Unlocked because I discuss Jeffrey Dahmer in the episode.  Yes, Ira Levin and William Peter Blatty were both spies, but What Does It Mean? I go through the careers of both authors and flag the times they worked for US intelligence, then how perhaps their writing was affected by that fact, and then the reverberations their work has had on society. With Levin, we meet the Ayn Rand circle, Malachi Martin, the weirdness of Rosemary's Baby, the Stepford Wives, the Boys From Brazil, Son of Rosemary, and so on. With Blatty, we discuss USIA, the Groucho Marx connection, the Ninth Configuration, the Exorcist, Mark David Chapman, the Zodiac, the Exorcist III, Dahmer, and I cite the great pd187 and Christopher Knowles on the Exorcist film.  To wrap it up, I discuss the "less well-known" David St. John, who weirdly corresponds with Candy Jones, and how the saga of Tom Dooley III shows that religious psyops are not exactly new. And the songs are pretty great this episode too, lol. Songs: Black Sabbath by Coven Pact with Lucifer by Coven Wicked Woman by Coven excerpts from the Exorcist soundtrack Room 213 by Church of Misery

Today I'm joined by Laihall to discuss Indigenous history as parapolitics, or as Laihall pointed out, parapolitics is indigenous history. We talk about chaos magick, surrealism, and the theft of Indigenous artifacts, Terra Nullius, trading companies as massive corporate operations, and many other topics. In particular, Laihall links Indigenous oppression to reasons grounded in capitalist expansion, and links this to the dark history of the Residential schools. Along the way, we discuss Indian metal and even talk skinhead oi. Finally, we discuss when Indian workers have led and fought together with other workers, and a potential path forward. I made a donation to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, and I encourage my listeners who can to do so here: https://www.irsss.ca/ Songs: Gyitwaalkt by Gyibaaw Gisigwilgwelk and Diitk by Gyibaaw St'at'imc Constitution song Merch: https://programmed-to-chill.myshopify.com/

Today I compare and contrast actual Japanese National Socialism to Japanese ultranationalism by looking at the life and work of Motoyuki Takabatake. Then, I look at the Shōwa Research Association and the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, both of which studied socialism in order to integrate and subvert it. Then I go through Masao Maruyama's framework for fascist development in Japan. After that, I go through the life of Sōgen Ōmori whose life puts on full display several of the themes I've been tracing throughout the Imperial Japan series. Finally, I conclude with a few interesting facts I learned about Toyama and the Black Dragon Society at the end of my research - things which tie into sexpionage honeypot type operations. Song: Song of Shōwa Restoration Merch: https://programmed-to-chill.myshopify.com/

In this episode, I go through the history of Zenkyo as well as the armed resistance era of the JCP, from roughly 1929 to 1930, leading to the arrest of nearly everyone. I discuss the nature of police repression and Nikolai Bukharin's expulsion and purging from the Party and accompanying changes to the Comintern. I explain the rise of Japanese nationalism and the effective end to the prewar JCP. Then, I review several scholars' attempts to write an obituary to the prewar JCP. Songs: Dat Stick by Rich Brian 平和を守れ - Defend Peace Merch: https://programmed-to-chill.myshopify.com/

Today we talk about the Rice Riots of 1918 and the potentially revolutionary conditions in Japan, the Peace Preservation Laws, and the Comintern Conference of 1922. I lay out the JCP's program as of 1922 and compare it to existing political parties of the era. I discuss Hitoshi Yamakawa and his faction, Nikolai Bukharin's theses of 1927, and the Kazuo Fukumoto faction. I trace the rough trajectory of the Yamakawa faction in the coming years, and discuss police repression.  Song: Listen! Workers of the World Merch: https://programmed-to-chill.myshopify.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ProgrammedToChill

Today I discuss the various groups and influences that led to the creation of the Japanese Communist Party, and its first theorist, Katayama Sen. I discuss his life, the 1922 Comintern Conference, and track the functional end of the Japanese anarchist movement, leading us to discuss Masahiko Amakasu. I talk about Amakasu's role in Manchuria, the Manchukuo Film Association, and his production of China Nights aka Shanghai Nights (1940), and hate on another academic for a bit. Luckily, the story of Masahiko Amakasu as a good ending. Song: The Internationale (in Japanese)

I go over the early Bolshevik state's relationship with Imperial Japan. You won't be surprised to find out it is acrimonious. I tell the story of Sergei Lazo, the Nikolaevsk Incident, the industries backing détente with the Soviets, and the rise of Japanese conceptions of pan-Asianism. To wrap up, I talk about the man of steel himself, and his words for and against Japan. Song: Fish Heaven / the Sakana Song

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