/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thelookingglasstruecrimepodcast TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@thelookingglasstruecrime YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@thelookingglasstruecrime This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/tcindie and get on your way to being your best self. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can find Indie Drop-In at https://indiedropin.com Help Indie Drop-In support indie creators by buying us a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/indiedropin Brands can advertise on Indie Drop-In using Patreon https://patreon.com/indiedropin Twitter: https://twitter.com/indiedropin Instagram: https://instagram.com/indiedropin Facebook: https://facebook.com/indiedropin Any advertising found in this episode is inserted by Indie Drop-In and not endorsed by the Creator. If you would like to have your show featured, go to http://indiedropin.com/creators ~~~~~~ This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4412981/advertisement