Guest host Richard Syrett welcomed author Jim DiEugenio to discuss his work tackling 80,000 pages of JFK files and what he has learned from them. DiEugenio outlined the immense challenge of analyzing the released JFK files not only because of the quantity but also because of the unorganized fashion of their release. Researchers had no chronological or thematic guide, making the process time-consuming and complex, he said. Despite errors—such as unredacted social security numbers—DiEugenio credited Tulsi Gabbard for pushing the release and noted that over 90% of the documents are impressively free of redactions. He revealed that Gabbard has also begun digitizing records of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, which were not previously widely available.

DiEugenio highlighted serious concerns raised by members of the Warren Commission that were never addressed in the final report. He discussed Oswald's suspiciously fast defection and reentry into the Soviet Union with his wife Marina—who was related to an NKVD agent—and how this raised eyebrows among both Soviet defectors and U.S. investigators. Additionally, DiEugenio recounted how Oswald's rapid acquisition of a Soviet visa in Helsinki, during the height of the Cold War, was questioned but ultimately ignored in the official narrative. He believes these overlooked discrepancies suggest that Oswald may not have been a genuine defector and that critical inquiries were deliberately buried by the CIA.

Further delving into CIA operations, DiEugenio talked about how former CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton may have helped frame Oswald as a Soviet assassin by falsely linking him to a KGB hit squad through an agent named Valery Kostikov. Documents now reveal the CIA had no credible evidence for such a connection. DiEugenio argued this was part of a broader effort to justify the framing of Oswald and manipulate public perception. He also explained how President Johnson used this disinformation to pressure the Warren Commission into action, despite FBI Director Hoover warning him that the tapes and photos supposedly placing Oswald in Mexico City didn't match his identity. DiEugenio suggested the document dump was a strategic overload by the CIA, meant to bury key truths in a sea of irrelevant pages—truths he continues to uncover manually, document by document.

Psychology of Luigi Mangione

In the first hour, forensic psychologist Dr. John Brady delved into the psychiatric aspects of Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He portrayed Luigi Mangione as a complex figure whose transformation from a privileged, law-abiding individual into a radicalized killer mirrors the ideological paths of figures like Ted Kaczynski. Mangione, influenced by extreme beliefs and disillusionment with societal systems—especially the healthcare industry—embraced a form of "pathological idealism" or "effective altruism," seeing himself as a savior rebelling against systemic injustice. Brady suggested that Mangione experienced a psychological unraveling marked by identity surrender and delusional thinking, driven by a desire to correct societal wrongs. The legal proceedings will hinge on his mental state at the time of the crime, with the possibility of a diminished capacity defense rather than full insanity. Brady argued Mangione may be rehabilitable due to his youth, isolated offense, and ideological—not psychopathic—motivations.