JFK Assassination Resource and Research Guide
Links and Recommendations to help you crack the JFK Case
It took me long hours of digging to locate and sift through the following resources, and I wanted to provide this handy reference guide for anyone with interest in exploring the Kennedy Assassination case in more depth on their own. They serve as a complement to my series of articles on the case, for which meticulous evidentiary citations are beyond the scope of my aims. Citations and source materials for what I present are available, however, and they can be found in the links below. I encourage you to explore them yourself—at least to the extent that you do not simply rely on (or dismiss) my own views and conclusions—but are able to verify or refute them for yourself. Or maybe you will catch the research bug in the case like I did.
In addition, I hope this resource list will serve as a bookmark for guidance and links in JFK Assassination research for years to come, and I hope it will also be shared with others who would like to learn about the case but don’t know where to start.
For the JFK Neophyte – If you are new to the assassination and would like to familiarize yourself with the topic, but don’t know where to start, and lack either the time or depth of interest to explore the case in depth, here are my recommendations of where to begin:
Podcast Format: Who Killed JFK? Famed film director Rob Reiner released this podcast series in late 2023, and it provides a surprisingly succinct and clearly explained rundown of all the most important aspects of the case. Easy to listen to, and quick to get through, it’s a great place to start for podcast listeners. Conclusions about who the true shooters were are offered at the end, but keep in mind, this is merely the result of Reiner’s informed speculation. Most of the preceding evidence presented there is well-established and can be reasonably relied upon. For a deeper podcast dive into the case, check out Matt Crumpton’s Solving JFK. Crumpton does an stellar job of addressing each aspect of the case with methodical determination. He takes care to steel man the Warren Commission defender position as well, so you get a thorough view of arguments in favor and against every point of contention.
Film and Documentary Format: For those who would rather watch a film or documentary (or a few) I would suggest John Barbour’s 1992 The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes for the best brief overview to familiarize yourself with most of what you need to know. For a more in-depth documentary exploration, I suggest JFK: Destiny Betrayed, the 2021 four-part series directed by Oliver Stone and written by researcher Jim DiEugenio. (Note: a condensed version of this documentary series was also released as a single film: JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass.) Both of these documentaries were conceived as explanatory companions to Oliver Stone’s Academy Award winning JFK, which is as great an introduction to the case as any. The 1991 theatrical release is fast-paced and riveting, despite its length, while the Director’s Cut contains an additional 17 minutes of content.
Books: If you prefer to dive into the case with a recommended book, you can’t do better than JFK and the Unspeakable, by James Douglass. This book synthesizes the integral political context behind the assassination (which is what this case is really all about, and why it matters), and also provides a stellar overview of the relevant facts in the assassination itself. It exposes the manipulation and framing of Oswald, the cover-up that followed, and provides a good summary and explanation of what actually happened on November 22, 1963. If your interest is primarily in focusing on the case for conspiracy, and refutation of the Warren Commission and its lone nut gunman theory of the case, The JFK Assassination Chokeholds provides a compendium of every major “chokehold” in the case. Each one of these, by itself, proves conclusively that Kennedy was felled by a conspiracy. This book could benefit from release of a revised edition after additional copy editing, but the information contained in it is invaluable.
Web Searches
As of this writing, in 2024, it is increasingly difficult to access unbiased information using regular web searches. Through manipulation by tech companies and the powerful interests that influence them, you will be bombarded with slanted lone-nut, official-narrative JFK assassination content no matter which search engine you use, through YouTube searches, and of course on Wikipedia. Good information can still be found, but requires scrolling down through pages of propaganda to find it, and most of the best information is shadow banned entirely.
One of the best methods I’ve found in using search engines for information on the case is to type whatever I’m looking for, along with the words “education forum” in the search box. This will invariably produce threads of discussion on the Education Forum JFK Assassination Debate, which expose the reader to debates on every point of contested evidence, including arguments made by believers in the “lone nut” theory of the case. It gives you a great rundown of evidence, argument, and refutation for most questions you might have. Posts on the forum will usually also provide useful links to videos, original documents, and websites that are otherwise difficult to find. For quick encyclopedic summaries on individuals related to the case, type that person’s name along with “spartacus” in the search box, and you will find an entry on that person from Spartacus Educational, complete with a brief biographical summary highlighting their connection to the assassination. Looking for original testimony or an original document? Type what you’re looking for along with “mary ferrell” or “history-matters” and you’ll find links maintained by those websites.
Podcasts
A number of excellent podcasts are available that provide fascinating discussion and exploration of myriad aspects of the JFK Assassination. The following examples are generally excellent in regards to intellectual rigor in their research. The links listed below all go to Spotify, due to that platform’s popularity, but they are all widely available on whichever podcasting app you prefer:
Solving JFK. This podcast, hosted and created by Matt Crumpton, does an stellar job of addressing each aspect of the case with methodical determination. Matt takes care to steel man the Warren Commission defender position as well, so you get a thorough view of arguments in favor and against every point of contention. This is my top recommendation. Also, Solving JFK maintains a website with full transcriptions and citation links for every episode, which is an absolute gem of a resource.
The Lone Gunman Podcast: JFK Assassination. Started years ago by Rob Clark, now joined by Joe Borelli, over 300 back episodes exist on every corner of the case they can find, with frequent interview episodes, as well as solo/duo presentations. Don’t let the name fool you; the title is ironic.
THE DALLAS ACTION Podcast. Doug Campbell hosts another long-running podcast on all aspects of the JFK Assassination with plenty of great content to soak up, including interviews and solo content.
Quick Hits: The JFK Assassination. Rob and Doug (of the two aforementioned podcasts) team up here to periodically provide even more content and discussion on the case.
Black Op Radio – Podcast. Len Osanic hosts this interview-based podcast, and about 90% or more of its episodes are dedicated to the Kennedy Assassination. Researcher Jim DiEugenio is a frequent guest on this show, and it’s also the best place to find interviews with legendary researcher John Armstrong by searching the back episodes. Armstrong continues to periodically return to provide updates on his ongoing findings.
JFK The Enduring Secret. Jeff Crudele has released over 200 episodes on the Kennedy Assassination so far, and is still going strong. Various aspects of the case are covered, though Crudele does tend to “wander” a bit, as he puts it. Crudele also recently launched a YouTube channel focused on interviews rather than his solo podcast content, and that’s worth checking out too.
The End of Innocence – The Assassination of John F. Kennedy John Young presents another solo podcast covering the case. His work is solid and reliable.
Momma, Somebody Shot the President And in case you didn’t have enough options, check out this solo JFK Assassination podcast by Kirby Gilreath, which contains a number of hidden gems in exploration of the assassination.
That’s Enough Outta You! This largely interview-based podcast by Sean Kane and Bill Raider features frequent episodes on the JFK case, though probably less than 50% of the time. Like Out of the Blank, it’s a great place to find informative interviews with a variety of JFK Assassination researchers. Their back episodes are worth scrolling through to find some real gems.
Out Of The Blank Robbie Robertson has thus far released an incredible 1720 episodes on this interview podcast, and continues to release new episodes several times a week! Robbie seems to have grown increasingly interested in the case since around 2022, and as of this writing in November, 2024, over half of his new episodes are devoted to the JFK Assassination. Browse his back episodes from 2022 onward for an assortment of interviews with a wide variety of researchers (ranging from top notch to slightly dubious) and their differing perspectives on the case. Although some of his guests leave me tearing my hair out due to the conclusion-jumping necessary to back up their pet theories, I very much appreciate hearing so many varied approaches, which keeps me honest in my own reasoning process. Many of his guests are doing excellent work that’s hard to find or hear about elsewhere.
Who Killed JFK? Famed film director Rob Reiner released this single-season podcast series in late 2023, and it provides a surprisingly succinct and clearly explained rundown of all the most important aspects of the case. Easy to listen to, and quick to get through, it’s a great place to start for those new to the case. Conclusions about who the true shooters were are offered at the end, but keep in mind, this is merely the result of Reiner’s informed speculation. Most of the preceding evidence presented here is well-established and can be reasonably relied upon.
JFK Assassination – From the Vault This podcast is fully devoted to the JFK Assassination, but its content is decidedly hit-and-miss. It has no host; it merely releases old content (audio from interviews, presentations, and documentaries on the case), and it is not discriminating about the quality of that content. Some of it is great, some of it is weak, and some of it is lone-nut propaganda. Nonetheless, much of this content is indeed excellent, so it’s worth checking out.
Film and Documentaries
The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes, released by John Barbour in 1992, was the first film that really helped me understand the JFK assassination, the case for conspiracy, the story of Jim Garrison’s investigation and the Clay Shaw trial, and the political context behind the coup. It features numerous clips of Barbour’s interviews with Jim Garrison himself, which makes it a real jewel. Barbour released this film as something of a companion piece to Oliver Stone’s JFK, as it provides a documentary take on the true story of Garrison’s investigation that serves as the frame for Stone’s film.
JFK: Destiny Betrayed is a 2021 four-part series directed by Oliver Stone and written by researcher Jim DiEugenio. It’s meant as another complementary documentary to Stone’s JFK, synthesizing the results of continued research since JFK’s release in 1991 with a deeper dive into the political context behind the coup that removed Kennedy from power. It also takes a close look at many key aspects of the evidence and the conspiracy, and is very well-done.
JFK, Oliver Stone’s Academy Award winning 1991 opus, remains a cinema masterpiece, worthy of many repeat viewings. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Based on the true story of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation of the case and prosecution of Clay Shaw in the late 60’s, the film provides an engaging overview of most of the pertinent issues in the JFK assassination. The 1991 theatrical release is fast-paced and riveting, despite its length, while the Director’s Cut contains an additional 17 minutes of content.
Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan and released in 1973, is little known, and well worth tracking down. This excellent film portrays the assassination from the point of view of the plotters. Of course, the true story of how the plot came together is a matter of speculation, but the narrative portrayed here is quite realistic, fits the facts of the case well, and in my view, is probably not far off from what really happened. The film provides an excellent representation of how the plot could have taken shape and been executed, which is useful for that part of the mind that may have difficulty imagining how it could have really happened. It’s also a great reminder that as far back as the early ‘70s, the case was already solved in its most important aspects. The excellent research of the past 50 years has confirmed, refined, and expanded on what was already known.
The Assassination and Mrs. Paine, released in 2022, is a documentary by Max Good, focused on Ruth Paine’s role in the assassination and featuring interviews with Ruth as the centerpiece of the film. The film is excellent, and although it does not provide an overview of the case as a whole, it dives into the subject of Ruth Paine, who is a central figure in the case. Believers in the Oswald-as-lone-gunman interpretation of the case rely heavily on trusting Ruth Paine, one of the crucial figures in supplying evidence against Oswald. In most cases, those who believe Oswald was framed zero in on Ruth Paine as a key nexus point in the framing operation. I highly recommend this excellent character piece on Mrs. Paine.
Rush to Judgment Mark Lane is one of the key figures who first exposed the public to the holes in the Warren Commission with the release of his 1966 book, Rush to Judgment. This 1967 documentary of the same name is largely composed of witness interviews, and is a precious and invaluable source of documentary evidence.
JFK Assassination – Full History This 2023 documentary by Brent Holland provides focus on aspects of the case generally left uncovered in other documentaries. It is of high quality and is worth a watch.
The JFK Conspiracy I don’t know who created this JFK documentary, or how long ago—I stumbled across it in the nether reaches of YouTube, and no information is provided in the content description panel. I found it to be surprisingly well-done, however, and it contains interviews and information I’ve never seen elsewhere.
The Men Who Killed Kennedy I hesitate to recommend this documentary series, released from 1988-2003, as it contains plenty of dubious information, false trails, and weak evidence that have contributed to muddying the waters of assassination research and giving conspiracy researchers a bad name over the years. That said, at 7+ hours, this is the most extensive Kennedy Assassination documentary series ever released, and one of the most popular and influential. It contains a lot of good information mixed with the bad, and it also contains interviews that can’t be found anywhere else. At its best, it provides a well-done and engaging overview of most of the essential issues in the case. At its worst, it bestows unquestioned credulity to highly unreliable witnesses and perpetuates some of the most persistent goose chases and rabbit holes in the case, especially in the final two episodes (which can safely be skipped in their entirety, in my opinion). Proceed with caution, use your discernment, glean what is useful from it (of which there is indeed quite a bit), and discard the more fanciful yarns.
Websites and Original Document Research
The following websites are great to save as bookmarks and explore as desired. They contain a wealth of excellent information and analysis:
Kennedys and King An assortment of excellent articles on the Kennedy and King assassinations maintained by researcher Jim DiEugenio, who has done excellent work in recent years to synthesize the most reliable conclusions from research in the case—and to communicate this information to the public. Kennedys and King features articles on pertinent topics by a variety of other quality researchers as well. This site is a hub for some of the best research in the case in recent years—representing a synthesis of the most reliable evidentiary chains and conclusions over the course of 60 years of investigation.
Spartacus Educational This site is an invaluable resource that serves as something of an encyclopedic “who’s who” of the Kennedy Assassination. Figures central and tangential to the case each have their own entry, and very few are overlooked. Type in “spartacus” along with the name of whomever you’re interested in, and you’ll find a link to the Spartacus summary of that person’s relation to the case, as well as some of the points of controversy surrounding them, and a few citations and links.
Solving JFK Podcast not only serves as the home for the groundbreaking podcast series referenced above, it includes full transcriptions of every episode. The ability to quickly scroll through, read, and search for key terms for each episode of the podcast (which are themselves organized by topic) makes this site an absolute gem of a resource—especially since host Matt Crumpton does an admirable job of laying out every issue in the case and all the pertinent facts pertaining to it. His training and experience as a lawyer is on display here in his methodical thoroughness, but he also displays the integrity of an honest juror in presenting the arguments on each side of every issue in a fair light. On top of all that, he provides citations for every evidentiary claim made in every episode, and weblinks to the sources for these citations are provided for each transcribed episode as well.
Harvey and Lee A compendium of links and articles summarizing the work of researcher John Armstrong and his 2003 book, Harvey and Lee, which unfortunately is currently out of print. This website summarizes Armstrong’s groundbreaking work and includes updates to his ongoing research from the past 20 years.
Pat Speer Researcher Pat Speer maintains something of an online book he has written at this website. Within it, he goes over the physical evidence in the case with a fine-tooth comb, making some of the most useful and precise points I’ve found on them. Through Speer’s level of rigor and detail, he is able to conclusively expose the evidence tampering and planted evidence on the part of the Dallas Police and FBI, and much more.
JFK Facts Jefferson Morley has been doing great work in bridging the gap between assassination research and the mainstream, with a focus of understanding the assassination in terms of a covert operation and generating public awareness and pressure in service of continued document declassification and release. In my analysis, he is still a little behind the eight ball regarding many facts of the assassination, but that is not his focus. By focusing his efforts on the implications of evidence now fully established in mainstream circles, he does a great service in promoting awareness regarding the political and historical implications in the case.
Education Forum JFK Assassination Debate This is a great place to find the pros and cons and relevant arguments about almost any point of contention in the assassination. It’s frequented by devotees of many competing perspectives on the case, from different theories and analyses on conspiracy to the arguments of lone-nut Warren Commission defenders. It’s a great way to find the strongest attempted refutation for any evidentiary claim you might run across and want to test against the best arguments opposing it. The thread discussions also provide the reader with many useful links to explore. You may have to scroll through heated flame wars from time to time.
The Mary Ferrell Foundation Mary Ferrell was one of the earliest and most prolific compilers of original documents in the JFK Assassination case. The Mary Ferrell Foundation carries on her work. Use of the search function from inside the website requires a subscription, but the documents themselves are free to view, and can usually be found by typing the words “mary ferrell” into a search engine, along with whatever key words you’re looking for.
History Matters Another excellent repository of original documents in the case. When in doubt, view the original evidence yourself!
JFK – John Armstrong Collection Intrepid researcher John Armstrong has made his collection of original documents pertaining to the case available to view on Baylor University’s Digital Collections repository. It’s another gold mine for original document research. A sidebar on the right side of the page provides links to a additional caches of original documents from the files of other researchers on the case as well.
The Malcolm Blunt Archives Researcher Malcolm Blunt is legendary in the community for his rigor in collecting and reviewing original documents in the case. This website also maintains JFK assassination documents collected by other researchers, which can be accessed here.
Books
JFK and the Unspeakable, by James Douglass, 2010. This book is my number one recommendation. It synthesizes the important political context of the case (which is what the assassination is really all about, and why it matters), and also provides a stellar overview of the relevant facts in the operation of the assassination. It exposes the manipulation and framing of Oswald, the cover-up that followed, and a provides a good summary and explanation of what actually happened on November 22, 1963.
The JFK Assassination Chokeholds, by JimDiEugenio, Paul Bleu, Matt Crumpton, Andrew Iler, and Mark Adamczyk, 2023. If your interest is primarily in focusing in on the case for conspiracy, and the refutation of the Warren Commission and its lone nut gunman theory of the case, this book is a great resource. It is a compendium of every major “chokehold” in the case, each of which independently proves that Kennedy was felled by a conspiracy. This book could benefit from a revised edition after additional copy editing, but the information contained in it is invaluable. It brings welcome focus to the well-established evidence that conclusively proves Kennedy was fired upon by multiple gunman, Oswald was framed to be the patsy, and that agencies of the US Government covered up the truth about it.
Harvey and Lee, by John Armstrong, 2003. I don’t have a link to share with you because sadly, this book is still out of print. After months of searching, I found a copy on Ebay for $85 and was thrilled to purchase one of my own. In this opus of original research, Armstrong lays out the evidence to show that not only was Lee Harvey Oswald impersonated prior to the assassination of Kennedy, but at least two people shared his identity going all the way back to Oswald’s youth, perhaps as far back as the age of 13. At first glance, the idea sounds far-fetched (I think I remember rolling my eyes in irritation when I was first learned of Armstrong’s hypothesis), but once I actually looked at Armstrong’s research, I discovered that much of it is rock solid, backed up by hundreds of original documents and instances of corroborated witness testimony. The book is methodically arranged in chronological sequence and provides an excellent overview of many aspects of the case, not just the evidence of two Oswalds. While Harvey and Lee may be out of print, Armstrong’s work is summarized and updated at harveyandlee.net, and hours of Armstrong’s interviews are available on back episodes of the Black Op Radio podcast.
I have not yet had the chance to read the following recommendations personally, but I feel confident in mentioning the following selections based on the information I’ve gained through my research so far. Each of them are on my own reading list, and I look forward to studying them in the future. Into the Nightmare, by Joseph McBride, 2013 is recommended as the best look at the JD Tippit shooting and its relevance to the larger case. The Devil’s Chessboard, 2016, and Brothers, 2008, both by David Talbot, provide research and context regarding Kennedy’s enemies and the political motivations behind the assassination, as does Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, 1996, by Peter Dale Scott. I’ve also heard great things about Coup in Dallas, 2021, by H.P. Albarelli, which directs its focus toward the plotters themselves, and toward the network of men truly responsible for the assassination at the higher levels. The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1992, by Dick Russell, centers on the figure of intelligence spook Richard Case Nagell, and traces the contours of the assassination from what can be gleaned or guessed from his reports and the evidence surrounding him.
In the course of my research, I have also heard a number of recommendations regarding the first generation of researchers who originally laid the case out for the public. Here are the books I’ve most commonly heard spoken of with high praise by commentators I trust: Accessories After the Fact, 1967, by Sylvia Meagher, Best Evidence, 1981, by David Lifton, On the Trail of the Assassins, 1988 by Jim Garrison, Rush to Judgment, 1966, by Mark Lane, and Whitewash, 1966, by Harold Weisberg.
Happy researching! Plenty of great content and great researchers have gone unmentioned in this already lengthy list. My apologies to them and the incredible work they have done, for which I am deeply grateful. Be sure to pass this resource list along to anyone you know who might be interested in exploring the case further themselves.
Relendra’s series of Kennedy Assassination Articles
An intro to the discipline and benefits of understanding the assassination of John F. Kennedy—with reference to its utility and applicability in understanding power dynamics and narrative reasoning on the macro scale of history and global politics, now and then, as well as in one’s personal relationships and spiritual journey.
An introduction to three images that open the mind to the Kennedy Assassination—and a guide to the process of encountering the doors of perception and the keys that unlock them.
JFK and the Doorways of Perception—Part Two: Entering the doorways of the Kennedy Assassination A deeper exploration of the path beyond the initial doorways of the Kennedy case through narrative frame comparison, guidance in the use of narrative reasoning tools, and identification of reasoning pitfalls and narrative fallacies.
A glossary of terms to aid in the process of contextual narrative reasoning. Includes descriptions of narrative fallacies and narrative reasoning tools, with examples and application to the Kennedy assassination case
A compendium of the books, websites, podcasts, films, and methods of research available in researching or learning about the Kennedy case, complete with links.