Brain Drain with Connor McCann: Recent Episodes
Connor McCann
Join host Connor McCann as he drains his brain into the microphone in this new podcast. Listen and watch as Connor discusses controversial, multi faceted and lesser known topics from the world over, including sports, politics, history and crime. Check Connor out on Spotify, YouTube as well as on Amazon where you can purchase his new novel "The Painted Ladies" today!
Contact: braindraincm@gmail.com
In this two part episode of Crime & Politics: Colombia, I discuss one of the most famous drug traffickers and organized crime figures of all time: Pablo Escobar Gaviria.
Many facets of Pablo´s life are well known, such as his massive wealth, temper and his war against the Colombian state and people, but what is less known is the war he waged WITH the state, against the Colombian people.
In part one of Crime & Politics; Colombia, I discuss the Bogotazo, La Violencia, the societal conditions that lead to the state working with Pablo, many of which had endured for decades and the players the state found in these places.
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In this short episode, I discuss an incident that occured back in 2010, an incident that made me analyze and think differently about myself, people around me and the world we live in.
An incident where I saved a naked dude´s life.
To find out how I saved him, why the man was naked and what came to mind vis a vis us as Americans, in contrast to history´s greatest conquerors, check this new story out now
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On August 27th, 20009, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, an influential member of the Saudi Royal family, was greeting citizens at his palace. It was the holy month of Ramadan in the city of Jeddah and one of these citizens at his palace piqued the interest of the Prince more than others.
This citizen´s name was Abdullah Al Asiri and he had a gift for the Prince.
Namely, a PETN explosive device, hidden in his butt. In this episode, we discuss Abdullah, the organization he belonged to and what we as Americans understand about an enemy we declared war on over 2 decades ago.
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In 2007, I decided to take some magic mushrooms and go for a nice neighborhorhood stroll through the Mission District at night time. I was at a crossroads in my life and felt that a pscyhedelic experience could perhaps provide me some needed clarity.
Clarity on what and how much of it I received wasn´t what I expected. I document the story in the first episode of my new series called Faded in San Francisco, where i discuss intoxicated episodes in the city by the bay.
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In the second in a series of short stories from the streets of San Francisco, I discuss a young man I encountered on the 14 Mission bus in 2007. Many people then, as now, would be surprised to encounter me, an Irish Muslim, but what about the man I encountered, a Palestinian Norteño?
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In this personal story, set amongst a surging drug epidemic in the early 2010s, I discuss an encounter I had with a couple of would be burglars in downtown San Francisco. A bit of city history, a seafood staple and how one views time all play a role in this tale, with another short story to follow
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In August of 1996, it was the last day of summer in the city of San Francisco. Like many kids, I wasn´t thrilled with the prospect of returning, but unlike many kids I had a plan to miss the first day of school.
By the end of the day, I would have my first brush with death. This is the story.
Music:
I think I was there: Emil Axelsson
Sadness: Carl Henriksson
Night Victim: Alan Carlson-Green
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In the introductory episode of Underhooks, our new series discussing the stories at the intersection of Crime and Martial Arts, we bring to you the story of Amar Suloev. A former MMA fighter, Amar would find himself under indictment, but he was the far from the first sportsman in Russia to do so. We discuss Amar, his case and how athletes like him became foot soldiers in post-Communism Russia.
A full visual experience of this episode is offered on Youtube
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This week on the Brain Drain Podcast, host Connor McCann takes the show to the Tarim Basin, currently located in Eastern China. Starting in the 20th Century, mummies began to be discovered in the area and the identity of some of these mummies would surprised many. Join Connor on this free wheeling discussion of these groups, their history and who they would become.
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On November 3rd, 1996, a car crashed in the district of Susurluk, three hours south west of Istanbul, Turkey. Inside the car were 3 men and one woman whose very presence together exposed a secret, long theorized alliance many believed in, but could never prove.
Until now.
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In February of 1989, Pat Finucane, a human rights lawyer was home in Belfast, Northern Ireland when he was subject to an assassination plot by the Ulster Defense Association. In 2011, over twenty years after Pat’s murder, UK Prime Minister David Cameron met with his family and admitted British Security Service collusion in the assassination. But why have no members of the security forces been charged? How can a crime be solved, but open at the same time? Host Connor McCann discusses the case, what lead up to the assassination and the collusion known to all, but spoken by few.
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In this episode, Connor discuss es the recently deceased Abimael Guzman, also known as Presidente Gonzalo, the leader of Peru’s Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), a Maoist guerrilla group until his arrest in 1992. This Professor of Philosophy advocated for the poor and working class, but his upbringing and lifestyle contradicted his beliefs. He’s not alone: Lenin, Engels, Che and many of today’s left wing activists are drawn to similar beliefs and come from similar backgrounds. We discuss what draws these people to a life and people they little comprehend, even after they come to rule over such populations.
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As more efficient, cheaper and more plentiful energy sources began to be used following World War II, thousands of coal miners across the United Kingdom began losing their livelihoods. In the late 70s, the politics of the coal unions would come to affect national governance and this trend would continue in the lead up to the 1984 Miners Strike. Listen to our host Connor as he discusses this lead up, the parties involved and what happens when the state takes on the behavior of those they malign.
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In this episode, Connor discusses the lawsuit launched by former drug kingpin Ricky Ross against a man named William Roberts. And what was this lawsuit based on? The fact that Roberts performed, very successfully, under the persona of a wealthy cocaine kingpin. His persona's name? Rick Ross. Should be an open and shut case, right? Listen now to find out.
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With the fall of Kabul just weeks in the past, in this episode Connor discusses one of the strategies the government of Afghanistan pursued to stave off the Taliban. Listen this week as Connor provides background on the current (and still developing) situation, the Afghan Taliban, The Pakistani Taliban, the stakes at play for their puppet masters and what point the whole enterprise in Afghanistan went wrong.
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In this first episode of our new Crime & Politics series, Connor discusses the 1980 Jamaican General Elections. Known for being the most violent election cycle in Jamaican History, Connor drains on the lead up to the elections, the garrisons, the gangs, the politicians who played one against the other and the world's most famous Jamaican's ties to all of the above.
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It's the early 2000s and Glenn Helzer, a self declared prophet and leader of a group called the Children of Thunder, had a plan. From his suburban Concord, California headquarters, he intended to bring about the return of Jesus Christ. His method? An overthrow of the Mormon Church, funded by the extortion of the elderly. What could go wrong?
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In this first episode of this new mini series, Connor discusses conspiracies that aren't just theories, but facts. In this episode, Connor discusses the CIA's program known as MKULTRA, where multiple experiments attempted to control the minds of the Americans experimented on. Plot twist: its as awful as you think it is!
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In this episode, Connor discusses the Colombian rebel group M-19 (Movimiento 19 de Abril, 19th of April Movement), made famous for stealing the sword belonging to Simon Bolivar, the liberator of much of South America. M-19 expected this theft to spark a popular revolution, which they would lead, sword in hand. … history tells us it played out differently. In this cautionary tale, the guys discuss the problem of echo chambers and believing a little too strongly in one’s own messaging.
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In this video, related to our recently released video, "The Snitch Who Became King," Connor describes a period where San Francisco's Chinatown experienced a leadership vacuum and two gangs fought for control of the neighborhood. Connor lost a friend to this fight for control and tells us this story, as well how a nice young kid becomes a gangster.
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Nobody really believed Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow had gone legit. The underworld don of San Francisco’s Chinatown was presenting a benevolent public face, operating under the guise of being the leader of a Chinese Fraternal Organization. Predictably, Shrimp Boy was scheming to claim, then maintain control of Chinatown’s underworld enterprises, but how did someone who was a known informant even reach this level of criminal standing? Didn’t stitches get stitches? Connor discusses the long and strange career of Shrimp Boy, including his dealings with Senator Leland Yee, in this episode from Connor's hometown of San Francisco.
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In this short episode, Connor discusses a period in the mid-2000s where he found himself receiving a bit of unwanted attention. Listen to how a brief encounter, along with answering the wrong question, begun what would become a living nightmare for our host.
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In this new series, Connor discusses musical history from the world over. In episode one, we cover the creation of the musical genre Turbofolk. The term started out as a joke, but Turbofolk went on to become a legitimately popular genre of music in 1990s former Yugoslavia, as well as the soundtrack to genocide after its fall. We discuss these details, as well as what happens when a joke is taken a little too far.
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In this episode, Connor discusses the life, times and allegiances of Bohdan Khmelnetsky. Revered as a hero in the Ukrainian history, deemed one of the worst traitors in Polish history and remembered for the genocide he committed in Jewish history, Connor discusses what lead Bohdan to revolt, the system he revolted against and the cost born by those stuck in the middle of it all.
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In the year 2000, Bob Sapp … a down on his luck, 6’5”, 350lbs ex-NFL player decided to enter the world of Professional Wrestling. However, the forces of history lead him away from Pro-Wrestling and into the boxing ring against another ex-NFL player. When footage of the fight ended up in the hands of Japanese kickboxing promoter, Bob Sapp would end up embarking on one of the most bizarre journeys in professional sports. In the first of many episodes related to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Connor discusses the forces of fate that sent Bob on his journey, his soaring highs, his controversial later career and The Beast's legacy.
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The assumption has long been held that once serial killers begin killing, they never stop. However, in some cases, they do. In this epsiode, Connor discusses serial killers Gary Ridgway (Green River Killer), Dennis Rader (BTK Killer) and the recently convicted Joseph DeAngelo (Golden State Killer/ EARONS), all of whom are prolific murderers and all of whom stopped killing for different reasons.
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When one thinks of the elite soldiers through the years, many names come to mind: The Spartans, Samurai, Navy SEALS, Spetznaz and more. In this episode, Connor discusses a little known and unique elite unit called Sirasu Puli. Little known as it was division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a rebel group that fought in the Sri Lankan Civil War and unique because it was made up entirely of children. Connor also drains his brain about the LTTE, the conflict and how child soldiers favored against their adult Special Forces counterparts.
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