My new book, The Zizians: Inside a Trans Death Cult, has been out in the U.S. for a few weeks. It was released earlier this week in the U.K.
Several publications, including LGB Courage Coalition and The Distance, have published reviews.
Many people, particularly those in the rationalist and effective altruist communities, have also reached out privately to praise the book. A recurring theme in their feedback is surprise at how much new information I uncovered and that I was able to present a balanced, nuanced account of the Zizians, their beliefs and their violence.
I owe much of what I initially learned about the Zizians, long before the group became widely known by that name, to two Bay Area rationalists: Jessica Taylor and Michael Vassar. Both knew members of the group personally, and both have given me permission to republish their reviews of my book.
Were it not for Taylor, a trans rationalist who knew many of the Zizians and was targeted for recruitment to the cult, the public might never have learned that the bicoastal killings last year were connected not only to each other, but also to other deaths in cases that had gone cold.
Jack “Ziz” LaSota, the cult’s leader, tried desperately to recruit Taylor as a possible test subject. As I wrote in my book on page 25:
In October 2017, Taylor suffered a psychotic breakdown and became catatonic. Ziz learned of the hospitalization and later reached out on the messaging app Signal, offering to help “repair” the condition in exchange for “learning from the process.” Taylor declined—a decision that might have ended up being life-saving
“Over time, it seemed something strange was happening,” Taylor added, as rationalists within Ziz’s orbit began disappearing.
Taylor was the first person to review my book, describing it as “the most comprehensive history of the Zizians available anywhere.” Taylor’s review appeared on X and LessWrong, the rationalist forum that the Zizians themselves frequented.
Vassar is the former president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), a rationalist nonprofit where Ziz and other early Zizians became involved before breaking away to form their own group, which eventually developed into a cult. Vassar was even friendly with some of the Zizians years ago and was able to provide insight on their radicalization from 2019 onward.
I want to thank Taylor and Vassar not only for their contributions to my investigation, but also for their courage in speaking publicly.
Both faced criticism and pressure from left-wing rationalists not to speak with me. During my investigation, numerous potential sources backed out because they feared the social and professional repercussions of being associated with me.
Not Taylor or Vassar.
Jessica’s review:
I personally knew Ophelia Bauckholt before she died in a shootout that also left a border patrol officer dead. I suspected immediately that her being a fan of Ziz had something to do with it. And I decided to post about her and Ziz, on X.com. This sparked some online detective efforts into the matter, and a lot of journalists wanting to talk to me.
One of these journalists was Andy Ngo. Despite Andy's reputation as a right-wing provocateur, I decided to keep an open mind, and answered his questions. More than any other journalist I talked with, he wanted to understand the details of the case, the connections with rationalism, and the strange Zizian ideology. He and I have talked for hours on such details.
Not everyone was happy that I was talking with journalists about rationalist-adjacent transgender vegan killers. Some trans people messaged me, requesting that I delete the post about Ophelia, as it could make trans people look bad. Others in TPOT and rationalism believed that a more careful, less unilateral approach to talking with journalists about Zizians would be more prudent.
Aella, a famous rationalist, made at least two posts on the matter in 2025:
"lots of ppl tryin to get me for interviews about the zizians. I haven't been taking anybody up on this cause i would not like to increase my risk of getting murdered, but if an org wants to pay for my house getting an upgraded security system id prob trade that for an interview" (link)
"im more pro talking to journalists than most of the ppl in my circles but still, andy ngo? do not hand the lowest epistemic class of people any ammo" (link)
I know it's a bit late to comment on these, but I'll do so anyway. Regarding the first post, I have had some concerns that Ziz's allies would kill me for talking to journalists about them, although I decided to unilaterally persevere anyway in exposing the death cult. To the degree there were real security concerns here, I acted courageously, and so did Andy Ngo.
Regarding the second post, desperate times call for desperate measures: when (strongly suspected) serial killers are at large, to the degree that people even fear talking much about them, even mediocre journalism can be effective, in helping to connect the disparate legal cases across the United States, and to better prosecute the perpetrators.
But is it even true that Andy Ngo is part of "the lowest epistemic class of people"? Anyone interested in assessing this claim could better do so by reading his new book, The Zizians.
Frankly, the book is the most comprehensive history of the Zizians available anywhere, and it's accurate so far as I can tell. Even as someone who has followed the ongoing drama for over a decade, I learned new details, such as about how Pasek was inducted into the ideology (and subsequently committed suicide), about Michelle Zajko's possible motives for killing her parents, and about the East coast crew's activities prior to the border patrol shootout.
The book reminds me of Days of Rage, which details the activities of various violent radical groups in the 70s. The Zizians is like Days of Rage in describing many details about the people involved, how people develop radical ideologies, how "fans" of a radical group can become members over time, and how they turn against normal society and drop out of their previous lives, "going underground" in some cases.
The Zizians is thrilling reading, but also uncomfortable, in describing people's disturbing personality changes over time, and the violent events related to this group. I'm used to the plot by now, but typical readers will not be familiar with the stupendously outlandishly dramatic events described here.
Some readers will find the "birth pronouns" and "deadnaming" off-putting. On the other hand, given how members of the group have switched between many names and identities over time, in a way that frustrates the legal system and people's efforts to track the actions of people over time, it's pretty justified to say "no" to their requests for use of preferred names and pronouns, at this point.
Overall, I would recommend The Zizians to people interested in rationalist drama, contemporary radical ideologies, and true legal drama. The book's content overlaps quite a lot with the general summaries of events I have discussed with journalists, but goes into more detail overall. I appreciate how comprehensive Andy Ngo's research for this book has been, and I see that my hours of discussion with him have paid off.
Michael Vassar’s review:
After years of trying to bring journalistic heat down on this murderous gang which was threatening my friends and I, it was great to find a journalist who was willing to get involved in a potentially dangerous and controversial situation. Andy Ngo showed far more courage and determination to protect the public than did police forces across the country. Thanks to him, the chances of Ziz and company escaping justice, while still dire, are less dire. In a world where unreliable police prevent us from protecting ourselves but can’t even protect the elderly sole witness to a multiple murder case by a gang which has repeatedly escaped them in the past, we are all dependent on such rare journalists to hold them accountable.
Curtis Lind’s story l reminds us of the practical value of gun ownership in the present while his demise shows us how much more critical still it is becoming in the dystopia world we are stumbling into.
Have you read my book? Leave your review in the comment section.
