UFO's, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe

Television actor Belzer (he played Detective John Munch on Homicide) began his career as a comedian, working in the same dark political vein as Mort Sahl and Dick Gregory. He brings this skeptic's tone to his discussion of the questions raised by popular American conspiracy theories: Who really killed President Kennedy?, Do UFOs exist? and the ilk. Reading, he comes across as a friendly guy with a healthy anti-authority streak. He poses himself as a people's advocate, at one with all the loonies who believe the U.S. government is involved in cover-up upon cover-up. Much of the program is devoted to attacking the facts of the Kennedy assassination. He makes light of all the loose ends and contradictions (to the occasional sound effect of a whizzing bullet). Later, he discusses whether the Apollo space program was a sham, then delves into the even more far-fetched topic of sex with aliens (he calls it ""intergalactic buggery""). Here, he finally sheds his high-handed tone and allows himself to become downright giddy in his conjectures. Based on the 1999 Ballantine hardcover. (June)