On this episode, the first in Season 9, we get stuck into the vast and sprawling history of The Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. The creation and utilisation of such an unbelievably powerful weapon changed the dynamics of power globally and the results are still being felt today. The Manhattan Project was a WWII initiative which brought together the most brilliant of minds to conceptualise and then develop a weapon formidable enough to compel the Axis powers to capitulate. Spearheaded by the now infamous J. Robert Oppenheimer and his macho military counterpart General Leslie Groves, the project mobilised an extensive team of globally reknowned physicists at a secret encampment in New Mexico called Los Alamos. There they collaborated on their own theories and advanced human knowledge leaps and bounds in such a short time; focussing primarily on the new school of their craft, quantum physics and then more practically the design and production of weapons-grade nuclear materials and a mean by which to blow them up!
All this was being done amidst fears of Nazi Germany's parallel efforts, the Allied forces hastened to pioneer this groundbreaking technology and have it ready to fire before the lads got their shot off somewhere. Unfortunately for the more trigger happy of the US military elite, Germany's surrender before the bomb was battle-ready meant that the remaining Japanese Imperial forces faced the consequences, with Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffering atomic attacks in August 1945. These bombings, which abruptly ended the war after years of massive conventional bombardments, underscored the terrifying potency of nuclear arms and marked the apex of scientific ingenuity yielding the most destructive force known to humanity.
Joining me on this episode I have two Irish comedy legends Edwin Sammon and Chris Kent.
You can find Ed here on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edwinsammon/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@edwinsammon and his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/edwinsammon where you can see loads of clips from stand up, TV and stage appearances and also episodes of his podcast 'Edwin Sammon of Knowledge' which you can also find on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/show/1koWjRbaPaJcfs5aItOpzO?si=257e5284ee34478d He is gigging all over the country so follow him and get updates for when he's coming to your town!
You can find Chris at his website here https://chriskentcomedy.com/ where you can get tickets to the massive amount of upcoming live comedy shows all over Ireland and the UK and loads more too; like his full video comedy specials! Chris is also on all the socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriskentcomic/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chriskentcomic and check out all his video on his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMkiptOA5pvabk0xRXkFO5g
There is a Patreon version of this episode with over 40 mins extra content and if you're a TCG Patreon subscriber, there's a video version in Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/59alnTONQdDCJj6CZdCzkT?si=382c80f4a8b848e4 as well as all the other Patreon content sent right to your Spotify app.
You can sign up now for a FREE Patreon subscription to TCG and listen to this episode (with the extra stuff) right here https://www.patreon.com/posts/s09e01-manhattan-111508606
Chapters:
Introduction 00:00:00
Show Start 00:6:31
Before The Research 00:28:24
The Creation of Atomic Physics 00:40:17
German Science for German People 01:05:31
The Bomb as an answer for Pearl Harbour 01:12:57
The Manhattan Project Begins 01:20:35
The Problem With Uranium 01:43:47
The General and The Genius 01:58:46
What About Bob Oppenheimer? 02:22:53
Los Alamos: It Takes A Village 02:45:02
VJ DAY TBA 02:55:08
The Potsdam Declaration 03:05:44
Hiroshima and Nagasaki 03:10:53
What That Bomb Do? 03:18:07
The Global Shock Wave 03:44:23
Agent Orange 03:56:43
Oppenheimer Self Exile 04:06:18
Off The Fence 04:11:33
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4:44:29
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4:44:29
Charlie Manson: Revisited
On this episode we talk about one of the most notorious men in modern history; a dude whose simple and crazy face is synonymous with manipulation, mind control and murder; whose idea of family will have you thinking twice about complaining about going home for thanksgiving this year; this time we are chatting about the one and only Charlie Manson.
This is a revisited episode on this topic with about 10 years in between; I wanted to give the fantastic source material a fresh outlook and using my more modernised and thorough process and higher quality treatment in the new TCG regime. Not only that but new revelations in the case itself; new media, documentaries and information about Charlie and his family members; recent prisoner releases and even a new book called Chaos written by Tom O'Neill have been released in the mean time.
We discuss Charlies rotten upbringing and his almost ubiquitous incarceration up until the age of 20 for various crimes and the psychological toll this must have taken on his psyche. This semi-permanent incarceration would also give ample opportunity to practice his innate and effective ability for persuasion and manipulation; as well as condition him to do 'what ever it takes' to get the job done.
Charlie was a cultural figurehead of the 1960s hippy movement, and some say he was the bell that rang out in its last dying days to signal the end of the Free Love era. His notorious family, which at one time included famous rock stars and celebrities, were a raggle taggle gaggle of drug addled ne'erdowells whom Charlie gathered up through emotional manipulation. This crowd of crusties eventually became responsible for the deaths of 9 people in a murder spree that shook the US and Hollywood elite in particular.
Great conversations in this one with Danny and Micky and we chat about everything from how Charlie learned to meddle with minds; to the allusions by experts that he, among others in the movement, was a government agent working to destroy the cultural resistance in California to maintain status quo and military complex supremacy in the face of an escalating war. There are also rumours and conjecture that the acid and drugs the family consumed and distributed were 'military grade' and their motives and image were anything but authentic. Good times! :) Its good to be back, thanks for your patience and enjoy the show :)
You can watch/listen to the video version of this episode on the Patreon Only feed that now integrates with Spotify. Just click this link https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gnyuuL2wgNE3RiYk3qXMK?si=3399944fb57b4206 and link your accounts and get Patreon Only content direct to your Spotify app!
Joining me on this episode are comedians Danny O'Brien and Micky Bartlett. You can find them both here:
Danny can be found on his website https://www.dannyobriencomedy.com/ and he is literally touring all over the world all of the time so no matter where you are, you'll be most likely able to catch him live someplace! Keep up to date with his whereabouts on his social media such as IG https://www.instagram.com/dobcomedy/ and he is @dobcomedy everywhere else. Danny is touring all over Ireland and the UK for 2024 with his new show 'Sweet Child O Brien' so get tickets before they are gone!
Micky can usually be found at the bar in the middle of a crowd of people having the craic; but if you want to find him for professional reasons he is @mickybartlett on all social media and specifically https://www.instagram.com/micky_bartlett/on Instagram and the same of similar on the others. Micky is currently at the Perth Comedy Festival so you can also possibly see him anywhere in the world, and it is a treat to se the man in his personal glory, go check it out.
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6:10:50
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6:10:50
The Salem Witch Trials
DEEP DIVE -
On this episode we discuss one of histories most enduring mysteries where accusations flew and farcical trials condemned many young women to death in the name of religious purity which was disguising political subterfuge and using fear of the unknown as a tool of control; this one is all about The Salem Witch Trials.
In 17th Century Massachusetts newly settled puritans began a campaign of accusations against potential witches in their community. Largely led by the testimonies of young girls against other young girls, this crusade against the forces of darkness was a thinly veiled attempt to gain control of a newly emerging civilisation in a new country.
There are many theories as to why the girls acted as they did, and mass psychosis and even hallucinogenic poisoning are cited as the cause of these frivolous and deadly claims. We discuss it all and a whole lot more.
You can watch/listen to the video version of this episode on the Patreon Only feed that now integrates with Spotify. Just click this link https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hnUbxbRfK1QaXdmNvAly9?si=ocQ6EAlKRaC7mdBO_SPBrQ and link your accounts and get Patreon Only content direct to your Spotify app!
Joining me on this episode are comedians Ailish McCarthy and Betsy Speer. You can find them both here:
Ailish can be found here https://www.instagram.com/thesleepycomedian/ and check out her podcast The Party T*ts here https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-party-t-ts/id1541995084 as well as many many live gigs all over the place including The Paddy Power Comedy Festival, Cherry Comedy, and The Craic Den among others.
Betsy can be found here https://www.instagram.com/betsyspeercomedy/ and check out her podcast https://www.instagram.com/badbookbash/ her website here https://www.betsyspeer.com/ and many other live shows she does all over Ireland and beyond like Hysteria Comedy, The Comedy Crunch, and The Comedy Cellar.
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If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys
If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free!
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5:53:45
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5:53:45
Randy Kraft - The Scorecard Killer
On this episode we talk about one of the most prolific and brutal killers in US history and a guy who got his moniker The Scorecard Killer from a macabre list of nicknames he had for his many victims; this episode is all about Randy Kraft.
Joining me on this episode is comedian Ger Staunton; international comedy powerhouse and fellow Mayo man :) Ger and I discuss these heinous crimes and what drives someone to commit such horrific sexual attacks on so many young men.
Kraft operated in the prolific serial killer atmosphere of the 70s and 80s where it seemed all bets were off for catching murderers. There is estimates of up to 70 victims that Kraft cruelly dispatched but he was only found guilty for very few of these; and we discuss the ones we know about here.
Acknowledgment to Murder, Murder, Murder (dot) com and Dennis McDougal author of Angel of Darkness for the nitty gritty on this one. Not a whole lot else online on this fella but both of these sources nail it pretty well.
If you want to find Ger online he is @gerstaunton on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/gerstaunton/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/gerstaunton) or listen to his podcast with Martin Angolo called 'Canary in a Comedy Goldmine' which you can find here http://canaryinacomedygoldmine.com/
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If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys
If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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3:52:48
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3:52:48
Tin Foil Hat with Sam Tripoli - April 2023
SWAPCAST -
On this episode I join Sam Tripoli, XG and Johnny on the infamous Tin Foil Hat to chat about the state of 'conspiracy theories'; what mad stuff is going on in the world right now; how hard it is having a head going around the place and a bunch of other contemporary conspiracy topics. We also talk about the recent TCG Rothschild episode and all the shenanigans that entails.
There's a big ol' intro on the front of this one too, because it's been a while! If you want to skip to 00:08:10 for the start of the show instead of listening to me :) This was a great episode and I got to ask Sam some of the questions Ive been wondering about. The world looks and feels like a really weird place right now (Jerry Springer is dead) but maybe it only feels like that.
There's a bunch more episodes coming now including deep dives, interviews, swapcasts and a new season 9 starting recording in the next couple of weeks. The new website is almost fully up and running too if you want to check that out http://www.thoseconspiracyguys.com
Hope you are all doing great and enjoy the show!
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If you want to follow TCG on social platforms including the TCG Guilded Server; watch video versions of the livestream podcast and documentaries; or even join in on live chats about current events; get notifications of tickets you can buy to upcoming live stage shows or any other way to connect with me; all the available links, info and instructions you can find by clicking this link http://www.taplink.cc/thoseconspiracyguys
If you want to throw a few bucks up the internet to support the show on Patreon you can get exclusive Patreon-Only content; all seasons of ad-free episodes; exclusive access to live chats and private social media like Instagram and Guilded and a whole load of other stuff click here http://bit.ly/TCG-Patreon where you can get all this from just $2 per month subscription or an annual one-time payment with a month free!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Those Conspiracy Guys is a history, comedy and true crime podcast from Ireland produced and presented by Gordon Rochford and the topics discussed are varied and wide-ranging; from the speculations on the out-there conspiracy theories like aliens, time travel, and ancient civilisations to researched discussions on the more grounded, historical and provable conspiracies like political and financial corruption, scientific chicanery and secret government agency shenanigans.
In long-form group discussions; interviews with authors and experts; live stage shows and streams with an eager audience; and collaborations with other conspiracy creators; Gordo examines all the wildest notions and most unbelievable theories in the ever broadening genre of 'conspiracy'. From the high-concept topics like inter-dimensional lizard men, complicated assassination plots and potential future technologies like alternative simulated universes; to the much more tangible topics like discussing serial killers and mysterious true crime cases; exploring the history of religions and cult leaders; and historically profiling the lives and times of some of the most influential people to have lived, and died.
Those Conspiracy Guys brings you on a light hearted and hilarious exploration of these fantastic stories through thoroughly researched and painstakingly contmeplated production; making it easy and fun for these sometimes heavy and complicated topics to be digested, with lashings of good old irreverend Irish craic from host Gordon Rochford and a cavalcade of hilarious comedians, committed creators and fabulously interesting guests.
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