Oscar Zeta Acosta: Fear, Loathing, and the Disappearance of a Brown Buffalo

The character of Dr. Gonzo in the book and film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is based on a real person:  a one-time military airman...turned Baptist missionary...turned legal aid attorney...turned Los Angeles County Sheriff's candidate...turned author...turned missing person. This is the story of the intriguing life and mysterious, unsolved disappearance of Oscar Zeta Acosta. We'll take a trip back to Los Angeles in the 1970s that features psychedelics, Chicano civil rights activism--and a lone, self-described brown buffalo wandering the halls of justice. 

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Host: Paris Brown

Produced, written, & edited by: Paris Brown

Credits:

Podcast artwork by: Nathalie Rattner (nathalierattnerart@gmail.com)

Featured photo:  The New Yorker

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Sources:

Aguirre, Abby. “What ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ Owes to Oscar Acosta.” The New Yorker, 13 Jul 2021.

Brown, Paris W. “’The Mexican Situation:’ An Evolution of the Marked Body in The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo.” 2012.

Cassidy, Craig. “Remember Oscar? Memories Stir over Long-Lost Folk Figure, OHS Alumnus.” The Oakdale Leader [Oakdale, California], 17 May 1995.

Maza, Michael. “’Buffalo’ Roams into the Hollywood Slapstick Trap.” Arizona Republic, 29 Apr 1980, p. 17.

Moore, Burton. Love and Riot: Oscar Zeta Acosta and the Great Mexican American Revolt. Floricanto P, 2002. 

Moreno, Dorinda. Personal interview, 20 Nov 2021.

Nájera, Marcos. “The Ladies in His Life.” The Zeta Podcast Series 1.3. 17 Mar 2018.

The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo. Directed by Phillip Rodriguez, performances by Dave Beaudrie, Xavier Becerra, and Anahi Bustillos, City Projects, 2017.

Stavens, Ilan. Bandido: Oscar “Zeta” Acosta and the Chicano Experience. HarperCollins, 1995. 

ADDITIONAL SOURCES LISTED ON LINKED WEBSITE BELOW.

Music:

“Theme for ‘The Mad Thinker’” from The Cursed Tapes: Stolen Songs from Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab. Dr. Frankenstein, 2005 

ADDITIONAL SOURCES LISTED ON LINKED WEBSITE BELOW.