50 - THE OCTOPUS 4: A Pale Horse
Added 2022-09-19 17:11:44 +0000 UTCDanny pursues his story to the California desert, encountering desperadoes, contract killers, dope runners and CIA assets. He also makes the acquaintance of one Robert Booth Nichols, a man with a lot of stories to share and a mysterious interest in the Inslaw Affair and Casolaro's work.
Comments
What’s the opening audio? Ep 50 octopus 4?
ezra
2025-05-16 18:38:53 +0000 UTCWas not expecting my hometown of Riverside county to catch some strays in this episode.
Riley Dodge
2025-03-16 22:47:19 +0000 UTCI’m lost
Haider Ali
2024-09-04 22:40:43 +0000 UTCLol
Jill McCarthy
2024-05-01 11:00:00 +0000 UTCThis episode made me so frustrated w/ Danny and Gen X in general. If You don't have an income you don't start a family and buy a house WTF
Samuel Cain
2024-03-20 05:43:03 +0000 UTCI love the subtle namedrop of ‘ “Randall Flagg”-type characters.’ I feel so seen (as a fellow Stephen King fan)
Tim Oberg
2024-03-18 19:04:38 +0000 UTCLittlesis.org routes out of indio 1
John
2024-03-12 13:59:59 +0000 UTCPersonally I think all the UFO stuff is a bs psyop to shitcoat all parapolitical stuff, attract crazy people into it, and drive people down dead ends to develop insanity
A Worker
2024-03-10 20:12:04 +0000 UTCThe fact that wackenhut are the "cammo dudes" from Nellis AFB/ Area 51 leads me to believe that they are "read in" on certain UFO programs and that the base is not primarily a military base but rather a CIA/DIA site. I know this octopus is connected to the UFO topic but not 100% how. It's possible that this was an off the books revenue stream for this reverse engineering program. I believe it's quite possible that this is the line in the sand and when Danny caselero started pulling on that thread, he had to go. What do u guys think about this?
Jason Walsh
2024-03-08 00:31:32 +0000 UTCLiterally the night I finished this one I discovered Bo Gritz had an acting career. https://boxd.it/gMlZ Strong plate o’shrimp vibes
Paul Brewer
2023-12-27 15:27:33 +0000 UTCThe Steven Seagal classic, Under Siege ;)
Gregory Packet
2023-12-03 18:31:04 +0000 UTCwhere’s that first movie sample from? is that tommy lee jones?
Brian Storms
2023-11-30 22:19:52 +0000 UTCnvm found it :) https://littlesis.org/oligrapher/7929-routes-out-of-indio-1
Bryn Nieboer
2023-09-06 07:02:32 +0000 UTCcan you post the link? i couldn't find it :(
Bryn Nieboer
2023-09-06 06:59:05 +0000 UTCThanks for a stellar episode in a great series - must be a lot of hard work putting everything together! Great musical score as well. And your guest is awesome. He sounds like a character out of a film somehow. Very complicated story but probably difficult making it otherwise. Keep it up!
Mark
2023-08-22 11:33:13 +0000 UTCHey cheers man, thanks for the kind reply. Helps to orient me to read that you guys are a bit confused by it, too. I guess maybe even more than wondering what *you* think PROMIS was, I’m kinda wondering what the heck about it hooked Casolaro so hard. Like, what did HE think it was?
Paddy Assclown
2022-09-29 05:04:12 +0000 UTCYou are correct to ask all of these questions about PROMIS and your skepticism is more than justified. We are both on the same page as you. What made it so special? It was a glorified Excel program ultimately. BUT: Hopefully, by the end of the series, even if you don't get the answers, you'll understand why you've been asking the questions, at the very least.
pinballa
2022-09-29 04:46:27 +0000 UTCI’m really into GSEW and love the show overall. It’s easily the best deep politics podcast out there; I had been close to ditching the genre after getting a bit fed up with TrueAnon and a couple others. So I’m grateful to be able to throw some change in the jar and stoked to be on the Patreon. I have one question, which comes out of a critique of the Casolaro/Octopus series. The question is: “What was so important about PROMIS?” The critique/comment: listening to those first couple of Octopus eps, I had a strong sense that I had either passed out and missed a good thirty minutes of the show, or that you and your guest Patton Oswalt (sorry man but the voices are identical) didn’t quite lay out what made (and makes) the software the stuff of hushed whispers in deep politics and conspiracy circles. And that struck me, because it was the first time in dozens of hours listening to your show that I thought to myself — as my writing teachers all used to tell me in red ink — “why am I supposed to care?” I don’t meant to sound dismissive or glib or ungrateful or entitled here, and I want to make sure I’m sounding at least a little bit constructive. I really just want to understand your point of view. Obviously a subject like the Casolaro saga is a tremendous thing to tackle in a low-res medium like a podcast. But all the same, my impression at the end of those episodes — and your guest’s superlative characterizations (“revolutionary”) — was that PROMIS was basically project management software for lawyers. Yeah, the government could put backdoors into it — was that it? If so, the thing feels kinda … dunno, overhyped is maybe the word? Or was it that it cut down on labor so prosecutors could throw more poor minorities in jail? Anyway this is a minor quibble ultimately, and it may well could be amnesia induced by a Ewen Cameron-esque puppet master. Wouldn’t be the first time. Main thing is: show fuckin’ rocks dude. Thanks again for all your efforts.
Paddy Assclown
2022-09-29 04:36:51 +0000 UTCThank you, this means a lot. Ben is the hero here, without him I'd be totally lost when it comes to the tech aspects of the story. And yes, a tragic bear is about to enter the story.
pinballa
2022-09-25 03:35:56 +0000 UTCAfter listening to everything up to this point gotta say kudos, and that as someone with a comp sci background, y'all struck a good balance between layman and technical. Just thought I'd mention two instances of "creative" surveillance that you should look up if you're not familiar with them: the laser mic developed by the CIA (pretty sure it was technical services div but I may be off here) used to measure voices refracting off of windowpanes, and (again iirc) the Mossad developing a technique to measure magnetic field variance from air gapped computers as a function of pattern analysis applied to power usage which really raises a lot of security questions with computers in general. Gotta say though a lot of that stuff going on at the native reservation sounds like the kind of stuff apartheid SA was doing with Project Coast (which could link back to Israel as they exchanged/developed nuclear and other WMD tech, at the same time the ADL was spying on apartheid activists in the US for SA, as well as totally psychotic Tories in the Monday Club/Le Cercle) or with the rumored actual purpose of Skinwalker Ranch which is speculated to be non-lethal weapon tech and active camo development. Sounds like the next chapter will delve deep into the dangers of airborne cocaine hydrochloride to large wild life and other associated topics so I can't wait.
Lukas Lion
2022-09-24 09:58:42 +0000 UTCThere's some wild stuff about Jones like his dad being a Bircher, his uncle at the very least being a pilot with military connections that lived in Guatemala (or was it Honduras/El Salvador?...shit I'd have to check) during the lates 70's/80's; very possibly being a counter-insurgency operative during Vietnam and during the Contra years (which he discussed with his cousin in various parts over a number of shows), his connections to Steve Piczenik(sp?) who has more or less admitted his involvement in at least consulting with the Italian government during the Aldo Moro kidnapping/murder which is at bare minimum, the huge upgrades to the InfoWars studio around the time he went full Trump stan, the multimillion dollar bitcoin donation very recently that traces to a wallet that broke it off from a bigger pot that had been held for years, and then his connections to CNP types and guys like Flynn...there's just a lot there that's either real bizarre and coincidental or troubling to say the least. P.S. I too did a double take on the Behold a Pale Horse title and went hey isn't that Bill Cooper's book? The man with the impossibly large filing cabinet.
Lukas Lion
2022-09-23 18:38:20 +0000 UTCWish that site supported my 4k monitor which would make that org chart super readable
NYCM&AHole
2022-09-21 20:54:31 +0000 UTCI love how I can weave my dark alliance knowledge with this ep re Bo grits
NYCM&AHole
2022-09-21 19:49:05 +0000 UTCGenuinely looking forward to an episode on the rise of American rightwing conspiracy talk radio/entertainment.
Eden is_Recursive world
2022-09-20 20:30:22 +0000 UTCExcellent. I fairly recently read pale horse rider which though fairly tame in it's world view is pretty good, and I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a sub text or not but I got serious spook radar alarm bells off of coopers main appreciate who's name escapes me, but is prominent in the book, and Alex Jones so clearly self consciously copied coopers entire shtick.. it's fascinating to speculate on his motivations but it seems pretty clear he was definitely turned by trump guys later on, but the earlier stuff is also pretty sus. I look forwards to your perspective. Media roots have done some good stuff on it over the years, but there's definitely a lot more in there.
Divad Kong
2022-09-20 17:25:05 +0000 UTCHa. Yeah, the entire story has all these uncanny elements. Also, funny you should mention Alex Jones because we have an episode planned about the rise and function of the right wing conspiracy sphere thru the 90s.
pinballa
2022-09-20 15:51:05 +0000 UTCReally, no shit! When I first heard you reference that it did me some psychic damage as Id been thinking about the whole situation having so much discordian weirdness connected to it that I've been fixated on recently but especially in regards to bill cooper and his movement and later cooption by Alex Jones, that I immediately stopped what I was doing and spent 20 mins googling, as the parallels struck me as a lot, both kind of foretelling their death and the bad shit to follow, and both being a mix of fucked up reality and insane double bluff fictions from shady characters and associates. I couldn't find anything and thought I was just getting the wrong and of the stick... Man that's crazy. I need to ponder this in a forest glade to recover my energies
Divad Kong
2022-09-20 15:46:48 +0000 UTCA Pale Horse was the working title he had before he settled on The Octopus. He had a few others too
pinballa
2022-09-20 14:53:33 +0000 UTCSorry I thought his book was to be called the octopus. Behold a pale horse is old bill coopers (what a title though!) is there a pale horse connection to an other book title he was planning or am I being special?
Divad Kong
2022-09-20 07:47:36 +0000 UTCI feel the same way. Take your time! You’re doing the lord’s work
Duv
2022-09-20 04:30:23 +0000 UTCWell worth the wait dude. Amazing series here, so stoked for the rest of the series!
Dave
2022-09-20 02:14:01 +0000 UTCThanks for holding off until my deal closed
NYCM&AHole
2022-09-19 21:36:04 +0000 UTCDanny's book title + the Pale Horse rider is Death, at least according to Revelations 6:7 - 8. When you're raised Catholic like Danny and myself (I'm very much lapsed don't worry) that sort of thing captures your imagination. Hell follows the Pale Horse too, and given everything that's about to come in The Octopus it felt right.
pinballa
2022-09-19 20:05:41 +0000 UTCLet's go! Btw what's the pale horse reference to? I got confused thinking you implied that was Danny's book title, but maybe I'm missing something you cover in the episode I haven't yet listened to
Divad Kong
2022-09-19 19:57:22 +0000 UTCI live like a mile from his grave ilk send a picture soon
Paul Sullivan
2022-09-19 19:20:07 +0000 UTCSo great I'll listening to this one over snd over
Paul Sullivan
2022-09-19 18:49:25 +0000 UTC,
Paul Sullivan
2022-09-19 17:31:54 +0000 UTCThese shows are worth the wait. Don’t feel pressured at all, the quality on these is too good. Thank you for everything you do man.
Mike
2022-09-19 17:28:12 +0000 UTCThat means a lot, thank you. I will be uploading a sort of bonus episode later tonight as a "cheers for hanging in there" to you fine folks. Mostly just random conversation and outtakes but there is some interesting chat in there. To victory!
pinballa
2022-09-19 17:19:12 +0000 UTCGreat intro took me a second to recognize it ;)
Paul Sullivan
2022-09-19 17:18:51 +0000 UTCthanks for hanging in there and getting this out. such good shows, absolutely no pressure to stick to a regular release schedule as long as you keep doing this story justice.
Thomas Rogers
2022-09-19 17:15:38 +0000 UTCTime to flip the switch from grad student depression, to mild psychosis. Your hard work is truly appreciated. BTW, I can only speak for me, but I'd rather you feel comfortable with the episodes, than burnt out or rushed.
Eden is_Recursive world
2022-09-19 17:15:22 +0000 UTCHuzzah!
Paul Sullivan
2022-09-19 17:12:50 +0000 UTC
