"...okay, that's life, that's what I was told anyway And picking your feet till they bleed may be the half of it If every fourth animal in the world is a beetle Maybe every fourth person is a dumb fuck Listen, listen carefully now: here's the answer It rhymes with axe Why it's those personal acts, of course Those personal acts Those suicide pacts T…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Leopoldo López discuss ongoing protests in Venezuela, the Maduro regime’s tactics of repression, and prospects for the restoration of the Venezuelan constitution and the end of Maduro’s despotic rule. Join former mayor of Caracas and Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López and Hoover Senior Fe…

"BE WHO YOU ARE, WRECK THEM, AND THEN DIE" - Rammellzee

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Adela Raz discuss the humanitarian catastrophe and systemic human rights abuses under Taliban rule, the lessons and consequences of the collapse of the Afghanistan Republic, and the future of Afghanistan and its diaspora. Join former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United …

"There are no castles without ghosts And no spirits without hope But nobody passes the test of time I do not fear the buried sounds Of words that echo underground A memory is a loaded gun And I remember everyone I remember everyone I remember you" - Ghosts, Nomeansno

"For every detective novel, regardless of its story, is for every reader, above all, a novel about himself: about what happened to the reader as a human individual in general, as an individual developing from a child into an adult; as a living being who experiences continuous transitions there and back, from layer to layer of consciousness..." - On…

"Some roads are only seen at night Ghost roads, nothing but neon signs But some nights, the neon gas gets free And turns into walking dead like me And I've been making promises I know I'll never keep One of these days, I'm gonna leave you in your sleep I'll have to go when the whistle blows, the whistle knows my name Baby, I was born on a train" - …

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Lobsang Sangay discuss China’s repression of the Tibetan people, Tibet’s efforts to advocate for freedom and rule of law, and prospects for the future in Tibet and in East Asia, on Wednesday July 31, 2024. Join former prime minister in exile of the Central Tibetan Administration Lobsang Sangay and…

Join Israel Defense Forces (IDF) brigadier general Meir Finkel and Hoover senior fellow H.R. McMaster as they examine the current state of the Israel-Gaza war and the geopolitics of the broader Middle East. In this episode of Battlegrounds, Dr. Finkel shares his insights on the Israeli campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza, examining the objectives of …

patreon.com/sfultra "...'For I aint, you must know,' said Betty, 'much of a hand at reading writing-hand, though I can read my Bible and most print. And I do love a newspaper. You mightn't think it, but Sloppy is a beautiful reader of a newspaper. He do the Police in different voices." - Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens…

"The fire of wild abandon burns so beautiful and bright The ashes fade away after consuming all the light The fire of wild abandon burns so beautiful and hot I used to know the way back home but somehow I forgot Through all the smoke I can’t see you What’s the thing you been turned into? Something fun, or someone new The fire of wild abandon Feel t…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Ahmet Üzümcü discuss the vital role of Turkey in advancing peace and prosperity in a time of economic distress; strained relations between Ankara and Washington over Turkey’s acquisition of Russian air defense systems; disagreements over US support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the fight against IS…

“I have said before that the music is the words and the words are the music. It is all there for you to understand if you can and for you to feel, regardless.” - Sun Ra, This Planet is Doomed patreon.com/sfultra

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Jorge Castañeda discuss the future of Mexico and Mexican-US relations, on Friday, May 31, 2024. Former foreign minister of Mexico and renowned public intellectual, political scientist, and prolific writer Jorge Castañeda Gutman joins Hoover senior fellow H.R. McMaster to share his insights on curr…

"I fire myself ten times a day I throw myself in a watery grave With fourteen horses on top of my head I hear the voice again and again" - I Fire Myself, Mary Timony

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Elbegdorj Tsakhia discuss Mongolian security concerns, the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the continued threat of warfare in the Pacific, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Former president of Mongolia, key leader of the Mongolian Democratic Revolution, and Mongolian prime minister in 1998 …

"​eurt si em tuoba yas yeht gnihtyrevE" - Euphoria, Kendrick Lamar (intro sample from The Wiz) I'm happy to welcome back Matt to tackle this terrible book. Matt's youtube channel Bookpilled is one of the main inspirations behind SFUltra and his engaging, thoughtful reviews make him official YouTube Book GOAT. His patreon is worth it and then some. …

“...Thank God you let me crash on your couch Who's my God that I’m prayin' to now? … Made her go home, felt the virus Web of life is my weed, false dreams stripped by silence … Deals they had us sign, for years, it had mе blind Think I had to hit rewind and think about why I do shine … My whole family cursed, now get the fuck out my ride … Nothin',…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Vladimir Milov discuss the war in Ukraine, the status of the Russian opposition, and prospects for the restoration of peace, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Vladimir Milov, Russian opposition politician, publicist, economist, and former advisor to the late Russian opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov and A…

"You lie in the graveyard Well you're rotting away When I talk to you daily You've got nothing to say You lie in the graveyard Well you are down making plans Well you control all my thoughts Well you make dust fall" - Graveyard , Butthole Surfers

"Fear stalks the land. (As usual; so what else is new?)" - Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo

"He looked round her drawing-room and marvelled how he, who prided himself on not being able to endure any-thing in bad taste, could tolerate this chamber of horrors. Everything, he mused, was beautified by his passion.." - Laughter In The Dark, Vladimir Nabokov One year anniversary blog: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sfultra-year-1-99301744…

Who Do You Think You Are? I Am. is a Perfect Taste Forever series about memoir and biography. PFT is usually patreon exclusive but this episode is free for everyone. patreon.com/sfultra I'm joined on this episode by Jolene, the host of the podcast When A Guy Has. We talk about The Fifth Wound by Aurora Mattia.…

"I'm living a fake, People say "You are entitled to and great" But I haven't wrote for 90 days, I'll get a good deal and I'll go away, Away from the empty brains that ask" - How I Wrote Elastic Man, The Fall

"I do not deny that, among an infinite number of acts of violence and folly, some good may have been done. They who destroy everything certainly will remove some grievance." - Edmund Burke

"...when I put on my holster, I put God out of my mind" - Cop

"He did not work for posterity, nor did he work for God, whose literary preferences were largely unknown to him." - The Secret Miracle, Jorge Louis Borges

"Delight dwindles. Blame stays the same." - Briggflatts: An Autobiography, Basil Bunting I'm happy to welcome Matt on this last episode of SFUltra for 2023. Matt's youtube channel Bookpilled is one of the main inspirations behind SFUltra and his engaging, thoughtful reviews of books exactly like the one we're covering this week are precisely what m…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Pål Jonson discuss European security concerns, NATO, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Sweden’s defense technology and innovation, Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Insights from Sweden’s minister for defense, Pål Jonson, shed light on Nordic, Baltic, and European security and the importance of the transat…

"At the top of the hill You watch the world below Writhing with life You have two heads You feel one pushing out Trying to see Seeds Are planted In your mouth Whеn they bloom They burst from you Face Yoursеlf Your new Self" - Fawn, Body Void

"Sometimes when I get up and emerge from the mists of slumber, my whole room hurts, my whole bedroom, the view from the window hurts, kids go to school, people go shopping, everybody knows where to go, only I don't know where I want to go..." - Bohumil Hrabal, Total Fears: Selected Letters to Dubenka…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Sebastian Junger discuss the necessity of unity, the importance of the tribe, and the future of American democracy, Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and documentary filmmaker Sebastian Junger joins Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster to explore the lessons that ca…

"Death's meaning I cannot read. To me death is above all things a smell, a very bad smell, and that, like the skeletons which terrify children, is not death at all. If I had to smell it more often, if I had to work in the catacombs, I would think nothing of it. And a few years or decades from now, I will think nothing about everything." - William T…

"The relation between God and human beings is often mediated by the sign of the weapon" - Elaine Scarry

"All alone at the '64 World's Fair Eighty dolls yelling "Small girl after all" Who was at the DuPont Pavilion? Why was the bench still warm? Who had been there?" - They Might Be Giants, Ana Ng

"Being empty, not being a complete, separate being, having no self to groove on and needing to be constantly in female company, he sees nothing at all wrong in intruding himself on any woman's thoughts, even a total stranger's, anywhere at any time, but rather feels indignant and insulted when put down for doing so, as well as confused -- he can't,…

Welcome back to our scattered schedule of scams! We are your hosts Stephanie Wolfe and Karen Johnson-Diamond and we'll bring you the scams that our tickling our fraud fancies at the moment. This episode: Karen talks about almost falling for a Facebook Marketplace scam, and Stephanie brings us a bank heist to beat all bank heists! Bots! No Guns! Flo…

There’s something they aren’t telling us. Something we don’t know about. There’s more to it. There’s always more to it. This is what history consists of. It’s the sum total of all the things they aren’t telling us. –David Ferrie in Don DeLillo’s Libra (1988)

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Richie McCaw discuss the state of rugby and the lessons the sport offers for developing leaders, fostering teamwork, strengthening communities, and building a better future, Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rugby captains in history, Richie McCaw, former captain…

I'm happy to welcome Astrid Rose on this fifth episode of Murder House Sold, a Perfect Taste Forever miniseries about True Crime. We talk about Gordon Burn's Happy Like Murderers, a book about Fred and Rose West. Annoyingly, Astrid is an amazing writer of both horror fiction and criticism. She is also the co-host of Live At The Death Factory, the o…

"Art is creation in response to lack. Quite different from a stand-in for the archetype, which must be there, somewhere, the art object is a kind of fetish, a replacement for some real thing that is missing." - Mike Kelley

"Rattled by and by As if someone was right Drawn and downed Indifference stands But a light from deep It glows They must have seen it too Rattled" - Scald Scar of Water, Altar of Plagues

I'm happy to welcome Mark O'Connell on this second episode of Murder House Sold, a Perfect Taste Forever miniseries about True Crime, to talk about his new book A Thread Of Violence. Mark's a fantastic author and journalist whose previous books To Be a Machine and Notes From The Apocalypse are both remarkable examinations of grim insistence entropy…

Well Stephanie and Karen went away, but scams sure didn't. We're always going to tell you about them, but probably not as frequently as before. Join us for our first episode in...forever. It's Season FOUR of SCAMTIME! A podcast where your hosts Stephanie Wolfe and Karen Johnson-Diamond share stories of liars, cheaters, hoodwinkers and swindlers, no…

"I know that. The difference between male and female perversion. The action of the man is directed toward a symbol, not himself. The woman acts against herself." - In the Cut, Susanne Moore

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Kai Sauer discuss the war in Ukraine, Finland’s priorities in the areas of defense and the economy, digital and energy security, and the future of Europe and the transatlantic relationship, on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. Insights from the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy at …

"Ok, that's life, that's what I was told anyway And picking your feet till they bleed may only be the half of it If every fourth animal in the world is a beetle Perhaps every fourth person is a dumb fuck Listen, listen carefully now here's the answer It rhymes with 'axe' Why...it's those personal acts of course Those personal acts Those suicide pac…

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Ambassador John Sullivan discuss Russia's aggression, its impact on the US and NATO, and the future of Ukraine on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Reflecting on Russia’s history of aggression and Putin’s imperial ambitions, former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan joins Hoover senior fellow H.R. McMa…

"Well, they called me a little so and so and so Yeah? Now they're hummin' a different tune Oh, this is a job for a stupid man Smoke it down to the filter and put it out on your hand" - Glamorous, Jesus Lizard

"The streets were empty as I drove home, the air was cool and the sky was dark Streetlamps cast their mockery of light over ghostly shapes in an empty night Should I believe in the things I see? Am I in you, are you in me? What should I believe? Tell me, what should I believe? At home, on the porch, the wind in the trees murmured a background for m…