From Cameron
Well hi there, friends of TPN!
I hope you’re enjoying life to the max.
Today, Sunday, Chrissy and I decided to go out on a lunch date. As we were driving to a cafe, I noticed our aircon got warm and a strange light appear on the dash. Pulled over, looked up the meaning of said light in the manual, turns out it meant the engine was overheating. Popped the hood and discovered the hose to the radiator had come loose and coolant had sprayed everywhere. Called a tow truck and waited 90 minutes for it to arrive, while Chrissy took an Uber home. Such is life. Glad it happened on a lazy Sunday than when she was on her way to work during the week (because she wouldn’t have even noticed the light and the engine would have exploded).
On a happier note, when I finally got back from towing the car to a mechanic, we re-watched Wim Wenders’ 1988 classic "WINGS OF DESIRE", which I hadn’t seen in many years. Loved it. Stars Bruno Ganz, who most of us know as Hitler losing his shit in the bunker, but who I also saw recently in Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake of "NOSFERATU", which also stars Klaus Kinski as Dracula. I also recently watched Kinski in Herzog’s 1975 "AGUIRRE: WRATH OF GOD" which I’ve never seen before. Loved it, too. Kinski is batshit crazy (apparently he was in real life, too). Also watched F.W. Murnau’s original 1922 "NOSFERATU" which is definitely the superior version, a silent classic, amazing visuals. Yes – I’m watching a lot of German films for some reason.
Music-wise, I spent the last week listening to Shostakovich’s Symphony 6 and this week’s I’m going to be listening to his 13th. And I’ve been reading the Marquis de Sade.
So German films, Russian music, French books. That’s what I’m doing for fun (and a Chinese martial art). Also went to a Diwali festival on Friday night with some Indian friends. So very multicultural.
I gave a talk to a bunch of Year 12 students at a high school last week. Spoke to them for two hours (well I spoke for an hour, they asked me questions for another hour). I told them history is mostly about sex, drugs, orgies and violence. I talked about Tibbo’s sex palace and witches having sex orgies with broomsticks. I don’t think I’ll get invited back.
Ray and I recorded some new Vespasian episodes last week and this week we are doing an interview for the Cold War show with the author David Robbins on his new book "Jack and Nikita". Hope you enjoy them when they come out. For now – our latest masterpieces are below for you to catch up on.
Stay safe, don’t die.
C
My Thought For The Day
I was still very young when I learned to hold religion’s fantasies in contempt, being perfectly convinced that the existence of a creator is a revolting absurdity in which not even children continue to believe. I have no need to thwart my inclinations in order to flatter some god; these instincts were given me by Nature, and it would be to irritate her were I to resist them; if she gave me bad ones, that is because they were necessary to her designs. I am in her hands but a machine which she runs as she likes, and not one of my crimes does not serve her: the more she urges me to commit them, the more of them she needs; I should be a fool to disobey her. Thus, nothing but the law stands in my way, but I defy the law, my gold and my prestige keep me well beyond reach of those vulgar instruments of repression which should be employed only upon the common sort.
The 120 Days of Sodom
Marquis de Sade
This Week’s Episodes
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Life of Caesar · Published 30 October 2026 The Roman Hammer – Vespasian #30The Siege of Masada ends here…. or does it? Josephus gives us pages of Eleazar’s suicide pep talks, mass murder by lot, and one very convenient survivor who heard everything from an underground cavern. Archaeologists have since pointed out there’s basically no evidence any of this actually happened, which makes it either the most dramatic event in ancient history or Josephus just writing a cracking yarn. The post The Roman Hammer – Vespasian #30 appeared first on Life Of The… |
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Cold War · Published 2 November 2026 Cold War 319: You Can Do It With MirrorsThe Bay of Pigs post-mortem continues, and it turns out the CIA approached Cuban resistance fighters who’d spent seven years fighting Batista…. and suggested they team up with Batista guys. Shockingly, that didn’t go over well. We also get into how the failed invasion actually drove Cuba into the Soviets’ arms, and we uncover a genuinely wild thread connecting the Bay of Pigs, the CIA, Dallas November 1963… and Pocahontas. |
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Renaissance · Published 23 October 2026 The Good Society – The Renaissance #248We wrap up the witches series by pulling together everything we’ve covered – the folklore, the hallucinogens, the conspiracy theories, the Inquisition, and yes, the broomstick thing. Turns out the witch trials weren’t really about witches. They were about famines, heresy, herbal healers, ergot fungus, ancient blood-drinking myths that got recycled from Jews to vampires to women with cats…. and a church that was absolutely terrified of losing control. Plus: the first documented vampire in history, a polymath who married… |
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The Bullshit Filter · Published 27 October 2026 The Black Hole – BS Filter #152Today we pick apart Brzezinski’s 1990s blueprint for Russia – The Black Hole – and what it tells us about everything the Western media still gets wrong about Ukraine, NATO, and Putin. If you would like to listen to the full episode, sign up and become a supporter of the show! It’s less than the cost of a single coffee a week. The post The Black Hole – BS Filter #152 appeared first on The BS Filter . |
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Futuristic · Published 2 October 2026 Futuristic #48 – Robots as a ServiceToday we work out where humanoid robots could actually close Australia’s labour shortfall in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing – and whether RaaS beats reshoring as the realistic first move. |
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QAV Australia · Published 3 November 2026 Worth a Punt: QAV AU #954This week Tony’s at the Melbourne Cup, so I’m holding the fort solo with a bit of market commentary before handing over to a pre-recorded Pulled Pork. Tony does a deep dive on Tabcorp Holdings (TAB), the wagering behemoth behind the TAB platform, the MAX gaming services brand, and a pretty fascinating turnaround story under new CEO Gillon McLachlan. We cover the QAV score (spoiler: not great), the one pool strategy, the BetMakers acquisition, and whether this one’s worth a… |
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QAV America · Published 4 November 2026 Malone’s Phones: QAV America #77This week Cameron flies solo, checks in on both portfolios, and digs into Liberty Latin America (LILA), a John Malone-backed telco covering the Caribbean and Latin America that’s been hammered by Hurricane Melissa, a botched Puerto Rico acquisition, and a messy debt dispute. Despite a pile of problems, the QAV score comes in at a very attractive 0.36, which is why it landed on the buy list. Plus a quick read on the US midterm elections as the results roll… |