meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Timesuck with Dan Cummins

397 - Jim Bakker: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of an American Grifter

Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Dan Cummins

True Crime, Society & Culture, Religion, Conspiracies, History, Biographies, Education, Adult Humor, Comedy, Dark Humor, Conspiracy, Cults

4.721.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2024

⏱️ 171 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jim Bakker, and his wife, Tammy Faye, revolutionized tele-evangelism in the 1970s and 1980s. Their PTL Club, was, at it's height, pulling in millions a WEEK in donations to support their cause. But their cause was a lie. Jim was not who he claimed to be, and financial and sexual improprieties would send him to prison... before he got out and started running his scam all over again.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Does God want you to have nice stuff? Not just nice stuff, but the most luxurious things the world has to offer?

0:07.6

Does you want you to skip both coach and first class and fly on private jets to own not just your home but multiple vacation homes

0:15.0

and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on just your wardrobe. Jim Baker

0:19.6

thought so or at least that's what he preached to he and Tammy Fay's many many faithful

0:25.0

followers as the founders and leaders of the PTL club a Christian television show that

0:30.0

ran from 1974 to 1989 the PTL supposedly standing for praise the Lord

0:34.9

though that's since been disputed. Jim and Tammy Faye embodied this religious

0:39.3

message. Their television show and the broadcasting company that supported it was a mash-up of

0:44.1

evangelical religion and American pop culture.

0:47.7

During its run, the show had illustrious and incredibly diverse guests, like Colonel Sanders, Little Richard,

0:53.7

former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, Watergate figure, Chuck Colson,

0:58.3

Apollo astronaut James Irwin, Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flint, showing up and back to back weeks here.

1:04.8

Maria Von Trapp of the Sound of Music Fame, singer Pat Boone, and many others.

1:09.4

They showed their viewers that religion didn't have to be the stuff of fire and brimstone.

1:13.7

It could be fun.

1:14.8

It could involve singing and dancing, puppet shows, plays, costumes, and more.

1:19.9

Jim and Tammy Fay were entertainers first, evangelists second from the very beginning.

1:25.6

They had long been members of the Pentecostal Assembly's of God's domination.

1:29.2

In the 1960s, they joined Evangelist and Media Mog mogul Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network

1:35.0

where their puppet show for children made them an instant hit.

1:38.3

Then in 1966, Jim Baker became the host of the 700 Club, a religious talk program that evolved out of a

1:44.2

telethon. The 700 Club would become the flagship program of CBN. When disputes

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dan Cummins, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dan Cummins and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.