Conspiracy Theories, Paranoia, and Discordianism w/ Jesse Walker & Recluse (Patreon)

Joining me for this episode is a first time guest on The Farm: author and editor Jesse Walker. He is the book editor of Reason magazine and the curator of the blog The Perpetual Three-Dot Column. His writings have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Politico, The LA Times, Salon, and Boing Boing, among others. He is also the author of Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America and The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory.

For this episode, we use United States of Paranoia as a launching point for an epic discussion concerning conspiracy theory. The notion of conspiracy theory as a kind of folklore is explored, along with the five primary myths Jesse sees underlining American conspiriology. From there, we delve into one of my favorite subjects: Mormonism.

Mormons have a complex relationship with conspiracy theory. Frequently, they have been the targets of conspiratorial narratives. This was especially true in the 19th century. But even in recent times suspicions continue that the Mormon elders are shapeshifting reptiles, Conversely, Mormons have also promoted conspiritainment, and typically of a far right variety. Glen Beck, W. Cleon Skousen and Bo Gritz are noteworthy Mormons of this variety.

From there, we shift gears and consider the great conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s: Parallax View, The Conversation, and Three Days of the Condor are all covered, along with their wide-reaching influence on latter works such as The X-Files. Next, Jesse gives us a rundown of the incredible life and times of John Todd: his conspiratorial claims, his criminal offenses and whether he was transgender.

Inevitably, Discordianism comes into play. We put a special emphasis on its recent history, before exploring alternate reality games and QAnon. We also delve a bit into Russiagate and the new Red Scare. On the whole, this is a jam packed interview with one of the most widely acknowledged authorities on American conspiracy culture active today.