On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our annual Spooky Season series with a chilling deep dive into one of Hollywood’s most infamous real-life tragedies — the Twilight Zone: The Movie helicopter crash. Journalist Steve Chain, author of Fly By Night: The Secret Story of Steven Spielberg, Warner Bros., and the Twilight Zone Deaths, joins the show to uncover the haunting true story that forever changed the film industry.

Chain’s explosive investigation revisits the 1982 disaster that claimed the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two children on set — and the five-year legal battle that followed. Was it a tragic accident, or was there a cover-up to protect some of Hollywood’s most powerful names, including John Landis and Steven Spielberg? Chain pulls back the curtain on the shocking evidence, courtroom drama, and corporate maneuvering behind one of Tinseltown’s darkest chapters.

As part of Parallax Views’ spooky season lineup, this episode isn’t about ghosts or monsters — it’s about real-life horror: power, negligence, and the human cost of spectacle. If you’re fascinated by true crime, Hollywood scandals, media history, or the eerie intersection of fame and tragedy, you won’t want to miss this one.

On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our Halloween “spooky season” series with an episode exploring how true crime stories—particularly those involving serial killers—are brought to life on screen. Screenwriter Stephen Johnston joins the show to discuss the process of writing films about notorious figures like Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, and The Hillside Stranglers (Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi).

Johnston’s screenwriting credits include Chuck Parello’s Ed Gein (2000; aka In the Light of the Moon), starring Steve Railsback (known for his portrayal of Charles Manson in the 1976 TV film Helter Skelter) and Carrie Snodgress (Diary of a Mad Housewife); Matthew Bright’s darkly comic and controversial Ted Bundy (2002); and Parello’s The Hillside Strangler (2004), featuring C. Thomas Howell (Red Dawn) and Nicolas Turturro (NYPD Blue).

Most recently, Johnston wrote the screenplay for Chad Ferrin’s Ed Kemper, a biopic about “The Co-Ed Killer” that received its video-on-demand (VOD) release earlier this year.

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The Parallax Views spooky season series continues with a brand-new Halloween treat! Host J.G. Michael unearths a never-before-released conversation with Jason Nunes — a behind-the-scenes veteran of ’90s horror and B-movie filmmaking whose art department credits include NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD, LEPRECHAUN 2, PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III, and GHOULIES IV.

Nunes shares fascinating stories about the challenges and creativity of bringing low-budget horror films to life — from improvised effects and set design ingenuity to the unpredictable energy of 1990s horror production. He also offers firsthand memories of working with Warwick Davis, Brian Yuzna, Melinda Clarke, Richard Lynch, Screaming Mad George, Mickey Rooney, Bruce Payne, David Warner, and others, plus surprising anecdotes involving Corey Haim, Matt Damon, and Tobey Maguire. Oh, and we talk about the craziness of working with Jim Wynorski on Ghoulies IV!

Perfect for Halloween, this episode dives deep into the world of cult horror, practical effects, and the art department magic that defined a generation of B-movie filmmaking.

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

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On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our annual Halloween “spooky season” episodes with Marta McDowell, author of Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers. McDowell, known for her books connecting literature and horticulture, turns her attention to crime fiction and shows how gardens, plants, and gardeners themselves have played a surprisingly sinister role in the mystery tradition. From poisonous blooms slipped into a cup of tea to trowels and hedges concealing dark secrets, McDowell explores how the world of horticulture has provided inspiration, atmosphere, and even murder weapons for generations of writers. In this conversation, we discuss why gardens make such fertile ground for crime stories, how botany intersects with the genre’s history, and what these recurring motifs reveal about cultural attitudes towards nature, danger, and death.

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

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On this edition of Parallax Views, host J.G. Michael speaks with journalist and activist Hadas Thier, author of A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics, about her recent Nation magazine article, “How DSA Built Zohran Mamdani’s Electoral Machine.”

In this in-depth conversation, Thier breaks down how the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) powered Zohran Mamdani’s groundbreaking mayoral campaign in New York City, transforming it into a model for grassroots political organizing. She explains how DSA’s field-first strategy, volunteer-driven infrastructure, and commitment to democratic socialist politics built one of the most effective electoral machines in the country—mobilizing over 50,000 volunteers, knocking on millions of doors, and reshaping NYC’s political landscape.

J.G. and Hadas also explore what Mamdani’s victory means for the future of the left, working-class politics, and progressive movements across the United States. Could DSA’s organizing model become a roadmap for challenging the Democratic establishment nationwide?

Tune in for a timely discussion on DSA, Zohran Mamdani, democratic socialism, and the new era of grassroots political power in America.

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On this edition of Parallax Views, the Quincy Institute's Middle East program research fellow Dr. Annelle Sheline, known for resigning from the State Department over the Biden administration's handling of Gaza, returns to the program to discuss Trump, Israel, and the Gaza "peace talks" taking place in Egypt. She argues that these "peace talks" are a facade. We also discuss a number of topics related to Gaza and Israel including the way in which Israel's two year war has not brought back any hostages, the figure of Marwan Barghouti as a potential unifying figure amongst Palestinians, the corruption of the Palestinian Authority, report that Trump is fed up with Netanyahu and skepticism towards those reports, the changing relationship between the Gulf monarchy states and Israel, the incredible amount of death and destruction that has been wrought on Gaza in the past two years, and much, much more.

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On this edition of Parallax Views, Israeli dissident commentator Ori Goldberg returns to discuss the current situation in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank amid the U.S. President’s push for a Gaza peace deal. A frequent guest since the October 7th attacks and the subsequent bombing campaign, Goldberg offers insight into how Trump and the Gulf monarchies are growing increasingly frustrated with Israel—even without much sympathy for Palestinians.

We explore the dynamics of Israeli protests against the Gaza war and Goldberg’s analysis of the psychology driving the Israeli body politic. He also examines the rise of the Qatari/Iranian psyop conspiracy theory—the claim that graphic images from Gaza are fabrications meant to stoke anti-Israel sentiment—a narrative now spreading beyond Israel and recently echoed by Van Jones on Bill Maher’s Real Time.

Goldberg further critiques the alliances between pro-Israel figures and anti-Islam activists like Tommy Robinson, describing an “Alex Jones-ification” of Israeli politics centered on the “Islamo-wokeism” conspiracy theory, which portrays Islamists and the left as conspiring to destroy the West with Israel as the last line of defense. Along the way, he offers sharp criticisms of not only Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli right, but also Israeli liberals. The subject of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is also discussed.

All that and much more on this edition of Parallax Views.

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On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our annual Halloween "spooky season" series with a previously unreleased, wide-ranging conversation with Stephen Biro — filmmaker, writer, and the driving force behind the boutique cult label Unearthed Films. Known for bringing some of the most infamous extreme horror titles to audiences worldwide, Biro joins us for a wide-ranging discussion that veers from the psychedelic to the grotesque. Some of the conversation may not be for the faint of heart as we delve into why some people are drawn toward extreme horror like A Serbian Film or the Japanese Guinea Pig movies. We begin the conversation, however, talking about Biro's experiences tripping on LSD. After that we go all over the place discussing the old underground/bootleg tape trading circuit of the pre-streaming era, the world of boutique labels and how they're run, and how Stephen Biro brough Hong Kong's notorious "Category III" (essentially NC-17) movies like Herman Yau's shocker THE UNTOLD STORY, featuring an award-winning performance by Anthony Wong, to a wider audience in the U.S. We also go into some pretty weird tangents about all kinds of dark subject matter including the question of whether or not snuff is real, how Illuminati conspiracy theories influenced extreme horror movies like the American Guinea Pig movies, recent Unearthed Films titles like the Henry Lee Lucas biopic Confessions of a Serial Killer and the long-awaited anthology The Profane Exhibit (featuring such stalwart filmmakers of the genre as Cannibal Holocaust's Ruggero Deodato, the controversial Uwe Boll, Spanish filmmaking maverick Nacho Vigalondo, and others), body modification and Biro's script to an unmade sequel to Brian Yuzna's body horror cult classic Society, Srdjan Spasojevic's A Serbian Film and Biro's documentary on it called A Serbian Documentary, and much, much more. Again, this episode is about extreme horror movies so proceed with caution if you're squeamish.

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

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On this edition of Parallax Views, we begin our annual "Spooky Season" Halloween countdown with a chilling true crime story that shows how online conspiracy theories can spiral into dangerous cults — and even death. Journalist Tony Russo joins us to discuss his book Dragged into the Light: Truthers, Reptilians, Super Soldiers & Death Inside an Online Cult. Before QAnon captured headlines, there was Sherry Shriner, a self-styled online prophet whose bizarre mix of Bible prophecy, reptilian shapeshifter & super soldier conspiracies, and “orgone energy”— a mystical life force Shriner promoted as being able to fight demons, UFOs, clones, and "synthetic robotoids" — built a digital following with deadly consequences.

Russo — also featured in Season 2 of VICE’s The Devil You Know — unravels the disturbing saga of how Shriner manipulated followers through online talk radio, social media, and her infamous website, The Watcher Files. At the heart of this story are two tragedies: the 2017 killing of Steven Mineo, which left his girlfriend Barbara Rogers facing a murder charge, and the earlier 2012 death of 22-year-old Kelly Pingilley, a devoted Shriner follower who was found dead while wearing one of the cult’s “orgone” pendants. These cases reveal how apocalyptic paranoia and online manipulation can lead not only to broken lives but to fatal consequences.

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

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In this episode of Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael, I speak with renowned foreign policy expert Vali Nasr about his book Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History. We examine the historical roots of Iran’s political and strategic thinking, from the Persian Empire to the modern Islamic Republic, and explore how ideology, geopolitics, and domestic politics shape Iran’s approach to the world. Nasr explains how Iran perceives the United States and its foreign policy, and how this perception informs Tehran’s dealings with the U.S., its own diplomacy, and its long-term strategy. He also offers a reassessment of the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, arguing that while the U.S. supported it, the coup itself emerged organically from Iranian political dynamics. And yes, we will discuss the issue of Iran and its nuclear program, including what the strike against Fordow nuclear site entails for Iran.