The odd similarities between Havana Syndrome and gangstalking. I n 2016 the New York Times published “United States of Paranoia”, an in-depth look into the world of gangstalking. The piece profiled Targeted Individuals — people who believe they’re being stalked by gangs of unknown assailants — and chronicled their struggles…

Was Alex Jones allowed to sneak into the Bohemian Grove? InfoWars host Alex Jones recently claimed he now believes parts of his notorious 2000 documentary Dark Secrets: Inside Bohemian Grove may be fake. In an interview on comedian Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant 2 podcast, Jones provides a history of the Grove…

Did the CIA secretly fund rock bands in the 1960s? By now, we’re all probably familiar with the wilder conspiracy theories from the 1960s and 1970s about rock & roll. Jimi Hendrix was murdered, Jim Morrison faked his death, and Paul is dead. There’s an element of morbidity in rock…

In June, Philadelphians believed police were conducting a psychological operation—were they right? Whom do you trust? That question is more important than ever. Conspiracy theories nearly destroyed democracy — or did they? The greatest threat to freedom is information. Is that Twitter account for real or is it an op…

What happens when a country loses its mind? American English is clumsy, lacking in grace and subtlety. It’s very good at expressing stupid ideas, trivial things, but not so much at conveying complex thoughts or emotions. Derp is the most American of words. Derp can be a guttural belch designed…

Is a murderer roaming the streets of your city? A question lingers over the city of Philadelphia, like a dark cloud signaling an approaching storm: is a serial killer roaming the streets? On June 11, 2020, local news reported that Philadelphia Police Department found a woman’s body inside a suitcase…

At what point does well-intentioned cultural criticism lapse into conservative moral panic? On August 31st, Todd Phillips’s The Joker premiered for critics at the Venice Film Festival. In the time since that screening the film has generated wildly different reactions. David Ehrlich of Indiewire said the film is “going to turn the world upside down,” while Stephanie Zacharek of Time countered that…

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently. On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, a shootout broke out between the Philadelphia Police Department and a man armed with an assault rifle in the Nicetown-Tioga section of Philadelphia. I live in Philly and follow local social media religiously, so I decided…

Old fears are possessing Americans anew. But where did they come from, and who conjured them? During a 2002 pilgrimage to the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, Pope John Paul II spoke to a crowd of congregants of a crisis of faith among Christians, stating: “Spiritual combat … needs to be…