Chapo Trap House

We start off discussing Jeopardy!, Tesla Bots, and how all these conservative radio hosts keep dying of COVID. Then we talk about Tony Blair crying about Afghanistan and step inside Tom Friedman’s mind palace to explore the Taliban’s strategic cousin and nephew reserves.

We look at the brutal, stupid, and embarrassing end of our brutal, stupid, and embarrassing twenty year occupation of Afghanistan.

We review Obama’s 60th Birthday Bash on Martha’s Vineyard, which we were all of course invited to. Then, we take a look at the ongoing “Havana Syndrome” phenomenon, in which U.S. intelligence operatives continue to report un-diagnosable symptoms supposedly generated by a non-existent superweapon. Finally, we take a look back at everyone’s early pandemic “cuomosexual” phase.

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We start today looking at Democrats’ feckless failure to extend the eviction moratorium. That being a fairly dismal topic, we try to lighten things up with two reading series checking in with how some old friends of the show are handling their new post-election lives in DC.

We take a look at the 2007 Antoine Fuqua/Mark Wahlberg film “Shooter,” a fascinating relic of the 2nd G.W. administration that asks the question “what if a hardass marine sniper operator type fuckin merked Dick Cheney?” Also, Matt brings up some deep lore from the author Stephen Hunter’s other novels that really makes him seem like a fertile well of insane ideas.

This is the first episode of Chapo all-stars Derek Davison & Daniel Bessner’s new foreign policy podcast “American Prestige”. To get more, go here: http://patreon.com/americanprestige In the premiere episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek get into the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Did the military intentionally botch the withdrawal? Has the imperial frontier contracted in any meaningful way? Will the Taliban gain legitimacy with the Afghan people? Plus, an in-depth interview with Stephen Wertheim, discussing his new book “Tomorrow, the World”, which explores how and why during World War II U.S. elites decided that their nation should, indeed must, dominate the world.

We’re joined by Chapo foreign policy desk Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner to check in with America’s various “oopsies”, “uh-ohs” and “oh butterfingers” accidentally enforcing our hegemony around the world. Derek and Danny have a new podcast, American Prestige, covering just this type of thing. If you like them on Chapo, be sure to go checkout their new show and, as always, Foreign Exchanges on substack. We’re putting the first episode of American Prestige in the Chapo feed so you can get a taste. http://patreon.com/americanprestige fx.substack.com

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We’re joined by Tides of History’s Patrick Wyman today to take a historical look on things, starting with a brief discussion of the assassination of Haitian president Moïse, and the increasing privatization of violence. We then turn to Patrick’s new book The Verge, examining the crucial years of the Renaissance, and investigating just how and why western Europe transformed from a global backwater to the world dominating colossus it became for the last few centuries. Finally, we ask who’s actually more threatening to the “elites”: JD Vance or Matthew McConaughey? Check out Patrick’s book The Verge here: https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/patrick-wyman/the-verge/9781538701171/

What’s one band you’re ALWAYS thinking about? We start asking some universal questions. Then, we take a pair of articles that again push the idea of Biden as a transformational progressive president and ask who are they for? Why do we keep getting these? Aren’t we all just eating ice cream? C’mon man. Finally, we turn to the federalist to learn about the “flyover women”.

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Constitution - Washington Get in the Presidency, George. Episode 2 is up now on Stitcher Premium, with new episodes out on Fridays. To sign up and to get a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com/hell on your mobile or desktop browser, click start free trial, select a monthly plan, and use promo code HELL. You'll get access to Hell of Presidents, Time for My Stories and Blowback Season 2, so, pretty good deal.

It’s a jumbo sized Chapo today, starting with a return of our smash hit segment “Animal Facts” to start off with 20 min of levity and speculation on which of Nature’s magnificent creatures are conduits to the spiritual and/or extraterrestrial world. Then, after one of Will’s maybe sweatiest ever transitions, we move on to discussing the tragic Miami condo collapse and the narrowing aperture of improvement in American life. Finally, we read from two accounts of the last days of the Trump Administration, confirming a lot of what we suspected, and adding a few more juicy details of what Trump, Rudy and the gang were actually up to on Jan. 6. Also there’s a little bonus segment on “Woke Capitalism” and the future of “Trumpism” as a political project at the end.

NYC mayoral elections are tomorrow so we give our final review of the candidates - not great! Then we check in with a Chapo favorite we’ve not discussed in quite a bit but are happy to return to, offering a tentative defense of perhaps The Baseball Crank’s best ever take. Finally, a long and surprisingly thoughtful discussion of modern male intimacy.

Who were the U.S. Presidents? What did they do? How did they do it? Why should you care? Chapo Trap House's Matt Christman and Chris Wade will attempt to demystify all 46 U.S. Presidents in this new limited series podcast, discussing how these guys rose to power and how they executed that power as a product of the historical and material circumstances around them. All with the signature Christman flair of wit, recall and analysis, and the signature Wade flair of "getting Matt to do things". Available exclusively on Stitcher Premium starting July 2. To sign up and to get a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com/hell on your mobile or desktop browser, click start free trial, select a monthly plan, and use promo code HELL.

Another triple reading series ep, we’re spoiling you listeners. We start off with a profile of Data For Progress’s new found clout with Dems in the drivers’ seat, but who’s data? And what progress? Then it’s on to the Federalist, for an author who’s simply furious that a living wage for fast food workers might make their precious burritos cost a few cents more. Finally, a doozy of a Slate piece about killing your dog.

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A loose and chill hang out ep as we come to you from Atlantic City after our successful appearance at the FRQNCY1 festival. We pitch some of our concepts to revitalize AC and solve America’s Trump problem in one tidy package, lament the purging of some truly wonderful cranks and goofys from twitter, then travel Into The Ray Donoverse.

The boys spend their last night in LA sitting around the fire pit, gazing at the Pacific Ocean, talking about animals and riffing about the dang politics. Tickets to Chapo’s upcoming live show THIS SATURDAY at the FRQNCY1 streaming festival here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1

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We’re joined by TrueAnon for a round table on Israel through two in-depth reading series. Can Americans have opinions on Israel and Palestine, despite it being outside our lived experiences? Is middle eastern peace calling out, siren-like, to Joe Biden? Find out inside. Tickets to Chapo’s upcoming live show June 5th at the FRQNCY1 streaming festival here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1 And hang out with Chris and Dan Boeckner watching some live music on Chapo’s twitch this saturday at twitch.tv/chapotraphouse

Felix is joined by journalist for AJ+ Mohammad Alsaafin for a wide ranging discussion on Palestinian resistance and the future of Zionism and the Palestinian cause. Sorry for the slightly abrupt outro, we lost the last few seconds of Mohammad’s audio, but please follow him at @malsaafin and check out and share this concise video explainer on Israeli apartheid he produced for AJ+: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MknerYjob0w And follow @ajplus on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

We congratulate Felix on defeating the scary monsters of Dark Souls during his successful fundraiser stream over the weekend, and also note the tiny but noticeable fissures opening up in the usually stifling discourse on Palestine. We then take a look at Bill Gates’ bro time with Jeffrey Epstein possibly being the cause of his recent divorce. Finally, there’s more UFO stuff in the news: limited hangout? New way to sell endless arms buildup? Or do the aliens just want our kindest bud? You be the judge. If you missed the stream and would like to donate to our various Palestinian supporting orgs, links here: Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/icareaboutpeace/ Islamic Relief of Canada Palestinian Emergency Appeal: https://www.islamicreliefcanada.org/emergencies/palest Eye On Palestine: https://m.facebook.com/eyeonpalestine.offical/ And of course, tickets still on sale for our upcoming live show at the FRQNCY1 streaming festival: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1

Will catches up with lawyer Steven Donziger as the Chevron-backed case against him finally goes to trial. For background on Steven’s case, check out episodes 418, 503 & 523 For more information, go to www.makechevroncleanup.com. To learn more about or get involved with Steven’s case, or even dial in and listen to his hearing on March 10, go to https://www.freedonziger.org. You can follow him on Twitter: @SDonziger.

Topics for today include: Bustin’; The Junkie Horse; Elon SNL; Keir Starmer: Born To Lose; Ongoing Israeli assault on Palestinians (we will have a more in-depth interview on this topic after Eid); Elizabeth Warren persists; Return to the Workplace, Or Else. Get the Sarah Vaccine on Means TV here: https://means.tv/programs/sarahvaccine And of course, get tix to FRQNCY1 here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1 And tune in to Felix’s FromSoftware stream this Saturday on twitch.tv/chapotraphouse to benefit: Movement to Safeguard Palestinian Communities Islamic Relief of Canada Palestinian Emergency Fund eye.on.palestine

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Will and Felix report from their trip to the zoo. We review the woke CIA ad, and then discuss restaurants finding themselves hurting for employees when their lazy, entitled potential workers aren’t “economically coerced” to labor for “poverty wages”. We’re then joined by journalist Zack Kopplin to discuss his new piece on how corrupt mineral mining contracts have played a big part in our 20 year occupation of Afghanistan. Then, more zoos, animals & apes talk. Follow Zack on twitter: @ZackKopplin Check out Zack’s piece here: https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/how-afghanistans-president-helped-his-brother-secure-lucrative-mining-deals-with-a-us-contractor And get tix for our show at the FRQNCY1 streaming festival here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1

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Grab your tickets to our live appearance at the FRQNCY1 streaming festival this June 5th here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1 The first part of this show we have an interview with journalist Cerise Castle covering a fairly harrowing story she’s been reporting on the proliferation and criminal activities of white supremacist cop gangs in the LA County Sheriff’s department. Then we turn to the lighter side with some riffs on boats, ghosts, and Andrew Sullivan’s high-T journey. Follow Cerise: @cerisecastle Check out Cerise’s series on LA Sheriff’s gangs in the Knock LA: https://knock-la.com/tradition-of-violence-lasd-gang-history/ And, the article on Bill Gates and vaccines Felix mentions: https://newrepublic.com/article/162000/bill-gates-impeded-global-access-covid-vaccines

Check out the first episode of Season 2 of Blowback. The new season of Blowback is on Stitcher Premium, and you can get a month free if you go to stitcher.com/premium, select a monthly plan and use the promo code: BLOWBACK. Once you sign up you can listen on your browser, or you can download the Stitcher app on your phone

Get tickets to FRQNCY1 Festival here: https://frqncy.live/frqncy1 Some more info about the festival and how it works here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50090694 Brendan and Noah return to the show to discuss BLOWBACK, SEASON 2. We talk about the history of the Cuban revolution and the American response, the involvement of the mafia and U.S. clandestine services, and ongoing tensions in U.S.-Cuban relations. Then, we have classic reading series wherein Thomas Friedman reflects on two decades of being wrong about Afghanistan. Get flat, folks! The new season of Blowback is on Stitcher Premium, and you can get a month free if you go to stitcher.com/premium, select a monthly plan and use the promo code: BLOWBACK. Once you sign up you can listen on your browser, or you can download the Stitcher app on your phone.

Adam McKay stops by the pod to hear Felix’s pitch for a political rom-com, talk presidential animals, and discuss his new podcast Death at the Wing. Death at the Wing uses a series of deaths among NBA players in the 80’s as a lens to discuss the Reagan revolution, the war on drugs, and America’s shifting social and political landscape during that era. We get into all those issues with Adam, plus raccoons, tapirs, and samurai swords. Check out Death at the Wing here: https://www.threeuncannyfour.com/show/death-at-the-wing/

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Will discusses a new documentary on the shockingly successful grassroots effort to expand Medicaid through ballot initiative in Idaho with our friends Jim and Laura Kamoosi. Watch the film through the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at www.sbiff.org Find more information about the film here: www.reclaimidahofilm.com/

We spend the first half of the episode peeling back the many, many weird & gross layers of the whole Matt Gaetz saga. Then, we’re joined by journalist Ken Klippenstein to discuss his reporting on leaked Amazon internal documents detailing their heinous work conditions and baffling anti-union PR campaign. Check out Ken’s Amazon article in The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2021/03/25/amazon-drivers-pee-bottles-union/

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Karina read all 353 pages of Biden’s proposed Immigration bill and joins Will to break down the good, the bad, and the same as it ever was in it. Follow Karina on Twitter: @KaryinBrooklyn

We discuss why everyone loves the big boat whomst stuck in canal, then talk about Joe Biden’s big press conference last week, as well as Biden firing of all his staffers dumb enough to report weed use on their background checks. Finally, we look at the Bessamer, AL Amazon union drive, and Amazon’s extremely ham-fisted public relations push against it.

It’s the Spring sex & relationships issue of Chapo! We’re joined by our Women’s correspondent Katherine Krueger who takes the popular TikTok trend “Questions for Boys” and applies it to the Dry Boys. We then turn to the National Review to ask why conservatives are suddenly so gaga about the Royal Family. Finally, we see if we can find common ground with Boss Ross Douthat about getting Americans horny. SMASH that preorder button for Amber’s new book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250269621 SUBSCRIBE TO DISCOURSE BLOG: get 30% off a new annual subscription to Discourse Blog at discourseblog.com/subscribe with code BIRTHDAY on Tuesday

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We take a look at Stars And Strife, a new Starz documentary by David Smick (“macroeconomic advisor to a select group of prominent global investment funds”). It’s a documentary cautioning against the dangers of populist extremism, featuring the sober, reasonable analysis of James Baker, Leon Panetta, Rahm Emanuel, Alan Greenspan and Larry Summers, among others, and is honestly just as wild and deranged as You Me Madness. This completes a kind of inadvertent trilogy of films exploring inside the dream world from the POV of the middle class (Can’t Get You Out of My Head), the wealthy cultural elites (You Me Madness) and now, economic-political elite (Stars and Strife)

This is a bonus episode of my series with Matt, Time For My Stories. I improperly mixed the audio at the beginning so you can't hear the promo code but it's TIME for a free month at stitcher.com/premium. not my fault btw.

For #InternationalWomensDay we review a film by Hollywood’s newest female auteur, who just happens to be the wife of former Treasury Secretary/Suicide Squad producer Steve Mnuchin. Yes, it’s Louise Linton’s “Me You Madness,” a film that dares ask the question “what if a bisexual woman HAD mental health issues?”

From episode 503, Will catches up with Steven Donziger, the human rights attorney who has been under house arrest for over 500 days as a result of his work suing oil giant Chevron for their reckless polluting of Ecuador. Since we last talked to Steven there’s been some movement in his case, so we’re getting an update and continuing to discuss the fairly obvious collusion between Chevron, private prosecutors, and the New York Judge involved. Catch up on Steven’s first appearance here: https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/418-the-cool-zone-feat-steven-donziger-41119 For more information, go to www.makechevroncleanup.com. To learn more about or get involved with Steven’s case, or even dial in and listen to his hearing on March 10, go to https://www.freedonziger.org. You can follow him on Twitter: @SDonziger.

Amber and Will are joined by author Catherine Liu to discuss her new book Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class. Amber takes us through her shopping guide of “PMC products” and we see what they can teach us about this class and its ideology. Check out Catherine's book here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/virtue-hoarders

Chapo UK correspondent Adam Curtis returns to discuss the limits of individualism, goodies and baddies, conspiracies, manipulation, and dancing, all through the themes and characters of his new film series Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

Coming soon. Jagamesh.

Ayyyyyy look at us. Against all odds, personal, political, technological, logistical, uhhh, hygenic-al, we made it to 500 dang episodes. We’re taking a moment to bask in our own greatness, and got all our favorite friends, past guests, and fellow podcasters to send in some toasts and/or roasts of the show. Seriously, it’s been great and thanks to all who’ve been along for the ride with us.

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