Fourth Reich Archaeology

Happy New Year! We’re back with another installment of The Warren Commission Decided to round out our excavation into the backgrounds and baggage of the seven commissioners LBJ appointed to seal up the narrative of the JFK assassination in the wake of the murder of Lee Oswald. And we’ve saved the worst for last: God’s own monster, Allen Welsh Dulles.

Oceans of ink have been spilled, and miles of vocal cords chafed recounting the genocidal legacy of Allen Dulles. You know we’re averse to trodding familiar ground, so this episode delves into some areas we hope will be fresher. It wouldn’t be 4RA without a healthy dose of Oedipal psychology, so we dig into the Foster-Lansing-Dulles klan to consider what makes these freaks tick. Then, we touch on Allen’s career of evil from his jumpstart in espionage (and Aryo-philia) during WWI, to his participation in the Versailles conference, to his law practice at Sullivan & Cromwell, to his peak as longtime CIA director under presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.

Again, we gloss over a lot of the greatest hits to give you the deeper cuts, all while focusing on Dulles’s deep-seated racism and how it informed his tolerance - or even admiration - for Nazism. We also highlight his absolute mastery of the art of deception. 

Finally, we end up where we always do: with his relationship with JFK, their breakup after the Bay of Pigs debacle, and his selection as commissioner. Perhaps when JFK fired the old silver fox, he should have been more “careful with that axe.” It’s another banger: dig in!

We are back to finish off our excavation into the life, times, and legacy of Reichsman extraordinaire, John J. McCloy. We last left off with McCloy’s service in WWII under Henry L. Stimson. We heard some of the real audio from the Nuremberg tribunal to get a sense of the theft, murder, kidnapping, and enslavement that the German industrialists committed during the Third Reich, well, John J. McCloy was about to undo a lot of the justice meted out unto those bastards.

We pick up post-war with McCloy’s incredible career, leading up to his selection on the Warren Commission. We cover his exploits as World Bank President, High Commissioner for Germany during the US occupation, Chairman of Chase Bank, and Chairman of the Ford Foundation. We look beneath the titles to get a read on the man and his character. He left an indelible mark on each of the institutions he touched, and in turn, on the broader economy and society in which those institutions carried so much sway.

Finally, it’s back to 1963, Kennedy’s dead, and McCloy springs into action as the “fixer,” cutting deals and mediating between opposing factions on the Warren Commission in the quest for unanimity.

This week we take a brief hiatus from our series within a series “the Warren Commission Decided,” and travel back to the present day to weigh in on a topic of much discussion these last few weeks: the killing of United Healthcare's former CEO, Brian Thompson, and the spectacle that has ensued ever since.

To be clear, this episode won't have any conspiracy theories. Nor will there be any debates about "who done it" or even whether the assassination was justified. No, here at Fourth Reich Archaeology we know full well that you can get that sort of thing just about anywhere these days. So, instead, we offer you a tutorial on how to apply the tools we’ve sharpened (and the artifacts we’ve uncovered) over the last five months to the spectacle that has come to bear since the early morning hours of December 4, 2024. 

Happy holidays to all!

We are back for another round of excavation into the life, times, and legacy of Reichsman extraordinaire, John J. McCloy. We last left off with McCloy’s service in WWI, during which he spent the bulk of his time as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Guy H. Preston. Preston was not only a soldier in the settler colonial army of the Western frontier, he was a participant in the Wounded Knee Massacre who was charged with taking possession of the Indian prisoners of war. What a mark that left on John McCloy.

We pick up post-war with McCloy’s Harvard Law graduation and departure from his native Philadelphia off to the big apple, New York City, where he’d set down his roots as a Wall Street lawyer. His legal practice fit seamlessly into the transition between America’s imperial conquest of the Western frontier–he spent a lot of time helping investment banks build railroad monopolies and consolidate financial control over industry–and America’s entry into the global stage of intercontinental imperialism. Just like the Dulles brothers’ over at Sullivan and Cromwell, McCloy’s work at the firms Cadwalader, Wickersham, and Taft–and later at Cravath–saw him greasing the wheels for that great interwar collaboration between US financiers and industrialists, and the German industrialists who spent the 1930s working overtime to remilitarize. 

During WWII, McCloy is brought under the wing of friend of the pod Henry L. Stimson. We stack up both sides of his moral ledger: on one hand, advocating the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps while fighting efforts to bomb the German concentration camps and curb the Holocaust; but on the other hand, he opposed dropping nukes on Japan and helped integrate the US Army. We make sense of his mixed record through our patented Fourth Reich Lens.

We hope you like Krautrock, because this is our most German episode yet. 

On our free feed, that’s where this episode ends. If you want the full 2-hour extravaganza, head on over to Patreon and sign up today! If not, you’ll need to wait a while for side 2…

Meanwhile, enjoy, and happy holidays to all!

If anyone has a resumé befitting a Horseman of the Fourth Reich, it’s the subject of this episode–John J. McCloy. Just look at some of these highlights:

• Boarding school for high school;

• Harvard Law;

• Multiple Wall Street firms (Cadwalader; Cravath; Milbank);

• U.S. Department of War under Henry L. Stimson;

• President of the World Bank;

• U.S. High Commissioner for Germany;

• Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations;

• Chairman of the Ford Foundation;

• Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank;

• Trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation;

• Bilderberg attendee;

• Bohemian Grove member; 

And, the reason why he’s got his own series-within-a-series-within-a-series: 

• Member of the Warren Commission.

Without further examination, McCloy’s curriculum vitae makes his service on the Warren Commission seem like a foregone conclusion. Remember, McCloy was one of the Commission’s two “private citizen” members, the other being Dulles, so it would be easy to assume without more than the above info that McCloy was just another cleanup man. But this is Fourth Reich Archaeology, and you already know that we had to dig deeper on the guy. Donning (and dicking) our patented 4RA lenses, hard-hats, and shovels, we introduce you to the real McCloy. The man was so much more than what initially meets the eye. 

We start our McCloy excavation in 1963 and learn that in fact, he was the driving force behind transforming the Warren Commision from a toothless review committee meant to rubber-stamp the FBI’s report into a real investigative body. For example, McCloy is the reason the Warren Commission was given subpoena powers, and with it, the authority to conduct its own investigation. He also lobbied to hire a staff of lawyers to work under the Commissioners. Now, to be clear, we aren’t saying that the Commission used that power effectively; we’re just pointing out that–at least at the outset–McCloy was more of a squeaky wheel than a rubber stamp. But that changes sometime in Spring 1964, and we’ll discuss why we think that is. Not for nothing did McCloy enjoy a sterling relation among the power elite as a master strategist, a straight shooter, and THE man to call in a national crisis. 

We then turn back the clocks to McCloy’s childhood and early years, and follow him as he goes from “the wrong side of the tracks” in North Philadelphia, to Amherst college, where he spent his free time as any young patriot would, participating in voluntary military preparedness drills as tensions in Europe flared in the lead-up to WWI. He spent two summers in a Teddy Roosevelt-endorsed summer bootcamp in Plattsburgh, NY, where he learned lessons from Teddy’s rough riders and met other members of the patriotic elite at what became known as the “millionaire’s camp.” Throughout all of these educational experiences, McCloy is rubbing elbows with the rich kids, not because he is one himself, but because his mom is their mom’s hairdresser. 

Then WWI breaks out, and McCloy answers the call. And, like any true ascending Reichsman, McCloy was on that grindset tip, and caught the eye of his commander, Brigadier General Guy H. Preston, who picked McCloy to be his aide de camp. And this is where we will leave off, but not without painting what may well be one of the funniest factual vignettes to date. 

Sit back, relax, and put on that PPE–because this dig qualifies for hazard pay. McCloy’s story is a long one, and so it is going to be a two parter - STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!!

Our long time listeners will know that we at Fourth Reich Archaeology are big fans of a love story. Whether it's a romance (like between Jerry and Betty Ford), or a bromance (like between Jerry and Richard Nixon), or a platonic love story about the paternal bond between mentor and mentee (like between LBJ and Dick Russell), we love it all. That’s why we can hardly contain ourselves this week, as we explore what may well be the most unexplored love story between two people who are eternally tethered by the events of November 22, 1963: John F. Kennedy and John Sherman Cooper. And the best part is that this love story comes complete with a fall from grace and a grand betrayal. 

In this episode, we take you back to the night of President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration ball. In the wee hours after the event, Kennedy heads over to Joe Alsop’s place and links up with his friend and beloved mentor, John Sherman Cooper. The two spend hours talking about the future and Kennedy’s vision for his presidency. Indeed, Cooper and Kennedy were long time friends and as close as any two politicians could be. They came up on the Georgetown scene around the same time, and were both seen as very eligible bachelors. They even went on double dates with the women who eventually became their wives. Kennedy, the young, charismatic president, admired Cooper, the elder statesman, for his integrity and his unwavering commitment to principles. We tell the inspiring come-up story of Cooper’s life from Somerset, Kentucky, to Georgetown, to India, and back to the upper echelon of the power elite in Washington. Yet he never gave up the Kentucky Gentleman sincerity that made him so trustworthy and beloved.

The close bond between these two is perhaps the very reason why LBJ picked Cooper to be on the Warren Commission. Much like with Hale Boggs, LBJ likely saw Cooper as a threat and felt that he needed to bring Cooper in the fold in order to keep him quiet. We can only speculate on Cooper’s state of mind, but to us, what began as a sense of duty to the country soon became an unbearable tension between Cooper’s commitment to the truth and the political pressures that sought to suppress it. Cooper, despite his own reservations, reluctantly agreed to participate in the whitewashed version of events ultimately reduced to writing. It was a decision that we can't help but think would forever haunt him, as he knew he had allowed the forces of power to rewrite history at the expense of the man he once called a dear friend.

Grab your tissue box. This one’s a tear jerker. 

Credit: the author who reported former Cooper aide Morris Wolff’s recounting of Cooper’s confidential Warren Commission critiques is Mark Shaw, and you can find more here: https://markshawbooks.com/assets/docs/New-Evidence-Proving-Warren-Commission-Corruption_Oct-26-2023-1.pdf

His full talk at the Commonwealth Club is here: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/video/mark-shaw-60th-anniversary-jfks-assassination-retrospective

Are you heading into Thanksgiving weekend wondering WTF you will talk about with family and friends? Fear not, dear listener; Fourth Reich Archaeology has got you covered. We dropped this exclusively pre-Thanksgiving for our Patreon subscribers (sign up to get more such treats!), but you know we won't hold out on our listeners, so here it is for free. We offer some fodder to break the ice on a subject that we’re sure you’ll agree is dinner conversation appropriate–the sad true fact that we are currently living in the Fourth Reich, and the latest election results are a painful reminder that that's true.

In the third installment of our 2024 election coverage, we do a post-mortem of the spectacle and add our patented Fourth Reich Archaeology view to the discourse. We offer a verbal carving-knife to help you cut through the liberal doomerism weighing down so many of our friends and families in the wake of Trump’s win and share some thoughts on why we’re hopeful about the next four years. It’s not that we’re excited about Trump’s Killer Krony Krew; it’s that the mask of American fascism is slipping more and more, making the Fourth Reich Archaeology message resonate more than ever. You’ll want to listen to the very end of this one to catch the instructions for Fourth Reich Archaeology’s very first parlor game, which will be the perfect way to have some fun with your normie loved ones this holiday season. 

Music:

• ​The Doors - “Five to One”
• ​John Lennon - “Working Class Hero”
• ​Blaze Foley - “Oval Room”
• ​Mick Gordon - “Nazi Punks, gtfo”
• ​Tom Waits - “Everything Goes to Hell”

As promised, we are digging into the surprising story of the formation of the Warren Commission over the week succeeding Lee Oswald's murder by Jack Ruby on November 24, 1963. Most observers assume that the idea originated with President Lyndon Baines Johnson, whose name was on the Executive Order creating the Commission on November 29, but that is far from the case.

In fact, Johnson - and FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover - initially opposed the creation of a presidential commission, preferring to leave the investigation up to the FBI in collaboration with Texas state and local authorities. So what changed?

As it were, there was a plot of sorts. Indeed, a conspiracy. Individuals close to the CIA and the patrician Georgetown Set, with its swashbuckling imperialist cohort of OSS veterans, launched an intense pincer movement before Oswald's blood had stopped flowing. They swarmed LBJ and his closest aides and pressured them into creating a commission independent from Hoover's FBI. First, Eugene V. Debs Rostow - Yale Law dean and brother of JFK's hawkish advisor (and CIA asset) Walt Whitman Rostow - placed a flurry of calls to the trustworthy blue-blooded Deputy Attorney General, Nicholas Katzenbch, who promptly hit the phones in favor of a commission in turn. Rostow also connected with LBJ advisor Bill Moyers to ensure the message reached the new President. Meanwhile, CIA-linked American aristocrat Joe Alsop made the pitch to Johnson directly, issuing veiled threats about forthcoming Washington Post OpEds and promising that the media Mockingbird would sing for LBJ if he followed Alsop's lead.

The fix was in, and the coverup was underway. By November 25, Katzenbach submitted a now infamous memo calling for a report designed to achieve a very discrete goal, rather removed from solving the case of the Kennedy assassination: "The public must be satisfied that Oswald was the assassin; that he did not have confederates who are still at large; and that evidence was such that he would have been convicted at trial."

Buckle up!

We are in the big game now. Jack gets capped and it’s up to FBI informant Gerald Ford Jr. and a ragtag band of Fourth Reichsmen helmed by ex-CIA chief, Allen Dulles, to investigate (read: cover up) the murder. 

We recap the first half of Jerry’s life’s work and his entry into the keystone of the political pyramid, including the insane amount of intersections Jerry has with historical personages and events, with a heavy center of gravity in the intelligence community… We’re in the late 50s/early 60s as his star continues to rise in Congress. We recount how he was tapped in the 1960 presidential election as a potential candidate for Vice President to his old pal Dick Nixon. That’s right, our man Jerry, who time and again has been quoted as saying that his “sole political ambition” was to be speaker of the House, threw his hat in the ring to play second fiddle on the 1960 Nixon ticket. He loses that bid to Boston Brahmin, and Kennedy family rival, Henry Cabot Lodge. Of course, Nixon loses and JFK takes the reigns. But not for long, as Jack breaks the golden rule–don’t mess with the CIA. And that’s how Jerry gets the professional opportunity of a lifetime. 

We know there are lots and lots of JFK podcasts out there that go through various aspects of the criminal conspiracy to assassinate the president. That’s not what this is. We’re still digging in Jerryworld here. We want to provide our listeners with something fresh and unlike anything else out there. You won’t want to miss it.

In part one of this miniseries, we go over the contours and conclusions of the Warren Commission and set the stage for what’s to come in our archaeological expedition. We explore Jerry’s favorite turn of phrase, and the title of this miniseries. We explain, at a high level, the conventional recitation of what happened on November 22, 1963 and in the days that followed. And we cover the Commission’s thirteen findings, all of which point the finger at Lee Harvey Oswald as a lone assassin. 

So sit back and join us as we embark on the mother of all side quests – an exploration into the assassination and cover up of the 35th President of the United States. 

We hope that this miniseries broadens our listener base as we continue to grow. To that end please tell your friends and family about our project. And, as always, we are grateful for financial support on Patreon.

Join us as we take a final dusting to the artifact-in-the-making that is the 2024 presidential election. Will we make an endorsement? Not likely. Will we have a few laughs? Definitely.

We’ve subjected ourselves to hours upon hours of presidential slop. We went ears deep in the trough for you, listener. We’ll give a few highlights from Kamala’s performance on the Breakfast Club, Trump on Rogan, JD Vance on Tim Dillon. Seriously, we had to bathe with a steel loofah after listening to all this shit. 

Not unexpectedly, we conclude - while not begrudging anyone’s right to fear-vote democrat - that the two candidates for Hitler are pretty much a wash. Both pledge to continue committing genocide. Both pledge to criminalize immigration and build a wall. Both pledge to protect crypto assets (lol). It’s a race to the bottom and we ask aloud whether these parties are really trying to lose.

In an election where the party of Dick Cheney is calling the OTHER guy fascist, you know you’re in the Fourth Reich. Hope this helps you keep your distance from the madness as the barbarians approach both sides of the gates.

In Money Pt. 2, we switch lenses from macro to micro and link back up with Jerry as he navigates the scene we set in part one. Recall that in part one, we gave a big-picture view of the U.S. as it emerged out of WWII as the victor and began its reign over the rubble left in the wake of the War.  We discussed how the “Cold War” was not so cold after all, as Nazi General Reinhard Gehlen’s “stay-behind” armies (under the direction and on the payroll of the ClA) waged guerrilla warfare against the Soviets in Eastern Europe. The American transition from fighting the Nazis to working with them against the Russians was seamless. 

In part two, we zoom in on Congressman Ford as he takes the reigns of power as a lucrative congressional appropriations committee and subcommittee member. 

Of course, we have our usual cast of characters, too. For example, Betty gives her husband advice that ultimately causes Congressman Tabor to take a shine on old Jerry. And that's how Jerry ends up with a cushy spot on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, with his hands on the purse strings for the US war machine. This is also where Jerry first crosses paths with the Dulles brothers.

Whereas in part one we saw the secret love between Reinhard Gehlen and Foster Dulles, this one turns into a three-way bromance between Jerry and the Dulles brothers. Jerry takes a multi-week tour of the Pacific with John Foster Dulles. John and Jerry do a literal tour of the Fourth Reich's post war pickings in Asia: they went to a prisoner exchange in Korea; they met with French and South Vietnamese troops, including a night out on the town in Saigon; and they made a stop in occupied Japan. But Jerry also catches the eye of Allen Dulles, who taps him for the super secret Intel subcommittee assignment in 1956.

In the 1950s, Jerry was in the money. He was cozied up with the Horsemen of the Fourth Reich and signaled that he was ready to serve. We told you things were getting dark. Here we see how willing Jerry was to shed away all decency and do the bidding for Dulles et al. Of course, that will come in full swing in our soon-to-be-released mini-series "The Warren Commission Decided." 

And if you've read this far, that means you are a true Jerryhead and journeyman Reichiologist. If we got that right, please show us some love by donating to our Patreon so we can lock in and focus on our project full-time. Fourth Reich Archaeology is bound for glory, and we promise we won't forget those of you who have been with us since day one. 

With that, let's get digging. . .

Congressman Gerald R. Ford Jr. - once upon a time known as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. - is in the money. Not literally. Yet. But he’s moving major stacks for Uncle Sam. You see, with a maneuver of cunning and of sidling up to just the right power brokers, Jerry lands himself a seat on the much-coveted House Appropriations Committee in his first term in office. From rookie to MVP contender in the House. Not only that, but he’s also on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. 

This is another 2-parter; there’s just too much to cram into one ep. So, part 1 sets the stage and gives the context for Jerry’s rapid rise into the inner sanctum of power in the budding National Security State. The beating heart of the emerging US global empire spreading its reign over the rubble left in the wake of WWII.

We catch up with some of our “Horsemen” of the Fourth Reich, tracking them from the (twice) failed Dewey campaigns into a secluded perch nestled between the State Department and the newborn CIA, with roots firmly planted in the private sector. Their top priority was to integrate the remnants of Hitler’s Eastern-front intelligence apparatus into the American CIA. You see, the CIA was busy in the postwar period claiming its place atop the pyramid of Western intelligence, edging out the Brits who had been the Yankees’ faithful mentors heretofore… But the boys from Foggy Bottom (before the Langley HQ had even opened) had a secret weapon to propel them to the top of the Cold War hierarchy. We’re talking about the secret love between the CIA and the Nazi Gehlen Organization. In this episode, we introduce the figure of Reinhard Gehlen and, with the help of some old Dave Emory tapes, situate his role in shaping the Cold-War world.

While the horsemen and their boy Gehlen  had a foot in the door by way of Frank Wisner’s Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), the election of Eisenhower and Nixon in 1952 handed them the keys to the kingdom. Ike’s cabinet was like a who’s-who of corporate CEOs and high priests of capital. We touch on some of the all-stars in Ike’s lineup, with special focus on John Foster Dulles - Secretary of State and mind-melded brother to CIA director Allen Dulles. Foster put an American spin on Gehlen’s extremist and alarmist worldview as he led the US into a global conflict on behalf of the owners of capital against national liberation movements disguised as a global battle against Soviet communism.

Things are getting dark, dear listener. So please put on your helmet flashlight, and let’s keep digging.

Here we go! In our last episode, Jerry bought the ticket to Congress, and in this episode, he takes the ride. Already aboard the ride and two years deep into their own nascent political careers were fellow Navy combat vets Jack Kennedy and Dick Nixon, whom we cover in this episode.

This week, we pick things up with Jerry during the first term of his Congressional career. He's the classic outsider candidate turned people's Congressman. You know Jerry is on that grindset, and once he is in office he works round the clock for the people. His constituent services are top-notch. He's chasing down social security checks. He's finding jobs at the pentagon for recent college grads. The people of Grand Rapids, and everywhere else, love him.  

And, we call this episode "Carousel" because the people, events, and themes that come up in JW6 will come up again and again in significant ways. In other ways, "Carousel" is apt because here we see, yet again, that time is a flat circle. For example, in this episode, Jerry says goodbye to his mentor, Senator Vandenberg, who now views Jerry as the man who will be his legacy—the new man of the people for Michigan. With Vandenberg's death, the student becomes the master.   

We don't mean to get too folksy about it, after all, Jerry is not just a folk hero congressman. He is cutting his teeth as an insider, too.  For starters, Jerry had no personal reason to campaign in the 1950 election cycle, as he was hot stuff and the shoo-in incumbent. There were even murmurs that Jerry would be the obvious choice for Senate in 1952. And so he didn't have to put any effort into campaigning to keep his seat. So, he campaigned for his political allies. And in the process, caught the eyes and ears of very important people. 

And then, of course, we dive into what we call our "bizarre love triangle." The budding friendship of Jerry Ford, Jack Kennedy, and Dick Nixon during their early years in Congress. Well, Jack was more of a frenemy to Jerry. The real bromance was between Jerry and Dick. A friendship that would bear fruit for both Nixon and Ford in more ways than either could ever imagine and which would eventually see them both embroiled in the assassination and cover-up of their one-time friend, Jack. A man they got to know as a shy but confident playboy bachelor, complaining to them in his Boston-Brahmin drawl about how boring it was to be a lowly Congressman... 

We also take a brief contextual detour into the sociopolitical scene at large during the late 40s and early 50s. The battle between communism and capitalism was under way, fueling (and providing propagandistic moral cover for) the rise of American imperialism worldwide. The national security state had just oozed onto the scene. On the domestic front, politicians were building their careers and their political platforms around the "Red Menace." Dick Nixon was just one such politician. Hand-selected by the likes of Nazi-funder and dynastic patriarch Prescott Bush, and ideologically aligned with … well, another dynastic patriarch, and ... er Jack's dad, Joe Kennedy.

We hope you enjoy this week's episode. And if you do, please consider sponsoring our cause on Patreon.

We're back with Part 2 of Love / Machine! After a quick recap of Part 1, we link up with our hero circa 1948. Jerry's in Grand Rapids practicing law at the firm of Butterfield, Keeney & Amberg, where Harvard-trained OG superlawyer Julius Amberg takes Jerry under his wing.

We dig into Amberg's background, yielding rich results. Amberg is the scion of Grand Rapids's first well-established Jewish family. And wouldn't you believe it, Amberg's grandfather even once held the same Congressional seat Gerald Ford eventually occupied!

It is in no small part thanks to Amberg's support and guidance that Gerald Ford is able to launch his underdog, outsider campaign to primary Grand Rapids's incumbent conservative representative - Bartel J. "Barney" Jonkman. According to Ford, he was motivated to run (besides having dreamt of a political career since his boyhood dreams of playing a role in some Arthurian legend) by Jonkman's outdated, out-of-touch commitment to isolationism in foreign policy, expressed among other positions through Jonkman's vocal opposition to the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe.

The alternative to isolationism - championed by both Gerald Ford and his political godfather, Senator Arthur Vandenberg (whom we also dig into) - was known as "internationalism." We spend some time situating this liberal, anti-communist brand of "internationalism" within the 20th-century trajectory of the Fourth Reich's development, distinguishing it from proletarian internationalism and checking in on the fruits it has borne in our present times. This leads us into a full treatment of the '48 primary, which Jerry wins in an unlikely landslide thanks to his signature grindset. 

Once Jerry has made a home out of the House (of Representatives), he's ready to join a lodge. On September 30, 1949, just over 75 years to the day before this episode's publication, Jerry and his two half-brothers are inducted into the Grand Rapids Malta Lodge. We dig lightly into the history of freemasonry in Grand Rapids, Ford's deep involvement in freemasonry and its offshoots (including the notorious Royal Order of Jesters), and hear Ford's own words about his relationship with the old fraternal order.

Jerryworld is back, baby! This week, we introduce the female lead in our saga, Betty Bloomer Ford, and we explore the parallels and rhymes between Betty’s and Jerry’s lives.

For example, like Jerry, Betty was raised by a mother who was acutely aware of ancestry, social status, and etiquette. In fact, Betty’s mother, Hortense, and Jerry’s mother, Dorothy, ran in the same social circles.  Also, like Jerry, Betty had an alcoholic biological father who spent much of his life tormented by his demons. And, like Jerry, Betty always had a good attitude about life and a cheery disposition.  So the story goes. 

Betty’s life was not without its excitements, nor was she far removed from the Cold War deep state. Betty spent some of her most formative years studying modern dance with Martha Graham - one of the State Department’s (and the CIA’s) favorite cultural exports to expound the virtues of the American way of life. We’ll pick up some of the threads we opened up in our interview with Matt Farwell around Frank Wisner’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” and the dynamic between propaganda on a mass scale and mind control at a more micro level. 

Wherever we dig in Fourth Reich Archaeology, we always find something that ties back into that continuity of interests and tactics between the Third Reich and the (American) Fourth.

We’ll also catch up with the man himself, as he returns to Grand Rapids as Lieutenant Commander Ford, ready to take on the McKay political machine.  In fact, one of the first things Jerry does when he gets back from the war is take over his stepfather’s duties as president of the Republican Home Front Organization. Jerry also takes a job in private practice for the prestigious law firm Butterfield, Kenney, & Amberg. With looks to kill and a job in Grand Rapids’ preeminent law firm, it’s no surprise that the people of Grand Rapids think Jerry is the town’s most eligible bachelor. 

In part 1 of this two-parter, we focus on Betty’s background and her and Jerry’s courtship. In part 2, we’ll pick up with Jerry’s law firm gig in Grand Rapids and his final face-off with the weakened McKay machine, from which he’ll emerge a victorious Congressman.

We're back in Jerryworld in times of war. After a quick recap, we follow Jerry Ford into the Navy in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Jerry quickly finds himself in his element - leading sports and physical training among the recruits just like in his (very recent) coaching days. But he's not contented with stability and gets back on his grindset, landing himself significant promotion and a spot on the bridge of a light carrier in the Pacific theater.

Once again, the hand of providence seems to guide Jerry through dangerous situations, brushes with death, and up the ladder. First in the Navy, and later on the Grand Rapids political scene.

Jerry kept in regular contact with his step dad and stayed abreast of the goings-on in his hometown, even while overseas. Gerald Ford Sr. began to serve as a surrogate for Jerry Jr. in the Republican Home Front group - a well-intended conspiracy of local leaders and likely freemasons to unseat the party boss holding the keys to political participation in Michigan; Frank McKay.

Jerry's participation in the political war against McKay parallels in some respects his participation in the hot war in the Pacific. Each bring their typical (for Jerry) mix of luck, cunning, charm, and timing.

We even check in with Harry Conover and follow the eventual termination of Gerald Ford's partnership in his modeling agency.

This week on Fourth Reich Archaeology, it's back to business as usual at our favorite dig site—Jerryworld. In a two part episode called "WAR,” we explore the four wars Jerry fought in the 1940s. 

Of course, there is WWII, in which Jerry was a Navy man on board the USS Monterey. Leveraging the charm he inherited from his biological father, the keen social awareness he obtained from his mother, and the attitude he adopted from his stepfather, Jerry moves up the ranks onboard the “Mighty Monterey.” Before long, Jerry catches the captain’s eye and gets an appointment to be the ship’s assistant navigator. Jerry snags this coveted spot on the bridge despite having no prior relevant experience. Classic Jerry. 

We also dive deep into Jerry’s willingness to participate in the Cold War. Namely, by applying for a position in Hoover's FBI. Jerry’s application to be a G-Man shows he wanted to be not just a noble soldier for the USA, but also an infiltrator. Indeed, along with his application to the FBI, Jerry also applied to work in the Office of Naval Intelligence. 

And there is the war at home, in Grand Rapids, against the corrupt party boss Frank McKay. Mckay was the prototypical mobbed up political wheeler and dealer. The guy had his grubby fingers in all aspects of the Republican party of Michigan, which at the time, meant he had control of the State. With booze running, corruption, bribery, extortion, and, of course, murder, the McKay saga is nothing short of a classic mob tale.  

Last, we explore the internal war that Jerry was waging. Including his decision to end his relationship with the beauteous Phyllis Brown and Jerry's decision to forgo working in New York and DC after Yale, to instead return to Grand Rapids and hang a shingle with his longtime friend and frat bro, Phil Buchen.

This week on Fourth Reich Archaeology, we take a brief hiatus from Jerryworld and travel back to the present day for a special episode on the 2024 election cycle.  

A true American spectacle, the sights and sounds of the 2024 campaign trail appear to have been inspired by the pomp and circumstance of modern professional wrestling. In fact, with a steady bombardment of character arcs, secret alliances, double-crosses, over-the-top walkout songs, cheesy catchphrases, and interludes from rappers and comedians to boot, you’ve been so busy being entertained this election cycle that you don’t even realize your favorite politician hasn’t said a lick about policy. While we otherwise may not know exactly what kind of terrible shit is going to come out of the mouths of our political leaders, you can always count on it being unhinged.  

But lest you think we are departing from our favorite object of study... to the contrary, we apply the artifacts we've unearthed in the first three episodes of Jerryworld to help make sense of the senselessness of the 2024 presidential election. Indeed, the life and times of Jerry Ford are as relevant as ever. Whereas Gerald Ford's eventual identity as a mere brand ambassador for the entrenched powers that be had a ring of tragedy to it, Kamala and Donald inhabit a world of hyper-farce, playing the role of carnival-barker for feuding (but ultimately compatible) factions of the ruling class. Moreover, while there are issues each nominee has championed for their respective financial backers, or to pacify or incite their faithful followers, the substance of their actual policy positions on the things that really matter don’t meaningfully differ. 

Like every election before it, 2024 will likely once again break the record for most expensive election ever. But in our view, money in politics nowadays isn't so much about swaying elections as inflating the spectacle of "democracy," generating viewership through the corporate media machine, and imposing hard limits on what is considered acceptable political discourse. Thus, to paraphrase our favorite Thomas Pynchon quote once again, the true election cycle is not the culmination of a democratic process but a celebration of markets. 

And to all our Jerry heads out there, don't fret—we will return to our regularly scheduled program next week with Jerryworld Episode 4.

Meanwhile, check out our Patreon, which we're finally rolling out. We won't paywall any content just yet, but we do invite and encourage you all to get in on the ground floor. The sooner we can quit our day-jobs, the more time we can pour into the pod, and the deeper we can dig into the hellscape of the Fourth Reich.

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Song List: 

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

Bob Dylan – Masters of War

Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls 

Neutral Milk Hotel – Oh Comely

Trey Parker and Matt Stone - I’m a Little Bit Country 

David Bowie – Five Years 

Opening Clip is from Dr. Oblivion’s monologue in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome 

In our most noided episode yet, we follow Gerald Ford to Yale University where he first worked as a coach before studying in the law school. He spent several formative years in New Haven, from 1935-1941, overlapping with such figures as CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Supreme Court Justices Potter Stewart and Byron White, and many more.

We dig deep into the whole Yale milieu of the time - how curious that Jerry finds himself in the land of Boola Boola at the same time as many of the godfathers of the American intelligence apparatus.

At Yale, Jerry joins the original America First Committee, networking with true American elites and situating himself politically on the opposite side of the Roosevelt administration. We'll reveal the surprising identity of the faculty advisor for the Committee - a name that will have true heads' jaws on the floor.

(THANK YOU to TIMOTHY CLEARY for the incredible build-up music in that sequence!!)

But Jerry wasn't spending all his time as a coach/law student in the library, he spent a good deal of time in NYC with his model girlfriend. Indeed, he dabbled in modeling himself. He dabbled in modeling so much, listener, that he got involved with one of the real godfathers of American modeling and publicity, a man with surprising links to intelligence of his own...

Welcome to Fourth Reich Archaeology!

This episode provides an exegesis on the idea and concept behind the podcast - namely, that the global capitalist world order led by the United States represents a continuation of the Nazi quest for world domination and total control. Indeed, we posit that the current US-led world marks a stage in a continuous process dating back at least to the age of European "exploration" and conquest, through the "enlightenment" and industrial revolution, and into the long 20th century.

We also provide a sneak peek at what's to come next in Fourth Reich Archaeology: "Jerryworld" - our first series delving into the life and times of Gerald Ford.

Follow us on Twitter @fourthreichpod, follow Don on Twitter @AngletonOrchids, and/or email us at [email protected] with your thoughts, questions, tips, or feedback. We'd love to hear from you!

Further Reading:

Christopher Simpson, "Blowback"

Christopher Simpson, "The Splendid Blond Beast"

David Talbot, "The Devil's Chessboard"

George Seldes, "Facts and Fascism"

E.H. Cokeridge, "Gehlen: Spy of the Century"

Music:

Beanie Sigel, "The Truth"

Manu Chao, "Rainin' in Paradize"

David Bowie, "We Are the Dead"

KRS-ONE, "The Truth"

Partido Comunista de Uruguay, "La Internacional"

Paul Robeson, "Soviet National Anthem"

Cabaret (Movie Soundtrack), "Tomorrow Belongs to Me"

The Kinks, "Money-go-round"

Graham Nash, "Chicago"

Angleton's Orchids (covering Bob Dylan), "With God on Our Side"

Clips:

"Winter Soldier: Trailer"

"Get Me Roger Stone: Trailer"

Praeger U, "Why Has the West Been So Successful?"

And More...

(C) 2024, Angleton's Orchids