Jon Rappoport, R.I.P. (1938-2026)

Writer Jon Rappoport passed away on July 8, 2026 at the age of 88. Rappoport published several books including THE SECRET BEHIND SECRET SOCIETIES, OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING: THE SUPPRESSED TRUTH, U.S. GOVERNMENT MIND CONTROL EXPERIMENTS ON CHILDREN, AIDS INC., THE OWNERSHIP OF ALL LIFE, VISIONS OF THE EMPIRE, MADALYN MURRAY O'HAIR: MOST HATED WOMAN IN AMERICA, and several others. 

One of my favorite Rappoport books is VISIONS OF THE EMPIRE. Sadly, very few people have had the opportunity to see this work. Back in 2013, Rappoport released a limited edition chapbook of VISIONS OF THE EMPIRE, an exhilarating epic poem that took him fifteen years to complete. When the poem was originally published, I wrote, "VISIONS OF THE EMPIRE deserves to be ranked alongside Pablo Neruda's legendary THE HEIGHTS OF MACCHU PICCHU. It is a rare and beautiful paradox that only a true magician could succeed in conjuring forth. It dissects the old, tired myths--political myths, religious myths, social myths--that threaten to swallow our minds while simultaneously creating new myths with which the human race might lift itself up out of spiritual darkness." 

I highly recommend THE SECRET BEHIND SECRET SOCIETIES, a peculiar mixture of memoir and journalism. I gravitated toward this hybrid form of literature when I first encountered the book upon its initial publication in 1998, as my favorite writing has always been that which combines many different forms into one. THE SECRET BEHIND SECRET SOCIETIES might be one of the most intriguing memoirs I've ever read. 

 

I first heard Rappoport, completely by chance, on an episode of MIKE HODEL'S HOUR 25 radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles when I was fifteen. Rappoport was talking at length about Grace Halsell's excellent nonfiction book, PROPHECY & POLITICS: THE SECRET ALLIANCE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE U.S. CHRISTIAN RIGHT. As a result, I went out and bought Halsell's book from the late, lamented EITHER/OR BOOKSTORE in Hermosa Beach and read it cover to cover. From there I followed Rappoport's work over to Roy Tuckman's SOMETHING'S HAPPENING late night radio show where I heard his iconoclastic HEALTH NEWS journalistic series, which eventually evolved into the far more stream-of-consciousness FREE FORUM RADIO. You can listen to Harlan Ellison interviewing Jon Rappoport on MIKE HODEL'S HOUR 25 on May 22nd, 1987 by clicking HERE.

 

By the way, if you want to check out COVERTACTION INFORMATION BULLETIN #27 (Spring 1987), which is the "Special Issue on the Religious Right" referenced by Rappoport near the end of this episode, then click HERE. Sadly, this topic is even more relevant in 2026 than it was in 1987!

 

If you want to hear Rappoport's prerecorded farewell message to his readers, then click HERE. 
 

Over the years, Rappoport went out of his way to promote several of my books including CRYPTOSCATOLOGY, SPIES & SAUCERS, CHAMELEO, UNTIL THE LAST DOG DIES, and CRYPTOPOLIS & OTHER STORIES, for which I will always be grateful. You can read Rappoport's review of CHAMELEO by clicking HERE.

 

One of these days, ask me to tell you the story about the strange afternoon in October of 2013 when I was scheduled to meet Rappoport at Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar right next to the Disneyland Hotel only to be waylaid by roving troglodytes instead.

 

Rest in Peace, Jon Rappoport!