---
alias:
- Jesse Michels
- Jesse Michels (American Alchemy)
category: UFO & Anomalous Phenomena
created: 2026-10-03
relations:
- fn: 1
  role: investor, as stated by the contributor on FEC filings of 2022 and in a February
    2023 podcast biography
  start: 2022-03-30
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Thiel Capital]]'
- fn: 1
  role: one contribution of 2,900 dollars earmarked through WinRed for Blake Masters
    for Senate, March 30, 2022
  start: 2022-03-30
  type: funded
  with: '[[Blake Masters]]'
- fn: 2
  role: creator and host
  type: founded
  with: '[[American Alchemy]]'
summary: Investor listed as employed by Thiel Capital on a March 30, 2022 federal
  campaign contribution and creator of the American Alchemy YouTube channel.
tags:
- Person
- UAP
- Media
- ThielNetwork
- Podcaster
updated: 2026-10-03
---

Jesse Michels is the creator and host of American Alchemy, a long-form interview channel on YouTube and a podcast. A February 2, 2023 episode listing of the podcast Infinite Loops, produced by O'Shaughnessy Ventures, describes him as "an investor at Thiel Capital and the creator and host of 'American Alchemy', a Youtube channel dedicated to highlighting the most heretical thinkers and ideas of our time."[^2]

### Thiel Capital

[Federal Election Commission](/organizations/federal-election-commission/) (FEC) records list one contribution of 2,900 dollars dated March 30, 2022 from a Jesse Michels of [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) ZIP code 90046 ([California](/places/california/)), giving his employer as "Thiel Capital" and his occupation as "Investor." The contribution appears twice in the federal database because it was routed through the conduit WinRed (committee C00694323): the candidate committee, [Blake Masters](/people/blake-masters/) for Senate (C00784165), reported it as "earmarked (non-directed) through WinRed" (receipt image 202204159496855525), and WinRed's own report lists it as "earmarked for Blake Masters for Senate" (image 202212159563803397).[^1] Masters, the candidate, served as chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and president of the [Thiel Foundation](/organizations/thiel-foundation/) and was co-author with [Peter Thiel](/people/peter-thiel/) of Zero to One; Thiel funded a super PAC supporting his 2022 Arizona Senate campaign.[^3]

The same name appears on four smaller contributions to ActBlue (5 dollars on September 19, 2020 and September 27, 2020, both from Brooklyn, 10 dollars on October 31, 2020 from [New York](/places/new-york-city/), and 10 dollars on July 22, 2024 from New York, employer "Alpha FMC," occupation "recruiter"), with employers or statuses other than Thiel Capital; no source ties these to the American Alchemy host.[^1] No FEC contribution under the name was found listing Thiel Capital other than the March 30, 2022 entry.[^1]

### American Alchemy

The Infinite Loops listing for the February 2023 episode lists topics including "the transmission theory of consciousness," "Are mushrooms aliens?" and "Nixon, psychedelics & brainwashing," and a reading list including books by Robert Anton Wilson, Tom O'Neill and David McGowan.[^2] The [Skywatcher](/organizations/sky-watcher/) project's Part I video lists interviews with [David Grusch](/people/david-grusch/) and Col. [Karl Nell](/people/karl-nell/), among others.[^4]

No channel sponsor list, production company, Form D, 501(c) return or lobbying filing was located for American Alchemy; a search of EDGAR full-text for "Jesse Michels" and "American Alchemy" returned no Form D, and the Senate lobbying database holds no client of that name.[^5]

[^1]: Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC schedule A, contributor "Michels, Jesse," sub_id 4042520221472578192 (Blake Masters for Senate, Form 3, receipt type 15E) and 4011120231685948941 (WinRed, Form 3X, receipt type 24T), both March 30, 2022; ActBlue records 4010420212002882486, 4012120212128555907, 4012120212112481546 and 4020620251156252171. https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/schedules/schedule_a/?contributor_name=MICHELS%2C%20JESSE ; images https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202204159496855525 and https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202212159563803397 (retrieved October 3, 2026).
[^2]: Infinite Loops podcast, "Jesse Michels, American Alchemy (EP.145)," February 2, 2023. https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/jesse-michels-american-alchemy-ep145/
[^3]: Vault pages [[Blake Masters]] and [[Peter Thiel]] (positions and Thiel funding of the 2022 Arizona race, each citing its own sources).
[^4]: Skywatcher, "Media." https://skywatcher.ai/media (retrieved October 3, 2026).
[^5]: SEC EDGAR full-text search "Jesse Michels," "American Alchemy," forms D, October 3, 2026; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act database client search, October 3, 2026.