In August 1996, the San Jose Mercury News published Gary Webb’s infamous “Dark Alliance” investigation. The three-part series revealed how a drug ring connected to CIA-backed Nicaraguan rebels was flooding Los Angeles with crack cocaine in the 1980s. Webb traced the money trail from LA street dealers all the way back to covert U.S. foreign policy operations.
Instead of being praised for this groundbreaking exposé, Webb faced a brutal media backlash. Major newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post turned their resources against him, essentially ending his mainstream journalism career. Years later, government investigations would prove Webb was largely right, but by then the damage was done.
In December 2004, Gary Webb was found dead in his apartment — a tragic end to a man who paid the ultimate price for challenging powerful institutions. His story raises fundamental questions about press freedom and what happens when journalists dare to expose uncomfortable truths.
Today we're joined by Nick Schou, the investigative journalist who wrote Kill the Messenger, the definitive biography of Gary Webb. The book was made into a 2014 a film starring Jeremy Renner.
In our conversation, Nick and I will explore how Webb’s story illuminates the dangerous intersection of intelligence agencies, drug policy, and media manipulation. We'll also discuss how Webb's legitimate reporting became entangled with the likes of the Lyndon LaRouche organization and Michael Ruppert, and what this tells us about the blurred lines between credible investigative journalism and conspiracy theorizing in our current media landscape.
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In this subscribers-only episode of Paranoid History, I interview historian John Lisle about his new book Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKULTRA. Lisle discusses his discovery of never-before-seen depositions from the 1980s, revealing new insights into the CIA's infamous mind control experiments. The conversation explores the real history of MKULTRA, separating fact from fiction, and examining how genuine government misconduct has spawned unfounded conspiracy theories.
John Lisle is a historian and author of Project Mind Control and The Dirty Tricks Department. His work focuses on uncovering the hidden history of American intelligence operations through meticulous archival research. Lisle teaches at the University of Texas.
His website is: https://johnlislehistorian.com/
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In this episode, I talk to my friend and colleague Sam DeVaney about Candace Owens's strange obsession with MKULTRA, trans people, and the First Lady of France. We dive into Candace's wild claims that Brigitte Macron was actually born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux, and how this theory connects to her broader worldview about elite pedophile rings, Satanic worship, and Manchurian candidates. It's a fascinating look at how conspiracy theories work in practice, complete with all the logical fallacies and evidence-free conclusions that make these stories so compelling to true believers.
What makes this particularly interesting is watching Candace do her conspiracy theorist logic out loud, turning every piece of missing information into proof of a cover-up. Sam and I explore how transvestigation works as a rhetorical tool, why Candace might have latched onto this particular French conspiracy, and how her evolution from a college progressive to a full-blown conspiracy influencer reflects the weird incentive structures of our siloed media ecosystem.
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This episode concludes our investigation into MOVE by examining the tragic murder of John Gilbride and the organization's systematic abuse of power. Gilbride was a former Reagan youth who became deeply involved with MOVE leader Alberta Africa after witnessing the 1985 bombing as a teenager. He eventually left the organization and fought for custody of their son, but faced an extensive harassment campaign from MOVE. On September 27, 2002—just one day before his scheduled court-ordered visitation—Gilbride was shot to death in what authorities dismissively classified as a "robbery gone wrong" despite clear motive and no evidence of theft. The episode also reveals MOVE's financial empire, showing how Alberta Africa controlled approximately $5 million in bombing settlement funds meant for victims while exploiting members who worked grueling hours.
The investigation exposes the brutal realities of life inside MOVE, including systematic child abuse, psychological torture through "meetings" designed to break members' personalities, and a rigid hierarchy that reduced most members to servants. The story culminates with the courageous 2021 escape of survivors like June "Pixie" Africa—forced into marriage and childbearing at age 12—and former supporter Kevin Price. Their coordinated public exposure through blogs and media coverage finally revealed the truth about MOVE's decades-long deception. Through interviews with these brave survivors and producer Beth McNamara's investigation, the episode demonstrates how MOVE successfully exploited legitimate grievances about police brutality to mask their true nature, offering crucial lessons about the dangers of prioritizing ideological solidarity over human welfare.
For more information, check out Kevin Price's Leaving MOVE 2021 blog: https://leavingmove2021.blogspot.com/
Be sure to listen to the Murder at Ryan’s Run podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murder-at-ryans-run-exposing-the-cult-of-john-africa/id1561552064
This is a long one! Part 1 of 2. Featuring Kevin Price.
In January 1999, 16,000 fans packed a New Jersey arena for a benefit concert organized by Rage Against the Machine to support Mumia Abu-Jamal, the famous death row inmate and former Black Panther. The crowd believed they were funding justice for a political prisoner, raising over $400,000 for his cause. What they didn't know was that their money was going to MOVE—what former members now describe as a destructive cult that had successfully infiltrated and manipulated leftist movements for decades.
MOVE began in 1970s Philadelphia as an anarcho-primitivist organization founded by Vincent Leaphart (who became "John Africa") and white college professor Don Glassey. Behind their revolutionary rhetoric lay a bizarre anti-civilization ideology that opposed everything from literacy to cooking food, viewing consciousness itself as humanity's original sin. The group's confrontations with Frank Rizzo's brutal police force culminated in the 1978 standoff that sent nine members to prison and the catastrophic 1985 bombing that killed eleven people, including five children. These tragedies provided MOVE with the perfect victim narrative, allowing them to rebrand as martyrs of government oppression while concealing their true nature as a cult that controlled members through psychological abuse and isolated children from education and medical care.
Kevin Price's Leaving MOVE 2021 blog: https://leavingmove2021.blogspot.com/
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FAILED STATE UPDATE! Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently released documents alleging an Obama administration conspiracy to subvert Trump's presidency, centering on a December 9th, 2016 White House meeting that allegedly reversed intelligence conclusions about Russian interference. I examine how this represents selective declassification for political theater while the same officials who minimized Hillary Clinton's massive email server security breach later endorsed dubious intelligence from the Steele Dossier.
Then, we review the work of Investigative journalist Steven Greenstreet, whose reporting reveals how government officials have spent decades and millions in taxpayer dollars hunting UFOs, werewolves, and psychic phenomena, from Project Stargate through Robert Bigelow's Skinwalker Ranch to contemporary UFO revelations.
The Pentagon's Ghostbusters: Rogue military officials hunted UFOs, ghosts and monsters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYNvH_Y2So
The UFO Lie: Shocking truth of Pentagon AAWSAP program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XD4gQS_-qY
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This episode explores the extraordinary case of Patricia Hearst, granddaughter of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who was kidnapped from her Berkeley apartment on February 4, 1974, by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). What began as a straightforward kidnapping quickly transformed into one of America's most puzzling criminal cases when, within two months, security cameras captured the wealthy heiress wielding a rifle during a bank robbery. Calling herself "Tania" and denouncing her parents as "pigs," Patty appeared to have undergone a complete ideological transformation from privileged socialite to urban guerrilla. The episode features extensive interviews with journalist Roger Rapoport, who covered the case from its earliest days and co-wrote a book with Patty's fiancé Steven Weed, providing unique insights into both her pre-kidnapping life and the immediate aftermath of her abduction.
The case raised fundamental questions about identity, coercion, and free will that remain unresolved fifty years later. Was Patty Hearst brainwashed through sophisticated psychological manipulation, or did she genuinely convert to revolutionary ideology? Her 1976 trial centered on competing narratives of victimhood versus voluntary participation, with celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey arguing she was subjected to "coercive persuasion" while prosecutors pointed to her continued criminal activity and missed opportunities to escape. The episode also examines conspiracy theories surrounding the SLA itself, including questions about whether the group was a genuine revolutionary organization or a government operation designed to discredit leftist movements. Despite her conviction, Patty served only 21 months after President Carter commuted her sentence, and she received a full pardon from President Clinton in 2001, yet the central mystery of her transformation continues to captivate America's imagination.
Rapoport offers a unique perspective on the case, having spent months living with Steven Weed while they collaborated on a book manuscript that was ultimately never published when Weed decided it didn't tell the story he wanted to tell. Frustrated by the limitations of traditional journalism and the inability to fact-check key claims due to the deaths of six SLA members, Rapoport later turned to fiction to explore the case's psychological complexity. His novel approach acknowledges the fundamental ambiguity at the heart of the Hearst saga, inviting readers to draw their own conclusions rather than pretending to resolve questions that may be fundamentally unanswerable. Through interviews with both Weed and SLA member Bill Harris, Rapoport uncovered conflicting narratives about Patty's experience, including Harris's controversial claim that she wrote her own revolutionary communiqués and that the SLA sometimes had to tone them down because they were too strident.
Episode 13: Report from Iron Mountain explores the bizarre journey of a 1967 satirical hoax that became a foundational text for American conspiracy theorists. Created by left-wing satirists led by Viktor Navasky (later editor of The Nation) and writer Leonard Lewin, Report from Iron Mountain purported to be a leaked government study concluding that peace would be catastrophic for American society and that war was essential for social stability. The dry, academic prose perfectly mimicked Cold War-era think tank reports, suggesting disturbing alternatives to war including reintroducing slavery, implementing eugenics, and creating fake UFO scares to maintain social control. Published as nonfiction by Dial Press, the report became a bestseller and front-page news, prompting White House investigations before Lewin revealed his authorship in 1972.
The episode traces how this left-wing satire of the military-industrial complex was later embraced by the far-right as authentic evidence of government conspiracy. After falling out of print in the 1980s, the report was republished in 1990 by Holocaust-denying fascist Willis Carto's network of front organizations, who believed it was real government documentation. The report found new life in 1990s militia movements, circulating through underground channels and featured in the influential video Iron Mountain: Blueprint for Tyranny." Its ideas became embedded in extremist ideology that influenced figures like Timothy McVeigh and radio host Bill Cooper, demonstrating how satirical critique can dangerously transform into paranoid conspiracy theory—a cautionary tale about the thin line between justified skepticism of power and destructive paranoia.
Featuring Phil Tinline, author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today. Tinline discovered the report while researching the military-industrial complex and became fascinated by its transformation from leftist satire to right-wing conspiracy evidence. His investigation traces the document's complete lifecycle, from its Vietnam War-era origins through its adoption by militia movements, offering insights into how both left and right share deep suspicions of centralized authority while maintaining their mutual antipathy. Tinline's analysis reveals the "horseshoe phenomenon" where political extremes converge around distrust of government power, particularly the post-1945 national security apparatus that emerged after World War II.
FOLLOW PHIL TINLINE ON TWITTER: https://x.com/phil_tinline
MORE INFORMATION ON THE BOOK: https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Ghosts-of-Iron-Mountain/Phil-Tinline/9781668050491
When Seth Rogen's stoner comedy The Interview sparked an international crisis in 2014, it exposed the hidden connections between Hollywood entertainment and U.S. foreign policy. Investigative journalist Tim Shorrock reveals how the film's graphic depiction of Kim Jong Un's assassination wasn't just a creative choice — it was lauded by RAND Corporation analyst Bruce Bennett, who viewed the movie as a psychological operation to undermine North Korea's regime. Following the devastating Sony hack that was immediately blamed on North Korea, Shorrock published an article connecting the film to the Obama administration's militaristic approach toward the Korean Peninsula, only to be publicly dismissed by Rogen as "crazy." This episode explores the complex 80-year history of U.S. - Korea relations, from the post-WWII division of Korea to missed opportunities for peace, while examining how a Hollywood comedy became a vehicle for propaganda and geopolitical messaging; and why the official narrative about who actually hacked Sony may not be the whole story.
Discover how the CIA secretly operated as America's “hidden Ministry of Culture” during the Cold War, using abstract expressionism as a weapon against Soviet influence. The episode explores the fascinating paradox of how the CIA championed artists like Jackson Pollock abroad as symbols of American creative freedom while this same art movement faced ridicule at home. Learn about the Museum of Modern Art's crucial role in legitimizing abstract expressionism and how this cultural operation was eventually exposed by Ramparts magazine in the late 1960s.
From elaborate funding schemes to Hollywood partnerships today, this story illuminates how intelligence agencies don't just hide information—they actively shape our cultural mythology to serve strategic objectives.
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In January 2002, a man in a homemade superhero costume armed with guns, a sword, and smoke bombs broke into the exclusive Bohemian Grove retreat in California. His mission? To save children he believed were being sacrificed to the ancient god Moloch by some of America's most powerful men.
This episode tells the remarkable story of Richard McCaslin, aka The Phantom Patriot, whose journey from aspiring superhero to conspiracy-fueled vigilante eerily foreshadowed our current era of weaponized misinformation. The parallels between McCaslin's 2002 raid and the 2016 Pizzagate incident at Comet Ping Pong are striking — both men were convinced they would rescue trafficked children based on conspiracy theories, found nothing, and ended up behind bars. McCaslin's story reveals how genuine concerns about power and inequality can be twisted into dangerous delusions, and how the line between superhero and villain becomes blurred when reality is filtered through misinformation.
GUEST: Tea Krulos is an author and journalist specializing in fringe subcultures and unique characters. His books include Heroes in the Night about the real-life superhero community and American Madness, which chronicles his eight-year relationship with the Phantom Patriot.
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In 2016, American embassy personnel in Cuba began reporting strange sounds followed by debilitating symptoms - ear pain, headaches, dizziness, and cognitive difficulties. Quickly labeled as attacks by a mysterious sonic weapon, these incidents led to diplomatic breakdowns and accusations against foreign adversaries.
This episode explores the science of mass psychogenic illness and how normal physiological responses to stress can manifest as real physical symptoms. And it reveals how institutional failures by government agencies, media outlets, and even prestigious medical journals amplified a narrative that fit political agendas despite contradicting scientific evidence.
From the Salem witch trials to modern diplomatic crises, this story demonstrates how our beliefs shape our perception of reality, and how these psychological mechanisms can be exploited to advance geopolitical interests.
GUEST: Dr. Robert Bartholomew is a medical sociologist and Lecturer on Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand who has spent over 35 years studying mass psychogenic illness. Co-author of Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria, Bartholomew specializes in how beliefs can manifest as genuine physical symptoms in otherwise healthy individuals. With dozens of published articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and part of his PhD focused on this phenomenon, he offers critical insight into how social factors influence our health experiences. Bartholomew approaches these topics with scientific rigor while making complex psychological concepts accessible, helping audiences understand how cultural context shapes our interpretation of ambiguous physical sensations.
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On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by a 24-year-old Palestinian immigrant named Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. While Sirhan was immediately apprehended and later convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy theories have persisted for over five decades. These theories center on apparent inconsistencies in the official investigation, including FBI reports suggesting more bullet holes than Sirhan's eight-shot revolver could have produced, autopsy evidence indicating Kennedy was shot from behind at point-blank range while witnesses placed Sirhan in front of him, and claims that Sirhan was "hypno-programmed" and has no memory of the shooting.
Dan Moldea is an investigative journalist who spent years investigating the case — conducting polygraph tests, prison interviews with Sirhan, and meticulous examination of the evidence that had fueled conspiracy theories for decades. What he discovered about the supposed "extra bullets," the ballistics inconsistencies, and the flawed original investigation would fundamentally change his understanding of what really happened that night at the Ambassador Hotel.
For more info, check out Dan’s book The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity.
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In 1995, a woman named Cathy O'Brien published a book containing some of the most shocking allegations ever made against the American government. She claimed to be a survivor of Project Monarch, a classified CIA mind control program where she was programmed through systematic trauma to serve as a sex slave to presidents, politicians, and global elites. Her accusations included being hunted for sport by Dick Cheney and having occult symbols carved into her body by Hillary Clinton.
This episode explores how Project Monarch emerged at the intersection of documented history and conspiracy theory. While the CIA's MK-ULTRA mind control experiments were real and declassified in the 1970s, Project Monarch has never been substantiated by credible evidence. Yet this urban legend has evolved into one of the most persistent conspiracy theories of our time, now encompassing claims about celebrity programming, the Illuminati's control of the entertainment industry, and the use of butterfly imagery as secret signals.
Interviews by Tyler Rabbit
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In 1986, experimental musician and provocateur Boyd Rice wrote a fan letter that would have devastating consequences. The recipient wasn't a fellow artist, but James Mason — the author of an obscure neo-Nazi newsletter whose violent ideas would soon become known around the world.
This episode traces how Mason's newsletter Siege! evolved from fringe extremist literature into a modern blueprint for terrorism. We explore Mason's journey from teenage American Nazi Party member to Charles Manson devotee, and how his concept of “leaderless resistance” — advocating lone wolf terrorist attacks — became the strategic foundation for contemporary white supremacist violence.
GUEST: Spencer Sunshine, antifascist researcher and author of Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason’s Siege
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In this episode we look at the death of freelance journalist Danny Casolaro, who was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Martinsburg, West Virginia. This was ruled a suicide, but circumstances surrounding the case raised questions. Casolaro had been investigating what he called “The Octopus,” a sprawling conspiracy that connected intelligence agencies, organized crime, and international arms dealers. The episode also examines the role of Lyndon LaRouche's intelligence network in spreading misinformation (and sometimes, credible information).
GUESTS INCLUDE a number of journalists familiar with crimes and conspiracies, including Martin Kilian, Jack Calhoun, and Dan Moldea. We also speak with Casolaro’s cousin, the playwright Dominic Orlando.
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In this week’s episode, Joseph L. Flatley investigates the infamous Finders case—a 1987 incident where two well-dressed men and six disheveled children in a Tallahassee park sparked nationwide panic about satanic cults and child trafficking. What began as a routine police call transformed into one of the internet's most persistent conspiracy theories, fueled by leaked government documents claiming evidence of “satanic ceremonies” and an international child trafficking operation.
Through exclusive interviews with those directly involved, including two of the children (now adults) who were at the center of the controversy, this episode reveals the shocking truth: the Finders were neither CIA operatives nor satanic cultists, but an unconventional community with an alternative approach to child-rearing that clashed with mainstream values during the height of the Satanic Panic.
GUESTS INCLUDE Mary and Max, two of the Finders children, who reflect on their experience growing up in this controversial community.
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Dive into the shocking story of Paul Bennewitz, a physicist and military contractor whose innocent observations near Kirtland Air Force Base triggered one of the most elaborate government disinformation campaigns in history.
This episode unravels how Air Force intelligence agents deliberately fed Bennewitz false information about alien bases, cattle mutilations, and government-extraterrestrial treaties—ultimately driving him to mental breakdown, while simultaneously creating the blueprint for modern UFO mythology.
Whether you're a UFO enthusiast or skeptic, this eye-opening investigation reveals the dangerous intersection of government secrecy, psychological manipulation, and belief formation. Discover how the stories first planted in the Bennewitz Affair continue shaping conspiracy culture four decades later—and why we should question even the most compelling "whistleblower" revelations.
THIS WEEK’S GUEST: Adam Gorightly is an author, researcher, and self-described “crackpot historian.” His book Saucers, Spooks, and Kooks: UFO Disinformation in the Age of Aquarius explores how government agencies have manipulated UFO mythology. Gorightly's other works include The Prankster and the Conspiracy, Historia Discordia, and Caught in the Crossfire: Kerry Thornley, Lee Oswald and the Garrison Investigation.
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From distinguished FBI agent to conspiracy kingpin: Journey inside the mind of Ted Gunderson, whose investigation of the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case launched his transformation from respected law enforcement official to professional conspiracy theorist.
This episode of A Paranoid’s History of the United States follows Gunderson's evolution as he chases phantom cults, promotes tales of government mind control, and claims to expose vast underground child trafficking networks. Through interviews with former colleagues and investigators, we reveal how his FBI credentials lent dangerous credibility to outlandish theories that continue to influence American society today.
Whether you're fascinated by true crime, conspiracy culture, or the hidden forces that shape our collective beliefs, this deep dive into Gunderson's "reign of error" illuminates how yesterday's paranoia became today's viral misinformation.
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In 1993, the 51-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas ended in tragedy with 76 people dead, including 25 children. For William Cooper, former Naval Intelligence officer turned conspiracy broadcaster, this wasn't just another government operation gone wrong—it was the smoking gun that validated everything he had been warning his listeners about.
This episode examines how Waco transformed Cooper from a UFO researcher into one of the most influential voices in the American militia movement. We explore how Cooper's military background shaped his worldview, his complex relationship with the UFO community, and how his radio show The Hour of the Time provided the ideological foundation for the modern American conspiracy landscape. The episode also examines Cooper's contentious relationship with a young Alex Jones, revealing how the torch of conspiracy broadcasting passed from one generation to the next.
Cooper's story—ending with his death in a shootout with law enforcement in 2001—offers a window into how fringe ideas about government power moved from the margins into the mainstream, and how a single tragedy in Texas became the catalyst for decades of anti-government sentiment that continues to shape America today.
GUEST: Mark Jacobson is a veteran journalist and author known for his deep dives into American subcultures and fringe movements. His work has appeared in prestigious publications including New York Magazine, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. In Pale Horse Rider, Jacobson delivers the definitive biography of William “Bill” Cooper.
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