oh man I can't imagine how beautiful that would be in the upper peninsula

Absolutely loved this - Bill seemed very much at home with the hosts here, reflecting generously on the themes of grief, kindness, addiction and so on. Wonderful to have two hosts who gave Bill the respect of knowing and understanding his  work.

This is a great interview. Thank you so much for turning me on to this writer. It brings back memories of walking through the Tenderlion and thinking how easy it would be to make a couple of poor decisions, and I'd be right there. Reminded me of another friend who spent time riding the rails and my own time in Thailand. Seriously good shit. Warm, deep and sincere.

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)

Benjamin Fong joins us to talk about his new book Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st century Binge (versobooks.com/products/2981-quick-fixes). We chat about the uniquely American obsession with drugs, the war machine’s love affair with meth, the burgeoning psychedelic movement, and why everyone is so desperate to get high.

Episode 309: I Need Weed And Speed

We begin our multi-part series on the legends and myths swirling around the POW/MIAs allegedly left behind in Indochina with an explanation of how we got there in the first place: The Vietnam war, the Golden Triangle, secret bombings, aerial campaigns, army wives, and Ross Perot.

Episode 321: Dude Where’s My Dad: POW/MIAs (Part One)

We welcome Vincent Bevins back to the show to chat about his new book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution (hachettebookgroup.com/titles/vincent-bevins/if-we-burn/9781541788978/?lens=publicaffairs). Starting with the June 2013 protests in Brazil, we walk through the last ten years of uprisings in various cities around the world, what was learned, what wasn’t, and what is to be done.

Episode 324: Burn After Reading

We’re joined by crypto-court reporter Jacob Silverman to talk about the first week of the trial of SBF, witness testimony, betrayal, parents, what makes a polycule and more.

https://airmail.news/issues/2023-10-7/the-journalist-and-the-fraudster

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1353-the-naked-emperor

https://www.jacobsilverman.com/p/the-coming-trials-of-sam-bankman

Episode 325: Sam Jailman Trial

Will & Felix continue last week’s discussion on Gaza & Palestine with further thoughts on the brutality of the unfolding conflict, reactions and narratives pushed through the American media, shifts in public opinion, and the unstable positions of Israel & America.

Here are a few Palestinian aid organizations worth your support:
https://www.pcrf.net/
https://www.anera.org/
https://www.map.org.uk/

Chapo Trap House

773 - Israeli Self Harm Force (10/16/23)

We visited legendary writer William T. Vollmann (Rainbow Stories, Europe Central) in his Sacramento studio for a long talk about lots of things. Part one of two. 

Read his new essay “Four Men” in Harper’s: https://harpers.org/archive/2023/11/four-men/

Episode 330: Grief Is A Witch-Hag (Part 1)

We sit down with Thomas Morton to seek emotional truth among the shaky facts of some bestselling bullshit memoirs and a recent comedy “scandal.”

Episode 333: A Child Called Bullshit

We take a look at the life and times of the embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is facing tough questions from both the FBI and Manhattan prosecutors about his campaign's relationship with... Turkey? Featuring: straw donors, the Safdie Brothers, Ed Koch, open relationships, and plant-based diets.

Episode 336: Mr. Mayor Goes to Turkey

Sports journalist Karim Zidan returns to the show to catch up with Felix about the world of combat sports and their attendant politics. They discuss responses to Israel/Gaza in the MMA world, developments in Saudi Arabia’s use of sports for soft power, political use of fight sports in Chechnya, and the deep bromance between Dana White and Donald Trump.

Find Karim's writing at: https://www.sportspolitika.news/
Follow Karim at: https://twitter.com/ZidanSports

Prod note: we’re putting out two public episodes today, partially to re-align the episode numberings to keep Monday eps even and Thursday eps odd. Obviously something only I care about, but also just letting you know to expect a regular Patreon ep this Thursday.

787 - Octagonal Relations feat. Karim Zidan (12/4/23)

We talk through the Ivy League congressional hearing scandal before diving into the weird little world of the e/acc meme movement, Marc Andreeseen’s techno-optimist manifesto, and its misreading of the dark philosophy of Nick Land.

Episode 340: Terminator vs. Avatar

TrueAnon is a podcast about your enemies made by your friends. Join unlicensed private investigators Liz Franczak, Brace Belden, and Yung Chomsky for a show that will drive you insane. Every other episode is a Patreon exclusive: patreon.com/TrueAnonPod

Episode 330: Grief Is A Witch-Hag (Part 1)

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