[TW: Mass shooting] This episode looks at New Life Church, which waged "spiritual warfare" in Colorado Springs and abroad, worked to evangelize cadets at the Air Force Academy, and dealt with Pastor Ted Haggard's 2006 gay sex scandal. In 2007, both YWAM's base in Arvada and New Life Church were the site of a mass shooting. Sources: Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez Children of the Beast by William Ramsey "Fighting Demons, Raising the Dead, Taking Over the World" by Religion Dispatches "Exodus" by This American Life "Disgraced pastor Haggard admits second relationship with man" by CNN "The Resurrection of Pastor Ted" by Colorado Springs Indpendent "YOUR Columbine" by Denver Post "Pslams 40:2" by The Mountain Goats --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This is a quick bonus episode, featuring a conversation with Jason Cordova of the Crypto Science Society about Demons. Additional Reading: "The Black Monarch Hotel offers spooky decor and an exclusive phantom party" by Colorado Springs Independent (my collab with CSS) "Demons, Furries, and Transgender People Focus of CO Springs Candidate" by Colorado Times Recorder "Demon Brother" by Murder City Devils --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

[TW: Sexual Abuse, Racism, Antisemitism] We look at Youth With a Mission, the international ministry started in 1960 by Loren Cunningham, who also came up with what we call the "Seven Mountain Mandate" with Bill Bright, whose Campus Crusade for Christ sold land to a Christian Identity group that planned a version of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1983. YWAM is also an organization beset with financial and sexual scandals, like a number of evangelical organizations. Sources: Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez Aberration in the Heartland of the Real by Wendy Painting "The Role of Evangelicals in U.S. Imperialism" by Iain Buchanan "Former University Of The Nations CFO Sentenced To 115 Months In Prison For Wire Fraud" "Couple sued for allegedly embezzling nearly $1.2M from Christian organization" by CTV @DrBlobb's thread on YWAM, Mercy Ships @mikita_e's thread on CSA "YWAM is dangerous...I spent 12 years...under the influence" "#YWAMToo: My Sexual Abuse Story" by Rebecca Lujan Loveless "Mission Control" by No Knife --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We discuss the life and work of James Dobson, and Focus on the Family's influence on the military, anti-LGBTQ policies, and conservative politics in America. Sources: Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez "Some Kinda Hate" by Colorado Springs Independent "Vineyard church says it heals, but some say it hurts Concerns raised about 'cult-like' group" by The Baltimore Sun "Christian Billionaire Philanthropist Bill Hwang Charged with ‘Historic’ Stock Scam" by Religion Unplugged "Lawsuit Alleges Billionaire’s Christian Foundation Engaged in Self-Dealing" by Christianity Today "Hard to Be" by David Bazan --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We take a look at the MK Ultra hypnosis research that was performed at the University of Denver during the early 1950s by Alden Sears. I'm joined by hypnotherapist Melvin Marsh, who talks about modern applications of hypnosis, and what he thinks about the CIA's attempts to create "human robots" using drugs, hypnosis, and other means. Sources: Military Neuroscience and the Coming Age of Neurowarfare by Armin Krishnan "CIA, MKULTRA and the Cover-up of U.S. Germ Warfare in the Korean War" by Jeff Kaye "Unwitting Part in Behavior Tests Fo'r C.I.A. Disclosed by Denver U." "Secret Documents Show a Tortured Prisoner's Descent" "MK Ultra" by Muse --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

I got to attend the 2022 MUFON Symposium! I attended field investigator training, heard about the Phoenix Lights from eyewitnesses, and got to chat with J. Allen Hynek's son and Betty Hill's niece. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We talk about transhumanism, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk before jumping into the history of Frozen Dead Guy Days, Nederland's annual festival. Sources: "Grandpa's in the Tuff Shed" "President for Life" by Elmo Keep, The Verge Legends of America "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In honor of the Days of Blood, or Trans Day of Visibility, we are exploring Trinidad's history as the "Sex Change Capital of the World." We talk about the history of trans people, in antiquity and the modern era, and the work of Dr. Stanley Biber and later Dr. Marci Bowers, as they provided gender confirmation surgery to over 6,000 trans people in Trinidad. Sources: Going to Trinidad by Martin J. Smith The Histories by Herodotus Gilgamesh translated by John Gardner The Johns Hopkins Newsletter "My New Vagina Won’t Make Me Happy" by Andrea Chu Long "Crying in a Bathroom Stall" by Dyke Drama Further Listening: One From the Vaults --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Robert A. Heinlein, famed sci-fi writer, lived in Colorado Springs in the 1950s. We look at the life of Robert Heinlein, his connections to L. Ron Hubbard and Jack Parsons, the Esalen Institute, and Heinlein's own connections to weird mysticism and the occult. Sources: Robert A Heinlein: In Dialogue With His Century Volume 1: Learning Curive (1907-1948) by William H Patterson Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius by Gary Lachman Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder by David McGowan "The Night They Blew Up The Moon" by Hot Rod Circuit Further Study: "I'M YOUR PUPPET: The Sorcerous Sinema of Kenneth Anger" by Subliminal Jihad "Sons of Sam" Netflix Documentary "Self Improvement" by Heidi Beedle, Colorado Springs Independent --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

We talk about the Smaldone crime family. Bloody shootouts in Pueblo during the 1920s, gory gangland killings in Denver in the 30s, weird mob connections to Harry S Truman and Colorado Governor Ralph Carr, among others. Things get weird with mentions of Anton LaVey and Clyde Smaldone's take on "conspiracy theories" surrounding the JFK assassination. Sources: Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family by Dick Kreck --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app