Programmed to Chill

[originally published on Patreon Nov 1, 2022]

Today's the first of two episodes on the hardboiled novelist Dashiell Hammett. Today I go through the first half of Hammett's life, including his early life and family history, his time as a Pinkerton operative, and what being a Pinkerton op entailed. I discuss the Mining Wars and tell the story of Frank Little, an IWW organizer. I finish the episode with a discussion of the novel, Red Harvest.

Note: the Hammett episodes are, I believe, the last episodes with annoying sound quality issues, for which I apologize.

Songs:

There is Power in a Union by Utah Phillips

The Ballad of Frank Little by Dusty the Kid

[originally published on Patreon Dec 7, 2021]

Today's episode is nuts. I don't hear anyone referring to Salinger as a spy, and yet he was very much a spy. He served in the army's counterintelligence corps where, as it turns out, he saw some remarkable and horrific things.

Then possibly got brainwashed by Nazis? I'm legitimately not joking; he was at least in the position to be brainwashed. After that, he married a Nazi spy and brought her to the US. I discuss his spiritual dilettantism, and then I go over the Joyce Maynard affair, pulling out a few very curious details that rarely get addressed.

Then of course I talk about the curious role the Catcher in the Rye has played in various assassinations, and what might be in the novel that would catch the eye of an assassin. To wrap it up, I discuss the possibility that the novel contains Freemasonic themes and messages.

Songs:

"Catcher in the Rye" - Dandy Warhols

"fais moi mal Johnny" - Boris Vian

"Catcher in the Rye" - GRANT

"Everything is Gonna Be Alright" - John Hinckley Jr.

note from the archivist:

Jimmy did not write episode notes for the remaining episodes. However, an explanation is required. umgelenkt. Jimmy wrote these episodes, recorded them, and then began writing a book on WerBell. He wrote expanded the podcast manuscript into a book (and fixed some errors) but was required to stop writing for personal reasons. Jimmy did not stop due to what he found.

incredibly hard artwork by Robert Voyvodic (@rvoy__)

Songs:

Let’s Have a War by Fear

[originaly published on Patreon Nov 16, 2021]

In case you've ever wondered what the political fallout from a massacre is like, this is your episode. Brave Colonel Varela faced obfuscation and misdirection from Yrigoyen's government, attacks from the socialists in Congress, attacks in the press, silence, and eventually a "promotion". Then, Varela was blown up, and the chain of revenge spins out from there. It's quite a story, though!

[originally published on Patreon

Today's all about Edward Bulwer-Lytton, whose works are very unique. His writing was incredibly popular and full of high strangeness, if not outright occult themes. In this episode, I talk about The Last Days of Pompeii, Zanoni, and Vril: the Power of the Coming Race.

I also discuss the Morning of the Magicians, a curious work by some French journalists that discusses (among other things) esoteric Nazism and how it intersects with Vril. I also talk about Willy Ley, an interesting German science fiction author.

To wrap it up, I examine Bulwer-Lytton's family and political legacy, and that of his children. Milner, Rhodes, and the RIIA come up, and so do the British Theosophical networks in India and Germany. Then I confront the Dope Inc. thesis that there was a "cult of Isis" that British elites sought to foster.

songs:

Flaming Lips - "In the Morning of the Magicians"

Brahmastra - "The Vril Society"

(btw after recording it was later verified that Brahmastra is NSBM which is bad but it was too specific not to use)