The Carousel Podcast

Higher education appears to be a lost cause. It’s shirked its responsibility to teach the classics or even hard skills like, you know, “writing.” Explore the sentence structure of a Berkeley grad, any Berkeley grad, and tell me if you disagree. Twitter anon Athenian Stranger builds projects and hosts spaces to help educate followers on the classic books. In doing so, he provides both EXIT and RETVRN for young people interested in learning about the real history—not the woke revisionist one—of their culture, the Western tradition. In this episode, we dissect four chapters from Thus Spake Zarathustra. If you want to read along with us, here are the chapters in question:* “Of the Friend”* “The Thousand and One Goals”* “Of Old and Young Women”* “Of Great Events”We don’t just chat about Nietzsche broadly. We dive deep into each of these chapters, into their nuances, references, and annotations, to discover what Nietzsche truly means. Athenian impressively unpacks each in all its glory.The Carousel is a reader-supported publication.Athenian on TwitterAthenian’s Underground University on Telegram This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

No one better encapsulates the plight of the right than Bennett's Phylactery AKA Kevin Dolan. A famous Mormon Twitter anon, he was doxxed by a "ring" of activists and fired from his prestigious consulting job. The doxxers drew out the process for maximum pain, revealing all sorts of personal information and aiming for total destruction of a man for nothing but a few humorous sh*tposts.They did not succeed. Dolan responded by founding Exit, a group for men working to build careers and families outside the mainstream economy. And it's working. Who wants to constantly bow? Who wants to constantly censor themselves for fear of targeted financial destruction?By far my most spiritual episode, we chat about his doxxing, God, the longhouse workplace, and the four Christian tribes of early America as described in Albion's Seed.Exit GroupBennett's Phylactery on Twitter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

The Distributist AKA Dave Green is one of the top thinkers of the populist right. I describe him as Yarvin Lite: he effectively conveys boundless knowledge and earthshaking redpills to the common listener in ways that betray true genius mixed with the genuine desire to effect positive change. His YouTube livestreams and video essays are long and dense, yet somehow completely addictive—his 4 hour Lessons from 2022 took me through a long hike and a long drive and I still didn’t want to get out of the car when I got home.Our conversation centers around our leftward marching Cthulhu and its Boston Brahmin genealogy. We also cover eunuchs, the longhouse, the wave form of populist reaction, and Yarvin’s definition of “victory.” Dave on YouTubeDave on TwitterDave on Substack This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 29 of The Carousel podcast, I’m joined by based firebrand Peachy Keenan. We talk about her conversion from Sex in the City atheist to based mother of five. SHOW NOTESPeachy Keenan. Tweeter of bangers, writer for American Mind, and author of new book Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War. A machine gun of deft insights and genuinely funny one-liners, Peachy is a must-follow in our scene for spicy takes on the news. But that’s not all, she also provides genuine policy analysis grounded in political philosophy and, of course, laced with her trademark razor wit.Pod appearances?Your best tweet of all time, at least in terms of engagement, I believe you’ve said was something very banal. Remind me what it was and how you conceived it, and the sort of attention it got you?Which types of tweets are your true favs? Fav accounts?The Peachy Keenan brand—why Peachy Keenan? What’s your pfp? Why burning tires?Twitter growthYou’ve said women need to be anti-feminists. What does that mean exactly?Forest Passage quote: In times of still greater danger the salvific power must be sought deeper, in the mothers. This contact liberates primal forces, to which the mere powers of time cannot stand up. Why did you choose to begin your book with this?Domestic Terrorists—when did US govt say that and about what exactly?Branding the book cover.Who is publishing it?What is its ultimate advice?The overwhelming question I want to ask when reading your stuff is at what moment did this RW consciousness begin in you? How did it form and develop? Were you an outcast? Or always sort of having an inner and outer perspective?“For better or worse, I was raised as a fairly spoiled, totally secular, suburban American princess, and outwardly, I haven’t changed that much.”Do you actually think you could live in a deep red place?How did you form the narrative of the book? How is it divided?Your writing is smart and punchy, clever and full of perfect stats and insights said in the perfect way. Was this a skill you honed? Or does this stuff just come out naturally. Did being a copywriter help (not sure if you want to mention this).Ex: “My name is Peachy Keenan, and I am a domestic extremist. Unless you feel violently threatened by monogamous breeding pairs or large families, my use of the term “domestic extremist” has exactly zero to do with violence. You can call off the no-knock raid. Tell the guys at the CIA black site they won’t have to prep my gulag cell. My waterboarding will have to wait. A note to my CIA readers: if you must waterboard me, I prefer Fiji. Do not attempt to waterboard me with tap water, or—shudder—Aquafina.”How do we keep it from seeming like we’re just complaining all the time? What I mean is, how do we differentiate between reaction against versus an idea that’s springing from the natural way things should be? This “satanic elites” stuff can start to get exhausting after awhile, even if it’s entirely true.Ex: “Guess what? You already know what to do! To become a domestic extremist, all one must do is listen closely for the ancestral longings that lurk in the heart of every human being. As you listen, dormant instincts may rouse themselves from slumber. Pay attention to them—they will lead you out of the barren wasteland that stretches before us!”You’ve talked about our current society having lost the purpose of being a woman. What do you mean by that? What is the role of a female creator in our world?“Masculine republics give way to feminine democracies, and feminine democracies give way to tyranny.” AristotleYou as a creator: what’s your process? What role does your husband play, eg editor, cheerleader, etc?Do you get annoyed by people asking you to talk about mother stuff all the time, or is that exactly the point ? You reached this interesting point with Kaschuta where you were both sort of saying you didn’t have a choice to have not gotten married in your twenties, that doing that would seem like a dream. Why do you say that? Final question from my wife: how do you not hire help?Peachy on Twitter Peachy’s book Domestic ExtremistPeachy in American Mind This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On Episode 28 of The Carousel Podcast, I host film YouTuber Kino Corner. Mr. Corner is known for his series on “Literally Me” films—movies with sigma male protagonists whose refusal to play along with the absurd morality of a broken world resonates with young men. “That character is, like, literally me!”We discuss the trend of populist “eat the rich” films. In my recent Substack, The Rise of the Populist Genre Film, I attempted to name this micro-genre Populist Death Match. We examine three films from 2022, The Menu, Triangle of Sadness, and Glass Onion, all of which contain remarkably similar attempts to embody populist sensibilities. Two of those films contain a central cheeseburger metaphor, which Kino identifies while eating an In-N-Out burger.These films join other recent hits like Squid Game, Hunger Games, and Black Mirror in depicting a rigged game where the common folk are pitted against each other in a fight for their lives. And where the elites, laughing from behind two-way mirrors, deserve to die. Btw, Kino’s company Futo gives microgrants to young developers with open source projects. Check it out here. https://futo.org/grants/Kino Corner on YouTubeKino Corner on Twitter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On Episode 27 of The Carousel Podcast, my subject is Bog Beef—populist commentator and co-host of The Good Ol’ Boyz podcast.SHOW NOTESThis episode will be a lot about labels, so let me try to label my guest. Bog Beef: Bant King. Good Old Boyz, hosted with Maarek, the finest prestige bantcast in the game. You guys do everything from cover the news of the day (with well informed color commentary on every imaginable topic from car culture to Schopenauer), to analyze X Files episodes, to host famous thinkers like Curtis Yarvin and Auron MacIntyre. All from a right wing, southern, and populist perspective that’s somehow simultaneously big brained.* How does the bant label suit you? * How about populist? You’ve called yourselves populists, but then also mentioned that the label is often misunderstood. You once called it a technique like ju jitsu.* v. Elite Theory* Dixie Nationalist?* SEC fan?* I went to Tulane law, had a totally naive view of the south before I came down. Northern perception of the South versus reality.The Good Ol’ Boyz Brand* How did you decide on Good Ol’ Boyz name/brand?* Beer snap at beginning of episode. * What about Bog Beef?* Stricture: A washed up private dick, alone in a city of sleaze.* You don’t talk overly much about yourself, but you said you knew Auron McIntyre since before he had a Twitter account. How did you come up?* Why is Good Ol’ Boys Twitter handle with a S?* Quick overview of Good Ol’ Boyz Universe. “Radio” eps, “podcast” eps, livestreams, X files episodes, etc.* What’s monetized and what isn’t?The Business of Good Ol’ Boyz* On at least one show, you had an ad for something called BC Powder. I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or real. Do you actually sell ads and how is that going if so?* What platforms are you on and which work and which don’t?* You audience. How many people make to the end of the episodes? How many listen versus how many subscribe?* https://stonetoss.com/comic/friendly-conversation/* Patreon—is that your bread and butter for monetization? Or are you also doing stuff on YouTube, Twitch etc. * Patronage—your core theme. Wat means exactly?Dirty Tricks* Great convo you had on New Write where you’re defending “if you’re not cheating you’re not trying,” while others try to defend honor in the context of Bloodsport.* “You have a duty to cheat if you’re really trying.” * Chris Rufo, Alinsky, Machiavelli, Weasel words.* Question is: with the Bloodspot of podcasting, what won’t you do?* Buying followers. Buying downloads. Fake PR. Fake controversy.* Stories of the lengths people go to promote stuff.* Anon v. NotThe Carousel is a reader-supported publicationBog Beef on TwitterGood Ol’ Boyz PodcastThis episode on SpotifyThis episode on Apple This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 26 of The Carousel Interrogations, I provoke warrior playwright Kevin Kautzman. Beyond his incredible prolificness as a playwright and theater impresario, Kautzman hosts one of the top new podcasts not just in the dissident sphere, but on the entire internet: Art of Darkness. Here’s the notes:Art of Darkness co-host Kevin KautzmanAn independent podcast that tells the life stories of great artists over the span of about three hours. Two hosts, Kautzman and Brad Kelly, who take turns episode by episode alternately telling the narrative and providing color commentary. It’s been compared to Hardcore History, but I think it’s much more like a based Last Podcast on the Left. Kautzman is also a creative writing MFA, playwright, web designer, and what I’d call a content maximalist—extremely prolific. Many websites, much content—I came across “Pickleball screenplay available on Amazon…” button on one of your sites which struck me as the perfect illustration of your one-man engine of ubiquitous content. * Why do gay men love musical theater so much?* UT MFA in creative writing and Michener Fellow. Yarvin uses the phrase cursus honorum to describe someone pedigreed with all the correct titles by the Cathedral. 1-10 how perfect is your cursus honorum?* The brokenness of establishment talent scouting: So many of the artists you cover were very odd people with very normal paths, at least insofar as becoming a great artist traditionally goes in the Western World. You say in the Kubrick episode that people around him when he was a young photographer knew he “had something” and boosted him forward. Would that happen today?* Duchamp* You’ve gotten a lot of fellowships etc. did you have to hide your politics? Will our guys ever be able to “apply for fellowships”? Should we?* Being from where you’re from, were you teased for your theater proclivities? Beaten? Clearly not enough. * Many outsiders from humble backgrounds become the most strict adherents to establishment norms, because they don’t want to be revealed as imposters. How did you manage to stay based?* Are you still fully on path in theater?* You start by describing yourselves as “very online” writers…where do you lurk online besides Twitter?* “MODERATION speaks to important issues like brainsickness from overexposure to the fringes of the Internet and social media”* The podcast: Art of dark similarities to Last Podcast on the Left. Inspiration?* Your “More like this” list on Spotify* Hermitix, Subversive w Alex Kaschuta, Good Ol Boyz Podcast, Contain, Overmorrow’s Library* How did you meet Brad?* Whose better at doing color and whose better at doing narrative?* The art of darkness brand? What does art of darkness do best? Pfp?* Let’s talk about this biz model. You are a content maximalist, a large amount of thoroughly researched content podcast, publishing all kinds of stuff here and there…”Pickleball screenplay available on Amazon.” How much of this stuff have you been paid outright to do? * To spend this much time on anything and not get paid is totally insane and irrational. How important is it for you to get paid for your art? * LPoL is big. But big enough to pay the bills? How do they? Merch? Ads? How does it work?* How’s your Patreon going?* Merch? How’s the clever t-shirt game?* Art of Darkness has many different elements—core episodes, after dark, dark room, post mortem, watch parties, former newsletter the blacklist. You’ve also said that you’ve toyed around with Bant podcast and other stuff. very prolific. Prolific doesn’t necessarily mean good. How do you decide what to keep and what to throw away?Watch this episode on YouTube:Art of Darkness PodcastArt of Darkness on TwitterKautzman’s WebsiteKautzman on TwitterKautzman’s Web Design Company This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On Episode 25 of the Carousel Podcast, I’m joined by Luthemplaer (formerly Cringewalker), the digital creator behind this infamous Kanye image and the Restoration Bureau—a series of propaganda posters from a future where the globalist regime has been defeated.We discuss his work, as well as the history of propaganda, particularly Weimar versus Nazi propaganda relating to feminism, the workplace, and population control.During this podcast we refer to imagery at length, so it’s probably best to watch the YouTube version. Luthemplaer on TwitterThe Restoration Bureau on TelegramLuthermplaer on FindmyfrensThe Luthemplaer Store This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On Episode 24 of The Carousel Podcast, I’m joined by sci-fi anon author T.R. Hudson to talk about his awesome book Automaton. The book follows a lapsed super-soldier traveling across a post-apocalyptic America divided east versus west, libertarian corporate versus woke neoliberal. The protagonist has been stuck in an eternally “on” position, which makes him emotionless but powerful—which I took as a metaphor for autism.I highly recommend this book. It makes for a fascinating, exciting, and even indulgent holiday read. A real page turner! T.R. Hudson on TwitterAutomaton on AmazonCars and Women Magazine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On the week’s The Carousel Podcast, I’m happy to welcome my favorite political writer of the moment, Twitter anon Lafayette Lee. Our lengthy and wonderful discussion covers patriotism, political strategy, and of course the recent Nick Fuentes, Kanye West, Milo, Tim Pool debacle, as well as the larger Trump and DeSantis discussion (notice I’m not saying Trump v. DeSantis).But, a quick bit of HOUSEKEEPING (kill me please), as things are going to change a bit for The Carousel Podcast. After twenty or so episodes of experimentation, I’m getting a feel for the pod’s niche and my strenfs as a podcaster. Given my legal and journalistic backgrounds, as well as my general lack of emotion and boredom with small talk, I’ve found my questions to be more cutting than other podcasters. My prior prep usually takes outline format, almost like something a prosecutor would prepare before deposing a witness, except guided by genuine curiosity about my guests’ prior work versus their tortious behavior. Thus my convos are generally more efficient and to the point, calling for my guests to smooth out the folds in their thinking.To that end, episodes will be reframed as interrogations. I’ll be reducing the amount of namby pamby and a**-kissing, and diving straight into targeted questions about guests’ work. I’ll aim to keep episodes under an hour (which I failed to do with this episode). Also, as the podcast description, I’ll be sharing my very law school-esque outlines I create before each episode. A bit of transparency, and something that again I think sets The Carousel apart from other pods. So here goes…Lafayette Lee Interrogation Notes* First: your take on Kanye/Milo/Fuentes/Pool situation* Found you through your Emily Oster piece and on Twitter, absolutely love your political writing—perfect tone and flow, and of course great insights.* You: * your name, our “brand,” Lafayette Lee, Ruins of Corotman—“Visions of Plantations in the Air (The South, Civil War/Shelby Foote/Ken Burns).* Finding your audience. How did you grow so fast?* Why are you anon?* Your military experience* (“gut check moment” - when you realize it’s not what you thought it was* (“navigating the world as a civilian”)* Gay / globalist propaganda in the military itself. What have you seen?* Lefties in the military?* War movies—you say they’re like marvel movies. “War is always bad” Are they anti war propaganda? How do they work? Examples: saving private Ryan, apocalypse now, thin red line…anything recent that’s actually good?* Elections: * You say: “Prior to the midterms, Republicans controlled more than half of all the nation’s state legislatures, with majorities in 62 chambers. And while Democrats managed to flip the Michigan state Senate and hold onto every state legislative chamber controlled prior, Republicans emerged from the midterms with 23 state Republican trifectas (party controls executive branch and both legislative branches) and 23 Republican triplexes (party controls governor, attorney general, and secretary of state), with 21 states with both a Republican trifecta and triplex.” What means?* What is actually occurring with the mail ins? Fortification (a la Time article)? Fraud? Ballot Harvesting? What’s illegal?* Would like you to explain this point a bit more: ““Quality candidates” and better messaging will not suffice. …Tedious debates trying to proving election fraud tend to obscure the obvious: that most regular Americans expect their elections to be as timely and transparent as any other public or private transaction. That future elections ought to meet these commonsense expectations is a winning message that will resonate with voters…”* Trump v. DeSantis. * You say “Razzle Dazzle is nothing compared to sweatwork” what means?* Patriotism, your common theme: * You’ve said Lincolnian “all men are created equal” is a founding myth that should be interrogated, but surely there is some quality of blood and soil even in this, no?* What does all men are created equal actually mean?* Definition of Patria* “Equality drives hostility and self centered ness” what means?* Where does principle of Freedom/Liberty fall in this?Follow Lafayette on TwitterLafayette Lee’s Substack, the Ruins of Corotman Lafayette Lee’s author page of IM1776The Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 22 of The Carousel podcast, social media expert Nathan Baker (@NateyBakes) joins me to discuss the recent Balenciaga controversy, various World Cup virtue signaling, NHL trans fixation, Tampax, and his experiences representing Twitter advertisers. Here’s the tweet that launched the Balenciaga controversy, pointing out various ways the company seems to be sexualizing children and hinting at pedophilia.The mainstream media’s “response” story, calling the whole thing absurd, which is a bit strange given that Balenciaga has already apologized and removed the campaigns: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/balenciaga-child-ad-conspiracy-theoryVarious World Cup virtue signaling at team country anthems: England kneels “because inclusion is important”: https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/why-england-players-kneeling-world-cup-2022-games/blt8b8180acc7d4638eGermany covers its mouth: Iran doesn’t sing album: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/22/fears-grow-iran-players-may-face-reprisals-for-not-singing-national-anthem-world-cup-2022-qatarNHL trans tweet:Controversial Tampax tweet:Calvin Klein Creepy Banned Ad (Mistakenly referred to as Levi's on the cast):YouTube link to show!The Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 21 of The Carousel podcast, I’m joined by Pavel Fuksa, an award-winning Prague-based art director and illustrator who’s worked at Saatchi, J Walter Thompson, and Y&R. He now runs his own design studio. We cover the European advertising world and how it’s handling the woke takeover, particularly with regard to the World Cup which starts on Sunday. Islamic theocracy Qatar remains infamous for just the kind of human rights abuses involving women, homosexuality, and slave labor that woke global brands/agencies supposedly stand against. Thus we see teams taking actions, like Denmark kit maker Hummel reducing its nationalist branding because “Denmark doesn’t want to be seen” in Qatar, or USMNT switching from American colors to the rainbow flag, which is, in my view, the perfect symbol of globalism’s triumph over nationalism.However, the gay flag won’t actually appear on US jerseys. It will “merely be displayed at U.S. Soccer controlled areas, such as at night-before parties,” perhaps an even better symbol for the emptiness of World Cup virtue signaling. Not a single country or brand was willing to go beyond fidgeting with its logos or letter writing to boycotting the event, which could be just as much a globalist calculation (an opportunity to further indoctrinate the global South) as a capitalist one.Pavel and I also discuss generally terrible woke campaigns like this one for Mercedes.You get it, right, because the Mercedes is named after a woman…the founder’s daughter.Pavel’s work on InstagramPavel on TwitterThe Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 20 of The Carousel podcast, I’m joined by Dan Baltic, author of the new novel Nutcrankr, released just yesterday by Terror House Press. He’s also the host of the fantastic New Write podcast and a hell of a shitpoaster in his own right.Dan and I have quite a bit of overlap, being both trained lawyers and lapsed progressive half-Jews raised secular, who found our way to dissidence after a few sad attempts at professional writing via appropriate channels.Nutcrankr is satire. It tells the tale of Spencer Grunhauer, a pathetic frog whose reality never quite seems to match up with what’s going on in his mind. I’ll leave most of my review to the episode, besides to say that I found it to be a unique, titillating, and thoroughly readable cultural artifact. A mirror of today’s clown world—even when the biggest clown is the protagonist himself.Nutcrankr on AmazonDan Baltic on TwitterNew Write PodcastTerror House PressThe Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

**NOTE: This podcast contains a recorded Twitter Space conducted outside in Southern California, and thus the sound quality is far from perfect.On Episode 19 of The Carousel podcast, I’m joined by writer/director Propane 2001 to discuss an unauthorized brand video for Salomon we created together. It’s inspired by Julius Evola, the controversial vitalist philosopher whose work has recently resurged among young men seeking meaning and purpose in their lives.Specifically, the video draws from Evola’s Meditations on the Peaks, a series of essays about finding heroism and transcendence in mountain climbing published between 1930-1942. In his script and direction for the video, Propane 2001 built on Evola’s thinking to answer the question of what sort of peaks provide heroic potential today.I write much more about it in a separate Substack post here:And here is the video! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 18 of The Carousel podcast, I’m joined by The Prudentialist, a highly-respected YouTuber and Substacker known for his meticulous-research and his calm, professional presence in the dissident sphere. For the centrists and rationalists among you, The Prudentialist provides an accessible entry point for serious alternative discussion of the ideas and issues of the day. The already-initiated may view him as a based warrior shoring up the flanks with solid, consistent work and total knowledge not just of the scene, but of its source materials. Topics include:* Tactics for sounding professional* Institutional capture and the misery porn propaganda of institutions.* The meaning of “manipulating procedural outcomes to get desired results.”* DeSantis’ Martha’s Vineyard move and Saul Alinksy.* The factors that differentiate this hegemony different from any before it:* Women* Abundance* Connectivity* Globalization* Lack of war* Modern man finding happiness only in the avoidance of death.* The impotence of political entry-ism.Prudent Perceptions on SubstackThe Prudentialist YouTubeThe Prudentialist on OdyseeThe Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On Episode 17 of The Carousel pod, I’m joined by most-interesting-woman-in-advertising Åsk Dabitch Wäppling to chat about ad-world contrarianism. Åsk is founder and publisher of Adland, current CTO of Brown and Red studio, and former art director at Saatchi, BBDO, and Publicis. She presents a fearless independent perspective on our occupied industry and other issues. She is for example an outspoken TERF, although the label doesn’t necessarily fit.Topics include:* Stalkers and Faraday cage purses.* Being banned from awards juries for speaking out against chemically castrating children and womanhood erasure.* Her own terrifying experiences with Lupron.* The right’s terrible design prowess, Mike Ma as a glimmer of hope.* Being a woman on Twitter.* Rare good current campaigns like this Dole/St Luke “Malnutrition Labels: Nutritional Ink” and Postmates/Mother LA “When all you can food is think about…”Links for Åsk:Adland: https://adland.tv/Newsletter: https://dabitch.net/Twitter: https://twitter.com/dabitchVIDEO FOR THIS EPISODE: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

Recurring guest Astral joins me for a joint episode (Episode 16) of The Carousel podcast. Recently-Twitter-banned Astral wonders how and why Twitter advertising impressions relate to Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform. Also covered:* Why Musk balked on the Twitter deal—all just a negotiating tactic?* How selling social media impressions to advertisers—the backbone of the entire internet—is a fake enterprise.* Why Twitter is so much worse at monetizing ads than Facebook and Google.* Is Musk the Red Caesar that will conquer America?* Whether Cambridge Analytica actually helped Trump win.* Caesarism, Rome, and the power of the president.Follow Astral on Telegram.Astral’s Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 15 of The Carousel, I talk with Federalist writer, Arkansas resident, and fellow marketing guy Rich Cromwell. Topics include: * Bourdain’s last days and Cromwell’s incisive take on Asia Argento. * Walmart going woke.* Voting for Obama.* Outing yourself as a conservative.* Raising girls in a world with trans propaganda.* Food as propaganda.* Women in the workplace. * Utilitarianism.* Desantis.Rich on Twitter.Rich at the Federalist.Rich’s podcast Coffee and Cochon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 14 of The Carousel Podcast, the creators When We Were Wizards podcast tell the story of the founding of Dungeons and Dragons. Why is it so fascinating?Because for millennia, there were only six types of tabletop games: dice, miniatures, boards, tiles, cards, pen-and-paper. In 1972, a group of oddballs sitting around a table in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin gave birth to a seventh type: the role playing game. Not only did it change gaming—and later video gaming—forever, but its fantasy-fandom ecosystem defines global popular culture today. It’s almost impossible to understate D&D’s impact on the world.Yet somehow, the story of how Dungeons and Dragons came to be—and how it blew up the lives of the nerds who created it—has never been properly told in the mainstream. That’s what screenwriter/director Adam Turner and games historian Paul Stormer seek to remedy with their addictive new podcast When We Were Wizards.The story begins with a down-on-his-luck shoe cobbler (yes really) named Gary Gygax. His charisma and dedication cultivated a center of gravity for the tiny community of experimental board gamers in the 1960s. Two decades later, he’d be living in the “Playboy Mansion for Nerds” in Beverly Hills amid an all-out war for the ownership of D&D… When We Were Wizards on Apple PodcastsWhen We Were Wizards on Spotify The Carousel is a reader-supported publication. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Forney. A name you’ve probably heard before. A dabbler in thought crime since 2012, Forney has been canceled many times including by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a mark of certain distinction. Today, he’s largely disavowed his past and re-dedicated his life to more serious literary pursuits. He runs Terror House Press, a top publisher of dissident writing. He publishes sordid poetry about his adventures; a chapbook Sex Pest is forthcoming.Many talk of escaping the American disaster, but Forney is one of very few who’s actually done it. Supporting himself through copywriting—hence The Carousel connection—he’s lived in Hungary, Georgia, the Philippines, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, and now Mexico. This episode covers his adventures as a remote freelance copywriter in these places in great detail. Topics include: * Getting trapped in Albania during lockdown and only being able to leave his apartment one hour a week, with only eight hours of running water a day.* The difference between Georgia and Armenia—why young people publicly cross themselves in both places. * North Macedonia: nation as truck stop.* Why Serbian women only like guys who play sports.* The hybrid tattoo parlor/restaurants of Budapest.* Mexico City sucking; Guadalajara the true cultural hub of Mexico.* His origination as a dissident thinker. His immersion alongside today’s big names like Curtis Yarvin, BAP, Delicious Tacos in early sites like 2 Blowhards, Roosh, Heartiste. * Pax Dickinson and the beginnings of cancel culture. * His first books Do the Philippines and Confessions of an Online Hustler.Forney’s Twitter Terror House Press TwitterTerror House Press Website This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

Astral joins me for episode 12 of The Carousel podcast. Creator of the powerful Astral Flight Simulation Substack and pod, Astral plays the role of dissident impresario: chronicler, connector, true believer. If BAP is Kurtz, Astral is The Harlequin. Topics include: * Astral’s unique brand of comparative literary analysis. He creates his own independent academia. * The course of his ideological transformation from left to right after discovering Curtis Yarvin. How BAP’s vitalism pulled him out of a depression.* The longhouse and whether the correct term is matriarchy or gynocracy.* Astral’s fantastic piece THE DIGITAL HORIZON on culture’s gaze and whether there’s any hope for escaping a single global technocracy.* Woke advertising: why it happens and what it means.* The state of the dissident movement; whether anons have heart.* Or do they suffer from what we label The Beautiful Ones problem?Astral Flight Simulation SubstackAstral Flight Simulation podcast on SpotifyAstral on TwitterThe Carousel is for you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 11 of The Carousel Podcast, I’m joined by the ultimate disgraced propagandist: Brett Craig.Brett’s story is one of the craziest, most infuriating, and most illustrative stories not just in advertising, but in all modern culture. A real-life Don Draper cancelled at the peak of his (or anybody’s) advertising career—Chief Creative Officer of Deutsch. He tells the tale from beginning to end, packing in insider detail only he could know.* How a new ideology began to creep into advertising around 2018.* The post-George Floyd environment in the agency world. * Being maybe the only outwardly Christian major-agency CCO in the country. * The Instagram post and email that got him cancelled. * His refusal to bow to the darkness.* His post-cancellation career, including working for Daily Wire and starting his anti-DEI Substack/podcast.He’s a highly-intelligent self-made man from a blue collar background who cracked the 1%; an extremely rare based person who entangled himself deep in the higher echelons of the globalist culture factory. A must listen!Brett’s SubstackBrett’s fantastic podcast, AdwokeBrett’s Twitter This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 10: Self-made millionaire Pine Baron comes on to discuss the absurd new Inflation Reduction Act AKA The Inflation Will Continue Unabated Act of 2022.Pine Baron is a financial marketer and founder of new investment research brand Wealthpin. Like me, he is a small business owner. We both pay our taxes in full, and spend quite a bit of money on accounting in order to do so. Yet we’re both concerned about this bill…Topics include:* The middling bureaucratic bugworld of top-of-funnel brand marketing versus the savage masculine enterprise of direct response marketing.* How to beat the TikTok algorithm.* Financial marketing’s perverse incentives, particularly in a recession. * The Orwellian “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” and how its plan to spend $80 billion to shake down small business owners for $204 billion will only end up harassing the middle class and making inflation worse.* Around 50% of people don’t pay taxes at all. * Around 60% of people are employed by small business owners.* The private equity / hedge fund class—which is also being protected by this bill in other ways for e.g. continuance of the carried interest loophole—can afford to make it unaffordable for the IRS to audit them at all. * Thus, who is this $204 billion in inflation-fighting “profits” going to come from? Middle class small business owners. * Further proven by the fact that an amendment to protect households making less than $400k a year from auditing failed in the senate with every Democrat voting against it.* Why the IRS is susceptible to the Principal-Agent Dilemma.* The Biden Administration’s propaganda fight around the definition of “recession,” which Pine Baron says we are most definitely in.* Why, despite this new bill, starting your own business is the solution to your problems. Thanks for reading The Carousel!Follow Pine Baron on Twitter, and sign up for Wealthpin on its website, or follow on TikTok!You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 9: Katie Kahn joins me to critique Alex Lee Moyer’s new documentary on Alex Jones, Alex’s War. She attempts to convince me that it doesn’t go deep enough and largely succeeds. We also chat about dissident culture, inevitably gossiping about Red Scare, which is like the Godwin’s Law of 2022.Topics include:* Katie’s personal knowledge of Bohemian Grove.* Alex Jones’ strange cast of supporting characters including protege Owen Shroyer and chief bullhorn operator Ali Alexander. * The stories the documentary omits, like Alex’s supplement shilling, alcoholism, new wife, recent divorce, and legal framing as a “performance artist.” * Comparisons to Netflix’s Get Me Roger Stone, which explored Stone’s penchant for orgies.* NYC and San Francisco reuniting after decades of cultural separation. * Osama bin Laden and why we had foreknowledge about 9/11 before it happened (Also mis-stating that Dar Es Salaam is in Sudan; it’s in Tanzania.)* Werner Herzog’s ability to reveal complex characters by letting the camera linger, and why Alex’s War doesn’t do that. * Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza’s ridiculous intellectual justifications: “efilism” and “eulavism” as discussed by Default Friend.* Sam Hyde’s recent massive trolling of YouTube dork iDubbbz.* Peter Thiel peoples’ transformation from the khaki-wearing uncool kids of San Francisco to the edgy culture warriors of NYC.Follow Katie Kahn on Twitter or Substack. And here’s a cool article she wrote about Red Scare v. Call Her Daddy.Watch Alex’s War on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Google, and many other platforms. You can listen to this podcast on Apple or Spotify.Thanks for reading The Carousel! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

On episode 8 of The Carousel Podcast I chat with restaurants veteran Michael Nemcik about shifts in mainstream culinary propaganda. He began his career as a line cook at Hooters Orlando and worked his way up to manager/beverage director at some of the best restaurants in LA. He possesses encyclopedic knowledge of food and wine and has as close to perfect taste as one can get. Recent trends have him concerned about the industry he knows and loves. Including…* The overwhelming inaccuracies and “snowflakery” of the hit Hulu show The Bear. Nemcik recently moved to Chicago where the supposedly gritty slice-of-life show takes place. * The James Beard Awards are the Oscars of the cooking industry and, like the Oscars, recently shifted its primary mission from celebrating excellence to achieving inclusion. Nemcik, as a person of color, discusses the cheapening effects of a more propagandistic awards.* The achievements (and demographic realities) of asians and Hispanics in the kitchen seem to go unrecognized by media like The Bear and the James Beard Awards. Thanks for listening. You can watch a video version of this episode if you click back to the main Substack feed. You can also listen on Spotify and Apple. Thanks for reading The Carousel! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

“The idea of the outsider in the sense of brand identity versus being truly on the outside, not having any group at all.”Writer Caleb Caudell plays outsider to an outsider movement. In this episode of The Carousel: * There’s grifters in any movement. How do you identify them? Should you?* The scrubbing away of human longing and its replacement by branding and products.* Individual freedom as a poor substitute for freedom of association.* The faux localism of multi-use commercial spaces in small American cities. * My sh*tty former editor at LA Weekly condemning my “voice of otherness.”* Condoms as “they.”* Body builders as Beautiful Ones. * Zero HP Lovecraft and the Passage Prize.* Mocking the insiders in the outsider group you’re in.Caleb on TwitterHis bookHis blogYou can also watch this episode on YouTube.Happy Independence Day from Montana! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

Dan Baltic and Matt Pegas of New Write Podcast join me to talk about the advertising industry, why it’s so hard to break into, why it’s reviled, and why we should take it seriously.In the second half, we discuss literature, specifically Matt’s awesome book Dragon Day, Terror House Press, Michel Houellebecq, and whether books should be judged by their covers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

In this podcast, I converse with legendary dissident writer and author Delicious Tacos. We talk about a whole buncha stuff including… * Delicious Tacos’ brand or lack thereof.* What’s hack and what isn’t. * How to think about Twitter.* Whether marketing people should all be killed.* The future of men and women.Here is his website. Here are two of my favorite things he’s written: Mark, Autopilot. Here is his latest book: Savage Spear of the Unicorn.enjoi This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecarousel.substack.com/subscribe

As a raw milk drinker, I try to avoid pasteurized milk in my coffee. Oat milk so effectively replaced it, there had to be a catch. Indeed there was. Spin around a box of Oat Drink Barista Edition and you’ll find it’s made of rapeseed oil, AKA canola oil. Imagine guzzling canola oil straight from the bottle—totally disgusting, no matter how cute Oatly’s copywriting might be. Originally developed as engine lubricants, seed oils like soybean oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, grapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil are unhealthy for many reasons.Once you’ve been redpilled, the rabbit hole goes deep. At a bar in Athens a couple of years ago, I talked with a guy who sold industrial seed oil expellers. He explained that expellers are responsible for all the soy cake and seed oil that form the basis of globalist serf cuisine—“sustainable” meat and cheese replicas we’re supposed to eat to show how much we care. Business was booming. The soy boy concept owes a lot to expeller pressed seed oils, as does “You WILL eat the bugs,” a mocking rallying cry against the World Economic Forum’s apparent plan to preserve “our global resources”—like meat, oil, and land—so the elites can have more of them.Among the poison and propaganda, a hero arose. Last November, a young doctoral resident created a Twitter account. As a budding doctor already obsessed with the seed oil problem, he had toyed around with memes before. “I had made the decision for myself that seed oils were going to be my main intervention,” says Twitter influencer Seed Oil Disrespecter. “This is the most significant change in diet. This is the primary food change that has led to so much disease and this is what I need to do for myself and for my wife and my daughter. And then I saw it hit Twitter.”It was time to enter the fray. “A lot of people were making accounts saying, ‘Oh I'm a hiking enjoyer and I'm a nature respecter.’ So I just married the two and wrote Seed Oil Disrespecter. And within the first 24 hours I had 1000 followers. I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is branding!’”As his meme-craft improved, Seed Oil Disrespecter’s account grew past 40k followers. Vice, propaganda spreaders on behalf of those who want us to eat the bugs, of course painted him as a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Katherine Dee covered him in Unherd, and Killstream had him on as a guest. His wife built a following as Healthy Oil Respecter, offering a more normie-fied, mommy-blogger version of the same message. On Killstream, he admitted to being vaxxed and having heterodox politics, which disappointed some factions of his growing following. Rumors started that he was in fact a corporate shill; an astroturfer for Silicon-Valley-insider startup Zero Acre Farms. Zero Acre Farms— “Let’s Give the World an Oil Change”—plans to disrupt big seed oil with creepy fermented oil of its own (the exact product details remain unclear). Did Seed Oil Disrespecter hijack the authentic anti-seed oil movement on behalf of the very corporate overlords it opposed?I ask about these accusations and much more during the second episode of The Carousel podcast. I will admit that the audio is worse than seed oils because I’m still working on my setup. So if you can’t stand it and want to skip to the part where he talks about how to spread your message, it’s at about 42:00. And here’s his advice in easy-to-digest listicle form: How to spread your message according to Seed Oil Disrespecter!Hijack Humor. “What are people already laughing at? Be new and funny. The -er at the end of Disrespecter is kind of wrong. Having little mistakes here and there is funny [right now].”Move with the Memes. “Memes are punk rock. Make sure you're not too stale and always switch things up. I'm a meme guy, so what do I do? I just steal other memes and reword them. Or I think of something new. It's very simple stuff.”Use the In Between Times. “I do it in between things. You just look at your phone, I look at memes, I see one and I go, "Ooh, I can change that to a seed oil meme." I do it. I repost it. Done. It'll be minutes.”Save Raw Materials. “As a meme person, I always save raw materials. I’m always thinking, oh, I can use that later. You just download it and open it in the Photoshop Express app.”Make it Sticky. “Is it something that people remember? Does it stick to the wall? SeedOil Disrespect is a sticky name, it's funny. But the more you look into it, you're like, holy shit, it's true. People around the world are saying, ‘Disrespecting seed oils,’ and they might not even follow my account.”Build a Squad. “My wife knows nothing about Twitter, right? She's not a meme war veteran and she doesn't get Pepe. We're married a little over 15 years. That first year of marriage, we were like buying vegetarian Morning Star nuggets and trying all sorts of different stuff. But within a year or so we learned about paleo, right? So that first year of marriage, we made a lot of changes. So one of the big changes we made was changing the