From Christianity Today, this is Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
The 1960s promised a revolution—civil rights, moon landings, peace, love, and rock and roll. But it also brought riots, rising drug use, and missing kids. By decade’s end, American parents weren’t just worried—they were terrified.
This episode follows Art Linkletter, America’s beloved TV host, whose daughter Diane fell to her death in 1969. The official ruling? Suicide. But Linkletter blamed LSD and the counterculture, launching an anti-drug crusade that aligned him with President Nixon and fueled the war on drugs.
We’ll trace the growing panic over runaway girls, the Manson murders, and the impact of Go Ask Alice—a shocking bestseller that warned parents of the horrors awaiting their children. But was Alice a window into reality, or the invention of an author manipulating the fears of a generation?
Finally, we’ll land in the early 1970s when a different movement was rising. The Jesus People movement pulled young hippies into a rock-fueled Christian revival, culminating in Explo ’72, a massive Dallas event dubbed the “Christian Woodstock.” Was this a spiritual awakening—or another front in the culture war?
With guests Rick Emerson and Daniel Silliman, we unpack the fears that shaped the era—and what happens when paranoia and politics collide.
Resources:
- Rick Emerson, Unmask Alice
- Daniel Silliman, One Lost Soul
- Nixon library
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a production of Christianity Today
Hosted and written by Mike Cosper
Produced by Rebekah Sebastian, with production assistance by Dawn Adams
Sound Design and Mix Engineer: TJ Hester
Sound Design, Animation, and Video: Steve Scheidler
Graphic Design: Nim Ben Reuven
Music by Dirt Poor Robins
Special thanks to Hephzibah House for use of their recording studio
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Hosted and written by Mike Cosper
