Episodes

I can't believe it myself, but we actually got to the end of this series. In this one, we get a visit from Computer Guy, who leaves much the worse for wear, check in on the Qanon Children's Crusade, and finally consider the example of Lara Logan, a talented journalist who has gone full Q-razy. It's been quite a ride. We'll spend the next couple of months working on new content, and see you in the new year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here, one episode away from the finish line, we finally consider the question that has haunted theologians for thousands of years. What if the messiah was actually Donald Trump? Yes, we engage with a strange branch of evangelicalism that is literally considering Trump for godhood. Plus, we examine the phenomenon of Trump coins, a currency almost completely devoid of value. You make your own connections to the man himself. Also, for the benefit of our voicemail listener (the beginning of the epi...

In this, our antepenultimate Qanon episode, we hear what's almost certainly the weirdest Q story of them all--the tale of Austin Steinbart, a man who believes Q is a future version of himself. Plus, we check in on those formerly repentant Q-crazed January 6th convicts, and examine Qanon as one of the great grifting opportunities of our time. Two more episodes before we land this plane. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She has returned to us! Oh, blessed day. Yes, it is with gratitude that we say goodbye to Elena Pegasus and hello to our very own mythical horse lady, freshly returned from her monthlong European summer sojurn. MUST BE NICE. And we look back on the Epstein story (still unconvinced that he had help killing himself), and talk about why Q nuts went buggy last year about a butterfly sanctuary. In the home stretch. See you in two weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One day later than you might have expected, due to the Labor Day holiday, we're wrapping up our Q world tour with a couple of scenic stops in Australia and Germany to learn how our favorite home-grown American nonsense has impacted our friends around the world. Co-host Elena Pegasus continues to keep this train a-running, but look forward to the triumphant return of Ms. Unicorn next episode, when we'll also return to the amber waves of grain to wrap up our marathon Qanon series with a few more e...

The terrifying reign of Elena Pegasus continues! Seriously, though, our guest co-host once again joins us to explore another truly bizarre story from the annals of Qanon. This one is Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, and trust me when I tell you the story is weirder than you think it is, even if you've heard something about her and her oddball followers before. This one's a lot of fun. We have a few more of these before we exhaust Qanon, and we're gonna try to end with a bang. ...

Don't Panic! Our lovely Dana Unicorn is on monthlong European vacation (MUST BE NICE! I'm not bitter), and the wonderful Elena Pegasus, her cousin, has stepped into the breach as we detail the fallout of Russiagate, and how it affected the growth of Q, Plus, we talk about the dumbest political slogan of my lifetime. More Elena next week, as we dive into the Qanon Queen of Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This time, I'm maybe gonna hit some of you where it hurts. By "some of you", I mean "those of you who like me loathe Trump and want to believe every bad story about him, and have trouble admitting we may have been wrong about some of them." So, yeah. We're talking about Russia Gate, and how those who cling to it in spite of a total lack of evidence are--to a very, very small extent--kind of putting themselves on the same continuum as the Q nuts. WE'RE NOT MAKING FALSE EQUIVALENCES. We're just tr...

Hi everybody. This time, as promised, we actually get back to talking about the last few years of Qanon. But not until we reveal the cordwood stacks of bodies that Bill and Hillary supposedly left in their bloody path to power. Oh, and we also reminisce about that time Christopher Hitchens wrote a book about all the times the Clintons lied. It's all kind of a hoot. Enjoy, We're back on normal post-holiday schedule. See you in a couple of weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Greetings from the PAST! I have uploaded this show early, because I'm on what we like to call "vacation." However, the content wheel never stops spinning, and so today you will hear all about Glenn Beck's Agenda 21 freakout (aka New World Order Part 2), and then the origins of the Clinton mania that eventually led to the "but her emails" and Qanon baby-eating rumors. Still stuck in the 90s, Jesuit's heyday, but next time we're ACTUALLY GONNA TALK ABOUT CONTEMPORARY QANON. I know. I'm surprised, ...

Miss us? Well, we missed YOU! But we appreciate your bearing with us during our post-Upon A Red Horse break. Our batteries recharged, we continue our discussion of the New World Order panic of the 90s and how it led directly to some of Q's major currents. This time, it's panic about black helicopters, and over a satire that they misread as a real plan for remaking the world. It's nice to be with you again. See you in a couple weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Action packed, that's the only word for it. This time, we start with the greatest conspiracy-slash-prophecy show around, Newswatch Magazine with David J Smith. Next, we talk about what, exactly, the New World Order is, and how it served as a prelude to the eventual obsessions of Qanon. We get a little nostalgic about the shit people were panicked about during the 1990s, and we explore some of the more...interesting ideas Kindle Unlimited authors have about the continued threat that the New World...

Yeah, this is kind of a weird one. Starts with a deconstruction of the two versions of the Christian End of the World novel Left Behind, then follows with an analysis of the weird shit young Jesuit listened to back in his 20s, and how those apocalyptic loons draw a straight line to the Qanon of our current day. It was a fun episode to put together. Hope you all like it. Join our Facebook group, and if you are so inclined, join our patreon: patreon.com/theparanoidstrain. See you in a couple of we...

We're a day late, but boy howdy do we have some nonsense to share with you. Learn how the book of Revelation apparently predicted modern attack helicopters. And how Christian and Jewish zealots are working together to raise sacrifice a red cow to bring the arrival and/or return of the Messiah. And how Donald Trump had Hillary and Bill executed. And then somehow had her arrested again, three years later. It's a humdinger. This episode also marks the introduction of our new patreon--sign up if you...

When we started this series, who thought we would be doing a multi-episode detour into the Book of Revelation? Certainly not your fearful host. But the more we got into this topic, the more we realized that end-times fanaticism, which defines not just the decade of the 90s, but also certainly Q's whole "the storm is coming" thing, deserved a thoroughgoing review. So that's this week's episode, and into the week after's. Then, we'll probably get around to talking about the Xfiles. Talk to you soo...

Yeah, there's still a little sex-trafficking teaser at the beginning of this one, but it also inaugurates our next topic. That is--how did the apocalyptic year-2000 obsessions of the 90s seed the ground for the eschatological focus of the Qanon cult? Over a few episodes, we plan to answer that question, and in the process, we plan to revisit some of the best cultural touchstones of our youth. Yes, I'm basically talking about the X-files. But that show as great! Anyway, we're definitely on the do...

We said last episode was our final Satanic Panic episode, and we meant it! At least, mostly--we still have to wrap up the surprising and awful story of how our interviewee, Justin Sledge, found himself caught up in a late-breaking satanic panic as a 1990s teenager. Plus--Debbie Nathan helps us see what forest we're missing for the sex trafficking panic trees. That makes more sense after you listen. See you in a couple of weeks, when we actually, really get to a totally new topic. Seriously. I pr...

The Paranoid Strain? They still do episodes of that show? Will wonders never cease. Sorry we're late. I promise, we weren't being neglectful. We just got caught up in a combination of holiday obligations, ongoing research, and a mountain of work for an upcoming project so ridiculously grandiose, we can't believe it ourselves (and it was our idea). That's coming soon. How soon? Who knows. But for now, enjoy the last part of our coverage of the satanic panic proper--this time, focusing on the sto...

Our de facto holiday episode is here, not that there's anything notably Christmassy about it. Or even Hannukah-y. We continue to lift up the rocks of the Satanic Panic and watch the horrible worms and bugs squirm in the disinfecting light of the truth. This time, we turn our attention to the way the media fanned the flames of the panic, convincing people across North America that Satan was coming for their kids. We also do a deep dive into one of the most heart-warmingly silly anti-rock and roll...

We're waist-deep in Satanic Panic, with no end in sight. Our story continues with details of the McMartin preschool trial, the highest-profile, most emblematic event of the whole sad, deluded era. Our expert interviewees walk us through the gory details...you know, normally when people use that expression, they don't mean it. Unfortunately, in this case, the details are pretty awful, and we don't want to mince words: this episode includes catalogues of truly nauseating accusations. The only reli...

You asked for it, you got it. The 80s Satanic Panic--especially related to supposedly abusive daycares, was a direct antecedent to the Qanon child abuse/sacrifice mania. So we dive into the whole icky story. Joining us is interviewee Debbie Nathan, pioneering skeptical journalist who was among the first to call bullshit on the whole nightmare, which boiled down to well-meaning parents and officials inadvertently planting horrific memories in the minds of impressionable little kids, who then furt...

Last stop before our full, multi-part discussion of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. This stop is back in the depths of antisemitism, the miasma from which so many conspiracies arise. Learn how the unsolved murder of a 12-year-old boy in 12th century England was transformed into an unkillable, slanderous rumor tying Jews to ritual murder, blood-letting, and cannibalism. We wish we could tell you the subject matter gets lighter from here, but that would be a lie. Buckle up, Strainiacs....

Out with the old, in with the new. In this case, no more Birchers of fluoride--we've moved on to other Q-related topics. This time, we're taking a long windup to get to the Satanic Panic period of the 80s and early 90s in the US and Canada, which is the direct antecedent of the Q "democrats harvesting adrenochrome from abused sex trafficked youngsters" meme that has so obsessed lunatics in recent times. But on the way there, we need to consider how human sacrifice--and even moreso, the idea of o...

A Stupid Surprise