The Long Seventies Podcast

We talk about Gus Hall, the Communist Party USA candidate for President from ’72 - ’84. Old Left vs. New Left. From industrial strikes to the FBI sterilizing imported stallions… this one get weird.

We talk about the drama and historical importance of possibly the most exciting Super Bowl of all time between the New York Jets & Baltimore Colts.

KBG defector? CIA plant? Bircher stooge? Whistleblower who tried to warn us of Russian subversive activities? In light of KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov’s recent pop culture emergence we look into this mysterious figure who has played such a big part in the shadowy side of many peoples’ conception of The Cold War.

We talk about the 1974  book “The Jupiter Effect: The Planets As Triggers of Devastating Earthquakes” by John Gribbin & Stephen Plagemann and try to put it in context with the plethora of other End Times predictions said to take place during the Long Seventies.

Why did so many powerhouse mega-bands of the 60s and Long Seventies fail to survive the long decade? We investigate this question and discuss a number of theories and examples.

3:32pm. May 9, 1980. Norco, Ca. Security Pacific Bank. 5 men. 2 shotguns. 3 handguns. 4 high powered semi auto rifles. Homemade grenades. Molotov cocktails. Incendiary diversion device. 1 katana. 1 hostage. 1 stolen van. Dozens of police officers. 2 police helicopters. 25 miles later…. 30+ damaged cop cars. 1 dead deputy. 2 dead robbers. 8 wounded officers. 46 felonies.

We talk John Hughes’ most famous film and explore why this 1985 teen comedy resonated so much with viewers. At some point we might even mess with the bull and get the horns. The Brain. The Athlete. The Basketcase. The Princess. The Criminal. All Jung’s Suburban archetypes.

1985. Bret Easton Ellis’ debut novel. Los Angeles. Mtv. Drugs. Narcissism. Hip to be numb. Absent parents. Disaffected youth. A dead body. Punk rock. Palm Springs. Matt offers an insane interpretation involving an Aztec god of chaos. Stay tuned to the end for a special coda where we revise our initial thoughts on the book after new information comes to our attention.

We talk about 1985’s Brat Pack coming-of-age-social-commentary drama St. Elmo’s Fire and what unique problems the youngest Baby Boomers might have faced upon entering the adult world at the end of The Long Seventies. Also, the Yamaha DX7.

You talk about Jay McInerney’s 1984 debut novel “Bright Lights, Big City” in an effort to explore the transition from the Long Seventies to the Eighties and what liminal properties you can pinpoint about this unique time period.