Welcome to TrueAnon Presents: The Lamest Show on Earth, a three-part mini series on the phenomenon that is Tesla Motors and the carnival barker at the center of its show: Elon Musk. We’ve often said that Jeffrey Epstein offers us a lens through which to view larger networks of power and influence and ways to ascertain how they operate and impact the world. The story of Tesla Motors offers us the same opportunity: how a nerdy dot-com gold chaser hacked the self-satisfied neoliberal green political regime and orchestrated a cacophonous symphony of thirsty social media marketeers, auto industry executives, captured and bought off media, and the bull market ride of the century. At the center of all of this is the pied piper of the redditmen, our very own epic bacon PT Barnum — Elon Musk — who rightly understands that branding really is everything and that so long as you can keep the music going the party doesn’t have to end. Now that Tesla has a gun to the head of the American economy, there’s only one question left: how long can the show go on? 

In Pt 1 we begin with the bizarre history of Elon’s family, the origin story of Tesla Motors and the weird wild birthplace of both modern conservatism and progressive neoliberalism, California. Featuring: chiropractors, Ronald Reagan, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, divorced guys, Italian nuclear physicists, tightrope performers, bearded ladies and The Coca-Cola Company.

The Lamest Show On Earth (Part 1)

Professor Richard Wolff returns to the show for an economic update on inflation, employment, student debt, China, and the U.S.’s future role in the world.

For more from Prof Wolff, subscribe to Democracy at Work on YouTube: youtube.com/democracyatwrk

And find all the info on Economic Update here: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate

Chapo Trap House

UNLOCKED 713 - NO MORE BULLSHIT! (Economy Edition) feat. Richard Wolff (3/9/23)

Part of our live reactions to the breaking news of Donald Trump’s indictment.

Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes!
www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

719 Teaser - Trump Indicted

We’re joined by Jonathan Melrod (twitter.com/JonathanMelrod), author of the new autobiography “Fighting Times” (pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1289). We talk about the factory turn of the 1960s, SDS/RYM II, encounters with the Red Squad, and his 13 years fighting in American auto plants and as an activist in the UAW. 

Jonathan's FBI file: static1.squarespace.com/static/605d7866711508185e437efe/t/629e3e73925c4d39eb5082fe/1654537863547/Jon+Melrod+FBI+file_Redacted.pdf

Episode 282: Fighting Times

We take a trip to Lincoln Center to finally answer the question: “Wait, what actually is Shen Yun?” Featuring: drunk monks, uncanny valley Colin Jost, fog machines, the Covid-19 virus, and the torrential storm of the apocalypse. Welcome to part one of our series on the mysterious and freaky Falun Gong.

Episode 283: Falun Gong Part 1: Shen Yun

We take a trip to China to uncover the origins of the Falun Gong, the contradictions between superstition and science, rural ear reading, levitation, and Qigong fever.

Episode 284: Falun Gong Part 2: Qigong Fever

Originally posted on June 17, 2022. To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe at patreon.com/TrueAnonPod
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The Utah County Ritual Abuse accusation take an even weirder turn as we look into a firsthand account of the Therapist’s attempts at mind control, manipulation, and terror.

UNLOCKED! Episode 233: Utah Detective

Today we’re joined by Professor Corey Robin, author of "The Reactionary Mind" and "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas," for a conversation all about one of the most powerful reactionaries in the world: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. We discuss the origins and contours of his conservative ideology, and how they reflect the development of race, class, law, power, conservatism and liberalism over his lifetime.

You can pick up "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas" here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627793834/theenigmaofclarencethomas

738 - They Smile In Your Face feat. Corey Robin (6/5/23)

Today we’re joined by journalist Ben Terris, who’s been sort of shadow-programming the show recently with his pieces on Sean McElwee, Diane Feinstein’s staff, Tommy Tuberville’s advisors and questions about Tim Scott’s virginity.  We discuss Trump’s federal indictment over the “boxes hoax,” and the growing feeling that ol’ Donny might possibly maybe finally be kind of fucked. Then we talk to Ben about his new book “The Big Break,” and learn more about all the McElwee-esque DC creeps, weirdos and gamblers he’s come to know investigating the world of post-Trump Washington. 

You can find Ben’s book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ben-terris/the-big-break/9781538708057/?lens=twelve

740 - Crank About Creeping feat. Ben Terris (6/12/23)

We talk to Alex Press about her reporting on the ongoing WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes, with additional commentary from some of the striking entertainment workers we met on the picket lines in LA and NYC.

Special thanks to the following for speaking to us:
Bex Taylor-Klaus
Catherine Schetina
Jess McKenna
John Hodgman
Max Calder

Read Alex's piece on the strikes in Jacobin here: https://jacobin.com/2023/07/hollywood-writers-actors-strike-studios-streaming

Bonus: WGA/SAG Strike Update

We cover a spurt of stories about politicians being horny, starting with of course Lauren Boebert’s broadway handy. Then, have you seen this plane?: the air force loses an F-35 somewhere in South Carolina. Finally, we have a reading series on Mitt Romney’s self-mythologizing retirement announcement that eventually morphs into a rumination on the fate of empires.

740 - Crank About Creeping feat. Ben Terris (6/12/23)

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