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BOA : Audio

8.11.12

Adam Gorightly

(2 Hours, 22 Minutes)


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Esoterica's 'crackpot historian' Adam Gorightly makes his long-awaited return to BoA:Audio for a jam session covering his new book, Happy Trails to High Weirdness: A Conspiracy Theorist's Tour Guide, and a plethora of other side topics and tangents. Over the course of this freewheeling conversation, we discuss conspiracy conventions, suspicions of being monitored by the 'powers that be,' the 'zine scene era, Jeff Turner and his Tuesday Weld Illuminati theories, Charles Manson, the 2008 Bigfoot Body Hoax, the JFK assassination, the co-dependency of UFOs, and other assorted hijinks.

It's an exploration of the mainstreets and odd sideroads of the paranormal and parapolitical with the one of a kind Adam Gorightly.

Full Preview: We kick things off by finding out what Adam has been up to since his last appearance on the program as well as getting a thumbnail look at his new book Happy Trails to High Weirdness: A Conspiracy Theorist's Tour Guide. Looking at some of the specific tales found in the book, we talk about Adam's journey to a conspiracy convention and reflect on how the experience is far different for the speakers than it is for the attendees. The conversation about conspiracy conventions covers rotisserie chickens and undercover government agents. This leads to Adam talking about times when he felt like he was under surveillance from nefarious forces.

This leads to Adam talking about how he thinks the 'alphabet soup' agencies see his work and shares some stories of weird times when he suspected that he was being 'interefered' with by someone. Adam then shares the bizarre story of Ira Einhorn, their interview, and the odd events that surrounded it as well as a story of interviewing Robert Anton Wilson and having the tape of the conversation disappear in the mail, only to finally get return one year later. This turns into some talk about how those in the entertainment industry are not as militant about 'fighting the system' as they were in past eras. We then discuss the Occupy and Tea Party movements and ponder what they accomplish in the grand scheme of things.

Next we talk about conpiracy-based thought, in general, and Adam talks about how the key is focusing on one's own reality rather that changing the greater reality as a whole. Considering that Adam's new book is available via Kindle and he's embraced the new technology of publishing, we find out if he ever waxes nostalgic for the 'zine scene era when he first began writing about the esoteric. This segues into some talk about how the 'zine scene required people to go out and get their esoteric information rather than the current era where information, both good and bad, is easily accessible for anyone on the Internet.

Following that, we turn our attention towards the infamous Jeff Turner, the man behind the Tuesday Weld conspiracy theory and star of I Think We're Alone Now. We discuss how Jeff represents a part of the conspiracy community where people become so engrossed in the theories that they decide to 'drop out' of the world's collective reality. Adam then backtracks and recounts the Jeff Turner story for listeners' unaware of his background. Adam details Jeff's theory that Tuesday Weld was a powerful Illuminati leader and how this theory connects to Jeff's obsession with pop star Tiffany. Adam talks about how there is a strange resonance to the Tuesday Weld / Illuminati connection that goes beyond the concepts of Jeff Turner. We also hear about Jeff's claims that he is the secret son of Natalie Wood.

Then we talk about Adam's ongoing research into Charles Manson and he reflects on what keeps bringing him back to the infamous cult leader. We also get Adam's informed opinion on whether there is some legitimacy to the various conspiracies surrounding the Manson murders. We then jump to a totally different subject as we revisit Adam's on-site coverage of the Biscardi Bigfoot press conference from 2008. Adam recalls what it was like at the hotel that day, amongst many mainstream reporters, as the Bigfoot body hoax fell apart. Speaking of massive paranormal messes, our attention then turns towards Roswell and Adam recounts his visit to the town for one of their annual UFO festivals and how the scene there has gone downhill over the last few years.

Looking at the cults of Southern California, Adam muses about what it is about the area that seems to draw these New Age and dangerous groups. Adam shares the story of the Solar Lodge of the OTO, a group that was in the area that once locked a young boy inside a crate for 56 days. Somehow we end up talking about Adam's ability to play the theremin and how he played it at the Integratron. We then talk about the codependency of the paranormal and conspiracy theories, where the phenomena or concept is dependent on the proverbial eye of the beholder. Following that, we reflect on UFO burnout and how it afflicts many researchers after they've looked at the phenomenon for a long period of time. Staying within the UFO realm, we talk about the phenomenon does bizarre things like shapeshifting and responding to witnesses.

Continuing our conversation about Adam's UFO sighting, he recalls how Fresno, where he had the experience, seems to be the site of a lot of weird activity. To that end, Adam talks about how it was in Fresno where Anne Heche had her breakdown and claimed to be communicating with aliens. Taking another look at a big conspiracy theory, we find out if Adam has an overarching theory on what happened with the JFK assassination. Adam talks about how JFK was likely seen as a liability to the 'powers that be,' in light of his various sexual dalliances as well as rumors of LSD use. We also get Adam's opinion on whether or not we'll ever find out the 'true' story of the JFK assassination and if he's surprised that the American public is still in the dark about what happened that fateful November day.

Heading towards the close, we get meta and talk about how the secrecy surrounding Adam seems to have lessened over the years. We also find out about the film project that Adam is working on, titled Parafornia. We also reflect on Adam's podcasting days and talk about podcasting in general. And, wrapping up the conversation, we talk about the 'happy trails' aspect of the new book title and find out if that means Adam is saying goodbye to the world of high weirdness.




Adam Gorightly Bio

A self described “crackpot historian”, Adam Gorightly has been chronicling fringe culture and conspiracy politics in an illuminating manner for more than two decades now. An active contributor to the zine revolution of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Adam’s byline was a familiar sight in many cutting-edge magazines of the period where he sharpened his literary teeth penning articles on the paranormal, conspiracies, and fringe culture.

His explorations into these arcane waters eventually led to his first book, published in October 2001,The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and the Manson Family Mythos, which has been described as the mother of all Manson family tomes. This was followed in November 2003 by The Prankster and the Conspiracy: The Story of Kerry Thornley and How He Met Oswald and Inspired the Counterculture, the first bio of the legendary counterculture figure, chronicling Thornley’s amazing and tragic life. Adam’s latest offering, The Beast of Adam Gorightly: Collected Rantings 1992–2004, features many articles from Adam’s formative years in the zine scene and onward into the new millennium.

Adam has been a guest on radio talk shows across the U.S., Canada and Ireland including Erskine Overnight, The Richard Syrett Show, The R.U. Sirius Show, The X-Zone with Rob McConnell, From The Grassy Knoll with Vyzygoth, The Blue Rose Report with Miles Lewis, A Closer Look with Michael Corbin, Binnall of America, and Radio Misterioso with Greg Bishop. His articles have appeared in numerous publications such as The Excluded Middle, UFO Magazine, Paranoia, SteamShovel Press, and FourTwoFour, the largest soccer magazine in Great Britain.

His website is adamgorightly.com and you can also check out his blog @ gorightly.wordpress.com


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