
Behind the Bastards
Everything you don't know about History's greatest monsters
Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts · iHeartPodcasts
Show overview
Behind the Bastards has been publishing since 2018, and across the 8 years since has built a catalogue of 1,125 episodes, alongside 61 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to over 1800 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a several-times-a-week cadence, with the show now in its 2nd season.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 1h 1m and 1h 50m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. Roughly 47% of episodes carry an explicit flag from the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Society & Culture show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 2 days ago, with 56 episodes already out so far this year. Published by iHeartPodcasts.
From the publisher
There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.
Latest Episodes
View all 1,125 episodesPart One: H.L. Hunt: The First Elon Musk
It Could Happen Here Weekly 231
Part Two: How AI Chatbots Became Cult Leaders
Part One: How AI Chatbots Became Cult Leaders
It Could Happen Here Weekly 230
Part Two: The Naturopathic Doctor Who Bombed a Plane
Part One: The Naturopathic Doctor Who Bombed a Plane
It Could Happen Here Weekly 229
Part Four: Jimmy Savile: Britain's Unending Nightmare
Part Three: Jimmy Savile: Britain's Unending Nightmare
It Could Happen Here Weekly 228
Part Two: Jimmy Savile: Britain's Unending Nightmare
Part One: Jimmy Savile: Britain's Unending Nightmare
It Could Happen Here Weekly 227
Part Four: The Phil Spector Episodes
Part Three: The Phil Spector Episodes

It Could Happen Here Weekly 226
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - The Trans Panic Clickbait Economy - Talking to Venezuelans About Venezuela - Strange People on the Hill: An Interview with Michael Edison Hayden - Slouching Towards Gallipoli: How The U.S. Might Be Losing To Iran - Executive Disorder: Tariff Refund Disaster, DHS Citizenship List, Idaho Bathroom Bill, Two Bombing Plots You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Cool Zone is nominated for 3 Webby Awards! Submit your votes by April 16th! Behind the Bastards - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/experimental-innovation It Could Happen Here - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politics Migrating to America - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/documentary Sources/Links: The Trans Panic Clickbait Economy https://transitics.substack.com/p/trump-administration-opens-the-door https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/11/2026-04737/visas-enhancing-vetting-and-combatting-fraud-in-the-diversity-immigrant-visa-program https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/ https://rachelnorfolk.me/sites/default/files/2025-02/25_State_11402.pdf https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20250402-RecognizingMaleAndFemaleSexes.pdf https://iptp-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/2025.2.24_DOS_Guidance_for_Visa_Adjudicators_EO_14201_22Keeping_Men_Out_of_Wom_VhPai1S.pdf https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/administrative-processing-information.html https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:8%20section:1182%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1182)&f=treesort&num=0&edition=prelim https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030209.html https://bsky.app/profile/progesteronipizza.bsky.social/post/3m5w6wnkyhc2u https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/transgender-kansans-challenge-state-law-invalidating-their-drivers-licenses-and-allowing-them-to-be-sued-for-using-public-restrooms https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/sb244_03_0000.pdf https://www.tiktok.com/@transitics/video/7616520936925285662 https://bsky.app/profile/firestorm.coop/post/3mgwxdih3x222 https://www.tiktok.com/@e_c_lider/video/7616688370462231830 https://www.vera.org/news/ice-is-excluding-data-on-transgender-people-in-detention https://www.them.us/story/alice-correia-barbosa-ice-arrest-brazil-trans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/18/trump-mexico-deportation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportations_of_U.S._citizens_in_the_second_Trump_administration# https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118180/documents/HMKP-119-JU00-20250430-SD003.pdf https://19thnews.org/2025/12/trump-administration-plans-to-end-prison-rape-protections-for-trans-and-intersex-people-memo-says/ https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/anti-trans-hate-groups-petitioning-fda-for-registry-of-trans-women-crackdown-on-transition-newly-revealed-document-shows/ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27871234-fda-2025-p-7321-0001-attachment-public-fda/?ref=theneedlenews.com https://bsky.app/profile/angelic.style/post/3mgv3hjepvs2p https://bsky.app/profile/tinylesbianrobot.itch.io/post/3mgvbihtidu2m https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4865109/#:~:text=Only%20346%20(18%25)%20of,Risk%20Evaluation%20and%20Mitigation%20Strategy https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/03/19/tennessee-gop-advances-bill-that-would-create-public-list-of-trans-residents/?utm_content=1773928472&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter https://trackbill.com/bill/tennessee-house-bill-754-an-act-to-amend-tennessee-code-annotated-title-1-title-4-title-33-title-56-title-63-title-68-and-title-71-relative-to-health-care/2644177/ https://x.com/popbase/status/2034737772792041622?s=46 https://transitics.substack.com/p/tennessee-republicans-advance-bill https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/movaokabwva/USA_HEALTH_TRANSGENDER_WESTVIRGINIA.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/us/rfk-jr-transgender-care-ruling.html https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/4th-circuit-rules-that-states-can https://bsky.app/profile/davidforbes.bsky.social/post/3mgv5httwss26 https://glaad.org/new-york-times-sign-on-letter-from-lgtbq-allied-leaders-and-organizations https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-readies-new-war-on-trans-people https://gnet-research.org/2025/07/18/meaning-through-its-opposite-significance-quest-theory

Part Two: The Phil Spector Episodes
Greazy Wil continues the story of Phil Spector, now with The Beatles! Cool Zone Media is nominated for 3 Webby Awards🎉🎉🎉 Submit your votes by April 16th Behind the Bastards - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/experimental-innovation It Could Happen Here - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politics Migrating to America - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/documentary See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part One: The Phil Spector Episodes
Robert sits down with his old pal and Grammy-award audio engineer Greazy Will to discuss one of the music industry's greatest bastards: Phil Spector. (4 Part Series) Cool Zone Media is nominated for 3 Webby Awards🎉🎉🎉 Submit your votes by April 16th Behind the Bastards - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/experimental-innovation It Could Happen Here - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/news-politics Migrating to America - https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/limited-series-specials/documentary See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It Could Happen Here Weekly 225
All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism - The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips - Israel’s Attack on Lebanon - Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse - Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.367.0.pdf https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.366.0.pdf https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/antifa-cell-members-convicted-prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting https://www.nacdl.org/getattachment/f536e696-072c-4982-bc47-d2dc7f42f766/gov-uscourts-txnd-411041-89-0_1.pdf https://prairielanddefendants.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Superseding-Indictment-2.pdf https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-03/prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting-trial-defendants-self-defense-third-party-defense-theory-judge-mark-pittman https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-3rd-federal-trial-day-7/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-6th-federal-trial-day-10/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/#kyle-shideler-prosecutions-antifa-expert-redirect https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-26-federal-trial-day-5/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-27th-federal-trial-day-6/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-9th-federal-trial-day-11/ https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41333 https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-10/dario-sanchez-prairieland-ice-shooting The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips Jack Bass, “John Minor Wisdom, Appeals Court Judge Who Helped to End Segregation, Dies at 93,” New York Times, May 16, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/us/john-minor-wisdom-appeals-court-judge-who-helped-to-end-segregation-dies.html Jonathan Entin, “The Surprising History of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Governing, January 23, 2024, https://www.governing.com/policy/the-surprising-history-of-the-5th-circuit-court-of-appeals. Eleanor Klibanoff, “Again and again, U.S. Supreme Court slaps down 5th Circuit,” The Texas Tribune, July 3, 2024, https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-5th-circuit-court-rulings-texas-overturned/ Mattathias Schwartz, “This Federal Judge Is the ‘Tip of the Spear’ of Trump-Era Conservatism,” New York Times, August 9, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/judge-ho-trump-border.html Israel’s Attack on Lebanon Lebanese news source Megaphone news – https://megaphone.news Elia at +972mag - https://www.972mag.com/israels-renewed-war-on-lebanon-is-about-more-than-just-hezbollah/ Death toll and displacement numbers in Lebanon - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/22/hezbollah-attack-kills-one-in-north-israel-as-assault-on-lebanon-continues Nathan Brown on “Israel’s Forever Wars” - https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/03/dominance-degradation-and-debilitation Land for peace concept - https://archive.unescwa.org/land-peace-principle Foundation for Defense of Democracy on “Peace for Land” - https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/01/23/peace-for-land-not-land-for-peace/ The book Beware of Small States - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-hirst/beware-of-small-states/9780786744411/?lens=bold-type-books The Fire These Times podcast - https://thefirethesetimes.com/ Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse https://www.fsb.org/work-of-the-fsb/financial-innovation-and-structural-change/non-bank-financial-intermediation/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/shadow-banking-is-now-a-52-trillion-industry-and-posing-risks.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7992100/ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/06/basics.htm https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/inside-the-cdo-market-that-catalyzed-the-financial-crisis https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48512#ifn146 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26153238 https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/economists/adrian/1306adri_map.pdf https://tellerwindow.newyorkfed.org/2025/10/17/nbfis-in-focus-the-basics-of-private-credit/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/bank-lending-to-private-credit-size-characteristics-and-financial-stability-implications-20250523.html https://libcom.org/article/deb