Half the Answer

Progressive messaging is so hot, the cynical opportunists are appropriating it for mass appeal. A combat surgeon returned from Gaza has found financial support in a pro-Palestine super PAC. Public pressure may prevent new ICE facilities. Journalist Whitney Curry Wimbish walks us through these and other recent stories she has worked on for The American Prospect.Resourceshttps://am-quickie.ghost.io/https://prospect.org/2025/12/26/profiting-off-immigrant-illness-abuse-and-terror/https://www.vera.org/news/a-blueprint-for-resistance-how-residents-and-local-governments-are-shutting-down-ice-detention-in-warehouseshttps://prospect.org/2026/04/30/palestine-super-pac-new-jersey-12-district-adam-hamawy/https://prospect.org/2026/04/28/pennsylvania-congressional-race-pits-corporate-defender-crosswell-against-union-organizer/

Apartheid and incursions into Palestinian territory are accomplished by a specific set of tactics. Oren Ziv, an Israeli photojournalist, joins Trent and Caitlin to describe some examples of the strategies he has seen in person and learned of in his reporting.Resourceshttps://www.activestills.org/https://www.972mag.com/writer/orenziv/https://www.972mag.com/israeli-settler-violence-condemnations-smokescreen/https://www.972mag.com/israel-settler-outposts-west-bank-area-b/https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-disinherited-journal-of-a-palestinian-exile-fawaz-turki/0d994329d6134ffc?ean=9780853452485&next=thttps://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114702https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/08/israeli-lawyer-arrested-for-peaceful-protest-leaves-prison-after-110-dayshttps://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-04-22/ty-article/.premium/israels-independence-day-ceremony-would-inspire-even-pyongyang/0000019d-b479-dbb2-a19d-b77f446d0000https://www.ft.com/content/2f826acb-c1d2-4144-a9cc-73d008a727a3?syn-25a6b1a6=1https://www.972mag.com/march-of-return-nakba-2026/Map of areas A, B, and C https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Areas-A-B-and-C-after-Oslo-II_fig1_276258691

You can't say anything these days! Especially not on a college campus, and especially not if you're a white man. For evidence, please enjoy this loose assemblage of sixth-hand anecdotes with no detail or reporting to back it up. This is the discursive form that Caitlin and Trent brought Stanford professor Adrian Daub on to discuss, described in his 2024 book, The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global.ResourcesThe Cancel Culture Panic: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-cancel-culture-panic-how-an-american-obsession-went-global-adrian-daub/7c3bcd17c60f4e52?ean=9781503640849&next=tAcademic paper on Caitlin's cancellation story: https://journals.linguisticsociety.org/proceedings/index.php/PLSA/article/download/5257/4885/10012 In Bed With The Right podcast https://gender.stanford.edu/podcastsAssorted cancel culture discourse 2020-2022https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/10/new-puritans-mob-justice-canceled/619818/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/steven-pinker-will-be-just-fine/614323/https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/09/steven-pinker-wont-be-cancelled-but-you-could-be/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/opinion/campus-speech-cancel-culture.htmlhttps://www.motherjones.com/recharge/2020/07/factually-flawed-anti-pinker-letter/Caitlin's answer to the MJ thing https://c-moriah-green.medium.com/bad-news-about-that-pro-pinker-mother-jones-piece-it-doesnt-make-any-fucking-sense-5efb27a72495Cancel Culture is Overhttps://www.persuasion.community/p/why-woke-failedhttps://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-democrats-voters-maine.htmlWe're fixing it with the help of our wealthy donorshttps://www.chronicle.com/article/meet-the-donors-funding-the-civil-dialogue-boom-at-colleges https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/15/harvard-donors-viewpoint-diversity/https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/university-intellectual-freedom-center-creates-100000609.htmlhttps://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/documents/steven-pinker-im-pinned-between-cancel-culture-and-trump-002.pdfThank you Mr. Trump BUThttps://ash.harvard.edu/articles/why-im-excited-about-the-white-houses-proposal-for-a-higher-ed-compact/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/opinion/democrats-trump-midterms-future.html Charlie Kirk Actshttps://wpln.org/post/tennessees-charlie-kirk-act-bans-student-walkouts-protects-conservative-speakers/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2026/04/21/tenn-passes-charlie-kirk-act-defending-campus-speakers

Look at my Iran negotiator, dawg, we’re never getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Friend of the program Y. L. Al-Sheikh helps us understand the unfolding diplomatic and military nightmare that is the Middle East, and how the United States plays a role in each.

Goodbye to Viktor Orban! Don't let the door hit you! Trent and Caitlin bring you a discussion with resident Europe expert Hunter CG (also known as @roterote).Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/roterote.bsky.socialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemediahttps://linktr.ee/roterotemediahttps://19thnews.org/2026/04/voting-citizenship-proof-laws-trump-save-america-act/https://www.newsweek.com/viktor-orban-hungary-election-jd-vance-rally-11804123https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-cash-shipment-detained-hungary-745c17643b9a0965024d7a8410c5fc17https://www.euandyou.eu/https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-owned-continent-dave-keating/8629bc69280d3c81?ean=9782960407303&next=thttps://www.rev.com/transcripts/vance-and-orban-press-conferencehttps://newrepublic.com/article/179776/heritage-foundation-viktor-orban-trumphttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/opinion/magyar-orban-hungary-trump-defeat.html

A bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac is in charge of our nation's military for some reason, and he just can't stop saying stuff that confirms that he deeply believes that extreme violence is awesome and God likes it a lot. Trent and Caitlin ask Greg Sargent of the New Republic what he learned from experts about the ideology that underpins Pete Hegseth's attitude toward violence.Resources:https://newrepublic.com/article/208322/pete-hegseth-religion-war-iran-sadism-ragehttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh7CFELPzz6ZOwhBZ4h7d84m8Lg1oTKKahttps://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social"back to the stone age" tweet https://archive.ph/cWADPhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/14/analysts-say-us-threat-of-no-quarter-for-iran-violates-international-law"Reign of Error" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780345806352"Creating the Credibility Gap" book https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781249405627

Delta Airlines brought Liam Ramos back from the child prison in Texas, but they don't seem to want to talk about how they took him there in the first place. Trent and Caitlin debrief with Gillian Brockell about the current status of ICE flights, the fate of the boy in the bunny hat, and the way journalists credit each other (and also sometimes don't) when they rely on each other's reporting.Resources:https://gillianbrockell.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.comUzbek deportation story https://newsletter.mariannedhenin.com/asylum-seeker-deported-after-suicide-attempt-in-ice-jail-advocates-say/Video proves Delta flew Liam to Dilley https://gillianbrockell.com/video-proves-delta-flew-liam-ramos-and-his-dad-to-ice-detention-center/Independent version: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/delta-air-lines-liam-ramos-ice-texas-b2940372.htmlAP version https://apnews.com/article/liam-ramos-video-ice-delta-commercial-flight-7b0ed36899da68177a6fdd665fb8a205Liam Conejo Ramos judge rejects asylum claim https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5753981/liam-conejo-ramos-family-fights-immigration-judges-ruling-to-deport-them-to-ecuadorKristi Noem F**K Jet details https://gillianbrockell.com/noems-luxury-d-jet-for-deportations-is-the-tip-of-the-ice-berg/The War Zone coverage https://www.twz.com/news-features/new-dhs-gulfstream-jet-now-flying-secretary-noemCareless People https://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-tale-of-power-greed-and-lost-idealism-sarah-wynn-williams/804251bb5d4b06b3?ean=9781250391230&next=tNew Hampshire blizzard flight grounded https://gillianbrockell.com/breaking-shackled-migrants-trapped-on-deportation-plane-stuck-in-blizzard/More on NH flight https://gillianbrockell.com/ice-deportation-flight-leaves-nh-after-31-hours-exposes-chronic-problems/Seth Miller digging into the NH flight https://bsky.app/profile/wandrme.paxex.aero/post/3mfkamntcws24?ref=gillianbrockell.com Ms. Rachel is getting it done https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/03/ms-rachel-ice-dilley-detention-center-accurso/Send tips or request flight info for legal clients to Signal @gbrockell.44

What the hell is going on in Texas? Trent and Caitlin welcome Houston culture reporter Gwen Howerton about the Texas senate primaries, censorship in prisons, and the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the Lone Star State.Resources:https://bsky.app/profile/kissphoria.bsky.socialhttps://www.chron.com/culture/article/cornyn-paxton-texas-senate-ai-22082110.phphttps://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-prison-book-ban-22079345.php

What's happened in New York City since Zohran Mamdani became mayor in January? Has it become a Marxist-Islamic bastion, ruled by a soviet in the succeeding three months? Trent and Caitlin discuss the Sharia Socialism of NYC Mayor Mamdani, the naked vice signalling and stove-touching of the GOP with author Ryan Cooper.Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/ryanlcooper.comhttps://prospect.org/https://www.leftanchor.com/https://gothamist.com/news/facing-historic-blizzard-mamdani-says-nyc-learned-lessons-from-last-snowstormhttps://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/congestion-pricing-nyc-subways-ridership-report-2025/https://www.liberalcurrents.com/neon-liberalism-30-rethinking-international-trade/

Trent and Caitlin achieve the coveted threepeat guest appearance with journalist Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket, fresh off her incredible legal win obtaining the body cam footage from the DC cops who assisted the DOGE boys in breaking into the USIP office in March 2025. They discuss the total disregard for life, law, and locked doors that was on display that day, as well as the frustrating events following Marisa's FOIA success. Resourceshttps://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.socialhttps://www.thehandbasket.co/p/body-cam-footage-usip-doge-raid-mpd-lawsuithttps://www.404media.co/the-removed-doge-deposition-videos-have-already-been-backed-up-across-the-internet/

Trent and Caitlin catch up with employment litigator Joshua Erlich about the difficulties of holding immigration and border patrol agents to account when they break the law. What happens when you can't be sure which individual attacked you? How can their actions be restricted, and what should Democrats do given their level of power in the government right now?ResourcesJoshua's bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joshuaerlich.bsky.socialLegal help for federal employees in the DMV: https://mwela.org/Legal help for federal employees nationally: https://NELA.org/Joshua's office: https://www.erlichlawoffice.com/lawyers/joshua-erlich/Federal forces keep shooting people: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/26/ice-minneapolis-shooting-alex-prettiDems coalescing around five restrictions on ICE: https://newrepublic.com/article/205723/dem-senator-harsh-new-takedown-trump-hits-home-breaking-pointSuozzi is sorry https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/democrats-ice-funding-vote-dhs.html

Caitlin and Trent talk with Aurelien Mondon about his recent political science paper outlining the limitations of considering all politics through the lens of "polarization." They discuss the pitfalls of the term and the ways "polarizing" events and speech can be drastically different and sometimes even positive.Resourceshttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41296-025-00779-4https://www.searchlightinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Searchlight-Memo-to-Interested-Parties_-Reform-and-Retrain-ICE-Dont-Abolish-It.pdfhttps://prospect.org/2026/01/19/author-dont-say-abolish-ice-memo-corporate-consultant-westexec/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/04/ice-minneapolis-287g-tom-homan-sanctuary/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-ice-masks-dhs-shutdown_n_69839db8e4b053ac3e17298d?origin=top-ad-recirchttps://www.majorityleader.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5822https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/22/trump-millennial-supporters-washington-dc-218833/https://www.npr.org/2025/11/14/nx-s1-5608204/white-house-dismisses-release-of-epstein-documents-as-a-distraction-from-democratshttps://midutahradio.com/news/local-news/mike-johnson-calls-for-political-rhetoric-to-calm/https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2012/02/10/146691773/euphemisms-concentration-camps-and-the-japanese-internment

Trent and Caitlin reconnect with journalist Walker Bragman to hash out the current state of the NIH and HHS, the ideologies that drive people to promote eugenics and science denial, and the childish nature of fascism.Resources:https://www.importantcontext.news/https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/https://bsky.app/profile/walkerbragman.bsky.socialhttps://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-trackerhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-means-surgeon-general-congress-state-of-the-union-live-updates-rcna260120https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/bhattacharya-urges-measles-vaccination-us-activity-increaseshttps://www.brookings.edu/articles/audible-reckoning-how-top-political-podcasters-spread-unsubstantiated-and-false-claims/

Happy days are not here again, but at least Trent and Caitlin have Jeff Waldorf, the Logical Leftist, to hang out with while they process it all. The United States has dropped bombs on Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of his top-ranking officials, civilians, and the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school, in which more than 160 little girls were killed. They talk through the conflicting, nonsensical, and sometimes straight-up Orwellian justifications provided by US politicians for initiating a war of aggression against another country in the Middle East.Resourceshttps://www.youtube.com/@LogicallyLeftisthttps://www.facebook.com/JeffWaldorfShow/https://www.instagram.com/logicalleftist/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hv7pcnm6u7s544ycmf7xjatchttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-tells-congress-no-sign-that-iran-was-going-attack-us-first-sources-say-2026-03-02/https://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reactionhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nuclear-program-missiles-regime-change-trump-struggles-define-iran-war-rcna261309https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-03-26https://www.npr.org/2026/03/02/g-s1-112151/iran-war-widens-threatens-to-engulf-lebanonhttps://www.npr.org/2026/02/28/nx-s1-5730203/iran-israel-trump-congress-strikes-reactionhttps://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-deeply-disturbed-by-child-deaths-escalating-middle-east-conflict-2026-03-04/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/nyregion/merchant-iran-plot-assassination-trump.html

Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Gillian Brockell after the release of her article on ICE air. They discuss the recent mass layoffs at the Washington Post, the abhorrent treatment of deportees, the justifications used to mistreat humans, and the importance of empathy and being a human.Resources:https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.socialhttps://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-richer-and-stingier-than-ever-forbes-400-list-2021-10https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/08/26/emmett-till-william-bradford-huie-carolyn-bryant-civil-rights/https://www.npr.org/2026/02/07/nx-s1-5705413/washington-post-ceo-resigns-will-lewishttps://51st.news/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/17/court-hearings-lawsuit-alleging-ice-agents-racially-profiled-us-citizens-minnesotaGinsburg on Firing Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBpoZBhvBa4https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-2008-News-discourse-and-ideology.pdfhttp://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdfhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/wild-faith-how-the-christian-right-is-taking-over-america-talia-lavin/1cf72a0d0396cdce?ean=9780306829192&next=thttps://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-lovejoy-trap-fascism-masquerading-as-care/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/https://newrepublic.com/article/206058/transcript-trump-ice-threats-take-darker-turn-maga-calls-bloodhttps://www.baloproject.org/

Trent and Caitlin talk with author and journalist Andrea Pitzer about the modern concentration camp model, its history and public perception, and the concentration camps the United States government is operating and hopes to open in the near future.Resourceshttps://andreapitzer.com/Andrea's newsletter: https://degenerateart.beehiiv.com/Andrea's book on camps: https://bookshop.org/p/books/one-long-night-a-global-history-of-concentration-camps-andrea-pitzer/ea53c06c993f6ad0?ean=9780316303569&next=tAndrea's book on Nabokov: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-secret-history-of-vladimir-nabokov-andrea-pitzer/fe47f57e9a2b2a73?ean=9781639361182&next=t https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-buys-warehouses-immigration-detention/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/us/politics/ice-warehouses-trump-voters.htmlhttps://bookshop.org/p/books/friendly-fascism-the-new-face-of-power-in-america-bertram-gross/414671ea6a34dd2c?ean=9781497689404&next=thttps://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/black-lives-matter-movement-not-covid-19-encouraged-voters-toward-biden-2020-election

Trent and Caitlin chatted with Hunter CG of RoteRote Media and Democrats Abroad, looking at the GOP's latest assault on voting rights, the SAVE America Act. This act has passed the House of Representatives and will be addressed by the Senate in the next couple of days. They talk about all the different ways this piece of legislation disenfranchises voters in the US and abroad, and they exhort everyone to reach out to their senators and make it clear that its passing would be unacceptable.Resources:https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-america-acthttps://www.tiktok.com/@roterotemediahttps://www.advocate.com/politics/national/save-act-lgbtq-voters https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/senate-to-vote-on-save-america-act-as-voter-id-debate-intensifies-susan-collins-chuck-schumer-photo-id

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Amanda Moore about her work tracking the DHS "surges" all over the United States, her efforts to get close to former commander at large Gregory Bovino, and her experience trying to form conclusions about the broader patterns of immigration forces' violence over time.Resources:https://substack.com/@noturtlesoup17https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=enhttps://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialBovino's legacy of violence https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUbhHF7jCI8/Trump's War on History https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/america-freedom-task-force-250-trump-anniversary-history-smithsonian-kennedy-center/The Horns and Whistles Work https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-horns-and-whistles-work/

Trent and Caitlin boogie with friend-of-the-program, journalist Jonathan M. Katz of The Racket. They talk Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, the TPUSA halftime safe space show, and immigration detention.Resources:theracket.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/katz.theracket.newshttps://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enSchools Closed in Puerto Rico: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/12/magazine/puerto-rico-schools-hurricane-maria.htmlInfrastructure in Puerto Rico: https://katz.substack.com/p/the-cluster-in-puerto-rico?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webGangsters of Capitalism: https://bookshop.org/p/books/gangsters-of-capitalism-smedley-butler-the-marines-and-the-making-and-breaking-of-america-s-empire-jonathan-m-katz/c1ca55fd36f1b6d4?ean=9781250135599&next=tThe Big Truck That Went By: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-big-truck-that-went-by-how-the-world-came-to-save-haiti-and-left-behind-a-disaster-jonathan-m-katz/b3ca7a131069f3ac?ean=9781137278975&next=t

Trent and Caitlin catch up with political science assistant professor Matt McManus. They discuss the narratives surrounding resistance in the twin cities, the loud and ugly voices on the right describing an ideology of cruelty and dehumanization, and the power of regular people to puncture false claims from the government.Resources: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-higher-portion-had-no-u-s-criminal-record/https://im1776.com/2022/07/01/christopher-rufo-interview/https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-is-post-modern-conservatism-essays-on-our-hugely-tremendous-times-matthew-mcmanus/270db00d6106d9a7?ean=9781789042450&next=thttps://bookshop.org/p/books/the-political-theory-of-liberal-socialism-matthew-mcmanus/f7f9b79be796b7ec?ean=9781032647234&next=t

Trent and Caitlin talk to Chris Geidner of Law Dork about the absolute deluge of legal news that seems to be crashing over us like a tsunami. What are the current assaults on our constitutional rights? What are judges and lawmakers doing to defend those rights? Why is Mike Johnson pretending the Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist?Resources: https://www.lawdork.com/https://bsky.app/profile/lawdorknews.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.socialMike Johnson being wrong about the 4th amendment: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mdxoltnsyz2aPerdomo decision: https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/noem-v-perdomo/Bondi demands voter rolls: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/pam-bondi-letter-to-minnesota-voter-roll-data-alex-pretti-ice-midterms-trump/MN US attorneys resigning: https://www.startribune.com/another-wave-of-departures-in-minnesotas-us-attorneys-office/601575569Mark Zaid security clearance case: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/trump-mark-zaid-restore-clearanceTulsi Gabbard at Georgia elections office raid: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/tulsi-gabbard-georgia-fbi-elections-raid

Caitlin and Trent talk with journalist Gillian Brockell about her work tracking the flights and airline companies that move people in unsafe conditions to third-party recipient countries, where they will be imprisoned, mistreated, tortured, and possibly sent to their country of origin in violation of international law.ResourcesICE flight monitor https://humanrightsfirst.org/ice-flight-monitor/Unsafe Conditions on Deportation planes: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flightsGillian "interferes" in illegal ICE flight https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.social/post/3lpnjho77jc25Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs) autobiography https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780486419312Protest Key Lime Air Jan. 31 in Alamosa https://arkvalleyvoice.com/demonstration-against-key-lime-airs-ice-connections-set-for-january-31-in-alamosa/Key Lime Air https://boulderreportinglab.org/2025/12/28/cu-boulder-keeps-key-lime-air-contract-as-denver-ends-its-deal-over-ice-flights/Denver Air Connections https://cnycentral.com/news/nation-world/denver-colorado-city-council-rejects-airline-contract-for-its-association-with-president-donald-trumps-administration-ice-immigration-agendaGillian's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/gbrockell.bsky.socialWhat is ICE Air? https://gillianbrockell.ghost.io/what-is-ice-air/

Trent and Caitlin ask Evan Urquhart about his 2025 wrap up piece on Assigned Media: "The Year We Lost Everything." They discuss the need to take stock of where we are on trans rights, autonomy and the various freedoms we hold dear, and the value of acknowledging that we are not hysterical or out of touch with reality when we feel those freedoms being wrenched from our grasp. We talk about the intense pressure in corporate media to maintain anti-trans bias and the wonderful work independent journalists are doing to find and share the truth.

Caitlin and Trent chat with linguistics scholars Savi Namboodiripad and Daniel Midgley on what word most exemplifies 2025. Was it a new coinage? A pre-existing word that gained a new meaning or usage this year? A word that seemed to be on everybody's lips in 2025?Resources:https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year"6 7" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xpV4ix2K8https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-findshttps://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/03/and-the-economists-word-of-the-year-for-2025-ishttps://www.dictionary.com/articles/word-of-the-year-2025https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-dictionary-reveals-word-of-the-year-2025https://blog.collinsdictionary.com/language-lovers/collins-word-of-the-year-2025-ai-meets-authenticity-as-society-shifts/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/2147118/is-that-grocery-product-really-canadian-or-is-it-maple-washing"getting sendy" song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAQEJyqR7Egroup 7 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/10/27/tiktoks-group-7-meme-explained/https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/lore https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/unchttps://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/choppedhttps://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/huzzhttps://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-performative-male-how-young-men-are-experimenting-with-masculinity-online-268742https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051221126040https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/columns-opinions/culture/2025/10/25/opinion-unmasking-performative-male/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kianbakhtiari/2025/09/28/performative-males-gen-z-irony-and-the-death-of-sincerity/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/rapture-tiktok-sept-23.htmlEpstein's email simulator https://www.jmail.world/https://othermeans.io/p/the-glonzo-strategyhttps://www.theverge.com/policy/798491/frog-portland-trump-national-guardhttps://the-monsters.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monstershttps://lafufu.art/blog/labubu-vs-lafufuhttps://www.thelist.com/1817157/what-is-mar-a-lago-face-who-has-tried-the-trend/https://bsky.app/profile/canadiandictionary.bsky.social/post/3m7tf3jm2fc2chttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprah-podcast-no-contact-adult-children-parents_n_69389e85e4b0fb6244b0daa8https://fortune.com/2025/12/29/trump-tariffs-cost-25000-per-month-small-business-importers-center-american-progress/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/politics/doge-musk-trump-analysis.htmlhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-doge-government-spending-2025-b2890243.htmlhttps://www.vox.com/culture/376401/r-word-slur-return-euphemism-treadmill-cyclehttps://www.lawdork.com/p/the-kavanaugh-stop-50-days-laterhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/politics/trump-taco-angry-tariffhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/abbyzinman/canadians-elbows-up-explainerhttps://pen.org/banned-words-list/https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2025/03/15/these-197-terms-may-trigger-reviews-of-your-nih-nsf-grant-proposals/https://www.dailydot.com/memes/everythings-computer-trump-quote-meme/https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-promises-harsher-ice-crackdownshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/27/chatgpt-suicide-openai-raine/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/snap-welfare-queen-ai-memes-1235460824/https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/10022/who-coined-the-phrase-rapid-unscheduled-disassembly#10219https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/rapid-unplanned-disassembly-rudhttps://becauselanguage.com/131-wotwoty-2025/

Trent and Caitlin catch up with Greg Sargent from The New Republic about his recent piece exploring the family history and ideology of Stephen Miller. How did the product of Russian Jewish refugees come to see today's refugees as incapable of integration in American society? What are the white nationalist positions on who is a real American, and how does Miller navigate his position in relation to those ideologies? Why do these unlovable jerks insist on the myth that community and empathy are suicidal?Resources:The New Republic: https://newrepublic.comThe Daily Blast Podcast: https://newrepublic.com/podcastsGreg's piece on Miller: https://newrepublic.com/article/204191/stephen-miller-maga-terror-state-dark-plotStephen Miller on Somali immigrants: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/11/politics/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-law-somaliaFacts about Somali community in MN: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/5-things-to-know-about-the-somali-community-in-minnesota-after-trumps-attacksHatemonger: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780062986726 When The Clock Broke: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250390417 Furious Minds: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780691255262 DHS Twitter Account: https://archive.ph/Vg8c7Stephen Miller's cousin: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/stephen-miller-cousin-alisa-kasmer/

Caitlin and Trent speak with Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor from University of Wisconsin–Madison. They discuss the problem of a world power going rogue, the lack of viable responses for countries like Venezuela and Denmark, and the costs to international trust when the US is so unreliable.Resources:https://polisci.wisc.edu/staff/mark-copelovitch/https://www.markcopelovitch.com/https://bsky.app/profile/mcopelov.bsky.socialhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXZxn2z8U0https://archive.is/OriWG

Trent and Caitlin check in with the Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas about the year that has been the first week of 2026. What are we doing in Venezuela, and why is corporate media being so weird about it? What are the ethics of publishing scoops that involve military actions? Why are we doing our war crimes from a resort ballroom in Florida?Resources:https://www.thehandbasket.co/https://www.semafor.com/article/01/03/2026/new-york-times-washington-post-held-off-on-reporting-venezuela-raidhttps://www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/politics/video/trump-mar-a-lago-war-room-maduro-venezuela-vrtchttps://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trumps-donroe-doctrine-aims-to-dominate-the-americas-b31208dd?mod=Searchresults&pos=3&page=1

Trent and Caitlin talk with philosophy of science expert Nathan Oseroff-Spicer about his review of the book "The War On Science," how the book misses the mark, what strategies its authors use to downplay the threats from the right and fabricate a threat from the left, and what motivations could possibly lead thirty-nine scholars to create such a meritless collection of propaganda under the leadership of someone like known pest Lawrence Krauss.Resources:https://www.liberalcurrents.com/wars-on-science-real-and-otherwise/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/warscience/https://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/administration/breaking-this-hurts-unl-eliminates-4-programs-despite-faculty-student-pleas/article_e0d11a61-0fcc-4e66-b364-d16e89bea336.htmlhttps://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-chatbot-journal-research-fake-citations-1235485484/https://blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/13/llm-usage-and-manipulation-in-peer-review/https://www.advocate.com/news/second-ou-instructor-suspendedhttps://www.facebook.com/OUNightlyTV/posts/pfbid02nieL7PmXwUDAnNcHzK9HLBWdCQ1EyjA7S1pDvrRxEaGw7qkqAR3oGtjXwFXkb4KBlUPDATE: grad student no longer teaching https://www.koco.com/article/samantha-fulnecky-professor-graduate-instructor-no-longer-at-ou-oklahoma/69841882https://pen.org/trumps-compact-for-higher-education-faq/https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-pares-down-grant-review-process-reducing-influence-outside-scientistshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/17/aap-hhs-funding-rfk/https://bsky.app/profile/crampell.bsky.social/post/3ma7aivcros2ahttps://hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rumeysa-ozturk-what-i-witnessed-inside-an-ice-womens-prison?srsltid=AfmBOoqRks5pzgFv2QyjsvuUvNt6E41InSCPQmXwWOoFvxftjMoRvkSyhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-releases-palestinian-student-at-columbia-who-was-arrested-at-citizenship-interviewhttps://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/11/20/columbia-denies-mahmoud-khalil-sipa-24-campus-access-for-planned-events-citing-security-reasons/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-emails-reveal-ties-to-prominent-scientists/

Caitlin and Trent talk with Matthew Sheffield about his experiences as a former Republican strategist and the information he wants progressives to know about their strategies and successes.Resources:https://plus.flux.community/p/what-republicans-knowhttps://www.patreon.com/posts/142008768?utm_campaign=postshare_fanhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4qwwk0g0yohttps://www.seattletimes.com/business/sinclair-known-for-conservative-political-tilt/https://deadline.com/2025/12/nexstar-trump-tegna-merger-trump-1236642435/https://www.xfang.studio/books/we-are-definitely-human-wcnat

Trent and Caitlin catch up with journalist Amanda Moore to hear about her tour of American cities that have been targeted for ICE and Border Patrol operations.Resources: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/broadview-ice-cbp-gregory-bovino/https://www.clippings.me/users/noturtlesoup17https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/us/illinois-broadview-ice-protesters-chargedhttps://abcnews.go.com/US/border-patrol-commander-admitted-lied-tear-gas-incident/story?id=127283392 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-top-border-patrol-goon-gregory-bovino-roasted-for-nazi-look/ https://www.npr.org/2025/12/02/nx-s1-5627502/national-guard-shooting-latesthttps://www.reuters.com/world/us/how-plastic-whistles-are-becoming-an-anti-ice-resistance-tool-chicago-2025-10-23/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/new-orleans-immigration-raids-operation-catahouls-crumch/

Caitlin and Trent talk with Jonathan Howard, a neurologist, psychiatrist, and author of *Everyone Else Is Lying to You* and *We Want Them Infected*, both books analyzing the policies and discourses around the COVID-19 pandemic.ResourcesScience-Based Medicine website: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/*Everyone Else Is Lying to You*: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781959346999*We Want Them Infected*: https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781959346036Zeb Larson, "Propaganda, Rather than Pandemic Policies, Caused the War on Public Health" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/propaganda-rather-than-pandemic-policies-caused-the-war-on-public-health/"crank magnetism" https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/crank-magnetism-weston-price-foundation

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist and author Jonathan Katz about the gangsters of capitalism, the imperial boomerang, and the moral injuries inflicted when officers, agents, and soldiers engage in the inhumane and depraved acts that are demanded of them.ResourcesJonathan's book https://jonathanmkatz.com/gangstershttps://theracket.newshttps://www.tiktok.com/@katzonearth?lang=enhttps://www.instagram.com/katzonearth/?hl=enimperial boomerang https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/news/4383-the-imperial-boomerang-how-colonial-methods-of-repression-migrate-back-to-the-metropolis?srsltid=AfmBOorPodSS76ia1ZcpE5D7F77PSU84p0owKWfM2ukUp0s1E10FaYmrthe wrongest war https://theracket.news/p/the-wrongest-warmoral injury https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/moral_injury.aspLA agents drive away with toddler https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-04/ice-border-patrol-dodger-stadium-parking-lotUS-Mexico restriction https://www.cbsnews.com/news/warning-signs-mexico-beach-us-department-of-defense-property/Controlled Pod Into Terrain https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNrA2-FWoOnpgOS-ywSQlowThumbnail image https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/unauthorized-us-signs-on-mexican-beach-along-texas-border-lead-to-international-dispute-mexico-president-trump-military-action-marines-drug-war-rio-grande

Trent and Caitlin speak with journalist Spencer Ackerman about the CIA, DHS, and other parts of the US government ostensibly protecting us from terrorism. How have they achieved this level of impunity? What are the precedents for the intolerable level of human rights and privacy violations we see today? What have we allowed to be done to the “other” in the past and present?Resourceshttps://www.forever-wars.com/Spencer's upcoming book https://www.forever-wars.com/book-two-majid-khan-iran-troops/Spencer’s Iron Man issue https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/114934/iron_man_2024_1Homan Square https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-siteUSS Gerald Ford in Caribbean https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uss-gerald-r-ford-caribeean-venezuela-rcna244193Sexual abuse in ICE detention https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-of-immigrants-have-reported-sexual-abuse-at-ice-facilities-most-cases-arent-investigatedCIA abusive practices https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/enhanced-interrogation-tactics-included-lunch-tray-gruesome-force-feeding-methodsSusan Sontag https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/09/24/tuesday-and-after-talk-of-the-townStellar Wind https://www.theguardian.com/nsa-inspector-general-report-document-data-collection"surveillance capitalism" https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/03/harvard-professor-says-surveillance-capitalism-is-undermining-democracy/Palantir and the CIA https://www.fastcompany.com/91446398/cia-police-palantir-alex-karp-predictive-peter-thiel-paypal-sequoia"white innocence" https://www.dukeupress.edu/white-innocence

Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be a thing.Resources: https://www.derekgottliebphd.com/"Building a Better Teacher" https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.htmlKristof, "Obama and Our Schools" https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.htmlCavell, "The Claim of Reason" https://academic.oup.com/book/49825Malcolm Gladwell's quarterback problem https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/15/most-likely-to-succeed-malcolm-gladwellReduction in Force notices https://www.k12dive.com/news/education-department-layoffs-what-to-know-special-education-civil-rights-lawsuits/802779/Reduction in Force halted https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5585083/government-shutdown-trump-rif-layoffsAhmed, "On Being Included" https://www.dukeupress.edu/on-being-included

Caitlin and Trent speak with livestreamer Audrey Lee about her experiences participating in and documenting protests at the Portland ICE facility. Audrey explains the relationship among the people on the street, the officers of various departments and agencies, and the counterprotesters and right-wing influencers who have been interacting since she arrived this fall.Resourceshttps://www.tiktok.com/@awkwardly_audrey?_r=1&_t=ZT-91NRgOQJsXlhttps://youtube.com/@awkwardlyaudrey?si=hn9Pm439rt_LO0lxNational ICE stories:https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/us/ice-immigration-customs-enforcement-explained-cec https://www.vera.org/news/more-people-are-in-immigration-detention-than-ever-before https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/new-ice-recruits-showed-training-full-vetting-rcna238739 https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/https://newrepublic.com/post/196292/ice-director-tom-homan-immigration-crackdown https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/press-release/congress-approves-unprecedented-funding-mass-detention-deportation-2025/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/stephen-miller-immigration-diplomats-secret-calls-b2856464.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/06/09/trumps-immigration-crackdown-guru-stephen-miller-wants-even-more-arrests/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-yells-ice-agents-152117107.html Customs and Border Patrolhttps://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/border-patrol-agents-replace-top-leadership-at-ice-offices-despite-human-rights-violations US Citizens detained:https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will Kavanaugh stop: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf New York:https://longisland.news12.com/federal-jury-awards-112m-to-immigrants-detained-by-suffolk-for-iceFlorida:https://www.latintimes.com/congressman-reveals-conditions-alligator-alcatraz-that-made-his-heart-sink-after-tour-586655 https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/former-alligator-alcatraz-worker-describes-inhumane-conditions-inside/3673307/Illinois: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/lawsuit-alleges-inhumane-conditions-at-broadview-ice-processing-facility/3846195/https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-news-lawsuit-filed-aclu-illinois-conditions-inside-broadview-facility-court-tuesday/18111176/ https://time.com/7323334/ice-raid-chicago-pritzker-trump/Oregon:https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/ice-in-oregon-pointing-rifles-at-family-stopping-minors-at-gunpoint-laying-on-top-of-man-during-arrest.html https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/14/lawmakers-condemn-ice-arrest-four-gresham-construction-workers/https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/11/ice-detains-us-citizen-for-7-hours-after-she-photographed-agents-in-gresham.html https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/08/hillsboro-immigration-customs-enforcement-victor-cruz-ice-oregon-washington-county-democrats/ https://opb.org/article/2025/11/05/washington-county-emergency-increased-ice-activity/ At the Portland facility: https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/7/8/update-chemical-munitions-use-near-ice-facilityRight wing influencers aren’t journalists and they’ve got Trump’s ear: https://www.theverge.com/policy/813408/portland-influencers-national-guard-oregon-ninth-circuithttps://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/11/livestreamers-are-filming-and-sometimes-creating-conflict-at-portland-ice-protests-for-clicks-and-cash.html NG went to OR despite order: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/29/oregon-national-guard-portland-ice-immigration-karin-immergut-donald-trump/ https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/bonamici-wyden-merkley-dexter-demand-answers-about-portland-ice-facility

Trent and Caitlin speak with Professor John Pfaff, author of "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration—and How to Achieve Real Reform." They talk about prisons, militarized police, and ICE in today's political climate.Resources:John's book https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-pfaff/locked-in/9780465096916/?lens=basic-books ICE accidentally gasses everybody https://newrepublic.com/post/202443/portland-police-chief-donald-trump-protest-tear-gas-accident Mutual aid supplies cleared https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/portlands-ice-protest-camp-was-suddenly-cleared-by-police-after-months-of-routine-removals-heres-why.html John's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/johnpfaff.bsky.socialJohn's website https://johnfpfaff.comGhettoside https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/100077/ghettoside-by-jill-leovy/ Study of gun-carrying young people in NYC https://www.innovatingjustice.org/resources/gun-violence-brooklyn/ Gun boats in Chicago river https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/ice-us-customs-and-border-patrol-boats-spotted-on-chicago-river/Skip Intro on Copaganda https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2ac8vr2QyTdlWwd8OQIc1it6bAfMGPPC Kavanaugh defends racial profiling https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/09/justice-brett-kavanaugh-and-racial-proxies/Kalief Browder https://innocenceproject.org/news/remembering-kalief-browder-year-suicide-rikers-island-shutdown/Chicago pajama guy https://www.reuters.com/world/us/were-not-violent-city-chicago-locals-take-ice-block-by-block-2025-11-02/Migra whistle information https://migrawhistle.carrd.co/

Caitlin and Trent check in with Daniel Harper of the "I Don't Speak German" podcast, taking another moment to peek under the rock and discover that the creepy crawlies are making friends with each other. They discuss the controversial interview between Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, the role it seems to be playing in the far right, and various reactions (the good and the goofy).Resources:I Don’t Speak German https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com Ali Breland on the interview https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/10/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson-interview/684792/Michele Goldberg on the interview https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/opinion/nick-fuentes-kirk-successor.htmlThe Bulwark on the interview https://www.thebulwark.com/p/one-of-the-most-dangerous-interviews-ever-maga-media-tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=The%2BBulwark&utm_campaign=publerKnowledge Fight episode on the interview https://knowledgefight.libsyn.com/1089-tucker-the-man-and-his-capitulationFired over comments? No! https://www.mediamatters.org/right-side-broadcasting/right-side-broadcasting-and-nicholas-fuentes-host-who-participated-whiteOn the no fly list because of asking questions? No! https://thegrayzone.com/2023/02/15/nick-fuentes-america-firsts-death/ Fuentes threatened by gunman https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/19/nick-fuentes-armed-man/77090618007/The SPLC article he blames https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/nick-fuentes-trades-parents-basement-pricey-livestreaming-den/Heritage Foundation reaction https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/tucker-carlson-nick-fuentes-interview-heritage-foundation-outrage-rcna241251When the Clock Broke https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605445/whentheclockbroke/Molly Conger on car attacks https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/a-brief-history-of-vehicular-violence/id1760218611?i=1000714601117&l=de-DEWilliam Luther Pierce https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/william-pierce/David Duke https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/david-duke/Oswald Spengler https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oswald-SpenglerRobby Soave's "Deplatforming" article https://reason.com/2025/10/30/deplatforming-nick-fuentes-wont-stop-antisemitism/

Caitlin and Trent check in with attorney and legal scholar Madiba K. Dennie about the Supreme Court and the originalist reading of the US Constitution—and why the originalist reading is a trap.Resourceshttps://ballsandstrikes.orghttps://madibadennie.com/The Originalism Trap https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735353/the-originalism-trap-by-madiba-k-dennie/NJ Reparations Council report https://www.njreparationscouncil.org/reportDobbs decision https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organizationGun rights decision https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/20-843/Steve Vladeck on judicial power https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/91-the-broader-article-ii-implicationsTrump v Casa, birthright citizenship https://www.nilc.org/articles/analyzing-scotus-trump-v-casa/"undue burden" https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/undue_burden"Kavanaugh Stops" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kavanaugh-stops-american-citizens-ice-detention-rcna238194ICE break car window with baby in car https://www.alamosanews.com/stories/ice-agents-draw-weapon-break-car-window-while-arresting-alamosa-man,103677Kilmar Abrego Garcia https://apnews.com/article/kilmar-abrego-garcia-mistaken-deportation-smuggling-27c2822466b717f10318c3268127a518Dreyfus Affair https://www.britannica.com/event/Dreyfus-affair

Trent and Caitlin talk with Emily Glankler of Anti-Social Studies about moments in American history that could inform us about the events of Trump’s second term as president. Who are some characters who resemble the individuals we are dealing with today? Who are the scapegoats? Resources:https://www.randyblazak.comhttps://www.tiktok.com/@antisocialstudies?_t=ZT-90u54I8WX3F&_r=1https://youtube.com/@AntiSocialStudies?si=1qzjSoKUDf20oTolhttps://www.instagram.com/antisocstudies?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neville-Chamberlainhttps://www.itcouldhappenherebook.orghttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Nullification-Crisishttps://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/slave-catchers-slave-resisters/https://allthatsinteresting.com/pinkerton-detective-agencyhttps://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigrationhttps://www.thenation.com/article/archive/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/summer/lavender.htmlhttps://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/10450.htmlhttps://www.randyblazak.com

Caitlin plays field reporter at the Portland ICE facility, interviewing the famous Portland chicken suit guy, Jack Dickinson himself, who gives his observations and thoughts after eight months on the scene.Resources:The impact of inflatables: https://www.404media.co/the-surreal-practicality-of-protesting-as-an-inflatable-frog/ICE recruits not well vetted: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna238739Health concerns from chemical munitions: https://www.portland.gov/hello/news/2025/7/8/update-chemical-munitions-use-near-ice-facilityLong-term effects of tear gas: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK595624/Tracking ICE vehicles: https://icecarsinpdx.wordpress.com Land use violations: https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2025/9/17/city-portland-will-issue-land-use-violation-notice-ice-facility Using zoning laws to fight ICE: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/us/politics/portland-ice.html ICE uses extreme force: https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/10/15/48075462/a-night-of-terror-civil-disobedience-met-with-extreme-force-at-portland-ice-facilityBlind man tackled and dragged by ICE: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/blind-protester-dragged-detained-by-feds-says-agents-picked-the-weakest-person-they-could-find.htmlYoung woman sprayed by ICE: https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/10/federal-officer-blasts-chemical-spray-into-vocal-but-nonviolent-portland-protester-video-shows.html Antifa frog sprayed in his air vent: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/ive-definitely-had-spicier-tamales-says-portland-ice-protest-frog-that-got-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-agents.html

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Walker Bragman about the various crises in public health and climate change, the people who helped bring us here, and the dark money that funded it. They discuss the ways disinformation is packaged and spread to discourage the public from being able to access the services and tools they need to live.Resourceshttps://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/https://www.importantcontext.news/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/its-time-for-soft-secession/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/https://www.city-journal.org/article/harvard-tramples-the-truthhttps://cli.stanford.edu/events/conference-symposium/academic-freedom-conference https://psr.org/event/911-march-for-health-science/

Caitlin and Trent catch up with historian and former journalist John Ghazvinian to discuss the state of Iran, its past, present and future, how that has historically intersected with the United States dating back nearly 300 years, why trust is so important in international relations, the JCPOA, the Trump era, and his book, "America and Iran."John's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/59417/america-and-iran-by-john-ghazvinian/

Caitlin and Trent speak with Jared Holt and Michael Edison Hayden about the infamous right-wing "busybody journalist" Andy Ngo, his work demonizing Muslim immigrants in grad school, and his transition to online political influencer and professional victim with "The Post Millennial" as its editor-at-large.ResourcesPosting Through It https://www.patreon.com/cw/PostingThroughItWhite House Antifa Round Table https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=874KP4M4yg0 Fallout from Andy distributing personal information https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/09/16/portland-protesters-say-their-lives-were-upended-by-the-posting-of-their-mug-shots-on-a-conservative-twitter-account/The Making of Andy Ngo https://jewishcurrents.org/the-making-of-andy-ngo Andy's Portland State snafu https://www.wweek.com/news/schools/2017/05/23/a-dispute-over-a-muslim-students-remarks-costs-a-college-journalist-his-job-and-brings-national-controversy-to-portland-state-university/"Fired for Reporting the Truth" https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/05/free-speech-islam-portland-state-vanguard-editor-fired-tweets/ Andy's weird "Islamic London" piece https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-visit-to-islamic-england-1535581583 The Milkshaking https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/06/portland-mayor-police-come-under-fire-after-right-wing-writer-attacked-at-protest.htmlPopular Mobilization post https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1143339525151719424Buzzfeed News version https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/josephbernstein/andy-ngo-portland-antifa Federalist version https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/02/andy-ngo-antifa-attack-happened-pictures/Andy's injuries https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1145116276605329408 Ted Wheeler is antifa? https://www.vice.com/en/article/ted-cruz-thinks-the-portland-mayor-let-antifa-take-over-his-city-heres-what-really-happened/ Andy on Fox https://www.foxnews.com/media/andy-ngo-attacked-trump-should-designate-antifa-terror-organization Patriot Prayer expose https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2019/08/26/27039560/undercover-in-patriot-prayer-insights-from-a-vancouver-democrat-whos-been-working-against-the-far-right-group-from-the-insideAndy's answer in the Spectator https://archive.ph/Q81AsMay 2021 incident https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-assaulted-while-covering-portland-protest/ Andy's lawsuit https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2023/08/09/46651345/jury-rules-against-andy-ngo-in-activist-lawsuit What's up with Katie Daviscourt? https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/10/conservative-media-personality-reports-assault-at-portland-protest-slams-police-as-antifa.html

Trent and Caitlin are joined by Layla al-Sheikh to discuss that Israel deal and the history of past proposals and solutions.Resources:Current updates https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/09/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefireDoha attack https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/netanyahu-killed-any-hope-of-hostage-release-with-strike-on-doha-qatars-prime-minister-saysPatrick Wintour in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/07/diplomacy-lowest-point-how-the-israel-gaza-conflict-was-mishandledTomorrow Is Yesterday https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374617134/tomorrowisyesterday/James Ryan's research https://www.fpri.org/contributor/james-ryan/NY Declaration https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165835The One State Reality https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501768408/the-one-state-reality/

Christopher Mathias, author of "To Catch a Fascist," speaks to Caitlin and Trent about the events of 2020, clashes between violent fascist clubs and "community defense" groups. They discuss misconceptions about what "antifa" is and what kinds of activities they are engaged in, the difference between doxxing a teacher who practices inclusivity and doxxing one who is bragging on far right message boards about their mission to convert students into Nazi soldiers, and the Trump administration's demonization of community defenders and antifascists in 2025.Resources:Pre-order Christopher's book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Catch-a-Fascist/Christopher-Mathias/9781668034767Follow Christopher on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/letsgomathias.bsky.socialMathias on anti-antifa order: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-antifa-executive-order-terrorist-organization-rcna233011 Clay Jackson on outlawing opposition: https://clayjak.substack.com/p/all-opposition-is-now-extremism?r=9qphz&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true Natasha Lennard on the need to mount an organized opposition: https://theintercept.com/2025/09/19/trump-charlie-kirk-george-soros-antifa/ Natasha Lennard on unmasking ICE agents: https://theintercept.com/2025/07/01/masked-ice-agents-victimization-accountability/ Chicago under siege: https://inthesetimes.com/article/ice-broadview-chicago-tear-gas-trump-blitz-immigrationTrump: am I watching things on television https://presswatchers.org/2025/09/trump-am-i-watching-things-on-television-that-are-different-from-whats-happening/ ICE throws woman: https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-officer-shoves-woman-till-eckertICE assaults journalist: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-agents-grab-shove-journalists-nyc-immigration-court-sending-on-rcna234884 Rose City Antifa: https://rosecityantifa.org/Unicorn Riot's Data: https://unicornriot.ninja/far-right-investigations-desk/Patriot Prayer: https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/what-we-know-about-patriot-prayer/Stewart Rhodes: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/stewart-rhodes-convicted-of-seditious-conspiracy-and-released-by-trump-visits-capitol-hillNSC-131 https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/nationalist-social-club-nsc-131/Blood Tribe: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the--new-look--same-racism--of-blood-tribeRise Above Movement: https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/rise-above-movement/Patriot Front have strong presence in military https://www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079700404/1-in-5-patriot-front-applicants-say-they-have-ties-to-the-militaryNeo-nazi homeschooling program: https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/what-to-know-about-a-neo-nazi-home-school-scandal/2023/02Book on campus misinformation: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/campus-misinformation-9780197531273?cc=us&lang=en&Tom Homan spoke at Fuentes event: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thomas-homan-rnc-white-supremacist-conference_n_669856f6e4b05a9a604f80d9

Trent and Caitlin talk with journalist Jacqueline Sweet about how violence is framed in media as political, the rush to score points for one side or the other, inconsistent standards for free speech and freedom of the press, and the scammy nature of our president and his public statements.Resources:Jacqueline's social media: https://bsky.app/profile/jsweetli.bsky.socialMass shooting info: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shootingLate September shootings: https://www.witn.com/2025/09/29/weekend-shooting-suspects-both-served-camp-lejeune/?outputType=amphttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/29/weekend-mass-shootings-this-yearMichigan LDS church shooting: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/us/what-we-know-michigan-church-shootingCelebrating journalist injury: https://bsky.app/profile/jsweetli.bsky.social/post/3m23qadft4k2xQAA medbed episode: https://soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/med-beds-skye-prince-e274Swalwell Trump post: https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.77AW4KF

Trent and Caitlin speak with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider about their recent book "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual." They discuss the faulty beliefs and logics that lead us to think about education as a tool for achievement and competition rather than a service provided by communities to their members. They ask what rhetorical strategies have been employed to convince us to allow the public school system to be degraded and dismantled, and the methods that have been working to arrest this degradation today.Resources:https://www.educationwarsbook.com/Jack and Jennifer's podcast: https://www.haveyouheardpodcast.com/ Jack and Jennifer’s previous book: https://thenewpress.org/books/a-wolf-at-the-schoolhouse-door/?v=eb65bcceaa5fThe Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/cara-fitzpatrick/the-death-of-public-school/9781541646773/?lens=basic-booksMahmoud v. Taylor: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-297_4f14.pdfFree-market logic for education: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X231216953

Trent and Caitlin talk with political science professor Matt McManus about far-right thinkers and their journey through the past two decades. He regales the HTA audience with nuggets of wisdom from Charlie Kirk's books and other pieces of right-wing political theory he has reviewed.ResourcesMatt's book: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Theory-of-Liberal-Socialism/McManus/p/book/9781032647234?srsltid=AfmBOorDA_LDtzo9xkaeEYkvNV-ZW95DeZZ_aOw4GF_kRVQM4sozwd5pMatt's work with Liberal Currents: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/mattmcmanus/Matt's work with Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/author/matt-mcmanusMatt on Unlearning Economics Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgefM1AipFs

Trent and Caitlin talk with politics blogger and podcaster Ed Burmila about the centrist arm of the Democratic Party and its zombie-like shuffle through our dark era of authoritarian overreach. We ask what exactly went wrong over the last half-century that led our ostensible protectors to be so ill-equipped for this moment? Who is failing us, who is trying something else, and what tactics seem promising?Note: This episode was recorded before the assassination of Charlie Kirk.Resources:Chaotic Neutral: How Democrats Lost Their Soul In The Center https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ed-burmila/chaotic-neutral/9781645030041/?lens=bold-type-booksGin and Tacos blog http://www.ginandtacos.comMass for Shut-Ins podcast https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-mass-for-shut-ins-the-gin-29747244/

Trent and Caitlin check in with independent journalist Marisa Kabas about media and public figures’ reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, their impulse to valorize and whitewash his legacy, and the mass harassment and firing campaigns against anyone who is insufficient in their praise of him.Resources:https://www.thehandbasket.cohttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination-fear-politics.htmlhttps://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/charlie-kirk-ezra-klein-tanehisi-coates?_sp=b72cfa75-76e2-4289-9bf0-14eb90c6993b.1758044662907https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/opinion/charlie-kirk-assassination.html