I think assuming Gene is just a well-intentioned guy who has simply gone about monetizing his podcasts in a hamfisted manner is a grave mistake.
I agree and anyone who suggests that is either woefully ignorant or has no moral compunction.
Gene as been begging people for money for a decade at least and no sensible person could believe that a person could be in continuous financial crisis for that long unless they are being dishonest.
- That much would be clear even if Gene did not constantly contradict himself in his own emails, or contradict what was in public records for bankruptcy etc.
When David Biedny left the Paracast almost 10 years ago he made it quite clear that one of his reasons for leaving was due to the unprofessional and frankly unethical financial shenanigans that Gene had been pulling - basically asking everyone he met for money whilst clearly and unashamedly living beyond his means at the same time.
Biedny did not want to be associated with that sort of thing particularly when they were supposed to be running a podcast that pointed out and took conmen (like Billy Meir etc) to task over their dishonesty.
From what David said this kind of thing had been going on since he first met Gene (although like most people he had initially given him the benefit of the doubt) it became clear to him that this was just normal behaviour for his cohost and it was never going to end.
Add that to the fact that Gene contributed nothing to the show, guests had to be arranged by David and primarily interviewed by David. He was the one that read their books and came up with real questions.
All Gene did was count the breaks, make pointless jokes (that weren't even funny when they were invented in 1955) or interject with pointless unrelated trivia about pop culture or people he knew in the 1960s - none of which actually added to the show, if anything they made the show worse.
I doubt this was lost on most of the more intelligent guests being interviewed which made it all the more surreal when Gene would try to hit them up for money.
Anyway I think the use of the Paracast email list for begging from the listeners was the last straw for David. He just couldn't take it anymore so he left and made it quite clear why. This made him one of the original "haters" that Gene now refers to in his begging letters.
He tries to imply that one day David irrationally became a "hater" and started making up lies about him - the very same kind of "lies" that are a matter of public record and Gene's own email solicitations.
Now we have another co-host who has left for the same reasons and yet we have the same kind of "head in the sand" boneheads making excuses for Gene and happy to work with him.
As has been said previously begging strangers under false pretences for money is not an accident - especially in a wealthy western country.
It is not some novel way of raising money, it is fundamentally dishonest and likely a crime.
There have been many examples of people who have created fraudulent fund raisers for cancers or other serious illnesses they didn't have and have ended up in jail as a result of it.
For people in true need of help (particularly in a developed country) there are many charitable and government backed services that can help out.
The issue is that they will only help people out who are in real need.
They are not there to help out someone who refuses to budget and live within their means.
-That is why it so ridiculous when people point out services that may be able to help Gene with his problems -
he does not care - this is not about someone in crisis, this is about someone who wants others to pay for his lifestyle.
There are also plenty of legitimate and lawful ways to monetise a podcast, taking advantage of people using lies and the constant threat of eviction is not one of them.
The only reason I can think for continuing the begging is the simple fact that few people are willing to pay for the utter garbage that the Paracast has become.
Patreon can be a great income streams for many podcasts but you need to have people who actually care enough about your show to want you to keep going.
Now that Chris has gone there is nothing of any value left.
Indeed, the adverts for survivalist crap, Big Berky water filters, garbage pseudoscientific supplements and the like are actually more entertaining than the actual show segments.
Also as others have stated Gene may be wanting to keep his begging off the records from the authorities. Maybe he does get a decent amount of money from it (why else would he persist) and he is not willing to share.
If he starts using a legitimate service like Patreon that will add a degree of transparency that he may not want.
If that is the reason then it is incredibly foolish because the tax authorities will catch up with him sooner or later and it will be another potential crime to add to the list (in addition to fraud and bankruptcy violations).
Anyway sorry for the long and perhaps rambling response but am pretty tired and will apologise in advance for any typos.
I just can't believe the empty headed people that think this whole thing is acceptable behaviour.
It's been going on for over a decade people!
The paranormal field has enough problems already, it does not need more panhandlers and conmen. The irony that the "gold standard podcast" is now a vehicle for it beggars belief.
Maybe nivek was not aware?
