Back in the 1980s, while he was still a pro wrestler, Jesse Ventura had a lot of down-time in airports. He began sifting through books about theories questioning the official story of the JFK assassination.
He became hooked on conspiracies, feeding on his own suspicion of government and big industry.
After his time as governor of Minnesota a few years back, he remained a skeptic. This led to his current show “Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura,” which debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Atlanta’s TruTV.
“I don’t scare easily,” said Ventura in a phone interview last month. “But whether you choose to believe in conspiracies or not, I guarantee you the show will frighten.”
Over seven episodes, Ventura explores topics such as global warming, secret societies and apocalyptic prophecies.
The sample episode TruTV provided to me focuses on a project in Alaska called the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program — or, more succinctly, HAARP. The government says it's merely studying the ionosphere for communication and surveillance purposes. Conspiracy theorists see darker motivations such as high-tech weaponry, weather manipulation and even mind control.
Though Ventura said he tries to keep an open mind, he found perpetual government stonewalling infuriating and suspicious.
He said the military refused to give him an official tour of HAARP. So he flew up to Alaska and arrived uninvited. A manager refused to let him in.
“They tell us it’s an unclassified research project,” Ventura said. “Then why can’t we see it?”
The show also tried to talk to local residents. Most declined. The few who did were suspicious of the facility. “They feel like their intelligence is being insulted. Clearly, it’s something more than they’re telling us.”
The topic that jazzes Ventura the most, though, is 9/11. He wonders whether the Twin Towers really fell from fires stemming from the airplanes crashing into them.
He thinks the way they collapsed appeared deliberately controlled. Critics have jumped him for even posing the question, but he remains undeterred.
“I’ve learned in my life,” he said, “there are no dumb questions.”
He said he is not interested right now in another run at political office. He cited a Crosby, Stills & Nash song about getting your hair cut to get elected. “Well, my hair isn’t cut,” he said. “When I go back to a shaved heard, that means I may run again.”
More seriously, he said, “I’d rather do this. It’s far more fun. I like the private sector. Why? You don’t get yelled at for making money!”
He now spends part of his year on a beach home in Mexico. "It's an adventure," he said. "I'm in my late 50s. The window of opportunity is closing. I live in a place with no electricity or paved roads. I live with surfers. I live off the grid." (He does have solar power and Internet access so it's not that isolated.
ON TV
“Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura,” 10 p.m. Wednesdays, TruTV
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