S09E01 - The Manhattan Project

DEEP DIVE On this long overdue episode we discuss one of the most ancient, most enduring, most flamboyantly theatrical and most misunderstood figures in the entire history of human belief and moral metaphysical experience; a character whose allegedly rancid fingerprints seem to be smeared all over the labours of expressive human consciousness like religion, literature, folklore, politics, psychology, art, propaganda, and pop culture. A name whispered in rebuke in places of holy worship across the world, screamed in terror in horror films, invoked enthusiastically in heavy metal songs, blamed for inexplicable deeds in courtrooms, depicted both lovingly and grotesquely in artistic masterpieces from time immemorial. An intangible notion of evil conjured into existence by generations in need of a villainous character, grand enough to carry the unbearable weight of human cruelty; this episode is all about Lucifer, The Fallen Angel.Also known as The Light Bringer; The Son of the Morning; The Morning Star; The Prince of Darkness; The Father of Lies; Big Red; Satan; Shai'tan; The Devil; Beelzebub; and Ba'al — before we even begin we are ankle deep in centuries of mistranslation, theological overlap, mythological repetition, political propaganda, ecclesiastical censorship and the kind of cultural rumour mill that turns symbols into people, metaphors into monsters, and old allegories into absolute truths.We ask is Lucifer actually Satan? Is Satan a name, a title, a job description, an inherited office held by many? Is the Devil a literal supernatural being in active rebellion against God, or a psychological archetype set as the final boss at the conclusion of a debauched life? This antitheistic ruler of the underworld exists in one form or another in civilisation after civilisation; Ancient Greece had Hades, Egypt had Osiris, and every ancient culture had a named and feared CEO of the place below. What purpose did a figure like this serve, and how did this nebulous character become so intertwined in a duality with the forces of creation?Lucifer operates as a scapegoat for human suffering and an external motivator for our more debaucherous proclivities, were these the purposes of Lucifer's creation? Not only did he get saddled with the responsibility of all of humanity's misdeeds, but he also served as a cautionary tale for those who might deign to defy God's will. Cast from Heaven for disobeying God (really he was just giving feedback, right?), he began a divine mutiny resulting in a war in the heavens and the banishment of one third of all the angels. This rebellious character stands as a perpetual poster boy for insubordination.This episode is absolutely not the final word on Lucifer, Satan, Evil, Hell, The Underworld, Fallen Angels and/or Demons, or the thousands of years of theological, mystical, philosophical and literary debate surrounding all of those things. But we are having the craic discussing one of the most maligned and misunderstood concepts of human goodness versus human nature, and the notions of good and bad, evil and righteous, and Holy vs 'Satanic'. Whether you believe in an actual Devil or a real life embodiment of a Satan in your theological environment, an aware person living today cannot deny the existence of human evil.So many things have come to light since recording this episode that underscore the necessity for an ephemeral figure like Satan — a creature that embodies the nature of badness. A character archetype we can pour all our heartlessness, savagery, cruelty, ruthlessness, spite, and jealousy into, so that we, humanity, can live without the crushing guilt that the propensity for inhumanity lives inside us. You can't spell inhumanity without human!_________________________You can get this episode AD FREE and in VIDEO with EXTRA CONTENT for FREE when you join the TCG PATREON (so many capital letters) and you can find the episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/s09e02-lucifer-153731364 or by ⁠clicking here⁠ and you can sign up for a FREE Patreon account, follow TCG and get this and loads more. If you want to support the show and get even more content and exclusives, please consider becoming a subscriber! Thanks to everyone who is already a Patreon supporter; I literally wouldn't be here without y'all!

On this episode we talk about one of the most notorious men in modern history; a dude whose simple and crazy face is synonymous with manipulation, mind control and murder; whose idea of family will have you thinking twice about complaining about going home for thanksgiving this year; this time we are chatting about the one and only Charlie Manson. This is a revisited episode on this topic with about 10 years in between; I wanted to give the fantastic source material a fresh outlook and using my more modernised and thorough process and higher quality treatment in the new TCG regime. Not only that but new revelations in the case itself; new media, documentaries and information about Charlie and his family members; recent prisoner releases and even a new book called Chaos written by Tom O'Neill have been released in the mean time.  We discuss Charlies rotten upbringing and his almost ubiquitous incarceration up until the age of 20 for various crimes and the psychological toll this must have taken on his psyche. This semi-permanent incarceration would also give ample opportunity to practice his innate and effective ability for persuasion and manipulation; as well as condition him to do 'what ever it takes' to get the job done. Charlie was a cultural figurehead of the 1960s hippy movement, and some say he was the bell that rang out in its last dying days to signal the end of the Free Love era. His notorious family, which at one time included famous rock stars and celebrities, were a raggle taggle gaggle of drug addled ne'erdowells whom Charlie gathered up through emotional manipulation. This crowd of crusties eventually became responsible for the deaths of 9 people in a murder spree that shook the US and Hollywood elite in particular.  Great conversations in this one with Danny and Micky and we chat about everything from how Charlie learned to meddle with minds; to the allusions by experts that he, among others in the movement, was a government agent working to destroy the cultural resistance in California to maintain status quo and military complex supremacy in the face of an escalating war. There are also rumours and conjecture that the acid and drugs the family consumed and distributed were 'military grade' and their motives and image were anything but authentic. Good times! :) Its good to be back, thanks for your patience and enjoy the show :) You can watch/listen to the video version of this episode on the Patreon Only feed that now integrates with Spotify. Just click this link https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gnyuuL2wgNE3RiYk3qXMK?si=3399944fb57b4206 and link your accounts and get Patreon Only content direct to your Spotify app! Joining me on this episode are comedians Danny O'Brien and Micky Bartlett. You can find them both here: Danny can be found on his website https://www.dannyobriencomedy.com/ and he is literally touring all over the world all of the time so no matter where you are, you'll be most likely able to catch him live someplace! Keep up to date with his whereabouts on his social media such as IG https://www.instagram.com/dobcomedy/ and he is @dobcomedy everywhere else. Danny is touring all over Ireland and the UK for 2024 with his new show 'Sweet Child O Brien' so get tickets before they are gone! Micky can usually be found at the bar in the middle of a crowd of people having the craic; but if you want to find him for professional reasons he is @mickybartlett on all social media and specifically https://www.instagram.com/micky_bartlett/on Instagram and the same of similar on the others. Micky is currently at the Perth Comedy Festival so you can also possibly see him anywhere in the world, and it is a treat to se the man in his personal glory, go check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DEEP DIVE - On this episode we discuss one of histories most enduring mysteries where accusations flew and farcical trials condemned many young women to death in the name of religious purity which was disguising political subterfuge and using fear of the unknown as a tool of control; this one is all about The Salem Witch Trials. In 17th Century Massachusetts newly settled puritans began a campaign of accusations against potential witches in their community. Largely led by the testimonies of young girls against other young girls, this crusade against the forces of darkness was a thinly veiled attempt to gain control of a newly emerging civilisation in a new country. There are many theories as to why the girls acted as they did, and mass psychosis and even hallucinogenic poisoning are cited as the cause of these frivolous and deadly claims. We discuss it all and a whole lot more. You can watch/listen to the video version of this episode on the Patreon Only feed that now integrates with Spotify. Just click this link https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hnUbxbRfK1QaXdmNvAly9?si=ocQ6EAlKRaC7mdBO_SPBrQ and link your accounts and get Patreon Only content direct to your Spotify app! Joining me on this episode are comedians Ailish McCarthy and Betsy Speer. You can find them both here: Ailish can be found here https://www.instagram.com/thesleepycomedian/ and check out her podcast The Party T*ts here https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-party-t-ts/id1541995084 as well as many many live gigs all over the place including The Paddy Power Comedy Festival, Cherry Comedy, and The Craic Den among others. Betsy can be found here https://www.instagram.com/betsyspeercomedy/ and check out her podcast https://www.instagram.com/badbookbash/ her website here https://www.betsyspeer.com/ and many other live shows she does all over Ireland and beyond like Hysteria Comedy, The Comedy Crunch, and The Comedy Cellar. ___________________________ If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode we talk about one of the most prolific and brutal killers in US history and a guy who got his moniker The Scorecard Killer from a macabre list of nicknames he had for his many victims; this episode is all about Randy Kraft. Joining me on this episode is comedian Ger Staunton; international comedy powerhouse and fellow Mayo man :) Ger and I discuss these heinous crimes and what drives someone to commit such horrific sexual attacks on so many young men. Kraft operated in the prolific serial killer atmosphere of the 70s and 80s where it seemed all bets were off for catching murderers. There is estimates of up to 70 victims that Kraft cruelly dispatched but he was only found guilty for very few of these; and we discuss the ones we know about here. Acknowledgment to Murder, Murder, Murder (dot) com and Dennis McDougal author of Angel of Darkness for the nitty gritty on this one. Not a whole lot else online on this fella but both of these sources nail it pretty well. If you want to find Ger online he is @gerstaunton on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gerstaunton/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/gerstaunton) or listen to his podcast with Martin Angolo called 'Canary in a Comedy Goldmine' which you can find here http://canaryinacomedygoldmine.com/ ___________________________ If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SWAPCAST - On this episode I join Sam Tripoli, XG and Johnny on the infamous Tin Foil Hat to chat about the state of 'conspiracy theories'; what mad stuff is going on in the world right now; how hard it is having a head going around the place and a bunch of other contemporary conspiracy topics. We also talk about the recent TCG Rothschild episode and all the shenanigans that entails. There's a big ol' intro on the front of this one too, because it's been a while! If you want to skip to 00:08:10 for the start of the show instead of listening to me :) This was a great episode and I got to ask Sam some of the questions Ive been wondering about. The world looks and feels like a really weird place right now (Jerry Springer is dead) but maybe it only feels like that. There's a bunch more episodes coming now including deep dives, interviews, swapcasts and a new season 9 starting recording in the next couple of weeks. The new website is almost fully up and running too if you want to check that out http://www.thoseconspiracyguys.com Hope you are all doing great and enjoy the show! ___________________________ If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices