Hunter-Gatherers Podcast of Hunter S. Thompson Stories

A review of Hunter S. Thompson's suicide is underway. Curtis Robinson recounts the last days of the father of Gonzo, and he and Christopher Tidmore explore the controversy. We also talk about Hunter being "Beat adjacent" in anticipation GonzoFest 2026, coming up in NYC next July.

Curtis and Christopher start off with the intention of talking about Gonzofest NYC 2026 on Hunter's Birthday next July. After all, Curtis is in New York City scouting locations for the GonzoFest gatherings. However, your hosts cannot help but wonder what Hunter would have made of the entire Jimmy Kimmel debacle?

Announcement of a high-profile NYC venue for GonzoFest 2026 prompts memories of the Big Apple's role in HST development; summer is in fully upon us so the guys, showing a willingness to work every bit as much as the U.S. Congress, announce they're taking August off; and never, never let Hunter S. Thompson talk you into trying out that fast-fast motorcycle... unless you enjoy a personal master clas...

Can Gonzo Whiskey Save Democracy? Erin Petrey and Dr. Matt Patel make the case, as their Bourbon premiers in the nation's capitol in the wake of Hunter S. Thompson's birthday. No smoke bombs here amidst Congress' smoke and mirrors. (Listen for that birthday story.) Curtis and Christopher join our guests to raise a glass of the new Gonzo Whiskey to Dr. Thompson on his birthday.

Gonzo journalist and historian Mikko Macchione joins Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore to talk about experiences near and great with Hunter S. Thompson in New Orleans and why the city influenced him. We talk about a piece of Gonzo journalism that is about to be reprinted that actually kicked off the Gonzo school of writers in New Orleans. We also talk "The Rum Diary" with Mikko, appropriate...

GonzoFest Gathered: Ellie Rand, Part II, Another Hospital Visit How many times have you awakened in hospital with no clear idea of how you got there? More than once? Well, if not then maybe you never had the pleasure of working for Hunter S. Thompson. Ever fire a handgun in a hot tub? Dine with Michael Douglas wearing a bikini and without shoes in the middle of an Aspen winter? Again, some on-the-...

As GonzoFest approaches, Christopher Tidmore and Curtis Robinson reflect on the event, the immediate history of how a Louisville event moved down the river and into the Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans. Insiders will note their voices seem so... rested. They will not stay that way.

Christopher Tidmore and Curtis Robinson interview Hunter's onetime assistant and longtime friend Ellie Rand at GonzoFest in New Orleans and recalls hospital-bound adventures at Owl Farm... but also what it was really like during that last weekend in New Orleans only weeks before the good Doctor checked out. Spoiler alert, Hunter did not feel well and he did buy a new suit.

GonzoFest Gathered: Music Legend David Amram, Hunter S. Thompson and those UFOs Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore podcast from GonzoFest in New Orleans with special guest David Amram, who performs at the event and talks about his time with Hunter. That's right. Hunter, David Amram and their real-life link to UFO in Upstate New York. If that's not teaser enough for you, wait until you hear wh...

Curtis and Christopher are joined by one of the organizers of the 11th GonzoFest, Kent Fielding, calling in from Alaska. Kent will be in New Orleans on May 15-18 with Christopher and Curtis at GonzoFest's headquarters, the Garden District Book Shop's Bar Epilogue located at 2727 Prytania St. in the historic Rink, plus there will be tons of other "after hour" locations. Gonzo acolytes will gather t...

Music icon David Amram will headline and the countdown to GonzoFest begins. The resurrected festival is drawing a lot of attention to New Orleans. Four days and nights, May 15-18, based out of the Garden District Bookshop and various nightime venues, Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore break down all the events and explain how it came together to honor Hunter S. Thompson and gonzo journalism....

In honor of Super Bowl LIX, Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore broadcast from New Orleans, reading from the scribe himself, and realizing just how prescient Hunter S. Thompson was about NFL and politics. What would Hunter have made of Donald Trump becoming the first sitting President to go to the Super Bowl...and what bets would he have made, particularly on the commercials? And how is Steve...

Did Hunter S. Thompson help create Jimmy Carter's Presidency? Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore explore President Carter's legacy and Hunter's opinions on him, including whether Carter was a lot meaner than his reputation suggests. And it might have led to some of of Carter's greatest successes, including the Camp David Accords.

Christopher and Curtis deep-dive into the the sweeping Trump victory through the lens of Fear & Loathing, Campaign Trail '72. This includes many trends in common (history repeating?) and a few dangers unique to our age. Is that a reassuring sign that we've "been here before," or does it offer depressing evidence that we've actually learned virtually nothing in all those decades?

How the monkey getting high on Hunter's drugs led to the famed Kentucky Derby column! Ron Turner, famed Bay Area publisher, tells all, including how he used to discuss Ayn Rand with Hunter, how San Francisco created gonzo, and how the city still remains a font of creativity today. Curtis and Christopher listen at the feet of one of the fathers of gonzo, and so can you.

Curtis and Christopher take on the malaise of the 2024 election which brings "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail" to a new level. But worry not. Suicide is not the result. We explore some craziness along the way, and compliment "Colonel" Johnny Depp on his new art exhibit in NYC which features quite a lot of Hunter Thompson. We talk about drinking with Christopher Hitchens and the upcoming Go...

The (oft considered) first time Hunter S. Thompson used the title “Fear and Loathing” came as a result of his attendance at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago—when a cop pushed a billy club into him like a “spear”. Will the police act the same amidst the legions of Gaza protesters descending on the Windy City for this week’s Democratic convention? Curtis Robinson and Christopher Tidmore ana...

After two years of citing how close the 2024 race resembled Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, Curtis and Christopher finally conclude that "we have regressed" to 1968. What would Hunter have thought of these "nine days in July" from attempted assignation to effective candidate resignation? And we discuss how Kentucky is Vance, whether Hunter was a Hillbilly, and if Harris is less Chisho...

Colorado is weird in a particularly gonzo kind of way. It is both free thinking and libertarian practical, the kind of place that one politician described, "Where a gay married couple defends their weed farm with automatic weapons." It is Hunter's kind of place, and he was proud to call it home. But why is Colorado the perfect gonzoland? Curtis and Christopher explore the history and development o...

Curtis and Christopher examine the Trump Trial and the comparisons of this election to "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72". We come to a sudden realization. It is actually 1968, all over again.

From Shirley Chisholm to Cornel West, Curtis and Christopher return to the "sacred text" of Fear and Loathing '72 and see that the 2024 election seems to be having a similar impact on the Black Vote – in reverse. Could West challenging Biden as an Independent have the opposite impact of Chisholm running as Democrat for President? George McGovern's great gift to the Democratic Party was solidifying...

Curtis and Christopher Surrender to temptation and launch our latest 'Linkage Fest' between this presidential election and Hunter's 1972 campaign trail classic. The ticket is punched, the ride begins.

From the over-under on Super Bowl cut-aways to a certain singer and the chances that RFK Jr. gets onto enough ballots to make a difference, Christopher & Curtis cite Hunter's writing and note that the distance from sports to politics grows shorter by the day. That is, if it ever existed at all. Trigger alert: Somebody sees a crowded presidential debate stage.

The Trump victory in Iowa's presidential caucus is tipoff for the 2024 election cycle, and of course that sends us back to Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, '72. In particular, Curtis and Christoper note that, to see the parallels, you begin by realizing that objective vs. subjective did not end with Richard Nixon.

Kent Fielding, yes the one from GonzoFest, visits H-G to discuss that San Diego bio-musical. We offer perfectly legal fair-use snippets from the show that you can find on YouTube and ponder the chances that the musical, which is now closed, might make its way to Broadway. And just wait for the part about that big Jann Wenner controversy.