Programmed to Chill

Third of three episodes on the Crying of Lot 49, I'm joined by Dr. Pig Bodine aka CJ (@Pussy___Teeth) and Boyd Beaver (@Boyd_Beaver) to discuss Thomas Pynchon's 1966 novel, the Crying of Lot 49. In this episode, I (@JimmyFalunGong) walk us through the Nazi connections in the Crying of Lot 49, specifically in relation to MKULTRA. 

To do that, we present Programmed to Chill Masterpiece Theatre (thanks to Alex @mrcheesepills for performing our Dr. Hilarius), two partial performances of passages from the novel. I discuss some underappreciated aspects to LSD history in the US, discuss Henry Murray, Uncle Ted, and the Holocaust. Finally, we attempt to find a way out of the exitlessness as prescribed by Thomas Pynchon's novel.

Songs:

Psychotic Reaction by the Count Five

Interstellar Overdrive by Pink Floyd

Second of three episodes on the Crying of Lot 49, I'm joined by Dr. Pig Bodine aka CJ (@Pussy___Teeth) and Boyd Beaver (@Boyd_Beaver) to discuss Thomas Pynchon's 1966 novel, the Crying of Lot 49. In this episode, Boyd walks us through the surprisingly interesting and relevant 16th century Dutch revolution and its importance to the novel. He explains to us how postal systems and intelligence went hand in hand and how many of the characters from the confounding Jacobean revenge play of the novel are real people. Boyd lays out what Pynchon is getting at, and does a fantastic job doing the deeper dives into history that Pynchon's novels encourage of its readers. To conclude, we go out with another one of CJ's loving renditions of Pynchon's songs.

Episode 2 Song:

Serge's Song by Pussy Teeth

First of three episodes on the Crying of Lot 49, I'm joined by Dr. Pig Bodine aka CJ (@Pussy___Teeth) and Boyd Beaver (@Boyd_Beaver) to discuss Thomas Pynchon's 1966 novel, the Crying of Lot 49. In this episode we lay the groundwork for our discussion, spend time deconstructing the popular academic interpretations of the novel, and ask the vital question, "what is the point of academia?" Also, we go out with one of CJ's loving renditions of Pynchon's songs.

Episode 1 Songs:

I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night by the Electric Prunes

My Daddy, My Doggie, and Me by Pussy Teeth

To celebrate the show's anniversary, I'm unlocking what just might be the best episode I've ever done. Today I talk about a MKULTRA subproject studying sexual psychopaths; I believe it vindicates McGowan's Programmed to Kill thesis. This is truly insane stuff, and I don't believe anyone's made these connections before. I couldn't believe it.

Songs:

Piano and String Quartet by Morton Feldman (shout-out to whoever said it would be great in an episode, you weren't kidding)

Murder Company by Church of Misery

Today I'm joined by Bill (@BTH_Bill) and Boltzmann Booty (@BoltzmannBooty) to discuss the Oklahoma City Bombing generally and Andreas Strassmeir specifically. They walk us through the basics of the bombing and some reasons to doubt the official 'lone wolf' narrative. We discussed the 1988 Sedition Trial, the nature of informants and provocateurs, and got into the life of Strassmeir. They made a convincing case that Strassmeir was an informant based on his prior counterintelligence work, behavior, and actions. They explained Vincent Petruskie, Strassmeir's extracurricular activities, his visa, PATCON, Dave Holloway, the infamous traffic stop, and Elohim City.

Bill and Boltzmann Booty walked us through the body of evidence linking Strassmeir to Timothy McVeigh and the bombing plot, Strassmeir's escape, and his subsequent activities. Finally, we attempted to come to an understanding of what happened at Oklahoma City.

Links:

The OKC Bombing Archive at the Libertarian Institute: https://libertarianinstitute.org/okc/

@BoltzmannBooty threads: https://twitter.com/BoltzmannBooty/status/1427054422572642313?t=lR2q5dCvrvGFO51_vuv-Lg&s=19

JD Cash: www.constitution.org/1-Corruption/okc/jdt05-07.htm

Aberration in the Heartland of the Real by Dr. Wendy Painting: https://trineday.myshopify.com/products/aberration-in-the-heartland-of-the-real

Songs:

Comancheria by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Lord of the Plains by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Comancheria II by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Today we wind the clock back a bit and discuss some geopolitics to better contextualize Imperial Japan, and to understand the different factions within the Japanese government. Specifically, we talk about the pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions, who they were, who backed them, and how the alignments worked. From there, we discuss the Ōtsu Incident, weirdly not very well-known in the West, which was when a Japanese police officer attempted to assassinate the Tsarevich Nikolai II on a visit to Japan. This prompted a massive international incident. You know I have to get a bit nutty discussing the would-be assassin. To wrap it up, I discuss a few more obscure Japanese secret societies, and the Russo-Japanese war.

Note: over time the free episode feed will post less regularly, eventually down to maybe one episode a month, but for now, it'll probably be every other week

Song:

Jazz Suite, Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich

Today we finish the story of Yoshiko Kawashima, covering the decline of her career. Along the way, Yoshiko starts a restaurant, she hangs out with the actress Yoshiko Yamaguchi, and Ryōichi Sasakawa make an appearance. We go over the demise of more of her lovers, and discuss her pet monkeys. Ultimately, Yoshiko is put on trial and executed. To wrap it up, we talk about what happened to her family in communist China and come to some conclusion about her life.

Song:

Mata Hari by Efendi

We pick up on the story of Yoshiko Kawashima in Shanghai; she left for Manchuria shortly after the Manchurian Incident. This is where she interacts with Emperor Puyi, and when Kawashima starts working for Ryukichi Tanaka of Japanese military intelligence. We discuss Kawashima's role in the Shanghai Incident, and then her role leading 'Vigilance Corps' in Rehe. To conclude, we discuss the nature of the state of Manchukuo.

Songs:

She Wonders Why by Whitey Smith

Nighttime Shanghai Dance by Whitey Smith

Part 1 out of 3

You know I had to revisit the life of Yoshiko Kawashima, Japan's gender-nonconforming ethnic Manchu princess and spy. This episode sets the stage, discussing Kawashima's biological and adopted fathers, the circumstances surrounding her childhood, her inspirations, suitors, and the first indications that a legend was being contrived. We follow her life up to her marriage with a Mongol military officer - generally everything before she became famous.

Song:

Numb (Linkin Park cover) by Kuular

Today I'm joined by Rob McKenzie, the author of El Golpe: US Labor, the CIA, and the Coup at Ford in Mexico, to discuss the CIA's subversion of the international labor movement. He takes us through a crash course on modern US labor history and focuses on the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), a little-known organization that played an outsized role in geopolitics through its role in labor. Along the way we discuss James Jesus Angleton, George Meany, Jay Lovestone, the Reuther brothers, and meet several very interesting characters. 

We discuss AIFLD's role in Guyana, Brazil, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Chile as setup to discuss the potentially revolutionary context of Mexico in the 1980s. That's when the strikes at Ford Cuautitlán led to a massacre due to the involvement of AIFLD and other actors. It's a great interview for an exceptional book.

Links:

https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745345628/el-golpe/

Songs:

UAW-CIO by Pete Seeger

Luz y Sombra by Ry Cooder