The Feral House Podcast

Weirdumentary

Ancient Aliens, Fallacious Prophecies, and Mysterious Monsters

From 1970s Documentaries

By Gary D. Rhodes

Foreword by Stephen R. Bissette

Dive into the forgotten world of pseudo-scientific documentaries!

Unlock the secrets of the strangest cinematic phenomenon of the 1970s with Weirdumentary—the ultimate guide to the bizarre, the unexplained, and the wildly entertaining films and television programs that blurred the line between fact and fantasy.

Weirdumentary examines dozens of movies and tv series, sold to the unsuspecting public as documentaries, beginning with Chariots of the Gods (1970) and ending with The Man Who Saw Tomorrow (1981). Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of makes an appearance, so does Orson Wells in his late-career role of sinister yet skeptical narrator. Featuring spurious experts, questionable evidence, and low-budget dramatizations, these pseudo-scientific documentaries examined subjects ranging from the Bermuda Triangle to Bigfoot, from the paranormal to speculative histories.

Weirdumentary is a fun and accessible collection of essays by film scholar Gary D. Rhodes. Acclaimed comic book artist, writer, and historian Stephen R. Bissette, best known for his groundbreaking work on DC Comics' Swamp Thing alongside Alan Moore, provides the foreword.

Features hundreds of archival film posters, set photos, and other images in this beautifully designed homage to the high weirdness that shaped a nation of pop culture mavens.

Weirdumentary is a must for fans of cinema and pop culture of the 1970s!

Gary D. Rhodes is a renowned film historian and author with a passion for uncovering the forgotten stories of horror cinema. He’s a world expert on Bela Lugosi and how Dracula is portrayed in films. When he's not diving into dusty film archives, Gary can be found teaching, lecturing, or working on his next independent film.

The Return of Black Nationalism and the Death of White Supremacy delves into the dynamic history and powerful future of Black nationalism in the United States. Professor Vincent Adejumo takes readers on a fascinating journey through time, unraveling the rich history of Black nationalism and its role as a steadfast defense against white supremacy.

He shines a light on the remarkable individuals and leaders who have shaped Black American identity from the 1700s to the present, bringing their stories to life with vivid detail and insightful analysis.

The history of resistance provides the blueprint for a new pathway to Black power and demonstrates how embracing Black nationalism helps all Americans. Discover a different America through Adejumo’s eyes, where the concept of ‘Separate but Equal’ is reinterpreted and the essence of Blackness is celebrated.

Features dozens of historical images and a powerful foreword by Dr. Adeyemi Doss. Activist, musician, and artist Chuck D. created original artwork specifically for the book's cover.

This is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the profound impact of Black Nationalism on America’s past, present, and future.

Dr. Vincent Edward Oluwole Adejumo is the founder of the Olu Institute of Learning Inc. and a public lecturer for the Florida Humanities Council. His work is focused on the African American experience, particularly in the Southern United States. Dr. Adejumo holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Florida, with a specialization in policy and administration. The Return of Black Nationalism and the Death of White Supremacy is his first book.

Christina speaks with Jeff about the creation and edit process of his book and shares fun and funny stories about Holly and trying to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter. More about Jeff's book, Love You Madly, Hollywoodlawn...

Holly Woodlawn, once lauded by George Cukor for her performance in the 1970 Warhol production, Trash, was washed up. Over. Kaput. She was living in a squalid Hollywood apartment with her dog and bottles of Chardonnay. A chance meeting with starry-eyed corn-fed Missouri-born Jeff Copeland, who moved to Hollywood with dreams of ‘making it’ as a television writer, changed the course of BOTH of their lives forever.

Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn is the story of how an unlikely friendship with a young gay writer and an, ahem, mature trans actress and performer created the bestselling autobiography of 1991, A Low Life in High Heels. This book about writing a book is a celebration of chutzpa and love as Holly, the embodiment of Auntie Mame, introduces Jeff to the glamorous (and sometimes larcenous) world of a Warhol Superstar. In turn, Jeff uses his writing (and typing) talent to give Holly the second chance at fame she craved.

Hilarious and heartwarming, Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn is a portrait of the real Holly who loved deeply, laughed loudly, and left mayhem in her wake. Features dozens of archival and personal photographs, including a full-color insert of rarely seen editorial fashion portraits. Foreword by queer icon and author, Simon Doonan.

Cold Glitter is available worldwide at fine booksellers and internet retailers. And directly from Feral House.

Cold Glitter is a province-by-province walking tour of the soft sequined underbelly I never knew I had, as a so-called Canadian. It is enlightening and hilarious and in the end inspiring. Cold Glitter creates a home for the perverse and the ecstatic, in a nation vehemently down on both.” Dan Bejar, musician (Destroyer, and member of The New Pornographers).

 Robert Dayton taps his Canadian roots to reveal mind-blowing stories of musicians who performed and recorded equally mind-blowing music full of PIZZAZZAMATAZZ.

It's a universal story of determined musicians striving to get their songs heard and maybe get a little famous…Canada famous. Dayton has spent years researching and interviewing these ground-breaking musicians trapped by geography, colonial mindsets, and the difficulties of penetrating the cultural behemoth that is the United States. 

Readers everywhere will find solidarity with the all-too-familiar story of artists daring to be different. The struggle to be fabulous are requires makeup, elaborate costumes, and endless miles through the frozen tundra. Cold Glitter is filled with anecdotes of fun and mayhem.

Meet familiar names like magician Doug Henning, Vancouver band Sweeney Todd and their lead singer Nick Gilder, and his replacement, Bryan Adams, to underground heroes like The Dishes, No Fun, and Thor and the numerous musicians who put away their mascara and left their glamorous wild days behind.

Originally from Fort St. John, British Columbia, Robert Dayton is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, performer, and comedian who has been in such musical acts as Canned Hamm and July Fourth Toilet. His previous book was The Empty Bed.

“The always-entertaining Robert Dayton details a mysterious, undocumented scene that was hiding in plain sight up North. Written with the enthusiasm of a renegade entomologist who just uncovered a rare, precious, and peculiar bee, the book is loaded with colorful characters and alternate-universe tales.” Gregg Turkington, actor, writer, and comedian best known for his character, Neil Hamburger.

Michael Lee Nirenberg and I have been friends for years. He began his career in documentary film. (Check out: Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story.) He still works in the film and television industry and brings a filmmaker's eye to his first book, Earth A.D: The Poisoning of the American Landscape and the Communities that Fought Back.

The environment and the history of how humans fuck it up is an important one. Earth A.D. is by no means an obituary of planet earth, it's the story of people coming together to figure out how to fix things.  It's our job now to continue that work.  

Here's what I wrote about Earth A.D. in our press release:

"The environmental gains of the last fifty years are quickly falling away as the federal government repeals the very laws that allowed citizen activists to fight for their communities. We've forgotten that not too long ago, rivers were aflame from toxic waste and the ground saturated with cancer-causing chemicals. Earth A.D. The Poisoning of the American Landscape and the Communities that Fought Back is the sweeping oral history of two American communities poisoned by big business and what happened next.

Of the all too many stories generated by the egregious corruption of the Trump administration, the decimation of the EPA, and any rules regulating the environment is going unnoticed."

As always, thanks for listening.

Welcome to another episode of the Feral House podcast. In this conversation, Christina discusses the newest Process title written by Mary Ann Cherry, Morris Kight: Humanist, Liberationist, Fantabulist–A Story of Gay Rights and Gay Wrongs.

Morris is a fascinating character and our conversation takes us in many directions. Have a listen!

Here is more about Mary Ann's book: Morris Kight: Humanist, Liberationist, Fantabulist–A Story of Gay Rights and Gay Wrongs.

New York and San Francisco gay liberation activists’ work is well documented but allow us to introduce Los Angeles' preeminent gay rights pioneer―say hello to Morris Kight.

You think you know Harley Flanagan but I assure you—you don't know Harley Flanagan. 

His September 2016 memoir, Hard-Core: A Life of My Own recounted his bohemian childhood and adolescence that would have been story enough, but Harley also played drums in his Aunt Mercedes' band (The Stimulators) before forming the legendary Cro-Mags.  

He has a new record out soon and was the first to live stream a "quarantine concert" when the Cro-Mags show opening for Ice-T's Body Count on March 15th was canceled by the necessary stay-at-home order in New York City.

In this episode, recorded on April 7, 2020 when Covid-19 deaths were just about to peak in New York City, our conversation turned to difficult topics.  Harley and I are near the same age, and we've both experienced the loss of close friends to suicide.  We talk about the difficulty of overcoming both tragic circumstances outside of your control but more importantly, making the choice to change yourself and your actions.

I think it's important to make this point: fame (or infamy) doesn't equal wealth.  And money, though it gives you more choices, doesn't equal happiness.  The story Harley tells about his life now, nearly five years after the release of his book, is inspiring.  There isn't a magic formula here. It's about thinking about who you want to be as a human and making the choices that help you become that person. The path is long and the work is hard. You gotta show up.

If you've ever felt the numbness of despair; get help. Seriously. There are people who can and will help you. Here's a few phone numbers and websites where you can get immediate assistance:

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): (800) 662-4357. Available 24/7, 365 days a year, the professionals on the phone can provide treatment information and referrals in English and Spanish to people who have questions about mental health or substance abuse disorders.

Veterans Crisis Line: (800) 273-8255 and press “1”. This toll-free hotline is available for veterans and their loved ones. You can also send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential, free support and referrals.

If you're unable to "talk" try the Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741. This service is available 24/7 and provides free crisis support and information via text.

In this episode, Christina speaks with Jack Roberts author of Sheela-na-Gig: Sacred Celtic Images of Feminine Divinity (Process).  They discuss early church history, the significance of the carvings, the uneasy marriage of the Roman and Celtic church in Ireland, and the role of architecture in developing a symbolic language of sculpture.

Please note that when you purchase our books via Bookshop.org, a percentage of the sales is shared between independent publishers and bookstores. Support Bookshop.org!

Sheela-na-gig, the squatting, bald woman with comically large ears holding herself open in the most blatant way has long been a figure of mystery throughout Ireland where the stone statues are most prevalent. A multiplicity of theories have left Sheela-na-gigs the subject of curiosity. Researcher Jack Roberts has spent decades documenting and discovering Sheela-na-gigs in all her incarnations. His work places them as a critical element of Gaelic and Celtic culture at the crossroads of the Christian conversion of Ireland. 

Jack references a few items of note in this episode. Click here for Jack's website.  He also mentions the Sheela at Killinaboy Church, located west of the legendary Lisdoonvarna in County Clare. 

My particular favorite Sheela is located at Dunnaman Castle, about 15 minutes from my great-grandmother's town of Shanagolden, Limerick.

Hello fiends!

Aton Edwards is the Executive Director of the International Preparation Network, which was founded in the early 1990s. He has devoted his life to teaching people the skills they need to survive a changing world. Aton wrote Preparedness Now! for our Process Self-Reliance imprint. He is currently working on Afroprep NOW! 7 Steps to Surviving Climate Change, Disasters, and Racists in a World that’s Trying to Kill You, which is slated for publication in Fall of 2020.

Aton and I discuss the coronavirus and covid-19 and the reality of what we can to protect ourselves and our families.

If you're part of the Feral Family—and if you're reading/listening to this, then we consider you consider you part of the Family—you are familiar with both Adam's interest in historic back-to-land movements as well as modern preparedness skills. And by now, you've heard that I'm both a Stoic and the Master Food Preserver for my region; this means I'm well-versed in how to both preserve food and prevent pathogenic infestation.  That being said, a few additional items I want to share with you.

Our Self-Reliance Series is rooted in the idea that experts share their practical and useable skills. They are not "prepper-porn" books filled with deluxe bomb shelters and wasted resources. Preparedness Now! by Aton and Preservation—The Art and Science of Canning, Fermentation, and Dehydration by me are about a mindset and skillset that can be used to add value to your life every day as well as build resilience in tough situations. Preparing for the future is something that should be done all the time and not when the "bad thing" happens. 

The second item I want to stress, and I know that Feral folks aren't indulging in the weak-minded panic thinking that has currently taken hold in the United States, is that things like new pathogens and weather-related disasters are increasing. And will continue to grow. This is not the time to isolate yourself mentally. Build your intellectual and psychological strength. Nurture the relationships that are important to you. Build your tribe.  The great myth of preparedness and survival is that it is a singular endeavor; it is not. I'll say it again—build your tribe.

You can purchase Aton's book, Preparedness NOW! here: https://bookshop.org/books/7010890/9781934170090

and my book, Preservation here: https://bookshop.org/books/7010907/9781934170694

Ryan Holiday is a Stoic enthusiast and has written many popular books interpreting Stoic philosophy. Here is a list of excellent (Stoic-influenced) suggestions for thriving during the current crisis.

• Practice social distancing: as much as possible, stay away from people outside of your family. Avoid social events and public gatherings, work from home if possible. If you have employees, do what you can so they can do the same. And implement common-sense measures so that your employees and customers are safe: reduce face-to-face interactions as much as possible, grant generous sick leave, and limit the number of customers at a single time.

A rare conversation with the spokesperson for The Residents and employee of the Cryptic Corporation, Homer Flynn.

Homer & Christina discuss The Residents' new novel, The Brickeaters and the power of anonymous art. Rare insights into the creative collective mind of The Residents.