CRIME HUNKIES: Breatharianism
What if someone convinced you that food was optional? Join the Hunkies as they dive into one of the strangest movements you’ve probably never heard of. It involves sunlight, cosmic energy, and somehow… McDonald’s.
Listen in the Crime Junkie Fan Club
Crime Junkie Fan Club members get access to exclusive episodes and content. Join today to listen to this episode and many more!
Justin and Erik in the recording booth
Episode Source Material
- Scholarly Community Encyclopedia. Last updated October 25, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/31091
- Newspapers.com. The Orlando Morning Sentinel. Published July 24, 1952. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/236564452/?match=1&clipping_id=new
- All Interesting. Broadcast in September 1981. Posted on YouTube April 23, 2010. Watched May 15, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rybFmE2qtaw
- Newspapers.com (The Olympian – Washington). Published February 13, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/803815033/
- Newspapers.com (The Ann Arbor News). Published March 30, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1179534549/?match=1&clipping_id=new
- UPI Archives. Published April 5, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/04/05/Cult-that-shuns-food-shaken-by-reports-leader-is-eating/8778418366800/
- Newspapers.com (The Daily News – Pennsylvania). Published April 7, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/518576907/?match=1&clipping_id=new
- The Vancouver Sun (BC Canada). Published April 13, 1991. https://www.newspapers.com/image/495125776/?match=1&clipping_id=new
- Newspapers.com (The San Berardino County Sun). Published April 12, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/64803900/?clipping_id=new and https://www.newspapers.com/image/64803926/?clipping_id=new
- Newspapers.com (The Spokesman Review – San Francisco). Published April 21, 1983. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.newspapers.com/image/572656357/?match=1&clipping_id=new
- Seattle Times Archives. Published October 5, 1993. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19931005/1724507/living-on-light-air—-breatharian-says-food-is-poison-but-pops-an-occasional-twinkie
- The Guardian. Published September 28, 1999. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/sep/28/millennium.uk
- Metroactive.com. Published January 2000. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/01.05.00/nuzjunkies-0001.html
- The Sydney Morning Herald. Published November 21, 2005. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.smh.com.au/national/breatharian-retreat-worries-french-20051121-gdmhg0.html
- YouTube. Published December 2011. Watched May 17, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2yh7J4BJLE
- Screenshot. Published March 28, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://screenshot-media.com/the-future/food/breatharianism-diet-cult/
- Insight Timber Blog. Publishing date unknown. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://insighttimer.com/blog/what-is-prana
- Ananda.org. Published date unknown. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/prana/
- YouTube. 60 Minutes Australia. Published March 23, 2026. Watched May 17, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_lkW44qhr0
- BBC News. Published July 2010. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-10776957
- The Guardian. Published January , 2019. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/07/nepali-police-investigate-buddha-boy-ram-bahadur-bomjan-after-several-devotees-disappear
- CityNews Everywhere. Published July 2024. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2024/07/01/nepalese-spiritual-leader-buddha-boy-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-sexual-assault-on-minor/
- The Hindu. Published May 9, 2010. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20151231214130/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article425184.ece
- Guardian UK. Published May 2010. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165946/http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2010/20100518/en_1.html
- Sacred Mountain Retreat. Published January 2016. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://sacredmountainretreat.org/a-conversation-with-ray-maor-on-breatharianism
- News 18. Published September 2025. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://www.news18.com/viral/when-indian-man-survived-411-days-without-food-irked-doctors-eating-sun-secret-aa-ws-l-9570356.html
- News BBC UK. Published September 21, 1999. Accessed May 15, 2026. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/453661.stm
- Irish Independent. Published September 21, 1999. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.independent.ie/world-news/woman-starves-to-death-in-cult-ritual/26139165.html
- Cult Education Institute (Sunday Times London). Published September 26, 1999. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://culteducation.com/group/848-breatharianism/3269-three-deaths-linked-to-living-on-air-cults.html
- Cult Education Institute. Published November 29, 1999. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://culteducation.com/848-groups/breatharianism/3279-prison-for-air-cult-discipless.html
- 9 News. Published April 27, 2012. Accessed May 15, 2026. https://www.9news.com.au/world/swiss-woman-died-trying-to-live-on-sunlight/5297fbdc-0fa5-4a91-91f9-c897b7eb9d90
- NDR. Published October 2020. Accessed May 19, 2026. https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/panorama_die_reporter/Panorama-die-Reporter,sendung1076848.html
- How Stuff Works. Published September 19, 2023. Accessed May 18, 2026. https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/breatharian.htm
Suggested Episodes
MURDERED: Joyce LePage
In the summer of 1971, 21-year-old Joyce LePage disappears after a skydiving lesson followed by a beer with friends. In the beginning, the only clue is a piece of missing carpet that was cut out from a vacant dorm on the campus of Washington State University where Joyce had been secretly squatting. Her belongings, her car and her body would all be found in different places, and they all point to different suspects.
MURDERED: Carmen Van Huss
On March 23, 1993, screams tore through the thin walls of a gated Indianapolis apartment complex as 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss fought for her life. Neighbors heard the attack, but no one called 911.
MURDERED: Christine Banfield & Joseph Ryan
When Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan were found fatally injured inside a Virginia home in 2023, investigators were told Ryan was a violent intruder and that Christine’s husband (a federal agent) had tried to save her. But digital evidence suggested something else: that Ryan had been lured there through a fake online persona, and the scene staged to hide a double homicide.
Join our Fan Club to listen to this episode and more!
Unlock all of the exclusive benefits and dynamic listening experience as a Crime Junkie Fan Club member.
Join the Fan Club now to reap the rewards!