The Long Seventies Podcast

We talk about UFO religions in general and then get into what is considered by sociologists to be the most successful UFO religion, Raelism.

Mind melting venereal parasites. Creepy murderous mutant kids in red snow suits. We explore the early years of Canada’s master of body horror David Cronenberg’s body of work focusing on two movies, Shivers (1975) and The Brood (1979).

We talk about the big picture of country music during the Long Seventies and why it assumed the role of counter-counterculture music and became popular not just in the rural areas it was born, but in far away urban centers and suburbs.

Long Seventies EXCLUSIVE! This week we do a little investigative history and dig the story of SF Bay Area radical group The Tribal Thumb out of newspaper archives. The Tribal Thumb is still a mysterious group. The membership is not well known and it seems to have been connected to a number of other SF Bay Area militant radical groups. You won’t find this story anywhere else!

We talk about 70s science fiction literature and film and how in a general sense it is distinct from other periods but also a continuation of the new wave that started a decade earlier.

In the prototype for our new interview segment, Alex interviews regular guest and indie music label chief Sean about his influences and creative process. Check out Sean’s work at fringebiologyrecords.com and fringebiologyrecordings.bandcamp.com

We talk about the two women who, only weeks apart, tried and failed to kill President Gerald Ford. One of them was even a former member of the Manson Family.

We talk about the history of protests and rioting in the US.

We talk about a truly unique moment in US History, when the Army asked a Lt. Colonel to travel the country and bring the teachings of the New Age movement into their ranks in the hopes of increasing recruitment numbers for the newly all volunteer Army. They also hoped to gain an advantage over the Russian Army using insight from the Human Potential movement to create New Age Supersoldiers.

Sean joins us to talk about Progressive Rock, one of the Long Seventies’ most distinctive musical genres. Prog Rock was born out of the psychedelic sixties and Romantic era classical music but combined the musical chromosomes it inherited in experimental and unique ways that evolved an ardent fanbase and musical legacy.