The Chauncey DeVega Show

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 396: A Reflective, Somewhat Serious, Funny, Titillating and Advice-Filled Special Thanksgiving Weekend Episode Nov 24, 2023

Show notes

On this special Thanksgiving 2023 episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on gratitude, why it is fine to be human and grumpy and not so happy on this holiday, and of course reads (and warns about) Dictator Trump's Thanksgiving proclamation and why you should be preparing for his return to the White House.

Chauncey also has some fun on this special episode of the podcast as he explains why there are some things you never buy on sale at Black Friday, continues to rage about his enemy the Turkey, offers some advice on sexy times after eating Thanksgiving dinner, and dialogues with the AI chatbot non-human entity about a range of dilemmas related to the holiday.

And Chauncey DeVega shares some thoughts about Eli Roth's new movie Thanksgiving.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 395: Life Lessons, Reflections on Coming of Age in the 1980s, and "When the Game Was War" Nov 07, 2023

Show notes

Rich Cohen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tough Jews and Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football. Rich is a co-creator of the HBO series Vinyl, and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.

His new book is When The Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season.

Rich Cohen reflects on the generational experience of growing up in the 1980s and how it is so very different from today because of helicopter parents and smart phones, the meaning and death of mall culture, and how the storied NBA rivalries and sports dynasties of the 1980s still resonate to the present and continue to influence Americans culture more broadly.

In this conversation, Rich Cohen and Chauncey reflect on being men of a certain vintage and the adventures they had as young people in the 1980s (adventures that would likely get their parents in big trouble today), what they learned from their fathers about street smarts, human nature, and psychology, and their shared love of AM talk radio and such personalities as Art Bell and Larry King.

Chauncey DeVega shares his epic story of going home to see his mother to recharge, why he slept in his dead daddy's bed, meditated in a cemetery and talked to a Great Tree, howled at a storm, and the healing power of eating at his family's favorite restaurant.

And Chauncey offers his thoughts about the hellish new Exorcist movie and reads Ed Simon's essential new Time magazine essay "Why We Love to Talk About Demons".

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 394: 35 Years Later John Carpenter's Film "They Live" Came True -- And We Are The Ghouls Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Jonathan Lethem is a best-selling essayist, novelist, and cultural critic. His books include Dissident Gardens, The Fortress of Solitude, The Feral Detective, and Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

His new book is Brooklyn Crime Novel.

Jonathan Lethem explains why They Live endures and is now much more than a "cult classic", the power of John Carpenter's warnings about our present-future, reflects on what it means to be a "language worker" i.e. someone who writes for a living and thinks deeply about the written word, and why in the Age of Trump and late capitalism so many human beings have surrendered to the culture of cruelty and disposability and have become the "ghouls" from They Live.

In this conversation, Jonathan Lethem and Chauncey also reflect on their mutual dislike of Christopher Nolan's films and their shared love of Michael Mann's filmThief.

Chauncey shares some stories from his neighborhood, how again he encountered a (new) local pervert, is sad about how bad the New England Patriots have become in the post-Brady era and is very happy about the goddess Jade Cargill joining the WWE.

He also explains how Donald Trump continues to channel antisemitism and the evils of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis – this time during an interview where the evil ex-president complains about how non-white migrants and refugees are "poisoning the blood" of (White) America.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 393: The Strange, Bizarre, and Curious Ways of Whiteness and Black "Conservatives" in the Age of Trump Sep 16, 2023

Show notes

Leonce Gaiter's nonfiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, LA Weekly, Slate, and The Washington Post.

Gaiter is also the author of the historical novel, "I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang".

Leonce explains why white privilege and white racial innocence will not save (white) Americans from Trump's plans to be a dictator and the hell world that the American neofascist movement is trying to impose on the country.

He also reflects on why black and brown "conservatives" like Clarence Thomas and Tim Scott have chosen to surrender to white supremacy and a pathological pursuit of honorary Whiteness as their way of finding "success" and "happiness".

In this wide-ranging conversation, Leonce and Chauncey dialogue about how they both escaped the trap of being black conservatives, masculinity and violence, the Democratic Party's failed messaging, and the much-heralded "Battle for Montgomery" where black folks fought back against white thugs on a pier.

It is Chauncey DeVega's birthday week and as is his habit he reflects on his life journey this past year, successes and failures, and plans for the year ahead.

And because it is his birthday week, Chauncey indulges himself with a story about being a hero in his neighborhood, fighting back against a local pervert, and an encounter with a toilet freak.

Chauncey also reads one of his favorite parts of Cormac McCarthy's book "Child of God" and shares why he has already seen Denzel Washington's new film "The Equalizer 3" three times at the movie theater.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 392: Rich Logis Escaped the Trump - MAGA Cult -- Heed His Warnings About Its Power and Extreme Danger to America Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Jen Senko is the director of the 2015 documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad.

She shares her thoughts on the new CBS News/YouGov poll that shows how Donald Trump's followers trust him more than their friends, family members, and religious leaders. In essence, and once again, Donald Trump is the leader of a fascist political cult.

Jen Senko also reflects on the impact of her very prescient documentary given Trump's criminal trials and the plot against democracy, the escalating danger(s) of Trump's movement, and why so many in the American mainstream news media continue to be in willful denial about the reality of the crisis.

Rich Logis is a former high ranking Trump MAGA World operative and propagandist. He reflects on how he was radicalized by the Trump MAGA fascist movement, how it functions as an alternate reality that provides emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, familial, and other types of meaning and belonging for its members, and how he escaped it.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Rich Logis also shares how being a member of the MAGA movement and worshipping the Great Leader Donald Trump made him feel like he was a soldier in a revolutionary struggle to defeat the Democrats, "the liberals" and other enemies of "the movement".

Chauncey DeVega honors the lives, legacy, and impact of two great professional wrestlers who passed away last week.

Terry Funk, who was 79 years old, left this realm of existence on Wednesday.

Windham Lawrence Rotunda ("Bray Wyatt") transitioned on Thursday. He was only 36 years old.

This week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to them.

Chauncey DeVega also shares his thoughts about the Republican Party's first 2024 presidential primary debate, Trump's fake interview with Tucker Carlson, and the ex-president and traitor's surrender and arrest in Georgia.

And Chauncey reacts to the white supremacist terrorist attack in Florida in real time as he is recording the introduction to this episode of the podcast.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 391: What do Donald Trump's Reactions to Being Indicted for the Crimes of Jan. 6 and Beyond Reveal About His Mental and Emotional Health? Aug 17, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and the author of Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President.

Dr. Frank shares his expert insights about Donald Trump's mind and how the ex-president's mental pathologies and other unwell behavior are shaping his response to being criminally indicted for his many alleged crimes including Jan. 6 and his attempted coup attempt to end American democracy.

In the end, Dr. Frank warns Trump will become increasingly detached from reality as he exercises even more violent control and power over his MAGA cult followers who view the ex-president as a type of father figure and personal god.

Chauncey DeVega honors the lives, legacy, and impact of filmmaker William Friedkin and professional wrestler "Exotic" Adrian Street.

Chauncey also reacts in real time to Donald Trump and his cabal's criminal indictments in Georgia, which occurred Monday night while he was recording the introduction to this week's installment of the podcast.

And Chauncey has fun talking with one of the chatbot AI machines about Donald Trump and CHUDs.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 390: Tim Wise on Ron DeSantis' War on African-American History and the Enduring Power of Donald Trump over White America Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

Tim Wise is an author, activist and leading expert on white privilege and racism. He is the author of many books, including his most recent "Dispatches From the Race War."

He explains how the recent Supreme Court decision against affirmative action, Ron DeSantis' fascist-authoritarian war on Black America's real history (slavery was a "job skills "program) and real struggles and real triumphs, and Donald Trump and the MAGA movement's enduring power are all connected as part of a much larger project to protect white privilege and white power across all of American society by ending multiracial democracy.

Tim Wise also reflects on how his decades of experience as an antiracist activist and battling white racists has helped him to understand the Age of Trump and why so many good white liberals and mainstream Democrats and centrists are fundamentally unprepared for the challenge(s) of protecting multiracial democracy and the long struggle ahead.

Chauncey and Tim also dialogue about the effectiveness of the right-wing media machine, how liberals and "the left" are using the wrong strategies and tactics, and the temptations of going over to the other side because of money – and why they would never do such a thing.

And Chauncey goes to the archives and shares what white slavers in the South actually wrote and thought about how the enslavement of Black Americans was a type of "job skills" program -- and how their claims are not too different from what Ron DeSantis and the other neofascists and members of the white right are saying more than one hundred years later.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 389: This is Not a Tragic Mulatto Story: CNN's John Blake on His New Book "More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew" Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

There are two guests in this episode of the podcast.

John Blake is a senior writer and producer at CNN and the author of the new book More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.

John reflects on vulnerability and the vocation of writing, life journeys and life wisdom, the people who made us, how the personal is truly the political, navigating and surviving the color line and questions of belonging and identity. He also shares the importance of finding one's own true authentic voice in writing, specifically, and life, more generally.

Friend of the podcast and Chauncey DeVega's heterosexual life partner and brother from another mother Mr. Bill returns for a discussion of the new Indiana Jones movie The Dial of Destiny, why it moved us so much, nostalgia and the critic, what comes next for Mr. Jones, and of course the announcement by Disney that there will be fewer Star Wars and Marvel TV shows and movies.

Chauncey also ponders the importance of keeping our hope tanks full, the emotional and other junk that too many of us fill our pockets with, and managing stress and how our bodies always keep score.

And of course, Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on the recent series of amazing professional wrestling matches between FTR and Bullet Club Gold and CM Punk and Samoa Joe on the AEW Collision television show, why his beloved New England Patriots are in big trouble after not signing DeAndre Hopkins, the genius of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and updates the listeners of the podcast about another misadventure that befell him at the sin-filled movie theater during a viewing of the new comedy Joy Ride.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 388: What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July? Historian David Blight on the American Prophet Frederick Douglass Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

This is a special surprise July 4th episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

On this special episode, Chauncey takes a journey around his neighborhood and shares some stories about the interesting, good, bad, and other fascinating people he encountered and the lessons he learned about inner beauty and dignity.

He also shares his thoughts about the recent AEW Forbidden Door pay-per-view event, watching the reality TV show 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days on TLC with his mother and the mysterious and upsetting saga of Gino and Jasmine, and what it was like battling smoke from forest fires and unending noise from Nascar racing here in Chicago.

Chauncey DeVega also reads the poem How to Be Alone by Pádraig Ó Tuama.

On this special July 4th episode of the podcast, Chauncey reaches back into the archives and features his 2018 conversation with historian David Blight about the American titan and prophet Frederick Douglass.

Professor Blight explains how the wisdom and example of Frederick Douglass's life can help save American democracy in the Age of Trump, separating the myth and legend of Frederick Douglass from the real man, and how studying the Black Freedom Struggle and the color line can help us to better understand how the United States of today came to be.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Ep. 387: Prison Journalist John J. Lennon on Life Lessons and How Writing Made Him a Better Person Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Prison journalist John J. Lennon is currently serving a 28-years-to-life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility for murder, drug sales and gun possession.

He is a contributing editor at Esquire and a contributing writer at the Marshall Project. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and elsewhere.

In this wide-ranging conversation John J. Lennon discusses the craft of writing, life journeys, masculinity, violence, mental health, and what it means to try to be a sane person in an insane and mad world.

Chauncey DeVega has returned from his trip home to visit his mother and reflects on that epic journey and grappling with working-class financial anxieties, health worries, and the other fears that come with being the only child of an ageing parent.

Chauncey also shares his obligatory thoughts on Donald Trump's indictment for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and how contrary to the mainstream media and those others who are drunk on American Exceptionalism that this is not a country where "justice is blind" and "no one is above the law".

Chauncey DeVega honors the now departed writer Cormac McCarthy, professional wrestling superstar the Iron Sheik, and actor Treat Williams.

And do be sure to listen through to the end of this episode of the podcast for a very special "Easter egg" bonus segment.

LINKS OF INTEREST

WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME?

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega

My email:

chaunceydevega@gmail.com

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?

Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com