The guest
Andrew Callaghan: Gonzo-style journalist and host of Channel 5 on YouTube, formerly All Gas No Brakes, who interviews people at the edges of American society. He directed the HBO documentary 'This Place Rules' about the lead-up to the January 6th Capitol riots.
What this episode covers
Andrew Callaghan traces his path from a Seattle high-school journalism class and a drug-induced visual condition (HPPD) into a career documenting America's fringes. He recounts hitchhiking 70 days across the U.S., working a Bourbon Street restaurant, building All Gas No Brakes, and pivoting to serious reporting during COVID, George Floyd, and January 6th. He breaks down his HBO film featuring Alex Jones and a QAnon family, the corporate copyright and contract battles that shaped his career, and the drill-rap and O-Block worlds. He openly addresses the 2022 misconduct allegations against him, his accountability process, and a suicidal low point. The conversation closes on language preservation, aliens, and his belief that most people are fundamentally good.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
“that's a good book”
“the Eastern path that I took and kind of Fus that with psychedelic culture in Seattle... so like I'd say it all started with sadara sadara that's a good book”— Andrew Callaghan
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Great Shark Hunt
Hunter S. Thompson
“I really like a particular Hunter S Thompson book called the great shark hunt”
“I really like a a particular Hunter S Thompson book called the great shark hunt um where he covers the Ruben Salazar murder”— Andrew Callaghan
BookRecommendedISBN verified
On the Road
Jack Kerouac
“best book I've ever read in my life”
“on the road yeah by Jack carak best book I've ever read in my life”— Andrew Callaghan
The guest's own work
BookBy the guestISBN verified
All Gas No Brakes: A Hitchhiker's Diary
Andrew Callaghan
“all gas no brakes was named after a book that I wrote called all gas no breaks a hitchhiker diary which chronicled the 70-day journey”— Andrew Callaghan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferencedISBN verified
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson
“fear and Loa I like but not as much as his straightforward reporting cuz there's the Gonzo side of Hunter”— Andrew Callaghan
BookReferencedISBN verified
Vagabonding in America
Ed Buryn
“there was this book called vagabonding in America by an old hobo named ed burn and I read this... obviously some of it was outdated”— Andrew Callaghan
MediaReferenced
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Tobe Hooper
“movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre have ruined hitchhiking culture in America because now everyone thinks you're going to decapitate them”— Andrew Callaghan
MediaReferenced
The Eric Andre Show
Eric Andre
“I grew up such a big fan of uh Nathan for you and the Eric Andre show and those are produced by their company”— Andrew Callaghan
MediaReferenced
Nathan for You
Nathan Fielder
“I grew up such a big fan of uh Nathan for you and the Eric Andre show and those are produced by their company”— Andrew Callaghan
MediaReferenced
mid90s
Jonah Hill
“he's into skateboarding stuff that's why he did that film mid 90s and I think he probably saw a similar thing”— Andrew Callaghan
ProductReferenced
Sony A7
Sony
“she has the Sony A7 she gives me a microphone and she's like go talk to that guy”— Andrew Callaghan
ProductReferenced
Blackmagic Cinema Camera
Blackmagic Design
“the resolution is not there unless you have a like a Blackmagic Cinema Camera which you don't we don't use those the file size is too big”— Andrew Callaghan
ProductReferenced
Adobe Premiere
Adobe
“a crash Zoom is when... it's artificial Zoom that you might add in adobi premere where the camera Zooms in on someone's face”— Andrew Callaghan
ProductReferenced
Black Rifle Coffee Company
Black Rifle Coffee Company
“when Black Rifle Coffee Company like denounced Kyle Rittenhouse they lost a lot of money too”— Andrew Callaghan
Big reveals from this episode
- Callaghan says YouTube removed his Vegas tunnels documentary over a 10-second Fox 5 news clip he argues was legal fair use under the 1976 Copyright Act, and he is taking 'gray media' to court to set precedent for smaller creators.
- His boss at doing things media told him on the flight to Minneapolis that if he turned All Gas No Brakes into a 'social justice show' he'd be replaced; Callaghan turned off his phone and went anyway.
- When Callaghan asked for a 50% profit split for doing double work, doing things media immediately fired him and his two childhood friends mid-shoot for the HBO project.
- Enrique Tarrio, former Proud Boys chairman, told Callaghan two weeks after January 6th that he doesn't believe the election was stolen and was glad he wasn't there.
- On CNN's Don Lemon show, Callaghan accused CNN of antagonizing the country for ad revenue; Time Warner (which owns both CNN and HBO) then canceled his entire press tour.
- Eight minutes before his HBO film premiered, Callaghan received a text requesting part of his HBO check for therapy bills, which he says became an attempt to extract a confession for a multimillion-dollar civil suit.
- Callaghan describes a suicidal low point after the allegations, reasoning that drinking himself to death would cause his loved ones the least anger.
- He explains the O-Block / King Von / FBG Duck / Lil Durk web, noting O-Block is now attempting an image rehab with members converting to Islam and posting 'put the guns down, let's pray.'
Worth remembering
- Callaghan's first published article as a ninth grader was an interview with a 'hitman' he messaged via a hidden wiki link on the dark web.
- He has HPPD (hallucinogen persisting perception disorder) from mushrooms in eighth grade, causing permanent visual snow and floaters, with alcohol being one of the few things that suppresses the symptoms.
- 'Lot lizard' is trucker slang for a prostitute working large truck stops; Callaghan was mistaken for one on his first hitchhiking ride in Louisiana.
- New Orleans has a homicide solve rate of about 22%, and during 'Quarter Confessions' a roughly 15-year-old confessed on camera to a killing, leading Callaghan to delete the footage to protect him.
- The first All Gas No Brakes RV cost $20,000 and the show began with a Burning Man shoot vetted via an on-air pitch on Burning Man radio.
- His HBO film team assembled rapidly to include Tim & Eric (Eric Wareheim), Jonah Hill, and A24, after a 360 deal with doing things media had blocked him from earning outside income.
- He and his crew got fired by text while sitting in a freezing, out-of-propane RV in a South Philly Walmart parking lot.
- Drill rap began around 2010 (Chief Keef / King Louie in Chicago, influenced by Waka Flocka Flame) and is distinguished from earlier gangsta rap by a 'true crime' component where fans want proof the rapper actually commits violence.
- There are about 150 languages in the U.S. with fewer than a thousand speakers, including Hawaiian Sign Language with around 15 remaining users.
- Callaghan's podcast episodes are AI-overdubbed into Spanish on Spotify, which he jokes makes him sound more intelligent in Spanish.
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