Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

J.G.

A podcast where politics, history, and culture are examined from perspectives you may not have considered before. Call it a parallax view.

  1. -3 DIAS

    Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust w/ Nathan Wardinski

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, film writer and critic Nathan Wardinski, author of Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust, joins me for a spooky season deep dive into one of the most infamous, controversial, and, perhaps, critically misunderstood films in horror history. We explore how Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust defies easy categorization within either progressive or conservative politics — a film that seeks to explode racist hierarchies even as it offers a bleak, reactionary view of human nature. For Deodato’s jungle nightmare, civilization itself is just a thin facade: whether “modern” or “primitive,” we are all savages beneath the surface. Wardinski and I also unpack the film’s unique structure, the enduring myth that Deodato and his crew were tried for murder due to the film’s realism, and the strange, lifelong relationship the director had with his most notorious work. In the final portion of the conversation, we tackle one of the film’s most controversial aspects — the onscreen animal slaughter — clarifying the difference between slaughter and cruelty, and placing Cannibal Holocaust within a larger cinematic and cultural context where animals have been killed on camera, from ethnographic films to even mainstream television. Some of the portion of the discussion is in the earlier part of the conversation, but most of it is back-ended to the final 10 or so minutes for the benefit of listeners who may not want to hear about that aspect of the film due to the subject matter. It’s a challenging conversation — one that asks uncomfortable questions about art, exploitation, and our own complicity as viewers. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    2 h 7 min

  2. -4 DIAS

    The Warrens, The Conjuring, & Satanic Panic: Paranormal Exploitation w/ Benjamin Radford

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of the Parallax Views spooky season series, we dive into the world of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the infamous paranormal investigators whose cases inspired the Conjuring films. The Warrens became household names for claiming to confront ghostly hauntings, demonic possession, and other supernatural phenomena—including their involvement in the notorious Amityville haunting—but their legacy is controversial, blending storytelling, spectacle, and a heavy dose of sensationalism. They have also faced accusations of exploiting vulnerable people for fame and profit. Nonetheless, The Conjuring series has become a Hollywood juggernaut, captivating audiences and shaping pop culture’s view of the paranormal. With the release of The Conjuring: Last Rites, the final film in the franchise, interest in the Warrens is hotter than ever. In this episode, skeptical paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford of the Skeptical Inquirer offers a dissenting take, unpacking the problems with the Warrens’ cases and explaining how their work intersects with Satanic Panic-era hysteria. We also explore how these patterns of belief and fear echo in modern conspiracy cultures like QAnon. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    1 h 18 min

  3. -5 DIAS

    Fear Before the Fall: Horror Films in the Late Soviet Union

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ This spooky season on Parallax Views, we venture behind the Iron Curtain with historian Alexander Herbert, author of Fear Before the Fall: Horror Films in the Late Soviet Union. Herbert uncovers a hidden world of Soviet horror cinema — films that reflected the fears, contradictions, and collapsing certainties of late socialism. We talk about Viy (1967), the first officially Soviet horror movie and a chilling adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s tale about a terrified seminarian forced to pray over a witch’s corpse. From there, Herbert explores how later Soviet filmmakers created movies that were either horror or horror-adjacent. It's an exploration of a rather unexplored topic. It’s a conversation about horror, history, and ideology — and how the Soviet Union’s final decades produced some of the most fascinating and overlooked genre films ever made. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    1 h 25 min

  4. -6 DIAS

    Fly By Night: The Secret Story of Spielberg, Warner Bros, & the Twilight Zone Deaths w/ Steve Chain

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our annual Spooky Season series with a chilling deep dive into one of Hollywood’s most infamous real-life tragedies — the Twilight Zone: The Movie helicopter crash. Journalist Steve Chain, author of Fly By Night: The Secret Story of Steven Spielberg, Warner Bros., and the Twilight Zone Deaths, joins the show to uncover the haunting true story that forever changed the film industry. Chain’s explosive investigation revisits the 1982 disaster that claimed the lives of actor Vic Morrow and two children on set — and the five-year legal battle that followed. Was it a tragic accident, or was there a cover-up to protect some of Hollywood’s most powerful names, including John Landis and Steven Spielberg? Chain pulls back the curtain on the shocking evidence, courtroom drama, and corporate maneuvering behind one of Tinseltown’s darkest chapters. As part of Parallax Views’ spooky season lineup, this episode isn’t about ghosts or monsters — it’s about real-life horror: power, negligence, and the human cost of spectacle. If you’re fascinated by true crime, Hollywood scandals, media history, or the eerie intersection of fame and tragedy, you won’t want to miss this one. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    1 h 17 min

  5. 24/10

    From Ed Gein to Ted Bundy: Writing the Horrors of True Crime for Film w/ Stephen Johnston

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our Halloween “spooky season” series with an episode exploring how true crime stories—particularly those involving serial killers—are brought to life on screen. Screenwriter Stephen Johnston joins the show to discuss the process of writing films about notorious figures like Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, and The Hillside Stranglers (Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi). Johnston’s screenwriting credits include Chuck Parello’s Ed Gein (2000; aka In the Light of the Moon), starring Steve Railsback (known for his portrayal of Charles Manson in the 1976 TV film Helter Skelter) and Carrie Snodgress (Diary of a Mad Housewife); Matthew Bright’s darkly comic and controversial Ted Bundy (2002); and Parello’s The Hillside Strangler (2004), featuring C. Thomas Howell (Red Dawn) and Nicolas Turturro (NYPD Blue). Most recently, Johnston wrote the screenplay for Chad Ferrin’s Ed Kemper, a biopic about “The Co-Ed Killer” that received its video-on-demand (VOD) release earlier this year. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    1 h 59 min

  6. 22/10

    Tales from the Art Department: Working on Horror Movie Sets w/ Jason Nunes

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ The Parallax Views spooky season series continues with a brand-new Halloween treat! Host J.G. Michael unearths a never-before-released conversation with Jason Nunes — a behind-the-scenes veteran of ’90s horror and B-movie filmmaking whose art department credits include NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD, LEPRECHAUN 2, PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III, and GHOULIES IV. Nunes shares fascinating stories about the challenges and creativity of bringing low-budget horror films to life — from improvised effects and set design ingenuity to the unpredictable energy of 1990s horror production. He also offers firsthand memories of working with Warwick Davis, Brian Yuzna, Melinda Clarke, Richard Lynch, Screaming Mad George, Mickey Rooney, Bruce Payne, David Warner, and others, plus surprising anecdotes involving Corey Haim, Matt Damon, and Tobey Maguire. Oh, and we talk about the craziness of working with Jim Wynorski on Ghoulies IV! Perfect for Halloween, this episode dives deep into the world of cult horror, practical effects, and the art department magic that defined a generation of B-movie filmmaking. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    2 h 9 min

  7. 22/10

    Gardening Can Be Murder: Poisonous Plants and Grim Gardens in Mystery Fiction w/ Marta McDowell

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, we continue our annual Halloween “spooky season” episodes with Marta McDowell, author of Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers. McDowell, known for her books connecting literature and horticulture, turns her attention to crime fiction and shows how gardens, plants, and gardeners themselves have played a surprisingly sinister role in the mystery tradition. From poisonous blooms slipped into a cup of tea to trowels and hedges concealing dark secrets, McDowell explores how the world of horticulture has provided inspiration, atmosphere, and even murder weapons for generations of writers. In this conversation, we discuss why gardens make such fertile ground for crime stories, how botany intersects with the genre’s history, and what these recurring motifs reveal about cultural attitudes towards nature, danger, and death. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Track: "Exorcism"

    57 min

  8. 17/10

    Inside DSA’s Ground Game Behind Zohran Mamdani’s Primary Victory w/ Hadas Thier

    👉 Pitch in on Patreon and fuel the future of free-thinking conversations. https://www.patreon.com/parallaxviews Also visit our returning sponsor Mike Swanson's Wall Street Window for the best financial and trading newsletter around: https://wallstreetwindow.com/ On this edition of Parallax Views, host J.G. Michael speaks with journalist and activist Hadas Thier, author of A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics, about her recent Nation magazine article, “How DSA Built Zohran Mamdani’s Electoral Machine.” In this in-depth conversation, Thier breaks down how the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) powered Zohran Mamdani’s groundbreaking mayoral campaign in New York City, transforming it into a model for grassroots political organizing. She explains how DSA’s field-first strategy, volunteer-driven infrastructure, and commitment to democratic socialist politics built one of the most effective electoral machines in the country—mobilizing over 50,000 volunteers, knocking on millions of doors, and reshaping NYC’s political landscape. J.G. and Hadas also explore what Mamdani’s victory means for the future of the left, working-class politics, and progressive movements across the United States. Could DSA’s organizing model become a roadmap for challenging the Democratic establishment nationwide? Tune in for a timely discussion on DSA, Zohran Mamdani, democratic socialism, and the new era of grassroots political power in America.

    49 min
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Sobre

A podcast where politics, history, and culture are examined from perspectives you may not have considered before. Call it a parallax view.

Informação

  • Autoria
    J.G.
  • Anos em atividade
    2018 - 2025
  • Episódios
    972
  • Classificação
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018 All rights reserved.
  • Site do programa
    Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

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