Category Archives: History

Robert Stark interviews Jason Reza Jorjani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark co-host and Pilleater interview Jason Reza Jorjani, PhD. Jason Reza Jorgani is an Iranian-American and native New Yorker of Persian and northern European descent. After receiving his BA and MA at New York University, he completed his doctorate in Philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Jorjani currently teaches courses on Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and the history of Iran at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is the author of the book Prometheus and Atlas .

Topics:

The Indo-European heritage of pre-Islamic Iran, contributions to science and culture, and how Iran was one of the most free and tolerant of the Ancient Civilizations
Zoroastrian Priest Mazdak who redistributed the wealth and broke up the Harems during the Sasanian era, and how his legacy has been co-opted by the left
The cultural and genetic impact of the Arab, Turkish, and Mongol invasions of Iran
How Pre-Islamic Iranian Culture was the basis for the Islamic Golden Age
Rumi Was WhiteSufism as a cryptic religion based on pre-Islamic Iranian values
The Pahlavi dynasty, the misconception that the Pahlavi’s were Neoliberals, but were closer to National Socialist Economics, and how the original Shah Rezā Shāh instituted land reform
The culture of Iran under the Pahlavi Dynasty as a revival Pre-Islamic Iranian culture, while emulating the best aspects of the west
Mohammad Mosaddegh and Oil Nationalization
The Iranian Renaissance Movement, an organization dedicated to bringing about a cultural revolution in Greater Iran on the basis of the pre-Islamic Persian heritage and Indo-European values
The original Arab Shia Islam of Ali vs. the Shia Islam that functioned as a cryptic religion maintaining Iran’s identity
The rejection of the Islamic Regime by the Iranian Youth, and why Jason does not see Islam as having a future in Iran
Those who want an opposition movement in Iran based on Neo-liberal “MTV” values
Parallels between the Islamic conquest of Iran and mass migrations into Europe, and the importance of an alliance between Iranian and European Nationalist
Jason’s speech at NPI where he criticized those on the dissident right who are sympathetic to Islam
Jason’s response to the argument that Shia Islam serves as a counter balance to Saudi Arabia and radical Sunni Islam
The Iranian Renaissance’s vision of a Greater Iran, including Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Central Asia
The Syrian civil war, and Syria as the historic crossroads between Greco-Roman and Iranian cultures
Other Iranian peoples including the Kurds and Yazidis
Trump’s Muslim ban, the exception for Saudi Arabia, and Jason’s point that the ban on Iran will force dissidents to fight for change within Iran rather than escaping to the West
The Iranian diaspora Tehrangeles, Iranian American support for Trump, and Iranian Jews
Jason’s book Prometheus and Atlas which was published by Arktos
The Prometheus and Atlas Sculpture at the Rockefeller Center, which is a magnificent pagan temple in the heart of rootless neoliberal New York City
Martin Heidegger and his view that thinking is based on a sense of place
The Archeo-Futurist aesthetic to Trump Tower, and similarities to Ancient Structures such as Tiwanaku in Bolivia, the Babylonian Ziggurat, and the Sphinx in Egypt
The segment in the book Prometheus and Atlas on Anime, the film AkiraNeon Genesis Evangelion, Japan’s reaction to modernity, and Heidegger’s influence on Japan
Jason’s new website AltRight.com

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Robert Stark interviews John Kenneth Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Co-host Pilleater talk to Culturist John K. Press. John is a professor at Namseoul University in South Korea, and the author of the book Culturism: A Word, A Value, Our Future. John also runs the website Culturism and writes for Alternative Right.

Topics:

John’s background growing up in Santa Monica in the 70’s and 80’s, and how  Southern California has changed since then
John’s background in Punk music and his band the patriots
John’s Grab ’em by the Pu**y Song
John’s running of the Brooklyn Tea Party, protest against the Ground Zero Mosque, friction with the Manhattan Tea Party, and the conflict between economic interest and culturism
The debate between the Alt-Right Ethno-Nationalist and color blind Civil Nationalist, and how culturism can address those issues
The multi-culturalist concept that all cultures are equal
Mechanism and institution of culturism
The importance of having high levels of social cohesion for a society to function
Whether to much culturism can be oppressive, and the need for a balance between individualism and cohesion
John’s experience living in Korea as a College professor, and his observations on Korea which is a culturist society
Why John views himself as an academic refugee
The book The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves
John’s book Capsule: A Search for Identity in Modern Japan
Culturism, architecture, urbanism, and aesthetics, and why modism and futurism needs culturism
Regional identities
The socio sexual status of the dominant culture
The Brittish Poet Matthew Arnold who was the founder of culturalism
John’s book Culturism: A Word, A Value, Our Future, a fictional biography about Matthew Arnold
The importance of being involved in culture rather than such politics


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Robert Stark interviews Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Robert Brenner. Robert is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Times Square tours, which are offered on Saturday’s once a Month, hosted by Untapped Cities
Adult Entertainment is the focus of the tours, but they also cover the general history of Time Square
The remnants of seedy Time Square, including The Playpen, and the Show World Center on Eighth Avenue
Robert Brenner’s experience in Time Square as a youth in the 70’s
That era of Time Square portrayed in the Films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy
The gentrification of Time Square in the 90’s, and how the area went from an interesting but dangerous area to a safe and boring one
The Deuce on 42nd Street, which was the center of adult entertainment in the 70’s
The Porn Industry in Time Square, and premier of 70’s porn films such as Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat that paved the way for the future of the pornographic industry, spawning many different adult sites, live cam sites, and even the Babestation blog.
Robert Brenner’s point that every city needs a Red Light District
Peter Sotos’s Pure Filth about the pornographer Jamie Gillis
San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where Robert Brenner lived in the early 80’s, and Robert Stark’s observations from his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
The decline of neon signage in favor of LED, Robert Stark’s interview with Thomas Rinaldi of New York Neon, and the company LET THERE BE NEON! which restores old signs
The history of the Broadway Theater District, the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the defunct Paramount Theatre
The closing of Carnegie Deli and Maxie’s Delicatessen
The Bond Clothing Store Signs in Times Square
The John Portman designed Marriott Marquis in Time Square
The Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, and plans for Moynihan Station inspired by the old Penn Station
New York Skyscrapers


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Robert Stark interviews Lynn Zook

It is no secret that gambling has come a long way since the 1930s. You wouldn’t have found people playing casino games on sites like find fair casinos back in the day. But of course, times change and nothing stays the same.

Online gambling and websites such as www.norgescasino.com/ have completely changed the betting landscape. But what was really going on behind the scenes in some of the iconic Las Vegas casinos back in the day? Lynn Zook runs the website Classic Las Vegas, and Produced an hour-long, first person narrative documentary on the history of Las Vegas entitled “The Story of Classic Las Vegas.” Of course, the story of these classic casinos lives on today through modern gaming sites like vera john slots where the classic games one would expect to see in the various casinos of Vegas are there for all to enjoy.

Topics include:

Lynn’s nostalgia for Vintage Vegas, as a Las Vegas native growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s
Lynn’s new book Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 about the first ten hotels including El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo Hotel, Thunderbird Hotel, Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn, Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Royal Nevada Hotel, The Riviera, and the Dunes Hotel
Lynn’s next book will cover the years 1956-1973, up to the original MGM Grand
The destruction of the Las Vegas Strip’s original Casinos started in the 90’s with the demolition of the Dunes and The Sands
The Flamingo, Tropicana, and Circus Circus are the last remaining of the historic casinos on the strip, and the most in danger of demolition. The legacy of the classic casinos will live on in online casino phone games that are rapidly replacing the big names of yesteryear.
The recent demolition of the Riviera, how it was the strip’s first highrise, and how it was known for performers such as Liberace
Riviera sign’s going to the Neon Museum including the original marque by Marge Williams and the signage from the 80’s renovation
Steve Wynn requested removal of the New Frontier’s neon marquee
The history of Caesars Palace
The importance of historical preservation, and how Las Vegas lacks any significant historic preservation laws
The Las Vegas Neon Museum, which preserves historic signs
Fremont Street in Downtown Lass Vegas, which still retains much of the original casino’s, which will be the topic of Lynn’s third book
The El Cortez Downtown as the best example of a successful renovation of an old casino
The sense of intimacy in the original casinos
How Las Vegas was America’s first 24 hour city
How changing taste in entertainment shaped Las Vegas’s changing landscape
The mid-century car culture, and how it shaped the Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Monorail
The Decline in Neon and replacement by bland LED signage
How the Paris built in 1999, and the Polo Towers also built in the 90’s, are the best examples of the most recent hotels using neon
The Somerset Shopping Center and The Bonanza Gift Shop
Locally oriented casino’s including Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall and Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall
The McCarran Airport’s Mid Century Space Age Terminal


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Robert Stark talks about his trip to LA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark joined with co-host PilleaterRabbit, and Charles Edward Lincoln, talk about his recent trip to his hometown LA

Topics include:

The Hollywood imagery and outsider stereotypes of LA
The history of LA
How LA’s urban core is spread out over a large geographic area from Santa Monica on the Coast to Downtown LA
Robert’s disclaimer that the photos capture the best of LA, but that most of the spaces in between are unappealing due to the cities sprawl
LA’s transit system
South Central LA
West Hollywood, and Rabbit’s experience living there
Downtown LA, the gentrification of the historic core, the grittiness and vintage signage of Broadway, and the Serial Killers Who Haunted The Cecil Hotel
Downtown LA’s architecture including John Portman’s Bonaventure Hotel, and the the 80’s Art Deco revival Home Savings Building where Charles Lincoln worked
Beverly Hills, the 80’s futurist Rodeo Collection, the “Vaporwave” Roman Fountain , and the the 70 futurist/late modernist Roxbury Plaza
Century City, which originally had a 60’s futurist aesthetic, was the the film location of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and the Century City Mall
1980’s Malls including the Beverly Center(Original image), Westside Pavilion, which reminds Pilleater of the game Myst, and the renovation of those malls which ruined their aesthetic
Historic preservation trends starting with demolition of the Art Deco Richfield Tower in Downtown LA, to the lack of preservation for 80’s architecture today
New architecture inspired by past styles including the new Streamline Moderne Under construction Beverly Hilton tower70’s futurist inspired renderings for skyscrapers, and Rabbit’s observation that many apartments are being retrofited in mid-century modern styles
Santa Monica, the waterfront, architecture including the Art Deco Clock Tower, and Santa Monica NIMBY Restriction on heights
The Interactive Cafe, which is one of the last surviving independent businesses in downtown Santa Monica, and Pilleater’s point that it has a Cyberpunk aesthetic
The high cost of housing in LA, even in unappealing areas
The San Fernando Valley, which was traditionally home to LA’s middle class
Demographic trends, the destruction of the white middle class, gentrification of the urban core, and new suburban ghettos in the desert
Rabbit’s point about SWPLs he met in LA who look down on the suburban middle class
The Alt Left dilemma between identifying with SWPL Culture, and urbanist aesthetics, and supporting white middle class identitarianism, which often lacks strong aesthetic visions

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Robert Stark interviews Animator John R. Dilworth

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Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Animator John R. Dilworth. John runs the animation studio Stretch Films in New York City. Check out his work on TwitterYouTube, and Facebook

Topics:

John’s show Courage the Cowardly Dog, which aired on Cartoon Network from 1999 to 2002
Top 10 Most Disturbing (Scariest) Courage The Cowardly Dog Episodes
John’s unsold pilot Prudence
The decline in children’s horror shows
The dark aesthetic in John work, and how the culture has become softer
Incorporating adult themes into children’s shows
The role of marketing, and how it can conflict with art and important messages
Meme culture and public domain art
Mixed media and having the right aesthetic cohesion
The Surreal Comedy genre
The Surrealist aspect of John’s work and inspiration from Salvador Dalí
How to Dream Like Salvador Dali
Japanese Manga including Ghost in the Shell
Richard William’s The Thief and the Cobbler
John’s upcoming film Goose In High Heels, inspired by the disaster in Fukushima
John’s film Life in Transition, which he created after 9/11
John’s erotic comedy The Return of Sergeant Pecker
John’s short film the Angry Cabaret
John’s short film When Lilly Laney Moved In
The value of a  pure mind observing nature
The dynamic of the Aesthetic Arrest, and whether art posses a soul
Philosophical questions about life, human suffering, conformity, our place in time, and expressing ones self


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Robert Stark and Pilleater talk about the Film Salò

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Robert Stark and Pilleater talk about the film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

Topics include:

The film was based on the book 120 Days of Sodom, written in 1785 by the Marquis de Sade, and was even more extreme than the film
De Sade’s nihilistic anarchic philosophy towards sex, in contrast with today’s society, which has replaced traditional morality with new moral codes rather than De Sade’s libertinism
How each generation tries to shock their elders, and how de Sade,’s work is shocking even by today’s standards
The book Sade by Jonathan Bowden
Kerry Bolton’s book The Psychotic Left
Ian Brady’s The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis
Censorship, Sade’s imprisonment for his writings, and the banning of the film in Australia
Author Peter Sotos, who has been compared to de Sade, and also prosecuted for obscenities
Photographer Will McBride, who Sotos has written about, the censorship of his Sex Ed book Show Me!, his art book Coming of Age, and Lasse Nielsen’s films
The theme of adolescent sexuality, innocence, and the desecration innocence
Avant Garde filmmakers Harmony KorineLarry ClarkKenneth Anger, and Nagisa Oshima
Larry Clark’s film Kids
Brooke Shields in the film Pretty Baby
The portrayal and theme of Fascism in the film, and the line “the fascist are the true anarchist.”
Pasolini’s political and cultural views, and his Catholic Paganism
Pasolini’s homosexuality, his love affair with teenage Ninetto Davoli, who was in Salò, and depictions of homo eroticism in the film
Race play in sex, the Nazi S&M Film The Night Porter, and sado-masochist themes in films dealing with political and racial taboos
The film Hard Candy, which is Salò in reverse, but fits within the politically correct narrative
The dominant submissive paradigm in human sexuality
Eli Roth’s torture porn Hostel series
How we have become detached from violence and death in real life, and seek it out in film
The theme of sex as power
The other worldly transcendental aspect to sex

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Robert Stark talks about Mishima, Taxi Driver, & Aristocratic Individualism

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Robert Stark discusses the films Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Taxi Driver

Topics include:

Paul Schrader, who wrote both films, and directed Mishima
Schrader as a subversive non-conformist who exists within Hollywood culture
The theme of alienation in both films
The Nietzschean theme of a weak man empowering himself
The life and legacy of Yukio Mishima
How both Yukio Mishima and Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver are similar archetypes, existing in different environments
How both characters are aristocratic individualists, who envision an ideal world that is at odds with their current situation
An Aristocratic Individualist is someone who follows their own path instead of submitting to societies standards
Aristocratic Individualism is about having a clear vision for an ideal society, rather than individualism in the sense of everyone doing what ever they want
Examples of Aristocratic Individualists include, J. R. R. TolkienAleister CrowleyOscar Wilde, H. L. MenckenDavid LynchRichard WolstencroftSalvador DalíJonathan Bowden,Ernst Jünger, and Friedrich Nietzsche
The theme of romantic rejection, and the corrupting nature that sex plays in both films
Mishima’s story, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
How Aristocratic Individualists resent that they are being denied their rightful place in society, and the normie response that it’s a coping mechanism for losers
How Aristocratic Individualists take actions that can lead to either greatness or alienation
How Yukio Mishima rebelled against Japan’s process of modernization and Americanization
The scene where Yukio Mishima spoke to leftist college students, stating that he is fighting  against the same forces they are, but they dismissed them
The parallels to to how European New Right thinkers such as Alain de Benoist share views with the dissident left( ex. anti globalization, anti-consumerism, anti-imperialism, and pro-environment)
How Yukio Mishima was dismissed in his time, but dissidents are later validated in times of turmoil
Mishima’s Japanese minimalist aesthetic vs. Taxi Driver’s urban grittiness of 70’s New York City
New York Neon: Taxi Driver locales in Time Square, and “porn tourism,” which seeks out the remnants that have survived gentrification
The Neo-noir genre
The Retro-futurist theme in Mishima, combining ancient Japanese culture with the 80’s vision of the future(Vaporwave)
Eiko Ishioka, who was the art director for Mishima
The fantasy dream sequences in Mishima, and the dream like quality to 80’s films which are the essence of art
Bernard Herrmann‘s Jazz score for Taxi Driver, which captures the feeling of alienation and urban grittiness, and  Philip Glass‘s minimalist classical score for Mishima
Aristocratic Individualist Fashion style including designer Comme des Garçons and the director John Waters

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Robert Stark interviews James Howard Kunstler

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Robert Stark, Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk to writer and social critic, James Howard Kunstler

Topics include:

The history of suburbia
James’ theory of history that things happen because they seem like a good idea at the time
How our auto oriented petroleum based society is unsustainable
How bad urban planing has negative psychological and cultural implications
The role of zoning laws, and how zoning can both encourage and prevent suburban sprawl
The future of suburbia, how some will be retrofitted into walkalble communities, while others will be abandoned
The New Urbanist Movement
Mass immigration and overpopulation
Why James does not view skyscrapers and hyper density as viable alternatives to suburbia
Robert’s point that tall structures can have aesthetic value, and how James acknowledges that the early wave of skyscrapers(ex. Singer BuildingWoolworth BuildingManhattan Municipal Building) were beautiful structures but historical flukes
How European cities provide the ideal model for urbanism
Examples of sustainable American cities include Portland, Oregon, Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia
Mass Transit, and why James favors investing in existing rail infrastrusture over new high speed rail
The Streetcar suburb, and how they provide a model for New Urbanism
James’ point that even with alternative energy and technological innovation, we still have to downsize and localize our society and economy
How peak oil will lead to economic and political decentralization
How Peak Oil will make Globalization unsustainable
The future of China and the Arab Gulf States
Pre-War Japan as the best example of an advanced civilization without industrialization
The scarcity of water in the future, and how the inland water system will regain it’s value
Historic Preservation, how the movement was started in the 1960’s in response to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station in NYC, and the debate about what should be preserved
Rabbit makes the case for mid century modern
Capital scarcities in the future, and how mass development is dependent upon the financial system
James’ four book series set in a post economic collapse America, the World Made by Hand


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Robert Stark interviews Professor Darrell Hamamoto

Darrell Hamamoto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Co-host Alex von Goldstein talk to Darrell Hamamoto, Professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Topics include:

How Professor Hamamoto started out in Ethnic Studies and later became disillusioned with it
How Asian Studies, other Ethnic Studies, as well as Women’s Studies are backed by corporate and financial interest
His experiences with censorship at UC Davis
The elite’s support for mass immigration, starting with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965  to the H-1B visa program
His book Servitors of Empire: Studies in the Dark Side of Asian America
His pornographic film Skin on Skin, which starred all Asian American actors, which addressed the exclusion of Asian American males from Porn
Hollywood’s portrayal of Asians and his book Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism
The importance of creating independent media
Yukio Mishima, his life, and legacy, and his opposition to the Americanization of Japan
Whether Asian Americans will become an elite in America or serve as a buffer between the White Elite and White Middle Class
The relationship between Japanese Americans and post 1965 Asian immigration
The 1960’s Counter-Culture
His upcoming panel at UC Berkeley on Asians and Film

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