Mae Magnin Brussell (May 29, 1922 – October 3, 1988) was an American

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

and

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

. She was the host of ''Dialogue: Conspiracy'' (later renamed ''World Watchers International'').

Early life

Mae Magnin was born on May 29, 1922, in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

.Knight, Peter (2003)
"Mae Brussell."
In
''Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1: A–L''.
Foreword by

David Brion Davis David Brion Davis (February 16, 1927 – April 14, 2019) was an American intellectual and cultural historian, and a leading authority on slavery and abolition in the Western world. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, a ...

. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO
pp. 140-141.
. . Her father,

Edgar Magnin Edgar Magnin (July 1, 1890 – July 17, 1984) was rabbi and spiritual leader of Wilshire Boulevard Temple (previously Congregation B'nai B'rith), the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Magnin served at the temple for 69 yea ...

, was a Reform rabbi at the

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome an ...

.Staff writer (Jul. 14, 1941)
"Rabbi to Deliver Sunday Sermon."
''

The Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the U ...

'', vol. 99a, no. 8. p. 1.br>Full issue.
/ref> Her paternal great-grandparents,

Isaac Magnin Isaac Magnin (1842–1907) was a Dutch-born American businessperson, Carving, carver and Gilding, gilder. He was the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale women's clothing store in San Francisco, California. Early life Isaac Magnin (or Moeijen) was ...

and

Mary Ann Magnin Mary Ann Magnin (1850–1943) was a Dutch-American businesswoman. She was the co-founder of I. Magnin, an upscale "specialty store" in San Francisco, California. Early life Mary Ann Cohen was born in 1850 in Scheveningen, The Hague, the Netherlan ...

, were the founders of

I. Magnin I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, ...

, an upscale women's clothing store in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. She attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

and received an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

on June 3, 1942.

Career

She was a radio host. Much of her radio programming focused on the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She also covered the history of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. Distraught by the murder of President Kennedy, she purchased all 26 printed volumes issued by the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...

report, and attempted to make sense of them by cross-indexing the entire work with stories from major newspapers and magazines that she thought showed connections and patterns that she found disturbing.Constantine, Alex (ed)
''The Essential Mae Brussell: Investigations of Fascism in America''.
Introduction by

Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...

. Port Townsend, Was.:

Feral House Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Early history The company's first book was '' The Satanic Witch'' (1989; originally published in 1971 by Dodd, Mead & Company) by A ...

(2014). . . Her career in radio started in May 1971 when, as a guest on the independently owned radio station

KLRB KLRB (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Stuart, Oklahoma. The station is currently owned by Lighthouse of Prayer, Inc. History This station was assigned call sign KLRB on June 22, 2002. References External links LRB LRB may refer to: ...

, she questioned the Warren Commission. She suggested

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

might not have been the only person involved in the assassination of the president. She became a weekly guest. Shortly after, she became the host of ''Dialogue: Conspiracy'' (later renamed ''World Watchers International''). From 1983 to 1988, she hosted the same show on

KAZU Kazu is a Japanese given name for both sexes. Notable people with the name include: *, wife of 14th shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi *, Japanese footballer, often called Kazu *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese Paralympic athlete *Kazu Hiro (born 1969), Americ ...

, a radio station based in Pacific Grove. Additionally, she wrote articles that were published in ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, an ...

'', a magazine published by

. An impressed

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

donated money so Krassner could afford to print Mae Brussell's work. Brussell was profiled on episode six of Slate's '' Slow Burn'' podcast.

Personal life

She married twice and had five children: two sons with her first husband, David Goodwin and John Goodwin; and three daughters with her second husband, Barbara Brussell, Keyenne Brussell, and Bonnie Brussell (who predeceased her in 1970).Staff writer (Oct. 4, 1988)
"Conspiracy Theorist Mae Brussell Dies of Cancer"
(

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

). ''

The Monterey Herald ''The Monterey County Herald'', sometimes referred to as the ''Monterey Herald'', is a daily newspaper published in Monterey, California that serves Monterey County. In December, 2013, the Herald's parent company Media News Group merged to become ...

''. Archived fro
the original.
/ref>

Death

She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on October 3, 1988 in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

Bibliography

Articles

"What's Your Opinion?"
''

Monterey Peninsula Herald ''The Monterey County Herald'', sometimes referred to as the ''Monterey Herald'', is a daily newspaper published in Monterey, California that serves Monterey County. In December, 2013, the Herald's parent company Media News Group merged to become ...

'' (Sep. 12, 1966).
"Oswald Not a Communist?"
''

'' (Jan. 17, 1967).
"Who Killed Congressman Larry McDonald?"
''

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more general ...

'', vol. 10, no. 8 (Feb. 1984), pp. 40–44, 46, 52, 142, 194. Photos by Ladi von Jansky.

Collected works

* Constantine, Alex (ed)
''The Essential Mae Brussell: Investigations of Fascism in America''.
Introduction by

. Port Townsend, Was.:

(2014). . .

References

External links

Official website

Interview with Keyenne Brussell
a
spitfirelist.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brussell, Mae 1922 births 1988 deaths American conspiracy theorists American people of Dutch-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century American Jews American talk radio hosts Deaths from cancer in California John F. Kennedy conspiracy theorists Magnin family People from Beverly Hills, California University of California, Berkeley alumni American women radio presenters