The Paranoid Strain
The podcast that explains why so many people believe ridiculous conspiracy theories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 01, 2025
New! Unidentified--Close Encounters of the X-Files Kind
We're done with Betty and Barney, but not with the subject of abductions. Not by a long shot. This episode, we talk about two different pieces of media, and how they talked about abductions. Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind has a more optimistic view, but by the time Mulder and Scully came around, alien abduction had become a completely terrifying experience. Why is that? Well, you'll have to wait for next episode to find out...We're taking one episode off, so we'll see you at the end of April. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, March 18, 2025
New! Unidentified--What Barney and Betty Hill actually saw (it wasn't a UFO)
The final part of our story of the Hills' strange encounter. We discuss the cheap hatchet job that Saint Carl Sagan did on the Hills' story, which came out quite tawdry in spite of Sagan's good intentions. Plus, we provide our suggestion for the best bet as to the real-life phenomenon that generated the Hills' legendary experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, March 03, 2025
New! Unidentified--The aliens attempt to kidnap Darth Vader
This episode, we deep dive into a TV movie adaptation of the Barney and Betty Hill story, starring and produced by James Earl Jones. An interesting film, and well intended, we examine the ways that it compromised the Hills' own conclusions about their experience in favor of a story designed to normalize interracial couples for a mainstream 1970s US audience. Enjoy! theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E26 · Tue, February 18, 2025
New! Unidentified--Interracial relationships and alien abduction in 1960s America
Barney and Betty's story goes public, and the US media decides they made up this alien story because of how hard it was to be an interracial couple in 1960s America. It's infuriating. Enjoy! theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E25 · Wed, February 05, 2025
New! Unidentified--Dreams, hypnosis, and the first American alien abduction
Barney and Betty Hill had a weird night on September 19, 1961. Of that there's no doubt. But in this episode we investigate how the mid-century embrace of hypnosis as a psychological tool may have helped to generate the abduction story that would set the stage for the abduction mania of future decades. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, January 21, 2025
New! Unidentified--Barney, Betty, and the UFO they saw
We're ready to take on the story of Barney and Betty Hill, whose UFO encounter launched the abduction phenomenon, and whose personal story is even more fascinating. More on the Hills in two weeks. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E23 · Tue, January 07, 2025
New! Unidentified--No ETs for Christmas
We're back for 2025. This episode, we wrap up the story of The Seekers, the failure of their 1950s UFO prophecy, and the book that made them famous. We also dive into the ways cognitive dissonance theory interacts with other prophetic movements, including the early Christians. See you in two weeks. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, January 03, 2025
Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part V
The last part of our encore presentation. hope you enjoyed it--see you next week. In which Fletcher slowly loses what matters most to him, secures his legend, and goes down, senselessly, in a hail of bullets. Full lyrics, credits, and gorgeous fold-out album style artwork (it's a .zip file): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zj0Mbk4JNrHajuAwHC3fOGzY8ZHeTDOg/view?usp=share_link theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-v-shutting-down patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, January 03, 2025
Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part IV
Part IV of our re-post of the best thing we've done. In which Fletcher finally gets on the radio, tells us what 2001: A Space Odyssey is really about, and sees his life begin to fall apart. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-iv-five-minutes-to-midnight patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 01, 2025
Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part III
In part 3, we discuss our hero's magnum opus. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-iii-the-red-horse-and-the-sword patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 31, 2024
Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part II
Part 2 of our repeat posting of Upon A Red Horse in honor of the New Year. Original liner notes follow In which Fletcher, our hero, becomes a big deal in the UFO world. And reveals what really happened to JFK. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-i-the-rider patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, December 30, 2024
Encore: Upon a Red Horse, Part I
Because it's the holidays, and because we know many of you haven't had the chance to hear it, we re-present the best thing we've ever done. Part 1 of 5. The original liner notes follow: In which we hear the origin story of Marvell James Fletcher. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-i-the-rider patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E22 · Tue, December 10, 2024
New! Unidentified--When UFO prophecy fails. Big time.
It's time for us to review one of the most fascinating after-effects of the UFO mania that followed the Arnold sighting. We'll learn how some incredibly lucky social scientists wrote a book about perhaps the world's first apocalyptic new age UFO cult, the Seekers. It's cognitive dissonance a go-go on this week's Paranoid Strain. We're skipping next episode for the holiday--see you in early January. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E21 · Tue, November 26, 2024
New! Unidentified--The fascinating forgery of the MJ-12 UFO documents
The lion's share of today's episode concerns the weird story of the MJ-12 (or Majestic-12) documents, which first surfaced in the early 80s, and purported to trace the government's UFO coverup back to the Harry Truman administration. Only, like, they were fake. We also talk about cognitive dissonance in advance of our next big story, on the 1950s UFO cult The Seekers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E19 · Tue, November 12, 2024
New! Unidentified--Art Bell's time travelers and antichrists
Yes, this is part of our Unidentified UFO series, but it's also just a super-sized digression to share with all of you some of the craziest stuff Art Bell ever put on the air--the Time Traveler and Antichrist call-in shows of the late 90s and early 2000s. I hope you enjoy this very odd compilation as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Back to regular programming next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E19 · Tue, October 29, 2024
New! Unidentified--From the High Desert...it's time for Art Bell
After a little housekeeping to wrap Roswell, we kick off what will be a regular visit to the library of the greatest conspiracy and weird stuff broadcaster in history, Art Bell. We'll hear how he shaped a young Jesuit, what made him so great, and how his show featured some of the most interesting Roswell stuff of all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E18 · Tue, October 15, 2024
New! Unidentified--Roswell--It wasn't aliens, dummies.
As the episode subtitle implies, we're gonna talk about why the Roswell "aliens" were almost certainly military test dummies. While we're at it, we'll explain why that's true in spite of the fact that those dummy tests didn't happen til years after Roswell. How? By explaining what science now knows about how memory works and--more importantly--doesn't. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E17 · Tue, October 01, 2024
New! Unidentified--Roswell: The mortician's tale, and the little alien bodies
Continuing our skeptical look at Roswell, this time examine the story told by town mortician Glenn Dennis--a fascinating combination of real events, confabulations, and total crap. We also look into the eyewitness reports of little--well, not green men, but kinda orange? Anyway, eyewitnesses claimed they saw little dead aliens. But they didn't. We explain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E16 · Tue, September 17, 2024
New! Unidentifed--So, what really happened at Roswell?
We're back a week late, but I hope you agree it's worth it. Having heard the pro-UFO version of Roswell last time, we now seek to learn why so many dedicated investigators have looked into this situation and decided it's sound and fury signifying nothing. We've got a couple more episodes worth of Roswell stuff in the pipeline, and I look forward to sharing more with you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, September 10, 2024
Unidentified--Interlude
Hey. We need an extra week coming back from summer, so here's a little taster of Dana Unicorn doing something silly to tide you over. See you next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E15 · Tue, August 27, 2024
New! Unidentified--The Roswell incident (as told by an expert UFO believer)
This time, we hear the full story of Roswell--or, at least, the full story as it's told by those who are convinced that a UFO crashed there. This is audio captured during the great 2017 Paranoid Strain road trip, and we heartily thank Dennis Balthaser for allowing us to record and share his expertise with you. While we may disagree with his conclusions, we deeply appreciate his knowledge and his presentation. Next time: The skeptics get their turn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E14 · Tue, August 13, 2024
New! Unidentified--The pre-UFOs that set the stage for Roswell
Roswell is right around the corner, but first let's consider the unidentified objects that appeared in the night skies before everybody decided they were shaped like saucers. To wit, we'll cover The War of the Worlds, the foo fighter phenomenon, a strange tale of crashed Martians in late-19th Century Texas, and much more. Next time--we go full Roswell, New Mexico. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E13 · Tue, July 30, 2024
New! Unidentified--Where are all the aliens? (The Fermi Paradox and Drake's Equation)
We're fully on the UFO beat now, and addressing one of the most vexing questions asked by any scientist in the previous century--Enrico Fermi's question about aliens. That is, "Where is everybody"? We explore many solutions that have been proposed for this conundrum, and also investigate fellow scientist Frank Drake's equation that seeks to quantify exactly how likely it is that we will encounter alien life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E12 · Tue, July 16, 2024
New! Unidentified--The 66 trillion year-old Shabazz UFO, and the still-unidentified Oumuamua
As promised, we're finally talking about UFOs in the UFO series. This time, we cover the long-overdue return of the Mother Plane prophesied by the Nation of Islam, as well as the decidedly odd interstellar object discovered back in 2017, that seemed briefly as if it might be a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence, Oumuamua. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, July 02, 2024
New! Unidentified--Wait, is Cthulhu just an Ancient Alien?
On our way out of the ancient aliens door, we explore a few miscellaneous but still really interesting sub-topics, including out-of-place artifacts, the Ancient Aliens TV show and its discontents, and finally a book that suggests, convincingly, that HP Lovecraft's cosmic horrors were a major inspiration for Erich von Daniken's bullshit, and everything that came later. Next time, swear to god, we'll cover a topic that actually isn't ancient aliens. Weird, right? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E10 · Tue, June 18, 2024
New! Unidentified--Graham Hancock, Ancient Aliens, and the Chad Rogaine Experience
We discuss the woe-is-me posturing of non-scientist Graham Hancock, and his ludicrous theories about an advanced civilization wiped out by the last ice age, which spread its knowledge far and wide, and thus is responsible for all of the ancient structures we normally credit to people like the Egyptians, the Mayans, etcetera. I should mention we had a strange interference pattern occur during the recording process, but I'm sure nothing untoward, or very Stupid, happened. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E9 · Tue, June 04, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 9: Nibiru needs gold--and sperm, for some reason
This is the end of the Zecharia Sitchin part of this very weird series. But there's still more Ancient Astronauts to come. This time, we learn more about the Annunaki, and how apparently they need human gametes. These Nibiru aliens are straight-up freaks, yo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E8 · Tue, May 21, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 7: Fear of a 12th planet--Nibiru and the Ancient Astronauts
We're continuing our tour through the life's work of Zecharia Sitchin, this time exploring in-depth his very strange rendition of the ancient Babylonian Creation myth. According to Zechy, an unknown 12th (Why 12th? It's weird) planet did a bunch of shit to our inner solar system, including creating the Earth and Moon, before retreating back on its 3600 year orbit. And the ancient Mesopotamians learned all about it from their alien, Annunaki overlords. It's a hoot! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E7 · Tue, May 07, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 7: Zecharia Sitchin's made-up Ancient Aliens history
We finally introduce arguably the second-most-important ancient aliens conspiracy theorist, shipping executive, amateur researcher, and adorable little old man Zecharia Sitchin. He's just as wrong and bull-headed as von Daniken, but we find him both more imaginative and more pleasant than his Swiss rival. Plus, we have an expert, Dr. David Miano, who's ready to shed some much-needed knowledge over Sitchin's nonsense cavalcade. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E6 · Tue, April 23, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 6: It was the Ancient Alien, with the Crystal Skull, in the Metal Library
Somehow, we're still talking about Ancient Aliens, This time, we're continuing with our examination of Philip Coppens' work in this area. We consider his best arguments for the idea, find them wanting, and then tear apart the crystal skull and metal library nonsense. Come on along. It's a good time. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E5 · Tue, April 09, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 5: Do the Ancient Aliens enthusiasts have a point?
Don't let our title fool you. We haven't gone soft on the horsefeathers that is Ancient Aliens theory. But in this episode, we do find the best, most rigorous book on the topic written by an enthusiast, try to give him the benefit of the doubt, and then realize that his worldview is still fatally flawed. Plus, we talk strawmen versus steelmen arguments. Fun is had by all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E4 · Tue, March 26, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 4: O-negative blood type? You're probably an Ancient Alien
Episode 4 is all up in that Basque. Ok, so that joke deson't work. But the episode does! Learn why von Daniken acolyte Nick Redfern is pretty sure the Basque people of Northern Spain and Southern France are totes aliens, you guys. Oh, and if you have a "negative" instead of a "positive" blood type--guess what? You're an ET, too. Come explore this very dumb idea with us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E3 · Tue, March 12, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 3: Jesus Christ, Ancient Astronaut
We're still digging down into the Erich von Daniken rabbit hole, touching on some other authors who have followed EvD's lead in speculating about the extrarrestrial origins of the stories underpinning Judaism and Christianity. In other words, you're about to learn why Jesus isn't just your co-pilot--he's in charge of the whole goddanged UFO. Also, we'll learn why a trained Christian minister has spent the past fifty years or so explaining how a hidden UFO performed all of the miracles of the Exodus. Including the big special effects moment with the sea parting, the Jews passing, and the Egyptians drowning. It's a hoot. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E2 · Tue, February 27, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 2: Ancient Aliens, Chariots of the Gods, and the Swiss Felon
Introductions done, we dive into our first subject in this grand UFO series--that is, Ancient Aliens and the man most responsible for bringing them to us, Erich Von Daniken. In addition to being a hilariously self-regarding fabulist, EVD is also just a very weird dude with quite a checkered legal past. We get into all of that, as well von Daniken's extremely weird inter-stellar sex orgy theory of space exploration. It's nice to be back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S6 E1 · Tue, February 13, 2024
New! Unidentified, Episode 1: In which we narrowly evade an anal probing
Seems like we've been promising this for ages, but it's finally here. Welcome to our next (very) long series, which we've called "Unidentified", because we think it's a cool name, but also because if we just called it "UFOs", or something, we'd be selling our ambition short. Yes, we're going to cover all of the standard "are aliens visiting us" stuff--abductions, ancient aliens, Roswell, and seemingly a million other topics. But we're also intending this set of shows to be about a lot more. The whole concept of human and non-human intelligence--what it means for a piece of the universe that experiences itself to meet another, very different intelligence. Anyway, we've got lots of ambitious stuff to cover. We hope you like it as much as we like creating it. Welcome to Unidentified. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, January 30, 2024
New! Quick-ish hit! Paul is Dead? Part 2
And here's the second part of our rundown of the Paul is Dead musical conspiracy theory. In this episode, we consider the long-term implications of this brief mania, as well as the modern conspiracists who just won't let it go. UFOs start in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, January 16, 2024
New! Quick-ish hit! Paul is Dead?
We're back! But we're not doing UFOs yet. First, we're doing a two-parter on one of the most famous music-related conspiracies in modern history--that is, the sudden mania that gripped The Beatles fandom, who for very confusing reasons in 1969 started thinking that Paul McCartney had secretly died and been replaced with a doppelganger, whose voice also somehow was a dead ringer for the tragically dead young genius. This whole thing burned out and became an in-joke quickly enough, but its brief era of cultural mania is super-interesting and a lot of fun. We hope you agree. Happy to be back with you. The second part hits in two weeks, and then it's UFOs as far as the eye can see. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, January 02, 2024
Archive: PKD Part 6
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 26, 2023
Archive: PKD Part 5
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 19, 2023
Archive: PKD Part 4
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 12, 2023
Archive: PKD Part 3
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 05, 2023
Archive: PKD Part 2
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 28, 2023
Archive: PKD Part 1
To keep you company while we work on new content, we're breaking apart one of our classic episodes into digestible chunks. Enjoy one of our personal favorite episodes, and we'll be back with you in the new year with great new stuff. www.theparanoidstrain facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain theparanoidstrain at gmail patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, November 16, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 7
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 15, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 6
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 14, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 5
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, November 10, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 4
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, November 09, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 3
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 08, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 2
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 07, 2023
Complete Qanon: How We Got Here--Part 1
They're finally here! The big, huge files that taken together make up the full Qanon series. There are seven in total, Collect them all! patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E33 · Tue, October 31, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Conclusions
I can't believe it myself, but we actually got to the end of this series. In this one, we get a visit from Computer Guy, who leaves much the worse for wear, check in on the Qanon Children's Crusade, and finally consider the example of Lara Logan, a talented journalist who has gone full Q-razy. It's been quite a ride. We'll spend the next couple of months working on new content, and see you in the new year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E32 · Tue, October 17, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Trump as Q's Messiah--Literally
Here, one episode away from the finish line, we finally consider the question that has haunted theologians for thousands of years. What if the messiah was actually Donald Trump? Yes, we engage with a strange branch of evangelicalism that is literally considering Trump for godhood. Plus, we examine the phenomenon of Trump coins, a currency almost completely devoid of value. You make your own connections to the man himself. Also, for the benefit of our voicemail listener (the beginning of the episode will explain, we offer the following links. https://www.makeuseof.com/podcasts-on-spotify-how-to-find-follow-download The Paranoid Strain: Qanon - How We Got Here - playlist by André Olivier | Spotify theparanoistrain@gmail.com facebook.com/theparanoidstrain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E31 · Tue, October 03, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Time travelers, plea deals, and the great Qanon grift
In this, our antepenultimate Qanon episode, we hear what's almost certainly the weirdest Q story of them all--the tale of Austin Steinbart, a man who believes Q is a future version of himself. Plus, we check in on those formerly repentant Q-crazed January 6th convicts, and examine Qanon as one of the great grifting opportunities of our time. Two more episodes before we land this plane. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E30 · Tue, September 19, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Epstein, butterflies, and the return of the Unicorn
She has returned to us! Oh, blessed day. Yes, it is with gratitude that we say goodbye to Elena Pegasus and hello to our very own mythical horse lady, freshly returned from her monthlong European summer sojurn. MUST BE NICE. And we look back on the Epstein story (still unconvinced that he had help killing himself), and talk about why Q nuts went buggy last year about a butterfly sanctuary. In the home stretch. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E29 · Wed, September 06, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Q invades Deutschland and Down Under
One day later than you might have expected, due to the Labor Day holiday, we're wrapping up our Q world tour with a couple of scenic stops in Australia and Germany to learn how our favorite home-grown American nonsense has impacted our friends around the world. Co-host Elena Pegasus continues to keep this train a-running, but look forward to the triumphant return of Ms. Unicorn next episode, when we'll also return to the amber waves of grain to wrap up our marathon Qanon series with a few more episodes on contemporary Q. See you in a couple of weeks, and thanks as always for listening. patreon.com/theparanoidstrain, if you'd like to support. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E28 · Tue, August 22, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Romana Didulo, The Q-ueen of Canada
The terrifying reign of Elena Pegasus continues! Seriously, though, our guest co-host once again joins us to explore another truly bizarre story from the annals of Qanon. This one is Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, and trust me when I tell you the story is weirder than you think it is, even if you've heard something about her and her oddball followers before. This one's a lot of fun. We have a few more of these before we exhaust Qanon, and we're gonna try to end with a bang. Thanks, as always, for listening. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain patreon.com/theparanoidstrain, if you would like to support the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E27 · Tue, August 08, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Elena Pegasus explains "Let's Go Brandon"
Don't Panic! Our lovely Dana Unicorn is on monthlong European vacation (MUST BE NICE! I'm not bitter), and the wonderful Elena Pegasus, her cousin, has stepped into the breach as we detail the fallout of Russiagate, and how it affected the growth of Q, Plus, we talk about the dumbest political slogan of my lifetime. More Elena next week, as we dive into the Qanon Queen of Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E26 · Tue, July 25, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Maybe the "Russia Hoax" was...kind of fake news. Really.
This time, I'm maybe gonna hit some of you where it hurts. By "some of you", I mean "those of you who like me loathe Trump and want to believe every bad story about him, and have trouble admitting we may have been wrong about some of them." So, yeah. We're talking about Russia Gate, and how those who cling to it in spite of a total lack of evidence are--to a very, very small extent--kind of putting themselves on the same continuum as the Q nuts. WE'RE NOT MAKING FALSE EQUIVALENCES. We're just trying to innoculate y'all (and ourselves) from believing stuff we want to believe, even if it's not true. We think this is a really good one. Hope you agree. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E25 · Tue, July 11, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Q, The Clinton Body Count, and the COVID Lab Leak
Hi everybody. This time, as promised, we actually get back to talking about the last few years of Qanon. But not until we reveal the cordwood stacks of bodies that Bill and Hillary supposedly left in their bloody path to power. Oh, and we also reminisce about that time Christopher Hitchens wrote a book about all the times the Clintons lied. It's all kind of a hoot. Enjoy, We're back on normal post-holiday schedule. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E24 · Tue, June 20, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Clintons and the Vast Right-Wing Q-onspiracy
Greetings from the PAST! I have uploaded this show early, because I'm on what we like to call "vacation." However, the content wheel never stops spinning, and so today you will hear all about Glenn Beck's Agenda 21 freakout (aka New World Order Part 2), and then the origins of the Clinton mania that eventually led to the "but her emails" and Qanon baby-eating rumors. Still stuck in the 90s, Jesuit's heyday, but next time we're ACTUALLY GONNA TALK ABOUT CONTEMPORARY QANON. I know. I'm surprised, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E23 · Tue, June 06, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Black helicopters over Iron Mountain
Miss us? Well, we missed YOU! But we appreciate your bearing with us during our post-Upon A Red Horse break. Our batteries recharged, we continue our discussion of the New World Order panic of the 90s and how it led directly to some of Q's major currents. This time, it's panic about black helicopters, and over a satire that they misread as a real plan for remaking the world. It's nice to be with you again. See you in a couple weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, May 05, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Act V
In which Fletcher slowly loses what matters most to him, secures his legend, and goes down, senselessly, in a hail of bullets. Full lyrics, credits, and gorgeous fold-out album style artwork (it's a .zip file): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zj0Mbk4JNrHajuAwHC3fOGzY8ZHeTDOg/view?usp=share_link theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-v-shutting-down patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, May 04, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Act IV
In which Fletcher finally gets on the radio, tells us what 2001: A Space Odyssey is really about, and sees his life begin to fall apart. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-iv-five-minutes-to-midnight patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 03, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Act III
In which Fletcher pens his magnum opus. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-iii-the-red-horse-and-the-sword patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, May 02, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Act II
In which Fletcher, our hero, becomes a big deal in the UFO world. And reveals what really happened to JFK. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-i-the-rider patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, May 01, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Act I
In which we hear the origin story of Marvell James Fletcher. theparanoidstrain.com facebook.com/groups/theparanoidstrain Listen to the music as an album on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/paranoidstrainorchestra/sets/upon-a-red-horse-act-i-the-rider patreon.com/theparanoidstrain Like it? Please do spread the word. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 25, 2023
New! Upon A Red Horse: Prelude --The Story of Milton William "Bill" Cooper
It's finally here. Our second major musical project, Upon A Red Horse, will appear in the feed daily from Monday May 1 to Friday May 5th. In this prelude episode, we explain the real-life story of Bill Cooper, the conspiracy theorist, author, radio host, and all around interesting guy whose heyday was the 1990s. I also explain why I thought this dude was a good subject for a 5-act musical pseudo-biography. Can't wait for you to hear the real thing next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E22 · Tue, April 11, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Q World Order
Action packed, that's the only word for it. This time, we start with the greatest conspiracy-slash-prophecy show around, Newswatch Magazine with David J Smith. Next, we talk about what, exactly, the New World Order is, and how it served as a prelude to the eventual obsessions of Qanon. We get a little nostalgic about the shit people were panicked about during the 1990s, and we explore some of the more...interesting ideas Kindle Unlimited authors have about the continued threat that the New World Order poses to our bright, Qanon-supporting future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E21 · Tue, March 28, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Portrait of the Jesuit as a young conspiracy obsessive
Yeah, this is kind of a weird one. Starts with a deconstruction of the two versions of the Christian End of the World novel Left Behind, then follows with an analysis of the weird shit young Jesuit listened to back in his 20s, and how those apocalyptic loons draw a straight line to the Qanon of our current day. It was a fun episode to put together. Hope you all like it. Join our Facebook group, and if you are so inclined, join our patreon: patreon.com/theparanoidstrain. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E20 · Wed, March 15, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - How Trump had the Clintons executed (according to Q)
We're a day late, but boy howdy do we have some nonsense to share with you. Learn how the book of Revelation apparently predicted modern attack helicopters. And how Christian and Jewish zealots are working together to raise sacrifice a red cow to bring the arrival and/or return of the Messiah. And how Donald Trump had Hillary and Bill executed. And then somehow had her arrested again, three years later. It's a humdinger. This episode also marks the introduction of our new patreon--sign up if you have a notion: patreon.com/theparanoidstrain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E19 · Tue, February 28, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Antichrist and Qanon
When we started this series, who thought we would be doing a multi-episode detour into the Book of Revelation? Certainly not your fearful host. But the more we got into this topic, the more we realized that end-times fanaticism, which defines not just the decade of the 90s, but also certainly Q's whole "the storm is coming" thing, deserved a thoroughgoing review. So that's this week's episode, and into the week after's. Then, we'll probably get around to talking about the Xfiles. Talk to you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E18 · Tue, February 14, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Book of Revelation, and why the world isn't ending
Yeah, there's still a little sex-trafficking teaser at the beginning of this one, but it also inaugurates our next topic. That is--how did the apocalyptic year-2000 obsessions of the 90s seed the ground for the eschatological focus of the Qanon cult? Over a few episodes, we plan to answer that question, and in the process, we plan to revisit some of the best cultural touchstones of our youth. Yes, I'm basically talking about the X-files. But that show as great! Anyway, we're definitely on the downward slope of this series, and we hope you enjoy the ride. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E17 · Tue, January 31, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - How conspiracy-driven panics ruin lives
We said last episode was our final Satanic Panic episode, and we meant it! At least, mostly--we still have to wrap up the surprising and awful story of how our interviewee, Justin Sledge, found himself caught up in a late-breaking satanic panic as a 1990s teenager. Plus--Debbie Nathan helps us see what forest we're missing for the sex trafficking panic trees. That makes more sense after you listen. See you in a couple of weeks, when we actually, really get to a totally new topic. Seriously. I promise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E16 · Tue, January 17, 2023
New! Qanon: How we got here - Confessing to imaginary crimes
The Paranoid Strain? They still do episodes of that show? Will wonders never cease. Sorry we're late. I promise, we weren't being neglectful. We just got caught up in a combination of holiday obligations, ongoing research, and a mountain of work for an upcoming project so ridiculously grandiose, we can't believe it ourselves (and it was our idea). That's coming soon. How soon? Who knows. But for now, enjoy the last part of our coverage of the satanic panic proper--this time, focusing on the story of a deputy sheriff with a very active imagination, who essentially imagined himself into a satanic plot that came from his own fertile mind. As you would expect, nothing good came of this. We're back on schedule, so we'll see you with some real-world post-satanic panic followup in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E15 · Tue, December 13, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - The media does PR for the Satanic Panic
Our de facto holiday episode is here, not that there's anything notably Christmassy about it. Or even Hannukah-y. We continue to lift up the rocks of the Satanic Panic and watch the horrible worms and bugs squirm in the disinfecting light of the truth. This time, we turn our attention to the way the media fanned the flames of the panic, convincing people across North America that Satan was coming for their kids. We also do a deep dive into one of the most heart-warmingly silly anti-rock and roll Christian documentaries every created. It's a lot of fun. As the episode intro notes, we're taking one episode cycle off to work on a huge, ambitious project, so don't expect to hear from us again until mid-January. As always, we thank you for sticking with us for another year. Here's to many more, Strainiacs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E14 · Tue, November 29, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Phallic puppets against satanic pederasty
We're waist-deep in Satanic Panic, with no end in sight. Our story continues with details of the McMartin preschool trial, the highest-profile, most emblematic event of the whole sad, deluded era. Our expert interviewees walk us through the gory details...you know, normally when people use that expression, they don't mean it. Unfortunately, in this case, the details are pretty awful, and we don't want to mince words: this episode includes catalogues of truly nauseating accusations. The only relief, if you can call it that, is that apparently none of those horrible things ever happened . Also, there's a puppet with a penis. Really, we're sorry. See you in a couple of weeks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E13 · Tue, November 15, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Welcome to Satan's daycare
You asked for it, you got it. The 80s Satanic Panic--especially related to supposedly abusive daycares, was a direct antecedent to the Qanon child abuse/sacrifice mania. So we dive into the whole icky story. Joining us is interviewee Debbie Nathan, pioneering skeptical journalist who was among the first to call bullshit on the whole nightmare, which boiled down to well-meaning parents and officials inadvertently planting horrific memories in the minds of impressionable little kids, who then further elaborated these false memories into disgusting tales that led to prosecutions and imprisonment of innocent people. While also completely freaking out every parent in the country. It's a rough ride. Buckle up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E12 · Tue, November 01, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - How the blood libel mutated into the Satanic Panic
Last stop before our full, multi-part discussion of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. This stop is back in the depths of antisemitism, the miasma from which so many conspiracies arise. Learn how the unsolved murder of a 12-year-old boy in 12th century England was transformed into an unkillable, slanderous rumor tying Jews to ritual murder, blood-letting, and cannibalism. We wish we could tell you the subject matter gets lighter from here, but that would be a lie. Buckle up, Strainiacs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E11 · Tue, October 18, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Just a smidgeon of human sacrifice
Out with the old, in with the new. In this case, no more Birchers of fluoride--we've moved on to other Q-related topics. This time, we're taking a long windup to get to the Satanic Panic period of the 80s and early 90s in the US and Canada, which is the direct antecedent of the Q "democrats harvesting adrenochrome from abused sex trafficked youngsters" meme that has so obsessed lunatics in recent times. But on the way there, we need to consider how human sacrifice--and even moreso, the idea of others committing human sacrifice, has influenced conspiracy-minded plots over the past couple thousand years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E10 · Tue, October 04, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Our precious bodily fluids
Today, we're gonna get to the bottom of the fluoride conspiracy. Where does it come from? Who believes it? And how did we start dunking our teeth in the stuff in the first place? Hopefully, we'll get through everything we have to say without anything weird going on. Like, it's an mp3 file, right? It's not like anyone can just hijack it and take over. What a weird thing to worry about, Jesuit. You're getting paranoid... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E9 · Tue, September 20, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Dedicated, conscious agents of the anti-Communist conspiracy
We're finishing up our Bircher talk here, with our discussion of the group's great crusades to keep people from having more rights, because apparently expanding civil, women's, or gay rights played right into the commies' hands. Plus, they really, really wanted to get rid of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Did they? Kinda. I mean, he retired. So Victory! Plus, you'll learn who this John Birch guy is, and why it's not called The Robert Welch Society. Next week--well, we don't wanna spoil it. But you're not gonna want to miss it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E8 · Thu, September 08, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Old ladies in tennis shoes derail the Deep State
We find ourselves falling deeper into the history of the John Birch Society, Robert Welch's baby, and the anti-communist organization that seemed so fringey in the mid-20th century, yet seems so clearly a prologue to Qanon today. Learn how the group formed, how it misjudged the communist menace, and how Welch's unique personal history shaped its worldview. See you in a couple of weeks with more exciting adventures in red-baiting! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E7 · Tue, August 23, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Candyman versus the Commies
As the title suggests, this is the moment where we hand off the story from contemporary Russia to the USA's number one Cold Warrior, a former candy magnate who founded the most successful and influential anti-Communist movement in our nation's history. The John Birch Society is truly the forerunner of today's unhinged right-wing conspiracy culture--the proto-Qanon, if you will. So let's examine what they were all about, starting with the man who founded and led the society for a quarter-century, Robert Welch Jr. See you with more in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E6 · Tue, August 09, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - The plot to DESTROY Russia. (Not really)
Our second full part on the topic of Putin's Russia, we cover more of that fun-loving gaggle of nationalist extremist conspiracy theorists who run that place these days, and with the help of our intrepid guide, Professor Yablokov, we learn how they do that conspiracy and repression voodoo that they do...so well. Also, we explore a series of interlocking theories that post-Soviet nationalists dreamed up about US plans to destroy the USSR during the Cold War. They're ridiculous. Not more ridiculous than the actual CIA plots to make Castro's beard fall out or whatever, but still--ridiculous. See you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E5 · Wed, July 27, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Russia collapses into conspiracy
Having finished our dissection of Fed conspiracies, we now move on to consider how the other great world power of the 20th Century ended up becoming a dysfunctional autocracy overwhelmed by conspiracies. We learn what makes Russian conspiracy culture unique (and uniquely damaging), so that we can better understand Q and our own homegrown crazy. Of course, part of the Q crazy also overlaps with the Russian crazy, so obviously, this whole thing is gonna take a while to dig through. Hope you enjoy. Drop us a line at theparanoidstrain@gmail.com or join us on Facebook. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E4 · Tue, July 12, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - JP Morgan Sinks the Titanic
The last gasp of our Fed-related shows, this covers the truly goofy shit--sordid plots to sink huge ships to keep people who don't oppose the Fed from...opposing the Fed. Angels shacking up with human women to spawn giants who found the Federal Reserve. Plus, some sensible discussion of problems (and potential solutions) for how the Fed works, complements of Mr. Greeley. Next time: RUSSIA, COMRADES! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E3 · Tue, June 28, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - The Fed the Bitcoin Bros, and the Goldbugs
Episode 3! We hope you like hearing Federal reserve conspiracy theories debunked, because boy, that's what you're getting this time. Thrill to the history of monetary policy. Experience the chills of arguing with bitcoin enthusiasts on Twitter! Seriously, though, our interviewee is great, and we think this is a really rare opportunity to learn some super-interesting stuff about the way the most complex and hidden parts of our economic system works. We hope you agree. Next time, a bunch of Really Crazy Shit. See you soon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E1 · Tue, June 14, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Part 2: Q and the Jekyll Island Conspiracy
Second episode! Which means the introduction to this series literally took up an entire episode. Does that mean we're getting better or worse? Hard to say. This time, we're taking on the conspiracist view of what actually transpired on Jekyll Island back in 1910. Was it a conspiracy? Yes! Did mainstream historians already know that? Yes. What does it have to do with Qanon? We're more than happy to show you. Hope you enjoy it--see you next time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 E1 · Tue, May 31, 2022
New! Qanon: How we got here - Part 1 - Introductions
We're back, bay-bee! For the next umpty-bajillion episodes, we're going to take a new angle to look at Qanon. Why, when we've already done Qanon several times? Because we believe the Qanon conspiracy is...in a sense "eating" other conspiracy theories. Because we think it's metastasizing into the one uber-conspiracy theory that rules our current moment in time. But more than that, we want to know how it got here, by tracing the historical and cultural threads that fed into the Q morass. And most of all, we want to see what real problems Qanon conspiracies are obscuring. It's gonna be a helluva ride. Buckle up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, May 24, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 7
We did it! We reached the end of the marathon. In this one, we chat through the Zapruder film, and its cultural impact. But the most important thing about this episode is it marks the end of the new-content dry spell. We're putting out a brand new episode next time, and we can't wait to share it with you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, May 17, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 6
PENULTIMATE! It does not, as a young Jesuit believed, mean "better than ultimate". It means "the one before the last one." Which is what we have here. Some more discussions of the impact of JFK conspiracizing prior to the final wrap-up. We've finished the first episode of Year 5--like, totally finished, can't wait for you to hear it. Soon, my Strainiacs. In the meantime, enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, May 11, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 5
This time, we focus not on Oliver Stone, but rather the real guy whom his movie portrayed as a fearless, untouchable campaigner for the truth--former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. Our analysis of the man's career and crusade to prove a JFK conspiracy is rather less sympathetic. Enjoy the episode, and we'll see you with the next part in a week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, May 05, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 4
Part 4, which includes the end of our Stone/Costner courtroom takedown, as well as a discussion of a bunch of other conspiracies that somehow Stone managed not to regurgitate in that scene. Year 5 coming in a matter of weeks. Can't wait for you to hear it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 26, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 3
Third part of JFK inbound. This one features one of the highlights of our cross-country conspiracy trek of 2017, an interview with Stephen Fagin of the 6th Floor Museum in Dallas, which we insist you visit if you find yourself in that town. We then get to the important business of taking Oliver Stone down a peg or two. Still working hard on new shows. Still very excited about what we'll be sharing with you once they're ready. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, April 20, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 2
Part 2, better late than never. This episode covers Lee Harvey Oswald's desperate attempt to make his life matter in some way by murdering a President in broad daylight. We cover Oswald's crime, attempted escape, capture, interrogation, and murder by another loon. Then, it's an overview of the Warren Commission, and the subsequent official investigations over the years. See you soon with part 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 12, 2022
Archive: JFK Part 1
Lo, we have entered the time prophesied--the time between episode arcs...the time...of the ARCHIVE! Seriously, though, we're once again breaking down one of our old, big, long shows into bite-sized chunks, to give you something to listen to while you wait for us to kick into year 5 of the show. Those new episodes will be here before you know it. In the meantime, enjoy this first chunk, of one of our favorite episodes of all time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 Enull · Fri, March 25, 2022
Complete Secret Societies - Part 4
We reach the end, with the last stretch of Masons and all of the Illuminati. In case you've been waiting days for the new stuff, and want to jump right to it, it's the last approximately 45 minutes. Wrapup, full versions of each of the Paranoid Strain Orchestra's custom-made soundtrack songs for this series, and the delightful easter egg outtakes of Ms. Dana Unicorn. See you in seven weeks or so, with Year 5. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 Enull · Thu, March 24, 2022
Complete Secret Societies - Part 3
Covering plenty of ground, with details on both the Rosicrucians and the Masons. Final episode tomorrow! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 Enull · Wed, March 23, 2022
Complete Secret Societies - Part 2
This is probably my favorite part, since it has the whole story of the Priory of Sion and all of that nonsense. Includes most of episode 7 through most of 13. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 Enull · Tue, March 22, 2022
Complete Secret Societies - Part 1
The complete Secret Societies series. Collecting episodes 1-6, plus a little bit of 7. Three more parts coming over the next three days. Enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E22 · Tue, March 15, 2022
New: Secret Societies I, Part 21 - The Illuminati 2
You're not gonna believe this--but this is actually the final episode of the secret societies series. I know . Which means that next week, as promised, and almost a year to the day from when we started this thing, we will be putting out the full episode in as few segments as we can, one per day, starting Monday of next week. What we think is that it's gonna be about four sections of three hours each. So...clear your calendars. In the meantime, we go deep on conspiracy theorists' whacked out ideas about the Illuminati and their influence, with a special emphasis on the world of hip-hop. Enjoy, and see you next week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E21 · Wed, March 02, 2022
New: Secret Societies I, Part 21 - The Illuminati 1
Off-schedule, but on-topic, we bring you the first of two Illuminati episodes to wrap up this epic series. This one's the story of the actual, real-life 18th-century group whose brief but influential existence led them, through a bizarre series of twists and turns, to become the "big bad" of all conspiracy thinking. The final boss, if you will. The Kaiser Soze hiding behind the Masons' Verbal Kint (spoilers, we guess). We have a new interviewee, Terry Melanson, the man who wrote the most comprehensive book on the structure of the Illuminati in recent years (at least in English), as well as some returning guests. Hope you like it. Back as soon as we can with the final chapter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 08, 2022
New: Book Report--Illuminatus!
Comin' in HOT! We just got Dana Unicorn's lines a day or so ago, and yet here we are, presenting a complete, piping-fresh episode right out of the oven. We'd say it's like your grandmother used to make, but we think it's unlikely that your grandmother used to be a conspiracy theory podcaster. We're doing a one-off--a book report show covering one of the most legendary conspiracy novels ever written, Illuminatus! by two guys named Bob. Hope you like it. Back with the final Illuminati-focused episodes of the Secret Societies series as quickly as we can. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 01, 2022
State of the Podcast--2022
Just a quick check-in. Dana is briefly out of commission (but 100% ok and on the mend), so we're stopping by briefly to let you know what to expect out of the next year or so of your favorite conspiracy theory podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Thu, January 06, 2022
The Paranoid Strain Orchestra presents: 9116--The Rock Opera, Disc 2
Welcome to “Disc 2” of what, as far as we know, is the first ever two-and-a-half-hour podcast episode that is actually a full-on rock opera. Please note there’s a first “disc”--be sure you download that one, and listen to it first. Otherwise, it’s probably confusing. We’ve been working hard on this thing for months now, and are incredibly proud to share it with you. Thanks to Hellfingers, we have both front and back cover album art, as well as simulated record sleeve with lyrics, ( front ) ( back ). Easier to read, but far less visually impressive lyrics here . We’ve got credits there, and in the show itself, but we just want to make sure everybody knows who did this remarkable thing: Daniel Arizona : The prime mover behind this whole idea, and the truly superlative songwriter who wrote the lion’s share of 50 great tunes. Moisty: A blinding flash of musical talent and taste, it’s an honor to be in a band with him. Turd Ferguson: The main reason this album sounds as wonderful as it does, a great musician and perhaps an even better producer. Lucifer Jones: A skilled and perfectionist drummer whose drive for excellence makes all of us do better. Squonkus: Truly, this man and his saxophones are our secret weapons QH “FJ” Guy: He’s got a weird speaking voice, but I’m glad we let him play the keys. It is one of the great pleasures of my life to call these men my bandmates and friends. Also on the honor roll: Dana Unicorn , the reason people put up with the sound of my voice. The Chads , long may they reign; Mike Schmidt, the 40 Year Old Boy , and my favorite podcaster; The Big D , Some Guy , and I.RI. E , our excellent spoken voice cast; Frenchie St. Vino , Chad number 2 , and I.RI.E , our beloved guest singers. Guerilla Studios and Myles Boisen , a fantastic place and person to record with. And once again, with feeling, Hellfingers , whose art is such a defining part of this show. Thanks everyone for lis
Thu, January 06, 2022
The Paranoid Strain Orchestra presents: 9116--The Rock Opera, Disc 1
Welcome to “Disc 1” of what, as far as we know, is the first ever two-and-a-half-hour podcast episode that is actually a full-on rock opera. Please note there’s a second “disc”--be sure you download that one, too. We’ve been working hard on this thing for months now and are incredibly proud to share it with you. Thanks to Hellfingers, we have both front and back cover album art, as well as simulated record sleeve with lyrics, ( front ) ( back ). Easier to read, but far less visually impressive lyrics here . We’ve got credits there, and in the show itself, but we just want to make sure everybody knows who did this remarkable thing: Daniel Arizona : The prime mover behind this whole idea, and the truly superlative songwriter who wrote the lion’s share of 50 great tunes. Moisty: A blinding flash of musical talent and taste, it’s an honor to be in a band with him. Turd Ferguson: The whole reason this album sounds as wonderful as it does, a great musician and perhaps an even better producer. Lucifer Jones: A skilled and perfectionist drummer whose drive for excellence makes all of us do better. Squonkus: Truly, this man and his saxophones are our secret weapons QH “FJ” Guy: He’s got a weird speaking voice, but I’m glad we let him play the keys. It is one of the great pleasures of my life to call these men my bandmates and friends. Also on the honor roll: Dana Unicorn , the reason people put up with the sound of my voice. The Chads , long may they reign; Mike Schmidt, the 40 Year Old Boy , and my favorite podcaster; The Big D , Some Guy , and I.RI. E , our excellent spoken voice cast; Frenchie St. Vino , Chad number 2 , and I.RI.E , our beloved guest singers. Guerilla Studios and Myles Boisen , a fantastic place and person to record with. And once again, with feeling, Hellfingers , whose art is such a defining part of this show. Thanks everyone for listening. See you in (about) three weeks. We
Trailer · Tue, January 04, 2022
Not an episode--But something special is coming out this Thursday.
Just a quick teaser for our release on 1/6. Can't wait for you to hear it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E20 · Wed, December 22, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 20 - The Freemasons 6
We've reached the end of the Masons section, which means we're covering the sad story of the masons versus the various fascisms that dominated the pre WWII period. The tale is super-interesting, but isn't quite what the freemasons of today might want you to believe it is. We've still got the Illuminati to cover, but they won't be the next episode, nor the one after that. We're not spoiling the surprise, but the next episode, which you should be hearing in the first week of next year, is the most ambitious thing we've ever done (and a standalone). After that, we've got a...book report. But trust us, you'll like it. After that, we'll wrap up the Illuminati, and then put out this entire, ELEVEN-PLUS-HOUR series as one giant episodes (well, maybe a few episodes, but with no breaks--we're trying to figure out how big a file we can get away with, ACast-wise) . Anyway, the next couple of months of content are going to be as action packed as any in the history of this show. Really, really look forward to hearing what you think of them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E19 · Tue, December 07, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 19 - The Freemasons 5
Here we have perhaps our favorite of this Masons series, covering everything from the supposed coverup of the masonic murder of Mozart (alliteration!) to a Catholic-sponsored expose of Masonic evil that includes a ghostly, piano-playing crocodile. Oh, and we also cover Jack the Ripper. It goes places. Special appearance by Lady Jesuit made possible by special arrangement with her long-suffering patience with her husband's obscure enthusiasms. See you in a couple of weeks to wrap up the Masons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E18 · Wed, November 24, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 18 - The Freemasons 4
Here's where the Masons story runs smack into 'MURICA! From the founding fathers' relationship to the Craft, to the very strange interplay between Mormonism (the most American religion of faiths) and Freemasons, and finally to the sad, yet inspiring story of how Black Freemasons carved their own unique version of the brotherhood out in the face of implacable white opposition, it's amazing the degree to which the nation and the secret society have impacted each other. Just...you know, not the way the conspiracists think they have. Enjoy, and we'll talk to you again soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E17 · Wed, November 10, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 17 - The Freemasons 3
As you can probably tell by our episode art, this here is the episode where we find out why the Freemasons caused the French Revolution. Or rather, we find out why, just after the revolution, a whole lot of people began to think that. It's the first big, implausible conspiracy that was attached to the masons, and upon which a broader, still more ridiculous conspiracy scaffold would eventually be built. We're going to go ahead and assume all of you already bought a copy of Professor Dickie's book or audiobook , since it's amazing in both formats. If you didn't, then hurry up and fix that, and we promise not to tell on you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E16 · Wed, October 27, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 16 - The Freemasons 2
In this second part of our dive into the world's most successful secret society, we go deep into the early history of the Freemasons, as well as the pageantry behind their initiation ceremonies. Plus, we BLOW THE LID off of all the most super-secret secrets this secret society protects. Which turns out to be "not much". But that's an interesting story, too. Hope you enjoy it--see you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E15 · Wed, October 13, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 15 - The Freemasons 1
So we've finally reached a secret society that surely every listener to this show has already heard of, the Freemasons. To be totally honest here, we approached this topic more out of a sense of duty than out of genuine excitement. It seemed, when we were planning this series out, that the Masons were going to be one of those groups that, yes, has been around for a long time, and yes is nebulously worked into the fever dreams of many conspiracists, but that weren't all that interesting once you started digging around in their genuine history. Boy, were we wrong. And the person who pointed out exactly how wrong we were is one Professor John Dickie, the author of the incredible book The Craft , and a gentleman who was kind enough to share with us his time and expertise in an interview we'll be excerpting throughout the next five-plus episodes. We hope you, like us, are surprised at the fascinating and intricate history of this group, and we can't wait to share with you the rest of what we've learned. Oh, and seriously--buy a copy of Professor Dickie's book or audiobook . You won't regret it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E14 · Tue, September 28, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 14 - The Rosicrucians and Foucault's Pendulum
We're fourteen goddamned episodes into this seemingly never-ending cavalcade of secret society information, and there are, at minimum, seven or eight episodes to go. We'd apologize for how long this series is getting, but we're not going to, because it continues to be just a goldmine of interesting information, and we won't rest until we've shared it all with you. Today, we wrap up the Rosicrucians, and take the opportunity to spoil the plot of perhaps the greatest conspiracy novel ever written. Why tie these two things together? Because they're both centered around conspiracies that were imagined into existence. Confused? Don't be! Just listen. Talk to you in a couple of weeks, when the topic will be...The Freemasons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E13 · Wed, September 15, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 13 - The Rosicrucians 2
More stories of the best darned secret society that didn't technically exist,! We return to the weird and wonderful world of the Rosicrucians this time, with stories of those who tried in vain to join the ephemeral brotherhood, and a number of folks who had to insist to their contemporaries that they weren't part of this group that nobody had ever seen in the first place. And a conspiracy theory involving the Rosies and the Bard. Oh, and we see the return of an old friend. A quick impactful visit, if you will. You'll know it when you hear it. We're busily producing our fantastic shows about the Freemasons right now, and look forward to sharing those with you in the near future. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E11 · Wed, September 01, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 12 - The Rosicrucians
If you, like Mike Schmidt, believed that our final statement at the end of last episode meant we were done with Secret Societies...well, I guess you had understandable reasons for thinking that. But it's not true. That just ended our weird tale of the sources of Dan Brown's madness. Now, we're back to a more orthodox secret society tale, albeit one that once again embraces a group that isn't quite what it seems. This is the first of three-and-change episodes about these guys. We started out aiming for a short overview, but the deeper we got, the more interesting the story became. We hope you find them as fascinating as we do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E11 · Wed, August 11, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 11 - Priory of Sion and Rennes-le-Chateau
And here we are--about to hear the final revelations of the misleading nonsense, con jobs, and pranks that eventually led to the edifice of bullshit that is The Da Vinci Code. We pick up with the story of Pierre Plantard (that's his gallic profile in the show art), and his bizarre scheme to make himself look like a king, how that misfired when he met Henry Lincoln, and how the whole thing intersects with a failing rural resort. Weird? Yes. Interesting? You betcha. Hope you love it, talk to you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E10 · Tue, July 27, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 10 - Holy Blood, Holy Grail 2
Another fortnight, another episode about silly men and their silly book. Once again, we're discussing the work of Messrs. Lincoln, Baigent,and Leigh, who apparently never met a historical counterfactual they didn't immediately embrace. This time, we get neck-deep in the many, completely unrelated story threads that they rip out of context and stitch together into an unholy pantomime of historical scholarship. This is part three of our mini-series on the origins of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. We'll see you back here next time for the frankly astonishing conclusion, where we actually get to the bottom of all of this nonsense. Talk at you then. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E9 · Wed, July 14, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 9 - Holy Blood, Holy Grail 1
Episode 9 of the Secret Societies series, but also the second episode in our sub-series about the strange origins of the conspiracy theories that ended up powering Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Now, though, we actually move past that book to turn our attention to the primary source for Brown's ludicrous historical and religious claims--an apparently non-fiction book published to significant hoopla in the early '80s and titled Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Can this book possibly be dumber than Brown's nonsense? You'll have to listen to find out. But also, yes it can. Very much so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E8 · Wed, June 30, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 8 - The Da Vinci Code
YAY! We've reached Jesuit's favorite part of this series--a sort of 4-part sub-series of inter-connected conspiracy theories that build on each other to trace a tale that we think is honestly one of the most interesting subjects we've ever covered. So we understand you might be surprised to learn that this tale starts with the Da Vinci Code, an extremely silly, yet thoroughly self-serious book from the 2000s that spawned a series of virtually unwatchable movies. But trust us--this one's going places. Also, enjoy the return of the LIGHTNING ROUND! Enjoy, and we'll see you in a couple of weeks. By the way--if you haven't, check out the Paranoid Son, a sister podcast of ours, and which covers many similar topics from a different perspective. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E7 · Tue, June 15, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 7 - Cathars 2
I know that most of you woke up this morning and had that same thought you do every time you open your eyes. "How am I going to face the day without a podcast about a medieval French heresy, its violent persecution by the Church, and its eventual passage into legend and conspiracy?" Well, today is the day you've been waiting for. We're gettin' all Cathar up in this bitch, and it's gonna get toasty. By which I mean that the Cathars mostly got burned to death on pyres by their theological enemies. But that's pretty awful, so let's focus on how interesting the history is! Plus, we'll cover all of the misapprehensions and nonsense that conspiracy theorists have attached to the Cathars since they were stamped out. Next time: The ridiculous Da Vinci code gets the lightning round treatment. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E6 · Wed, June 02, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 6 - Templars and Cathars
Yes, many of you, including notably the 40 Year Old Boy, Mike Schmidt, noticed that I made a typo in the numbering of the show last time. Regardless, we're back on track now, delivering the properly numbered 6th episode of our Secret Societies series, which bridges the gap between the Templars and the Cathars. On paper, the Knights of the Temple don't have much to do with the heretical Good Men, but they both ran afoul of the Catholic Church, which led to their demises. And not coincidentally, they're both the locus of historical conspiracy theories. We'll be spending more time with the Cathars next time, as well. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed creating it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E5 · Tue, May 18, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 4 - Knights Templar 3
And so we...nearly(?) come to the end of our coverage of the Knights Templar. I mean, there's a little bit that carries over to the next episode, but hardly any. And by the way, we know this one ends at kind of a weird point, at the end of a news clip. That's just the way the episode divided up--normally, we try to provide solid end-points for these things, but sometimes breaking into half-hour chunks is a tough business. But remember--once we're done with this monster, we're gonna put the whole thing out as one pristine chunk of seven-plus-hour audio. By the way, check out our sister show The Paranormal Son, on the That's Not Canon podcast network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E4 · Tue, May 04, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 4 - Knights Templar 2
And so we move on to the fourth installment of our Secret Societies series, where we get to the heart of the historical story of the rise and fall of the Knights Templar. Thrill to tales of papal interrogation! Hiss at the dastardly Prince Philip IV, and his sinister plans for the holy knights! Unearth the whispered rumors of the Knights' strange initiation rituals! Be slightly confused by a quick digression to 21st Century Oklahoma! I tells ya, this episode has it all. Enjoy, and as always, check out our sister shows on That's Not Canon. The Templars by Dan Jones The Templars by Michael Haag All music copyright 2021 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E3 · Wed, April 21, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 3 - Crusades and the Knights Templar
Day late, but definitely no dollars short, we bring you the beginning of our in-depth analyses of historical secret societies with one of the most interesting and legendary of them all--the Knights Templar. Before we fill you in on these guys, though, we also provide a capsule biography of the conflict that brought them into existence, the Crusades. Oh, and we also used the term "weltanschauung" in this episode when we meant to say "zeitgeist", but live by the unnecessary German expression, die by the unnecessary German expression, as they say. See you in two weeks with a continuation of the Templar saga. And check out our sister show Books Boys, while you're at it. The Templars by Dan Jones The Templars by Michael Haag All music copyright 2021 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E2 · Tue, April 06, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 2 - Temple of Solomon and Other Ancient Secrets
When the new episode train starts runnin', you know you best get out of the way. And so we barrel down the tracks to episode 2, which is still technically part of the introduction to this monster of a topic, if you can believe it. Here, we cover a bit more of the Eleusinian mysteries, some additional weirdness involving Pythagoras, the ideas behind hermeticism, and of course the mysteries of Solomon's Temple. We learn some more about how ancient secret societies may have influenced, and been influenced by, Christianity, and how this intermingling of ideas would impact future secret societies. Plus, we've got some dumbfucks saying dumbfuck things about all of the above. Enjoy, and we'll see you in another couple of weeks. Oh--and please do check out our sister show, Bros and Brews, whose promo is at the end of this episode. Great Courses: The Real History of Secret Societies , By Richard D. Spence Historical Introduction to the New Testament and Lost Christianities by Bart D. Ehrman All music copyright 2021 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 E1 · Tue, March 23, 2021
New: Secret Societies I, Part 1 - Introduction and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Holy shit, we're BACK, BAYBEE! This is the first of a projected we-have-no-real-idea-how-many shows we're doing on Secret Societies. All we do know is that from now until we wrap up the Illuminati, it's all new content for a long while. Thanks for sticking with us during our production hiatus. We couldn't be more excited to share what we've learned about all of the various real and imaginary groups that conspiracy theorists think are behind everything that happens in the world. In standard Paranoid Strain fashion, though, we've got some table setting to do, and so in this episode we do that, along with defining secret societies, going as far back into history as records allow to discuss the very earliest of these groups that we can speculate about, and introduce our guide through this series, Dr. Richard Spence. We hope you love exploring this stuff as much as we have. Great Courses: The Real History of Secret Societies , By Richard D. Spence Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies , by Arthur Goldwag All Music Copyright 2021 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, March 15, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 7
And now, the end is near, and Episode 17, Reality Show 1's archive presentation faces...the final curtain. The important thing to know is that this part, part seven--the final part...it did it seven's way. This is, indeed, the final part of our archive shows for now, and it deals with one incredibly silly book, which we enjoyed beating up once, and will probably have the opportunity to take some shots at again in the future. That finality also means that this is the last week of old content before the new shows hit your feed. Secret Societies part one is seven days away, and we can't wait to share it with you. Also, please do check out the very clever show Therapy for Monsters , on the That's Not Canon network, where each episode, one monster, villain, or other gets on the couch and tries to figure out where it all went wrong, safely in the care of a concerned clinician. It's a super-clever concept, and we think you should take a gander. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, March 08, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 6
Coming into the home stretch, it's part six and seven neck and neck. Seven surges ahead but NO! LOOK AT THAT! Six has come up behind and wins by a nose! And that's the story of how part six of our originally much larger Reality Show part 1 burst into your feed. Better luck next time, seven! This time, we cover some completely nonsensical conjectures about reality, like The Mandela Effect and the Time Cube, explore some real bummer philosophy about the evolution of consciousness, and talk somewhat about that one really good True Detective season. Enjoy. Our podcast plug this week is for Oof, Right in the Childhood! , on the That's Not Canon network. The show, week by week, tackles every single Disney animated film from a historical, narrative, and sociological context. And it's got purty pictures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, March 01, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 5
Number Five...IS ALIVE! That joke meant nothing to the vast majority of you, but for a few middle-aged listeners, it brought the kind of smile that only a Fisher Stevens in brownface can induce. This piece of our shattered Reality Part 1 episode deals with more sciencey stuff, addressing the longstanding issue of why, exactly, there is anything at all, much less the grandeur of the universe we see. Could it have been otherwise? Listen in and find out (spoiler--we still don't know). Plus, we make fun of that dickhead Deepak Chopra. Fun for all. And check out our fellow TNC show Mistholme Museum of Mystery Morbidity and Mortality . It's one of the best fiction shows we've encountered, and its third season has just gotten started. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, February 22, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 4
Part 4 has nestled safely into your podcast feed, just as your horoscope predicted. Today's segment of what was originally Episode 17, Reality Part 1 deals in a snack-sized way with how our most brilliant scientific minds have tried to poke, prod, and analyze reality using every tool at their disposal, only to find it continuing to wriggle away every time. But it turns out the real reality was the friends they made along the way. Our podcast partner in crime this week is Faunacation , a show about animals humping. But it's audio only, you sicko. It's a really cool show, so check it out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, February 15, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 3
Third time's the charm? Well, that's definitely the case here, as we settle into the third segment of our archive presentation of what was originally Episode 17, Reality Part 1. This segment features our full interview with Professor Martin Jay, a guy who has forgotten more about idealist philosophers than we will ever hope to learn. He offers some valuable insights on our topics, for which we are very grateful. Also, we throw in a little bit of Eastern philosophy stuff at the end. This week, we implore you to check out our sister show Nerds Amalgamated , which covers all kindsa stuff that geeky folks would like. Obviously, their show has the good taste to be a part of the That's Not Canon network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, February 10, 2021
Archive Episode 17, Part 2
The time has come for the second part of our Archive presentation of Episode 17. This segment of our Reality Part 1 Episode is mostly concerned with the ideas of philosophers who are thought of as idealists, rather than materialists. These folks include Plato, Hume, Berkeley, Kant, and others who think that the mind is the primary thing we need to think about when we're dealing with reality, since that's the only way that anything gets thought about in the first place. We hope you enjoy it. While you're listening to podcasts, have you checked out 20-minute history, also on the That's Not Canon network? This show does a bangup job giving you bite-sized biographies of important historical figures you don't know, and even some you think you know, but could know better. You know? Check it out here: 20 Minute History — That's Not Canon Productions . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 02, 2021
Archive: Episode 17, Part 1
It's a new year! And it's time for new content! But not quite yet. We're working hard on the new Secret Societies series, but to keep your feed full in the meantime, We've broken one of our longest episodes up into digestible chunks, each with a new intro. This is the first part of our 2019 episode questioning the whole concept of reality. Enjoy. And while you're at it, please check out our sister show on the That's Not Canon network, the We Don't Talk About That podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 13, 2021
Quick Hit: Qanon (yes, again)
I know. I know. I've got to be kidding with another goddamned Qanon episode. But I'm not, because they keep doing dumber and dumber shit. Unfortunately, as we saw on January 6th, that includes destruction, insurrection, murder, and mayhem. In this QUICK HIT, we fill you in on everything that happened with Q since the summer. Well, not everything, because this shit keeps happening on a daily basis. But this is all the Q we're doing for a while. After this, we're putting out a couple of months of archive episodes, and then it's full speed into secret societies. That stuff is gonna be great. Hope you enjoy this one. And thanks so much to listener and former Q devotee Ian Rose for granting us an illuminating interview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 30, 2020
Stupid Land: An Evening with the Paranoid Strain Soundtrack
The prophecy is fulfilled--the oracle's glass has shattered. The darkness emerges from its stygian pit and crawls across the desert floor. The Stupid slouches toward Bethlehem--to be REBORN. In other words, the Stupidland guys are back. I know. How did we get so lucky? Wait--that's not the word. Cursed. How did we get so cursed? Just lucky, I guess. Those of you who have joined us in recent years may not have been exposed to the beautifully produced, improvised nonsense that comes from the two men named Chad. But if this is your first exposure, at least it will be softened by the fact that the boys are talking about, between, and around the magnificent sounds of the Paranoid Strain Orchestra. If you enjoy this sample, please do visit them at their site, www.stupid.land for much, much more. Attributions: Free Music Archive: The Joy Drops - RollJordanRoll-stem-RhythmGtr-mandolin Free Music Archive: Lobo Loco - Woke up This Morning - Jazz Organ (ID 1293) Free Music Archive: Reeder - rigonfiamento del cuore (piano solo) All other music copyright 2017-2020, The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 15, 2020
Historical Political Conspiracies--Complete
Hi, everybody. This is our first show with our new hosting service, so hopefully you're receiving this the same way you did previously, and nothing wonky has happened with your feeds. If it has, all apologies. This, as promised, is the complete, full-length politics episode, with all six previous short episode stitched together into a giant Frankenstein's monster of an audio behemoth--three and a half hours of previously released glory. There are a few new things to enjoy here. For example, we did a little wrap-up and the full credits at the end. Then, after the theme song, we included full-length versions of all of the new music the Paranoid Strain orchestra created for this series. And finally, at the very, very end, we may have a little easter egg from Ms. Unicorn. We suppose we've got some new folks listening to us, thanks to our brand new podcast network. If another show in the That's Not Canon roster sent you our way, we're glad to have you. We'll be returning the favor by promoting some of our new favorites on future episodes. Finally, we may have been able to insert a couple of advertisements into the show, if we figured it out correctly. Hope they don't bother you, but we're happy to hear what you think about all of these changes going on with your favorite anti-conspiracy podcast. Drop us a line, won't you, at theparanoidstrain@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, December 02, 2020
Announcement: We're joining a podcast network
By the title of this super-short update, you can tell that we have decided to throw our lot in with the That's Not Canon podcast network out of Australia. What does this mean for you? Not a lot--except we're gonna mention some other shows you might like periodically, and there may be some short ads when you download the episodes. We're super-excited, and think this is a great way to introduce the show to lots of new people. We hope you agree. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 17, 2020
Historical Political Conspiracies, Part 6
Finally, we come to the end of our epic political conspiracy series, taking on the legacy of the happy conspiracist, Ronald Reagan. Not only is his name nearly synonymous with America in the '80s, but he's also the figure who, more than anything, overcame his conspiracist leanings to develop a persona and reputation that somehow ignores his longtime, deeply held paranoid fantasies of Commies and liberals destroying Americans' freedom with dastardly plans like Medicare. We've still got Rick Perlstein along for the ride, as well, discussing the subject of his most recent book, Reaganland. We hope you've enjoyed listening as much as we've enjoyed creating this series. We've got some more surprises to end out the year, as we gear up for next year's secret societies series. Until then, see you on the Facebook group, hope to hear from you at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com, and tell a friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, November 03, 2020
Quick Hit: Election 2020
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE We're back after only 1 week with some piping hot content for you to listen to in your interminable voter lines on this historic Tuesday. This one's a QUICK HIT about the conspiracies of the Trump era--and some of them weren't even promulgated by Trump! (Spoiler--almost all of them were, though). We'll be back in your ears in two weeks, but for right now, no special messages, except you should listen to the very end for a special voting day message from Daniel Arizona. Oh, there was one other thing...what was it? OH YEAH--FUCKING VOTE. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, October 27, 2020
Historical political conspiracies, part 5
Must we already say goodbye to Nixon? Yes, alas. But we're sending him off with a barnburner of an episode. More Rick Perlstein! Less Barry Goldwater! More CREEP, Plumbers and infamous D.C. luxury hotels. Thanks as always for coming along for the journey. We'll be back in your ears sooner than you expect, with an extremely timely show. Thanks for listening, tell a friend, and feel free to drop us a line at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot come. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, October 13, 2020
Political conspiracies, part 4
Finally, we've reached the moment we've all been waiting for. Well, the moment that I've been waiting for: The Nixon portion of the proceedings. Here is where we begin sharing in earnest our interview with Rick Perlstein, preeminent chronicler of the rise of the conservative movement in the mid-20th century. We talk about the conspiracist lunacy that underpinned Goldwater's '64 campaign, and how paranoia and suspicion fueled the rise of the Trickster. Next time, Watergate. Until then, join the Facebook group, email us at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com, and spread the word. Notes: Rick Perlstein: Just buy all of his books, already. They're great. But especially buy Nixonland . Trust me. All music Copyright 2020, The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, September 29, 2020
Historical political conspiracies, part 3
Back for round three, we're taking on three quick topics this time--the early nineteenth century's obsessions with the nefarious doings of the Masons, the mid-nineteenth century panic about Catholics overrunning our precious, lily-white Protestant republic, and the pre-WWII anti-semitic fervor that frankly couldn't have come at a worse time. It's a cavalcade of ridiculous historical paranoid nonsense to temporarily distract you from the contemporary, ridiculous paranoid nonsense that haunts your every waking moment. Email us at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com, join the FB group, and keep spreading the word about us to your cleverest friends and neighbors. Notes: Bernard Bailin: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Thomas Konda: Conspiracies of Conspiracies David Brion Davis: Fear of Conspiracy All music Copyright 2020, The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, September 15, 2020
Historical political conspiracies, part 2
We're back again, with the next installment of our historical review of American political conspiracy theories. This time, unfortunately, we have to talk about the hideous history of conspiracy theories centered around slavery, and the ways that they impacted both slaveowning, and even abolitionist societies prior to the Civil War. This one is, of course, upsetting. But, we hope, also super interesting. And, as our nation strives to reckon with its unfortunately and intensely racist history, we think it's really important. We hope you agree. Email us at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com, join the FB group, and please tell anyone you think might enjoy the show that...well, you enjoy the show. See you in a couple of weeks. Notes: Seen on Radio: Seeing White Kerry Walters: American Slave Revolts and Conspiracies Thomas Konda: Conspiracies of Conspiracies Jill Lepore: New York Burning All music Copyright 2020, The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, September 01, 2020
Historical political conspiracies, part 1
Brand. Spanking. New. Content. Welcome back. This episode inaugurates a nice, long run of new stuff that should lead all the way up to the U.S. Presidential election, assuming we're still gonna go ahead and hold that thing. We figured that, for the back half of this historically weird year, it might be appropriate for us to focus on the fact that throughout our history, all the way back to the colonial period, Americans (especially white Americans) have been obsessed with conspiracies that they imagine one or another group to be scheming about in one or another smoke-filled back room. In this first part, we not only do our introductory skit thing, but go over a couple of important conspiracy phases of pre-America--Native American, and later the Salem Witch conspiracies. We hope you dig it. More to come in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, join our Facebook group, subscribe on Youtube, and drop us a line at theparanoidstrain at gmail. Bibliography: The United States of Paranoia , by Jesse Walker All music copyright 2020, The Paranoid Strain Orchestra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, August 18, 2020
Archive--Episode 1, part 2 (plus bonus Rick Perlstein interview)
We're back, just a week(!) later, with the last third of the show's original, 2017 first episode. We could have cut it into two chunks of even length, but that would have split the interview in half, which seemed like a weird thing to do. So rather than give you a ten-minute episode this week, we've also tacked on a fascinating discussion with historian Rick Perlstein, the author of some of the best ever books about this history of the conservative movement. You'll be hearing from him for the rest of the year, especially when we talk about Nixon. Enjoy, and look for the first part of our brand new episode in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 12, 2020
Archive--Episode 1, part 1
PHASE TWO IS UPON US. Please do not panic. We're ready for this. As promised, we're starting our new, more frequent content feed with the first two-thirds of our very first episode. It includes high-falutin discussions of what, exactly, we mean by conspiracy theories, why people believe them, and what this whole show is supposed to be about. The last bit of this one comes out in a week or two, with some special bonus content. As always, thanks for listening, and let us know what you think of the updated format. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, July 28, 2020
Not really an episode: FORMAT CHANGE!
As noted above, this isn't a real episode, but it is a real announcement. You're gonna start hearing this show every two weeks. Or sometimes, if we're feeling frisky, every week. But don't count on that second thing. Everything's gonna be shorter and punchier, but we'll still put out big long compilations of our topics. But why are we telling you this here? You can learn all about that in our seven minute mini-sode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, June 30, 2020
Quick Hit: Recap
Hey--remember, like, five or six months ago, when we told you the next episode would be a recap? And that we'd go over all the stuff that had happened to the topics in our old episodes since we created those episodes? And then it turned out we lied about that, twice, because COVID conspiracies were just too transcendently weird and timely to pass up? Well, it's finally time to put out that long-delayed, much promised show from late last year, with a few timely updates for stuff that's happened in the intervening months. Hope you enjoy it. Next time you hear from us, we'll be shaking up the format of the show. But don't worry--you'll be hearing from us even more frequently. For now, sit back and enjoy the crazy. Talk to you again soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, May 12, 2020
Quick HIt: Coronavirus Conspiracies 2, The Phlegm and the Fury
Yeah, I know. This wasn't the episode we promised last time. But coronavirus is, in addition to being a real asshole of a disease, also the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to frightened dipshits generating an endless panoply of new conspiracy theories. This is another "Quick Hit", but it's over an hour. No, our nomenclature doesn't even make a lot of sense to us, but hopefully this is pretty up-to-date and comprehensive in terms of the biggest highlights of the current lay of the virus conspiracy land. We'll be back with you soon, and we're still working on some big, exciting, totally non-virus-related stuff for the rest of the year. We hope this makes your sheltering in place more enjoyable, and as always, thanks for listening. Oh, and if you wanna see that ridiculous video explaining how you can cure COVID with a blow-dryer, knock yourself out . All original music copyright 2020 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 18, 2020
Quick Hit: Coronavirus Conspiracies
Whaaaaaa? A new episode? But it's been just a few weeks? That's right, Strainiacs. We're back in the saddle, albeit an indoor, socially distancing, "shelter in place" kind of saddle, to spread some facts and debunk some nonsense around the pandemic plague that suddenly has the world's undivided attention. This is a true "quick hit", production to your ears in just a couple of weeks. We hope you enjoy it, and we look forward to sharing more quickly produced, up-to-the-minute content with you in the future. Only one link this time, to a Vox story that explains all the reasons you shouldn't believe this virus is man-made All original music copyright 2020 The Paranoid Strain Orchestra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 25, 2020
Reality is an Illusion? Part 2, Philip K Dick
Sorry about the delay, but we’re very pleased to present you, via our brand new podcast feed (which should, from your perspective, be completely indistinguishable from our original feed), the second half of our reality episode. This time, we’re orienting our discussion around the singular perspective of one of the most interesting and influential writers of the 20th century, Philip K Dick. You may know him as the Blade Runner guy, or the Total Recall guy, or just the guy who gets (rightly) credited with inspiring basically every good sci-fi idea you’ve ever heard of. But it turns out that Phil was a strange and fascinating dude, a man who believed the universe’s greatest secrets had been revealed to him in a bolt of pink light, and who then spent the rest of his life figuring out what the hell that light was trying to tell him. In the process of explaining his life and works, we’ll also incidentally delve into gnostic christianity, the modern theory of consciousness, and the work of some other super-influential, similarly mind-expanding writers. Hope you enjoy it. And if you do, let us know at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com. Bibliography: Philip K Dick books referenced in the episode: The Exegesis Man in the High Castle Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Ubik A Scanner Darkly The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Valis Other books and such: Divine invasions, A Life of Philip K Dick , by Lawrence Sutin Science Fiction: A Hopeless Case, With Exceptions , by Stanislaw Lem Beginner’s Guide to Reality , by James Baggott <a href=
Tue, December 10, 2019
Reality is an Illusion? Part 1
We came, we saw, we conquered, and we rendered it all into an mp3 file. Welcome back to the Paranoid Strain. This is the first of a two-part series that is not, technically, about conspiracy theories per se. We see this show as a proud defender of reality against conspiracist nonsense. But we felt it would be unfair if we didn’t spend a couple of episodes exploring exactly how little we understand about reality, when you really get down to brass tacks. This time, we’re going over philosophy and science, and then discussing some very out-there ways to interpret reality…some intriguing, some ridiculous. This is our new favorite episode. Hope you feel the same, and hope that you’ll check out some of the extensive bibliography below to learn more. Bibliography: Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition by Grant Hardy A Beginner’s Guide to Reality by Jim Baggott Reality, Art,... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 09, 2019
Anti-Vaxxers
Welcome back. We hope you enjoyed the silliness of our previous, Moon landing episode, because unfortunately, this topic is deadly serious. Yes, unfortunately, in spite of the almost unbelievable number of lives that have been saved by vaccinations over the past couple hundred years, a still-growing number of well-intentioned, but deeply ill-informed parents continue to avoid or delay vaccinations for their children. The result, as anyone who watches the headlines knows, is an ever-increasing incidence of outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases. This makes us incredibly angry. And so we want to arm you, our beloved Strainiacs, with the info you need to positively influence anyone who might fall under the siren song of thhe anti-vaxxers, to help keep vulnerable people healthy. But as always, we’re gonna make bad jokes, ridicule conspiracists, and enjoy some rockin’ tunes courtesy of the Paranoid Strain Orchestra along the way. We hope you... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, August 13, 2019
The Moon Landing(s)
That’s one small episode for a Jesuit…one giant leap for a podcast feed. Howdy, and welcome to oneathem fun, lighthearted episodes of Ye Olde Paranoid Strain. This one covers the silly, silly idea that we didn’t land on the moon. A bunch of times. But we did. We could have stopped there, but we think you’ll be glad we didn’t. We also covered a bunch of others moon-related stuff. Where did it come from (both scientist and lunatic versions). What moon hoax was ginned up back in the 19th century about it? What other silly non-landing-related conspiracies do people believe in? We answer all of these and more. This also marks the return of our friendly resident artist and conspiracy-curious friend, WIllem UFO. He doesn’t think we landed on the moon. Will we convince him? I dunno. But he’s fun to talk to anyway. Thanks, as always, for listening. Let us know... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, June 04, 2019
Assassinations (JFK Edition)
Hi. Miss us? The Chads say “Hi”–they weren’t with you last month because…you know, actually, I have no idea why. They were raving something about the Quantum Malarkey discombobulating the flat Earth and preventing their transmissions, but I think they were just drunk. We, on the other hand, have returned as promised with the second of our assassination episodes. This one, though, is something really special. It’s our biggest, and in our humble opinion, best episode ever, and it tackles the granddaddy of all modern conspiracy theories–who killed JFK. We are well aware that many of you may already have decided there was a conspiracy involved, even if just in this one case. But if you have just a scant three and a quarter hours, we think we can change your mind. Seriously, sorry about the length, but if you’re going to try to refute every lie in Oliver Stone’s... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 09, 2019
Assassinations (non-JFK edition)
My, my, my. Have two months flown by already? Where does the time go? Thanks for all of your concern–I safely escaped from the clutches of the Chads, though at the loss of significant dignity (and sanity). And to celebrate, I made you a piping hot podcast episode. Hold on. It needs to cool for a few minutes. Don’t burn yourself. This is the first of our two assassination episodes. In part one, we cover a huge swath of very bloody history, culminating in the senseless murders of two important Americans within a few months of each other in 1968. Along the way, we explain why we can know that some victims of assassination were the target of conspiracies (Caesar and Lincoln), while others weren’t (MLK and RFK). We also explore some conspiracy theory cinema in our new Paranoid Strain goes to the Movies segment. Next month, as you would probably... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, March 20, 2019
Stupid Land: Don't Cross The Streams
Guys, I’m not gonna lie. Some stuff went down in this one. Yes, it’s once again a Stupid Land episode. And yes, that once again means you won’t find a single reliable fact in it. But this one…this one was different. it was an experience so intense that at the end, I felt like I needed a Silkwood shower. It went to new, different, and horrifying places. What makes this episode different from all other episodes? I…can’t tell you. I mean, there are legal implications. The proper authorities have asked me not to comment about an active investigation. But perhaps you can figure out what happened by listening to the recording I managed to smuggle out… And Frances…I’m sorry. Attributions: “The Water and the well” by Nihilore: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Nihilore/Broken_Parts/Nihilore_-_Broken_Parts_-_04_The_Water_and_the_Well “Artifice” by Nihilore: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Nihilore/Truth_and_Justification/Nihilore_-_Truth_and_Justification_-_10_Artifice “La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf: https://archive.org/details/78_la-vie-en-rose_edith-piaf-louiguy-luypaerts_gbia0011638b All sound effects: https://freesound.org/ (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 12, 2019
Quick Hit: Alex Jones and the Denver Airport
Hey there, Strainiacs. Today, we bring you another of our Quick Hit episodes. Yes, that means the return of the Quick Hit guy. PARANOID STRAIN! QUICK HIT!!!!! Yeah. We missed him, too. It’s also a weird sort of hybrid. We were planning to do a show based on our interview and tour at Denver International Airport in 2017, where we were able to carefully document the true stories behind the unmitigated spew of nonsense you’ll get from conspiracists about the place’s sinister origins and purpose. But at the same time, we realized we had more to say about Alex Jones that we didn’t fully cover in our False Flags episode last year. So rather than choose, we just kinda…glued them together. We hope you enjoy, then, a quick catch-up on the long, ongoing fall of Alex Jones and Infowars, as well as a fun overview of the DEN nonsense. As... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, January 09, 2019
Stupid Land: Church of Latter-Day Flat
Ok. Nobody panic. It’s happening again. But we’ve been through this before, haven’t we? We understand that sometimes terrible things happen. Wars. Plagues. Disasters. Stupid Land. Yes, they’re back. And it appears they’re multiplying–this episode relates a report from a hitherto unsuspected third Chad. Whether this 50% increase in Chadness is through ideological reprogramming, some sort of slimy parthenogenesis, or simply the cruel whim of a callous deity, we now must experience their collective take on our previous episode. Flat Earth. Which, to be fair, is nearly as stupid as the Land they call home. Enjoy or endure, and we’ll see you next month with a regular episode. Attributions: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Borrtex/Distant_Sphere/ http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Daniel_Birch/Minimal_Bells_From_The_Deep SwingWhale - S Strong - Whitestick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H86MZb_eDx4&feature=youtu.be http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Piano_III_-_Minor_Keys/Degradation http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Soul/Smooth_Actor (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 04, 2018
Flat Earth
Welcome back to your home away from home, the Paranoid Strain. This time, we squash flat earth beliefs…well, flat, I suppose. Stupid English language. We both know that flat earthers are all over the place these days. But why? And how? And where did all of these ideas come from? As you might expect, since we’re raising all of these rhetorical questions, we have rhetorical answers. We’ve been through some dark, strange stuff over the past few episodes, what with 9/11 and the disturbing rantings of Qanon fans. This time, we’re tackling a belief that truly deserves the sobriquet “wacky”. We had a lot of fun with this one. Hope you will, too. Find us on the social medias, join our Facebook and Youtube pages, and spread the word. Thank you kindly. Bibliography: Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea by Christine Garwood Flat Earth—Are you serious? By Barry... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, November 14, 2018
Stupid Land: Q-level Clarence
Wait–we’re doing this again? Many have approached me, deep concern on their eager faces. “Why, Fearful?” they plead. “Why do you let them do such awful, unspeakable things to your beautiful podcast feed?” I always know what they’re talking about. They’re referring to the Chads, and their eldritch power over me. I wish I could give them a better understanding–I lack that understanding myself. Perhaps I should never have angered the Swamp Witch. Maybe it was a bad idea to plunder that unmarked grave in the abandoned cemetery at the end of the dirt road. Arguably, I shouldn’t have dropped that bloody hitchhiker off, as he requested, next to the girls’ sleepaway camp. I definitely shouldn’t have offered him a free sharpening for his knife. I mean, what was I thinking? We can’t be sure of the cause. All we can know at this point is that the Chads have... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, October 02, 2018
9/11 Truthers: Part 2
Back in record time, we’re here to provide closure for our 9/11 story. Last time we touched on this national tragedy and its discontents, we dealt with stuff that, while fundamentally incorrect, was at least based on reasonable suspicions. This time, we’re only dealing with 9/11 truthers who are either unbelievably racist, completely unhinged, or both. And yes, we are finally pleased to unveil THE CRAZIEST BOOK WE’VE EVER READ. Enjoy, find us on the social medias, join our Facebook page, and spread the word. Thank you kindly. Bibliography: Debunking 9/11 Myths by the Editors of Popular Mechanics Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin Voodoo Histories by David Aaronovich A Search for Truth: 9/11 by Terence Smart The Great Derangement by Matt Taibbi Planes Without Passengers by Dean Hartwell The Most Dangerous Book in the World: 9/11 as Mass Ritual (aka The Craziest Book We’ve Ever Read) by SK Bain “My Pet... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, September 11, 2018
Qanon: Quick Hit
I know what you’re thinking. This was supposed to be 9/11 Part 2. And don’t worry–it’s still coming. But this super-stupid Qanon thing was just begging for a good ol’ ass-whuppin’, and we decided to oblige. For those of you who’ve somehow missed it, Qanon is a seriously deranged conspiracy theory in which some of Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters assert without evidence that he is cooperating with the Mueller investigation, whose real purpose is to take down an international, child sex trafficking ring, among other things. Over the past couple of months, as the chuckleheads who believe this have become more visible at Trump rallies, drawing confused looks from the media–and the non-insane generally, they have moved up our list of must-address topics until we decided to create a whole episode around them in about half the time it normally takes us. If you like this kind of up-to-the-minute... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, August 08, 2018
Stupid Land: Bush Can't Melt Steel Beams
A brand-new, steaming heap of whatever it is that the Chads do is now here for your delectation. Following through on our lifelong, three-month commitment to delivering monthly content, we present the second of our collaborations with the weirdos at Stupid Land. This time, they’ve done… something… terrible with the previous episode, Part 1 of our 9/11 discussion. I’d try to explain it better, but…just listen. You’ll understand. Anyway, as with the previous PS/SL collaboration, the audio production is impeccable, while the content is deeply bizarre. Keep it up, you oddball bastards. See you next month. Oh, and I don’t want to forget–the Chads got they-selves a website. Now, you can visit, listen, and subscribe at the aptly named stupid.land. Won’t you? Attributions: Chicago Rhythm Kings: “I Found A New Baby” (The Internet Archive) Mystery Mammal: “Wonders of Modern Technology” (Free Music Archive) Nihilore: “Broken Parts” (Free Music Archive) (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, July 03, 2018
9/11 Truthers: Part 1
Just in time for the 4th of July, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming. This time, we’re bringing you the story of 9/11, and the Truthers who are only too happy to remind you that jet fuel can’t…well, you know. As you can discern from the title, our next full episode is going to handle the second part of this story–this one’s all about reasonable people’s doubts about 9/11. The next one is all about the pure-D batshit craziness. We hope you’ll enjoy both. In between, next month, expect another edition of our Stupid Land collaboration, only this time on the subject of our nation’s largest recent tragedy. I’m sure they’ll be very sensitive. Oh, Jeez. As always, we deeply appreciate your listening, and anything you can do to spread the word about us. Bibliography: The 9/11 Commission Report The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright Debunking 9/11 Myths by... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mon, June 11, 2018
Introducing: Stupid Land
I can already hear you: “It’s been two months. Where’s the new episode of our favorite anti-conspiracy theory podcast?” What? We’re not your favorite? You’ve been seeing other anti-conspiracy theory podcasts? How could you? Think of the children. Anyhoo, what we bring to you today is not a new standard-issue episode. In fact, you can think of this as episode 7.5. Mostly because that’s what we’ve called it. And to bring it to you, we’ve partnered with the Chads over at the brand new–as in, so new that it doesn’t technically have a website or any current episodes yet–podcast Stupid Land. This is the first of what will be an ongoing series. Every other month, we will post a new audio…what are we calling these things? Let’s go with “pastiche” based on the previous month’s episode topic. This one, for example, deals with False Flags and Alex Jones. Sort of. Anyway, expect short-form, absurdist... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, April 03, 2018
False Flags and Alex Jones
Call it Easter, call it April Fool’s…either way, we’ve got one helluva present for you. It’s the seventh episode of the Paranoid Strain. This time, we’re dealing with the concept of False Flags. And with the world’s most (in)famous purveyor of said concept, Alex Jones. Among the many surprising things you may learn in this episode is that, in spite of the fact that Mr. Jones is one million percent full of horseshit, false flags are actually a real thing. Just not the ones he talks about. Jones isn’t our only target, though. Many folks out there make hay out of the idea that the ever-nebulous “they” are always out there, plotting violent events that will pave the way for the public to give up their freedoms, so “they” can feast on our precious bodily fluids. Or something. Anyway, enjoy. As always, if you’ve got comments, suggestions, or really any... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, February 06, 2018
Chemtrails and HAARP
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a plane spraying evil, toxic, murderous chemtrails! Nope. It’s the Paranoid Strain. Howdy! Having rested up after our three-part exploration of the right-wing Sovereign Citizen and Posse Comitatus movements, we’re ready to move onto attacking a conspiracy that is far more popular with the other side of the aisle. If you’ve ever wondered why some folks seem to believe those vapor trails that planes emit are a threat to our very way of life, we’ve got the answers. And no, none of them are “they’re RIGHT!” Oh, and the “HAARP” acronym in the title refers to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, an ionospheric research station in Alaska. Why are we talking about that? If you guessed that some misguided conspiracists have decided it is also a threat to our very way of life, give yourself a... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tue, December 05, 2017
Sovereign Citizens to Wesley Snipes
Hey there, strangers. We’re publishing our fifth episode. And on time, no less. This is our fifth episode, and the third of our series on the history of right wing, racist movements, and their evolution into the Sovereign Citizens. But most importantly, this is the episode where we explain why Wesley Snipes went to jail. That may seem like a weird point to harp on, but that’s actually the conundrum that we sought to explain when we originally conceived of this podcast, lo these many years ago. Honest to god, we love this episode. It’s got a bunch of great Youtube videos where Sovereigns act crazy, including the all-time grand champeen of Sovereign insanity. It’s got an interview with the guy who traced the spread of Sovereign ideas from white racists to black federal court defendants. And an actual, honest-to-god letter from a real reader who isn’t our daughter! We... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wed, October 04, 2017
From the Posse to the Sovereigns
Hey there, loyal listener. First, we’d like to apologize. This show is coming to you several weeks after we had originally intended. We plan to make it up with you in two different ways. First, we’ve set up a public Google Calendar. We invite you to use it to stay up to date on our unfortunately still sporadic publication schedule. Second, the reason that we are late is that we spent a large chunk of our summer traveling across the United States visiting every conspiracy-related location we could find. We can’t wait to share all of the interviews and other audio we recorded, and we’ll start doing so very soon. Anyhoo, since we’re all back together now, I’m so very pleased to introduce our fourth episode, and the second in our three-part series on the history of U.S. right-wing extremism over the past seventy years or so. In this episode,... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fri, July 07, 2017
The Posse Comitatus
Welcome to the inevitable third episode of The Paranoid Strain. “Well. Took you long enough.” That’s what I hear you thinking. Yes, it’s been a couple of months since our last episode. And for the moment, that’s about the pace you should expect. Each of these shows represents a huge amount of research and production time, and we have a day job, and a kid, and other distractions. Eventually, we hope to come to you on a more frequent basis, but until then, let’s just enjoy our time together. This episode has a special place in our hearts. It’s the first of three parts on the conspiracy-minded, frequently violent, deeply paranoid right-wing extremist movement, which has been known as the “militia”, “freeman on the land”, and currently the “sovereign citizen” ideology, but which started out back in the 1950s with one angry, anti-semitic, delusional man named Bill, who wanted to... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, April 30, 2017
The Protocols
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: Interview with Professor John Efron Hello and welcome to the second episode of The Paranoid Strain, your skeptical guide to conspiracy theories. “Wait,” you may be thinking. “Did you guys release two episodes at once?” Yep. We sure did. Going forward, we’ll be putting out single episodes, one every other month. But since the first episode is basically an introduction to the topic, we decided to put out a more representative single-topic show as well. Enjoy. This episode, we’re covering the history and impact of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious anti-semitic lie that was conclusively debunked nearly a century ago, and yet is still widely believed and hugely influential today. We’ll lead you through the history of this screed, some of the many monsters it influenced, and how it has ruined people’s lives around the world. We’ve got an... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sun, January 01, 2017
Welcome to the Paranoid Strain
An Introduction: Interviewee–Lane Greene Hello and welcome to the inaugural episode of The Paranoid Strain, your skeptical guide to conspiracy theories. For our first foray, we’re going to try to stake out the ground that this series will cover. What do we mean by conspiracy theories? What are the historical precedents for modern day conspiracies? What sorts of ideas and attitudes might people who believe in this sort of thinking share? Is America uniquely prone to conspiracist thinking? We’ll provide our answers to all of the above. And make jokes. Thanks for listening. Subscribe to the show at iTunes, on Pocketcasts, on Stitcher, or any of your other favorite platforms. And if you’re an iTunes user, please do rate and review us. It’s super-helpful, and we’ll love you forever. If you’ve got comments, suggestions, or really any feedback, please contact us by email at theparanoidstrain at gmail dot com, on... (read more at TheParanoidStrain.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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