Left Unread

54. Brain Warfare: Bioweapons and MKULTRA in the Korean War

In 1952, American prisoners of war in Korea began to make public comments about war crimes being committed by the United States, up to and including the use of outlawed biological and chemical weapons. While they were written off in the press as being given under duress and through torture and brainwashing by the communists in China and North Korea, the American military and intelligence communities were eager to get the men home and subject them to their own new frontier in interrogation that would come to morph into the infamous MKULTRA program. The reason military intelligence was so eager to get the men home? The soldiers were telling the truth.

You can become a Manchurian candidate on Twitter:

@leftunreadpod (Twitter and Instagram)

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Check out Alex’s commentary on his exit from Russia on episode 31.3 of the Providence Leftist Radio Podcast, or read his article for Uprise RI here: https://upriseri.com/confronting-experience-and-contradictions-in-the-russia-ukraine-crisis/

You can reach out to us at leftunreadpod@gmail.com. Suggestions and hate mail welcome.

Theme music by Interesting Times Gang. Check them out at: itgang.bandcamp.com.

53. Russia and Ukraine feat. Alex Herbert

This week we take a break from the past to discuss current events. Our buddy and previous guest Alexander Herbert joins us from St. Petersburg, Russia to discuss the unfolding situation in Ukraine. We also delve briefly into the recent Nazi assault outside the Red Ink Community Library in Providence which occurred last week. We had a great time talking to Alex, as always, and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

Follow the LU Squad:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

@AHerbert45

Check out Alex's fantastic podcast work:

Providence Leftist Radio & The History of Rhode Island Podcast

Theme music by the inimitable Interesting Times Gang:

itgang.bandcamp.com

52. You Know What They Say About An Ape With Big Feet...

This week, the LU Boys return to the world of Cryptozoology to discuss the pervasive human Wild Man myth. Present in multiple cultures across the globe, and perhaps most famously in the North American Sasquatch and Himalayan Yeti myths, tales of giant, hairy, ‘missing link’ type creatures has long captured our imaginations…for better or worse.

Follow the Squatch Hunters here:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Email all queries and whatever else here:

leftunreadpod@gmail.com

Theme music by Interesting Times Gang, check them out here:

itgang.bandcamp.com

51. American Utopia, pt. 4: The Power Elite

In our return to the American Utopia series, we discuss the ascension of the Eisenhower-Nixon-Dulles administration in 1952, the consolidation of power by the power elite, Joseph McCarthy’s red-baiting crusade in Washington, and the CIA coups in Iran in 1953 and Guatemala in 1954 led by Allen Dulles once he took control of the CIA as Director of Central Intelligence.

You can travel to the scenic Bohemian Grove on Twitter:

@leftunreadpod (Twitter and Instagram)

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

You can reach out to us at leftunreadpod@gmail.com. Suggestions and hate mail welcome.

Theme music by Interesting Times Gang. Check them out at: itgang.bandcamp.com.

50. Julius Caesar Goes on Holiday

In this episode, we’re going to talk about a person virtually everyone has heard of: Gaius Julius Caesar. You’ve seen the ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’ chest tattoos. You’ve had the salad and the $5 pizzas, but this week we’re going to discuss the series of conquests and conflicts that turned Caesar from an ambitious young upstart into one of the most powerful military leaders Rome had ever seen. And, you guessed it, it involves lots of killing. Like, lots.

Find us on Twitter and Insta:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Email enquiries: 

leftunreadpod@gmail.com

Our awesome theme music was created by Interesting Times Gang:

itgang.bandcamp.com

49. Facts Don’t Care About Your Phalanx: The Roman-Macedonian Wars

On this week’s episode, Cam and Evan discuss the Roman-Macedonian Wars that coincided with Rome’s rise to imperial status in its conquest of the Mediterranean. At the start of the conflict, Rome was still just one of the major powers in the Mediterranean. Once the dust would settle from their Punic and Macedonian Wars, however, the Roman Republic would become the dominant force in the area on the backs of a new type of infantry: the Roman Legions. While Alexander the Great and his diadochi had conquered the eastern Mediterranean using their improved phalanx formation, Rome would introduce the world to their manipular legions with resounding success.

You can form a testudo with the LU boys on Twitter:

@leftunreadpod (Twitter and Instagram)
@poorfidalgo
@gluten_yung

You can reach out to us at leftunreadpod@gmail.com. Theme music by Interesting Times Gang. Check them out at: itgang.bandcamp.com.

48. Roman Slavery and the Servile Wars

This week, Left Unread makes a departure from glorification of old white men to discuss one of the oldest and most foul of human institutions: slavery. The enslavement of fellow human beings by the Romans is well attested, and in many ways laid the foundation for understanding of that wretched practice in the Western World at large. It was also, however, unique in many ways, and so this episode will be devoted to exploring this darker side to Roman History.

Follow Spartacus and Crixus:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Theme music courtesy of the inimitable Interesting Times Gang: itgang.bandcamp.com

email our lame asses at leftunreadpod@gmail.com

47. Domitian: Pimp-Emperor of Rome

For the remainder of the month of January and into February, we’re going to be doing a series of episodes focusing on Ancient Rome. To start off, we’re discussing the tumultuous Year of Four Emperors during the first century C.E. that culminates in Rome’s second dynasty, the Flavians, taking over. We will give some brief background on Vespasian and his first son Titus, but we will mainly focus on Domitian, the third and final Flavian Emperor who reigned the longest, but has, undeservedly, the worst reputation of the three.

You can join the Equites on twitter:

@leftunreadpod (Twitter and Instagram)

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

You can reach out to us at leftunreadpod@gmail.com. 

Theme music by Interesting Times Gang. Check them out at: itgang.bandcamp.com.

46. Sengoku III: The Taiko

In this episode, we return from Cam's fevered sojourn in the Covid-19 wilderness to discuss the unification of Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his failed (sorry, spoiler) invasion of Korea, and then set the stage for the next phase in Japanese history. It's a real hum-dinger.

Follow the Go-Tairo here:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Theme music courtesy of the inimitable Interesting Times Gang: itgang.bandcamp.com

all email enquiries: leftunreadpod@gmail.com

45. Cam has covid.

That's it. That's the episode.

 

Follow the monoclonal antibodies here:

@leftunreadpod

@poorfidalgo

@gluten_yung

Theme music courtesy of the inimitable Interesting Times Gang: itgang.bandcamp.com