Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were two of the most well-known religious leaders in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. They built an evangelical empire known as PTL (Praise the Lord). But it was built on a shaky foundation. After it came out that Jim Bakker had sexually assaulted a woman named Jessica Hahn and that he was committing massive fraud, their empire collapsed.

Credit: This episode was created by Smith College students Payton Armstrong, Portia Caruso, Alaina Economus-Stout, and Sophia Esparza.

Content note: This episode contains a discussion of sexual violence.

For a transcript of this episode and its sources, see https://sophia.smith.edu/hst272-sp20/ptl/