Oki is a Canadian documentarian with a keen eye for unusual subject matter. We spoke to him back in January when he infiltrated a cabal of conspiracy theorists who use hypnosis to "prove" that there is a secret space program operating throughout the universe. His latest doc, The King of Stolen Valor, is a must-see. It is the story of Jonathan "Jack" Idema, a former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer who was found guilty of running a private prison in Afghanistan and torturing Afghan citizens. Idema was posing as a US government-sponsored special forces officer at the time. The US government claims no knowledge of his operations. After spending three years in an Afghan prison, he traveled to Mexico, where he died of AIDS in 2012. Oki's latest doc, The King of Stolen Valor is on YouTube. Oki on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OOHKAYEYE Oki's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OkiWeird/ Failed State Update newsletter: http://lennyflatley.substack.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support
Ravi lives in Silicon Valley, he's a former Google employee, and he’s a Targeted Individual. That is, he believes he has been the subject of high-tech surveillance and harassment. Whatever the cause of the trauma he has experienced, the trauma is very real. “I felt like committing a crime” at one point, he says. “I felt like avenging what happened to me.” But after learning that there is a whole community of people like him out there, he doesn’t feel so alone anymore. Besides, to do something drastic, he says, would be “in vain.” Today’s episode of Failed State Update is a conversation between Ravi and Joseph L. Flatley. Be sure to check out our feature article on the Targeted Individual phenomenon called “The Nightmare of Targeted Individuals in the Age of Paranoia” on the Failed State Update website. Failed State Update on Twitter: https://twitter.com/failedstatenews Failed State Update on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg8ztAapPSlqeHcEKeQAdmA --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support
Long-time friend of the show Lucien Greaves will be on FSU tonight. What will be talking about? The arson at the Satanic Temple's HQ? Probably. Sovereign Citizen death threats? Youbetcha. Satanic Panic? That is to be expected. Lucien Greaves on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucienGreaves Failed State Update on Twitter: https://twitter.com/failedstatenews Check out Failed State Update, the website: http://failedstateupdate.com Sign up for the newsletter: http://lennyflatley.substack.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support
We keep hoping that the Trump administration will become old news, but the stories of its incompetence and corruption keep coming. One of our favorites is Seven Days in January, a new podcast about Mark Burnett and Elizabeth Koch's failed attempt to turn the Presidential Inauguration into a reality series for Amazon Studios. According to our guests, the deal "evaporated as quickly as it appeared, leaving ominous questions to linger around F.T.C. oversight of Amazon’s $8.5 billion MGM Studios acquisition and their knowledge of 20 hours of unaired footage." A new investigative journalism outlet called The Knows got its hand on the audio, and it's airing it on its new podcast for the first time. For more info, check out the website: https://www.theknows.net/ About the guests Rocco Castoro is the editor-in-chief of The Knows and used to be EIC of VICE Media, gaining awards and accolades while peeking behind the curtain of the news and media industry. After he resigned at an ethics conf...
Jack Brewer is a freelance writer with a longtime interest in the UFO genre. He maintains the blog "The UFO Trail," where he posts credible info on incredible topics. Brewer is the author of "The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community," in which he explores how public perception of the UFO phenomenon has been distorted by the intelligence community and suspect researchers. Neither a debunker nor a believer, Brewer integrates objectivity and critical thinking into his writing while keeping an open mind. His latest book is called "Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC." NICAP is one of the first UFO investigation organizations, and IC stands for "intelligence community." Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlSQcUGK7hQ Listen ad-free through Substack or Patreon Failed State Update on Twitter: https://twitter.com/failedstatenews Failed State Update website: https://roundtable.io/failed-state-update/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support
Douglas P. Horne is a former staffer for the Assassination Records Review Board and the author of several books, including Inside the Assassination Records Review Board. In this episode of Failed State Update, J.G. and Douglas discuss Operation Northwoods, the Pentagon's (very real) plan to down aircraft, blow up ships, or possibly kill American civilians as a pretext for an invasion of Cuba. President Kennedy, wisely, thought the whole thing was nuts and prevented it from happening. Northwoods is a bit of a history lesson, but it's an important one. It exemplifies the lengths that the military may go in order to get its way. And as conspiracies go, it's as bizarre as anything Alex Jones has cooked up. And it's all real. NEW! Episode transcript: https://roundtable.io/failed-state-update/podcasts/operation-northwoods-false-flags-in-the-pentagon-transcript J.G.'s otherpodcast, Parallax Views: https://parallaxviews.podbean.com/ Failed State Update newsletter: http://lennyflatley.substa...
In Tumacácori, Arizona, a stone’s throw from the U.S. border with Mexico, roughly 85 “destiny reservists” await their fate. They are the followers of Gabriel of Urantia. Born Anthony J. Delevin in Pittsburgh in 1946, Gabriel’s life work is a community known as the Global Community Communications Alliance (GCCA). They live in a compound in the desert where they raise animals, harvest hemp, and study their prophet’s teachings. This is all in preparation for the end of this world, and the coming of the next. And the apocalypse, according to Gabriel, is closer now than it’s ever been. Last week, Paladin called the cult’s radio station KVAN-FM last week to address the people of Tucson on the air. “We are living in a transition period,” Gabriel/Paladin says in the voice of the trans-dimensional space creature. On today’s Failed State Update, former GCCA member Joshua Lilly listens to Gabriel's latest broadcast with us and helps us understand both the message and cult psychology in general. But first, J.G. and Lenny discuss Monarch mind-control conspiracies and why they are the perfect myth of our time. This is the subject of Monarch, the debut novel by Candice Wuehle. LINKS: Everything We Know About Gabriel of Urantia on Failed State Update Josh Lilly on living in (and being kicked out of) a destructive culton Failed State Update The Poetry and Majesty of Conspiracy Theoryon Failed State Update Candice Wuehle interviewed on Parallax Views Support J.G.'s work on Patreon Subscribe to the Failed State Update Substack --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support
We had so much fun doing the Failed State Jukebox a few weeks ago that we thought we'd try it again. Thanks to my (Lenny's) terrific administrative skills, J.G. Michael wasn't on the call. But don't worry, he'll be back next week! With author and journalist Mark Jacobson as our guide, we prevailed through 90 minutes of cult music, including: TaliasVan & the Bright & Morning Star Band: Let's Be Lovers (live) Jeremy Spencer: Can You Hear The Song Charles Manson: Cease to Exist The Beach Boys: Never Learn Not to Love Boney M: Rivers of Babylon The Melodians: Rivers of Babylon David Koresh: Rivers of Babylon Passion: Don't Stop Mobb Deep: Shook Ones, Pt. 2 Peoples Temple Choir: He's Able L. Ron Hubbard: Alien Visitors Attack Jim Kweskin Jug Band: Dark as a Dungeon But that's not all! Listen to the end, because Philadelphia's own Shy Boyz come on to discuss their cult covers album, American Idolz. They also share their rendition of "Energy Master," originally recorded by Gabriel of Urant...
Daniel Muessig is a Pittsburgh folk hero, mostly because of his over-the-top ad for his law practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_iaugcJW7Q Any day now he will go to prison for five years for conspiring to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possession of marijuana. He was busted by an FBI task force who ID'd him through a wiretap. Of course he broke the law, but should we be sending anyone to jail over marijuana? The fact is, even though we live in a world where marijuana is quasi-legal, there's still a prohibition —the illegal pot business is full of very shady people doing very dangerous stuff, which is why the rewards are so great. When Muessig was busted, they found almost half a million dollars in cash. What does it say about this country that someone would have to go to such lengths to pay off their student loans? Here's an epic 2-hour interview of Daniel Muessig conducted by JG Michael. They cover everything from American drug law to the Jewish mob histo...
In this episode of Failed State Update, J.G. Michael speaks with Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations about a scandal involving CAIR's Ohio chapter and a right-wing outfit called the Investigative Project on Terrorism. There is evidence that IPT has been spying on Muslim-American activists and working with the state of Israel to target American students activists. It's a bombshell story, one that's only going to get crazier as more details emerge. For more information, check out J.G.'s recent article on Failed State Update: https://roundtable.io/failed-state-update/reports/private-sector-snoops-caught-spying-on-muslim-activists-in-the-united-states New! Transcript for this interview: https://roundtable.io/failed-state-update/podcasts/edward-ahmed-mitchell-on-the-private-surveillance-of-muslim-americans --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/failedstateupdate/support