Filthy Armenian Adventures

A man makes gladiator theater out of patriotism. Becomes rich, famous, adored. And then he risks it all for the real thing...   Reflections on the new documentary Hulk Hogan: Real American with Michael Garrity   For twice as many adventures, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Putting the D in Democrat, harmful stereotypes in Euphoria, too much Lena Dunham, and Camille Paglia's horrifying recent interview among other heavy matters close out our summertime independence tea with Jack Mason of The Perfume Nationalist and Cara Cunningham of venmo.   For the full 2+ hour episode as well as part one, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Pre-order the much-anticipated Perfume Nationalist book here.   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian  

Pornocalypse, cruising at Buc-cees, antisocial media, state of the zoomer, return of the lesbian, and the toxic fallout of the L.A. election supply the tea for part 1/2 of this wide ranging summertime bull session with Jack Mason of The Perfume Nationalist and Cara Cunningham   For the full 90 minutes -- as well as next week's part two and twice as many adventures overall -- subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

When an evil crime takes place in Los Angeles and everyone knows whodunit, but can't imagine how the perpetrators with their perfect alibi can ever be caught, you have the perfect introduction to COLUMBO.   Casey Flynn joins me in Travel Town Railroad and the Bronson Caves of Griffith Park for a timely investigation of Richard Levinson and William Link's ageless detective series starring Peter Falk.   For the full 2.5 hour adventure, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Lifelong Democrat Max (who lost his house in Alta Dena), lifelong Republican Matt Himes (who lost his house in Palisades), and model citizen Josh Rainer Gold join me to issue a ringing endorsement ahead of the June 2 primary election for mayor of Los Angeles between Spencer Pratt, Karen Bass, and Nithya Raman.   For twice the adventures plus secret messages from the Filthy Armenian mission to save L.A. subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian

Situated across the once idyllic now infernal MacArthur Park since 1947, Langer's Delicatessen has emerged as a symbol of what's at stake (and at pastrami) in the battle for the soul of L.A. Owner Norm Langer treats me to a #19 before letting loose on the mayor race, the deli business, the history of the neighborhood, and what it will take for the last "premier deli city in America" to survive.   For twice as many episodes, plus secret message from the our mission to save Los Angeles, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on x/insta @filthyarmenian   Thank you for listening, and please spread the word. 

How Gary Indiana's tale of unrequited love-lust amid the AIDS epidemic in Horse Crazy (1989) foreshadowed the Simptuationship Era of contemporary romance. A nocturnal rumination with Zach Langley of I'm So Popular. For the full 2.5 hour episode, plus twice as many adventures overall, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian 

What secret quality is needed to survive the current onslaught of warring hyperrealities with your soul and sanity intact? Jacob Siegel, 9/11 veteran and author of The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control, tells his story.   For twice as many intellectual adventures, and other perks, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Jukebox episode reviewing The Drama by Kristoffer Borgli and the Iran War by Donald J. Trump. This episode is for patrons only. To listen, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/fitlhyarmenian  

Personally selected passages from Witness, Whittaker Chambers's deeply emotional memoir about testifying to -- and against -- the ideology that dare not speak its name.   For twice the adventures, including last week's blockbuster about the Red Scare, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

On the falsification of history known as the Red Scare -- as revealed in Leslie Fiedler's tremendous essays on the Hiss-Chambers trial, the Rosenbergs, and Joseph McCarthy in An End to Innocence (1955) -- and how communism has re-infiltrated American culture today in the form of systemic Woman.   With Jack Mason of The Perfume Nationalist and Ben Braddock   First hour free, full ep for paid subscribers. Subscribe at patreon.com/filthyarmenian for twice as many adventures and other perks.   Follow on x/insta @filthyarmenian

David Mamet called his films "irrefutable proof of the afterlife." I call him the poet laureate of American capitalism. Matthew Wilder joins me to investigate the secret sauce of the comic genius who gave us The Great McGinty, Christmas in July, Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero, The Palm Beach Story, and Unfaithfully Yours.   For the full 2 hour episode on why Preston Sturges matters, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian   Rate, review, spread the word

What can Hollywood (and the haunted souls who still occupy it) learn from another picture-based entertainment industry that once was dead, but is now reborn? I probe my personal history and tragedies in the sports card trade, from the late 90s to the present day, for all they are worth.   Part 2/2 - for the full 2 hr episode (and double the adventures + other perks) subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, please review and spread the word

Since their "indescribably fiendish" origins in the Civil War, picture cards taught American boys how to smoke/chew/trade/lust/worship/collect/invest/gamble/deal with Japs... and of course how to remember. In part one of this deep dive, I review the wild history of this extremely American hobby and business from its shocking birth to its billion dollar boom and bust in the early 1990s...before I entered the scene.   Part 1/2 -- for access to part 2 and twice as many adventures overall, plus other perks, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, spread the word

Caressed by Sunset Boulevard, at the flammable foot of Mandeville Canyon, lies a middle school named Paul Revere -- where the fate of a man (and a nation) was riding that night... Palisades Lost Part Three   For twice as many adventures and private messages, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Find us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Hollywood is now more than ever a woman in trouble. Can she be saved? Perhaps, in the spirit of its recently departed dream maker (and fearless visionary namesake), Mulholland Drive can show us the way.   The tour continues with Scout Dixon West.   For the full 2 hour adventure on the classic street that inspired David Lynch's classic film, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian  

An interdreamensional tour of Mullholand Dr. begins at the Satanic Denny's on Sunset Boulevard where David Lynch -- who passed one year ago today -- got the idea for his eternal Winkie's diner.   Part 1/2. Guest starring Scout Dixon "Betty Diane" West   For the upcoming part 2 plus twice as many adventures overall, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   And please do spread the word if you like what you hear.   We are on X/insta @filthyarmenian  

Jukebox variety show on Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme, the final gift of Scott Adams, the passing of Bardot, assorted news, and a bedtime story about two gay friends who just happen to be Armenian. For full episode, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

End of year sermon on the curious silence surrounding Luca Guadagnino's AFTER THE HUNT (most important movie of 2025), its connection to Thomas Vinterberg's THE HUNT (most important movie of the century), and what both have to say about recent discourses on the plight of the white millennial man.   For twice adventures and exclusive spiritual gossip, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you value what you hear, spread the word

Looking for Christmas lessons in Willoughby with the help of a nuclear holocaust, a magical black child, several harpy wives, a suicidal trumpet and other spiritual stocking stuffers only to be found in...The Twilight Zone. For the full 3 hour episode -- and twice as many adventures overall -- subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian Guest starring Yeerk of Bistro Californium. If you like what you hear, spread the word

The Personal Palisades Tour takes a distressing turn as I struggle to find the idyllic childhood home where internet was discovered, Kobe grew his fro, and hot-and-sour soup was ladled for the teenage soul.   For twice the adventures plus regular "smoke break" mini eps on spiritual gossip of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, please spread the word etc.

Is it still possible to be raped by art? On a rainy traumatic afternoon in Paris, Matthew Wilder and I ponder the question.   For the full 2 hour episode, and more than double the adventures, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, pls spread the word

A very personal tour of the ashen ruins of Pacific Palisades begins on the street where I was taught some elemental truths about life, authority, belief and the Holocaust.   For twice as many adventures and exclusive "smoke break" mini-eps on spiritual gossip of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, spread the word.

An immersive rumination on the gay cruising nightlife captured in Andrew Holleran's 1978 masterpiece Dancer from the Dance, its modern day shadow offspring, and the morals of the story...   Guest starring Zach Langley of I'm So Popular   For the full 2+ hour dance -- and twice the feature eps plus regular "smoke break" mini eps on spiritual gossip of the day -- subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian   If you like what you hear, spread the word

HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: a tour of the Doheny Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, site of the still-unsolved 1929 murder mystery that inspired Raymon Chandler and the genre of L.A. noir. Guest Starring Matt Pegas, author of The Black Album   For access to twice as many adventures, plus regular "smoke break" mini episodes on topics of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

In the nuclear fallout of recent cinematic Chernobyls, we turn for guidance to the cool imperial mind of master noticer-storyteller Somerset Maugham, who gave us a timeless satire of literary culture and clout-chasing in his novel Cakes and Ale (1930) and reached some uncomfortable conclusions about the meaning of art in his intellectual memoir The Summing Up (1936).   For the full 4 hour bull session, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Guest starring Matthew Sini and Matt Fresca from the Getting Lit podcast   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian  

Some thoughts on the worst movie ever made, by Paul Thomas Anderson. This is a regular feature exclusive to subscribers of the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian -- enjoy this free sample, and subscribe for regular heart-to-heart messages on topics of the day, in addition to double the full-length episodes.  Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Eureka! Literary treasure has been found. It is called My Search for Warren Harding, and it's about one man's zany scheming quest for literary treasure (the love letters of "the shallowest president in history") in early 1980s Hollywood. It is the funniest thing I have read in a long time, and perhaps the most enjoyable novel ever written about L.A. Robert Plunket joins me to reflect on how he came to compose this closet masterpiece (1983), his even queerer follow-up Love Junkie (1992), his 30 year career as Mr. Chatterbox (Sarasota's beloved gossip columnist), how he almost swung the 2000 election, his proximity to Bush on 9/11 and Ruebens during PeeWee's 9/11, and what it was like to be raised by spies.   For twice the adventures plus regular "smoke break" mini eps on topics of the day, please subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

The rage, the pride, more lessons, and how not to be depressed by the predictable aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk.   For the full 2 hour episode, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Guest starring Amanda Milius, director of The Plot Against The President. Related: FAA 9. Amanda Milius on Sunset Strip   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Naming names, unamerican activities, and the many subtle lies being deployed to distract you from the meaning of the murder of Charlie Kirk. With Jack Mason of The Perfume Nationalist   To support this show and get access to twice as many full episodes, plus regular "smoke break" mini eps on topics of the day, subscribe on patreon.com/filthyarmenian    Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

for the weekend

A tribute to the David Lynch of broadcasting -- the voice of baseball, the voice of summer, the voice of the long Los Angeles afternoon -- the narrator of 67 years of American boyhood, the great Vin Scully.   For twice the full adventures plus regular "smoke breaks" on topics of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Glen Rockney is the co-host of Rare Candy and The Back Wall   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Juicy nuggets from a deep dive into the letters of Raymond Chandler -- on Hammett, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hitchcock, Hollywood Jews, Catholics, Communists, the model for Ellsworth Toohey, the writer's life and the craft of writing, and more -- plus the only surviving evidence of his literal voice, from a 1959 interview with Ian Fleming six months before Chandler died.   For double the adventures (including last week's on Raymond Chandler in Los Feliz) plus regular smoke break mini-eps on topics of the day, subscribe to the show on patreon.com/filthyarmenian or filthyarmenian.substack.com   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Snooping around the House of Pies and the home of Raymond Chandler in Los Feliz, in search of the secrets behind Philip Marlowe. Guest starring Steve Sailer.   For the full 2.5 hour episode, plus double adventures and regular exclusive "smoke break" mini eps, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   With reference to: The Big Sleep - Farewell, My Lovely - The High Window - The Lady in the Lake - The Simple Art of Murder - The Little Sister - The Long Goodbye - Playback - Raymond Chandler Speaking - The Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler - and all the movie adaptations   Related listening: 90. The Big Sleep 72. Sailer on the Green

Masculinity on screen, immortality hobbies, and a vigorous debate between homo and hetero ideology are inspired as Matthew Wilder and I wrap our heads around Robert Altman's dreamy 1977 masterpiece 3 WOMEN at Cafe Les Ogres in Paris, France.   For the full 2 hour episode + double the feature adventures + plus exclusive "smoke break" mini eps on topics of the day subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Hop aboard the Brolita Express! Find a seat between Orwell and Borges. We're stopping in Austin and London on our way to Hive, a mysterious Greek island run entirely by women, ruled by a masked queen, where only the manliest men are sometimes invited. Jack Mason (The Perfume Nationalist) and Yeerk (Bistro Californium) are on the list. And so of course is my old friend Garin Hovannisian, illusionist and author of the must-read new novel HIVE, which I urge you all to read while summer is with us. The audio in Austin in the first half is low, so please raise your volume then adjust as we cross the pond   For twice the feature length adventures, and regular smoke-break mini eps on topics of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   If you joined us IRL in LA or Austin or NYC or London, it was lovely to see you.

A show about a mystery about the loss of love and magic from our lives -- and how to get it back. Guest starring Garin Hovannisan, author of the new novel HIVE.   Part 1: Hollywood Edition. Recorded live on Hollywood Boulevard, a few steps from Grauman's Chinese, on June 14.   For double the adventures plus exclusive "smoke break" mini eps on topics of the day, and excess to future live events, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian

The life love and man magic of Tennessee Williams, poet laureate of American summer. The study begins with his first three: the timeless Glass Menagerie, the deathless Streetcar Named Desire, and the underrated Summer & Smoke, a parable of frigidity most relevant to our times. With Zach Langley of I'm So Popular and Josh of The Dionysian Dream   For the full 2+ hour episode, plus many more premium eps including regular "smoke breaks" on urgent topics of the day, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

As helicopters descend on the city it's time to cruise down to Johnie's Broiler the magical diner in Downey where Tom Waits abandons his tuna melt in SHORT CUTS (1993). What better place to enter Robert Altman's masterpiece mosaic of "untapped Los Angeles" and the Raymond Carver stories within, and what better guest to go with than the extraordinary Matthew Wilder, last seen with us at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. Must book and movie and life always be at odds?   For double the episodes, plus regular "smoke break" mini eps and access to our upcoming live tour HIVE subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   HIVE will be in LA on June 14, Austin June 17, NYC June 21, and London June 26...at some fabulous locations. DM us on patreon if you'd like to attend   X/insta @filthyarmenian 

Let's try to save the blues from SINNERS. After reviewing Ry Coogler's latest up against the much more profound BLACK SNAKE MOAN (2006) and more liberated CROSSROADS (1986), I take Glen Rockney and Crypto Psi of Rare Candy on a personal-historical tour of the music that made me the man (and woman) I am today.    For the full 3+hour jukebox fish fry subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian -- you'll also get access to our upcoming live event HIVE this June in LA (14th), Austin (17th), NYC (21st) and London (tbd)   Also mentioned in this episode: Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America and the Music That Developed from It by LeRoi Jones Rock Folk: Portraits from the Rock n' Roll Pantheon by Michael Lydon And a roster of bluesman and women too long to list.

Some thoughts on the bad news about Scott Adams, and an appreciation.   For the full Filthy Armenian Adventures experience, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian

A celebration of Erich Auerbach's masterpiece Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, in light of the last decade's institutional conspiracy to shrink reality in Western media, which hits a grotesque low in Netflix's Adolescence. Guest starring Yeerk of the Bistro Californium podcast   For double the adventures, plus regular smoke breaks and access to our next live event HIVE this June, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Joan's secret love, Eve's secret letters, and the art of gossip with Lili Anolik, author of Didion and Babitz and Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.   For the full 2+hr episode, plus double the adventures and regular hear-to-heart "smoke break" mini eps and access to our next live event this June, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on x/insta @filthyarmenian

Some thoughts on the passing of a warrior. See FAA 18 Mortal Combat with David Horowitz and the Secret Chapter: Death is the Mother of Beauty

In this smoke break mini ep, I review the new album Pretty in Scorn by Cara Cunningham   For regular mini-eps like this, plus double the feature eps, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian  

Art, drugs, or religion? Reviewing the Playstation classic Alan Wake 2, Adam Lehrer and I speculate on the nature, potential, and business of video games. Adam Lehrer is deputy editor of Tablet Magazine and host of System of Systems   For twice as many adventures, plus regular smoke break mini-eps on topics of the day and access to our live events, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian    Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Mike White as our Molière, what normies and bossy bottoms miss about The White Lotus, and the astonishing Christian conclusion to season three that nobody is talking about.   For the full 2 hour episode, plus 170 more patrons-only adventures and "smoke break" mini-eps, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Guest starring Cara Cunningham and Adam Lehrer (deputy editor of Tablet Magazine and host of System of Systems)   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

Between a terrified Russian at a gay bar in La Marais and a crafty general at Père-Lachaise, the queer quest for God in Paris culminates with a mystery at the gates of Sacré-Cœur.   For the full tale, and 170+ premium episodes, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian   Follow on X/insta @filthyarmenian

A quest for the secret third thing in Paris begins, as usual, in the surprisingly gay right wing underground of Rue Princess...   Guest starring Enaygee   For double the adventures, and the sequels to this one, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian -- over 150 patron-only episodes   Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian   Rate, review wherever you listen  

Borges called CITIZEN KANE a "labyrinth with no center" but it was the center of the labyrinth that was Orson Welles, and our final destination in the second half of this tour of the magician's career, after we pass through TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), THE TRIAL (1962), THE IMMORTAL STORY (1968), F FOR FAKE (1975), and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (2018)... and realize that in his flaws, if not his greatness, Orson Welles was a lot like us.   With Darius Csiky of 8pl8s podcast   For the full 2 hour episode, and twice as many overall, subscribe to the show at patreon.com/filthyarmenian -- you'll also get regular "smoke break" reports on topics of the day and exclusive access to our coveted live events.    Follow us on X/insta @filthyarmenian