Behind the Bastards
Behind the Bastards

CZM Rewind: How The Zizians Went Full On Death Cult & The Zizian Murder Spree (or Exactly How Harry Potter Fanfic Killed A Border Patrol Agent)

January 1, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: Host Robert Evans delivers a gripping narrative deep-dive into the descent of rationalist cult leader Ziz (Alicia Lisota) and her followers into violence, blending dark history with biting satire in this multi-part "Behind the Bastards" episode. This is a solo-hosted storytelling session with producer Sophie Lichterman and guest David Borey chiming in for comedic relief.
  • The Format: A narrative story laced with host-guest banter.
  • The Key Players:
    • Robert Evans (Host): Passionate, profane investigator unpacking Ziz's cult via exhaustive blog dives; admits research-induced brain-melt.
    • David Borey (Guest): Comedian adding deadpan horror-reaction; first-time guest, bonds with Evans over Bay Area absurdity.
    • Sophie Lichterman (Producer): Minimal on-mic, teases wild reveals like fanfic sparking international incidents.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 **(00:00) 🎙️ Introduction: David Borey**
  • 2 **(03:35) Research Challenges and Ziz Context**
  • 3 **(10:00) Ziz's Bay Area Struggles (Part 3 Recap)**
  • 4 **(16:41) Early Blogging and Enforcement Ideas**
  • 5 **(19:23) Boat Living and Extreme Theories**
  • 6 **(25:13) Rationalist Mental Health Crisis**
  • 7 **(29:06) Isolation and Google Fallout**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Part Three: Robert tells David about Ziz's glorious plan to take to the sea and sever the right and left brains of her followers in order to make them psychopaths god that sentence was weird to write trust us the episode is weirder.

Part Four: Robert concludes the story of the Zizians with a spree of horrific violent crimes and deaths, culminating in a shoot out with the Border Patrol in Vermont of all places.

 

Sources: 

  1. https://medium.com/@sefashapiro/a-community-warning-about-ziz-76c100180509
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https://sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/
  3. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/infohazard
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https://sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/
  5. Wayback Machine
  6. The Zizians
  7. Spectral Sight
  8. True
Behind the Bastards

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