Podcasts
’11/22/63′: Stephen King and JFK Conspiracies with James DiEugenio [The Losers’ Club Podcast]
We (mostly) kept JFK conspiracy talk out of our 11/22/63 episodes, as the story is best enjoyed on Stephen King‘s terms. We did, however, think it would be enriching to chat with some smart people about King’s assertion that “it is very, very difficult for a reasonable person to believe” that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t the lone shooter.
Previously, we spoke with Brendan James of Blowback about the book, Oswald, and King’s political evolution. You can find that episode just a bit further down the feed. Now, we’re speaking with Jim DiEugenio, one of the leading experts on the political assassinations of the 1960s. Jim is the author of two books about the Kennedy Assassination, one of which was the basis for Oliver Stone’s documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. He also has a new book out, The JFK Assassination Chokeholds and a website, KennedysandKing.com, that’s loaded with resources.
Since Jim knows Kennedy scholarship like the back of his hand, we chatted with him about the research materials King cites in the afterword to 11/22/63, the ones that make him “98 to 99 percent” sure that Oswald acted alone. Jim also wanted to discuss an interview King did with filmmaker Errol Morris for The New York Times in November 2011, so it may be worth it to hit pause and give that interview a read before listening. The episode also contains spoilers for 11/22/63, in case that’s a concern.
We hope you enjoy.
Stream the episode below and return this Friday when the Losers conclude their coverage with “Pt. 6: The Green Card Man”. For further adventures, join the Club via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock days-worth of content in The Barrens (Patreon), including book episodes on Holly, Fairy Tale, and Billy Summers.
Game Loop.
Trace and I inadvertently bookended our April discussions of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (listen) and Ciarán Foy’s Eli (listen) with Jude Law films. At the start of the month, we tackled Matt Damon’s Italian grifter in The Talented Mr. Ripley (listen) and now we’re closing out April with David Cronenberg‘s eXistenZ (1999).
The unofficial sequel to Videodrome (listen) and precursor to Crimes of the Future, eXistenZ takes place in the world of virtual reality and simulation. Game goddess Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is forced to go on the run with PR nerd Ted Pikul (Jude Law) through the Canadian backwoods when ‘Realist’ terrorists declare open season on her life.
Featuring no shortage of strange encounters and oddball characters, including Willem Dafoe‘s queer-coded Gas and Canadian film royalty like Don McKellar and Sarah Polley, Allegra and Ted must travel between the real world and the game world, all the while keeping track of who is friendly…and who is foe.
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Episode 279: eXistenZ (1999) feat Vannah Taylor
Lube up your industry standard bio-port because we’re playing David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999) with someone friendly: Vannah Taylor!
David Cronenberg’s meditation on the dangers of gaming and simulation is the middle entry of an unofficial trilogy. It’s also a film that gets real confusing, real fast, so good luck figuring out if we’re still in the game!
Plus: criticisms of a “bland” game world, praise for Jennifer Jason Leigh, Canadian royalty, comparisons to Serenity, disgusting gristle guns, and Pikul getting his back blown out (several times!)
Cross out eXistenZ!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our celebration of 1999 films with a look at Stephen Sommers’ bisexual awakening, action adventure film, The Mummy (1999).
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 306 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01E04, Late Night with the Devil, The First Omen, Femme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).
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