On this month’s subscriber-only podcast I talk about my new job and why it means I’ve been unable to produce much content recently, and about the US Air Force’s competition to name the in-development B-21 strategic bomber. From the Trumpnator to Bomby McPlaneFace, a lot of the suggestions are very funny, and I offer a […](Read more...)
Professor CJ invited me onto his Dangerous History Podcast recently to discuss the research behind National Security Cinema, what we found, and what it means. We talk about conspiracy theories, how I got into this line of research, what methods I employed, the nature of the entertainment liaison offices and some of the more surprising films and TV shows supported by the state.
From racism and sexism to the military-industrial complex, the politics both within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and surrounding it here in the real world are a constant source of news stories and controversy. This week we look at how the world’s biggest film franchise is both the source and the subject of political disputes and […](Read more...)
David Sirota invited me onto his podcast to talk about National Security Cinema and how the DOD and CIA secretly shape pop culture. This was a rapid-fire conversation where we got into examples of political censorship by government agencies, the operations of the entertainment liaison offices, the scale of this phenomenon and whether this constitutes a government limitation on free speech. (Read more...)
Cambridge Analytica are a big data marketing firm who, according to numerous media commentators, were the critical factor in the election of Donald Trump. They are the subject of many officially-endorsed, fully-mainstreamed conspiracy theories proposed by different segments of the political-media spectrum. This week we take a critical look at these theories and ask whether those who believe in them are confusing technological sophistication with real-world effectiveness.
Keelan Balderson invited me back onto the WideShut Webcast to chat about the research that went into National Security Cinema, as well as the response and reception the book has enjoyed. We get quite deeply into the notion that the CIA are cultivating a ‘bad boy image’ through Hollywood, and how this is likely aimed […](Read more...)
Spy is a 2004 BBC gameshow where ordinary members of the public are trained and tested by real life ex-spooks and ultimately some are eliminated until there’s a winner. Spies is a 2017 Channel 4 gameshow where ordinary members of the public are trained and tested by real life ex-spooks and ultimately some are eliminated […](Read more...)
Continuing our long-running commentary, Pearse invited me back onto Porkins Policy Radio to talk about the first episode of the new season of Homeland. For the first time in several seasons Homeland maintained the storyline from the previous season rather than rebooting the show’s storyline and characters. This of course means that President Keane and […](Read more...)
On this month’s subscriber-only podcast I talk about my political and personal motives for doing this sort of work as well some of my thoughts on strategies for tackling political problems. I discuss the history of anarchism – both intellectual and terroristic – and how I see my work fitting into that, as well as […](Read more...)
A recently released document from the JFK files has confirmed an old rumour: that the CIA helped arrange the affair between actress Susan Cabot and King Hussein of Jordan. The memo records how the man directly involved was the CIA’s on-the-ground fixer in Hollywood, Robert Maheu. The Affair Cabot was a well-known B-movie starlet who […](Read more...)
