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.

Chapo Trap House

510 - Stuck in the Middle With You (3/29/21)

Have scientists finally discovered the Sasquatch in eastern Kentucky? Tune in to find out, and to hear us talk about Biden's new infrastructure plan as well as gentrification in Austin, Texas

Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 192: Amerigo Vespucci's Guide to Social Distancing

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/

512 - Through The Dark Gaet feat. Ken Klippenstein (4/5/21)

To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/TrueAnonPod
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The inimitable Michael S. Judge joins us to talk through Adam Curtis’ new docu-essay-series Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. You can watch the new series on YouTube starting with Part 1 here: youtube.com/watch?v=MHFrhIAj0ME&ab_channel=AdamCurtisDocumentary

You can read the New Yorker profile here: newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/adam-curtis-explains-it-all

Check out Michael's podcast, Death Is Around the Corner: patreon.com/deathcorner

Episode 150: And Then Something Strange Happened (teaser)

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/

514 - Cocaine Nights feat. Adam McKay (4/13/21)

We jam our finger down on the ENTER key and EXPERIENCE the new Maxwell Family Website — www.realghislaine.com

Episode 151: #GmaxFax

This one's mostly about the Just Transition. Is it Just enough for you yet???

Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 194: The Just Enough Transition

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

518 - Gangs of Los Angeles feat. Cerise Castle (4/26/21)

"Sen. Mark Warner said progressives' calls to 'defund the police' were in part to blame for Democratic losses in the House in a cycle when the party was expected to gain seats," The Hill tells us. "How ’defund the police' sabotaged Democrats on Election Day," Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune writes."'Defund the police’ is killing our party, and we’ve got to stop it," said South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn. In the wake of the Democrats’ disappointing Congressional showing in last month’s elections, centrist Democrats and their media mouthpieces were quick to blame Black Lives Matter and the "defund the police" movement for their subpar results.

There’s only one problem: there is no empirical basis for this claim in any of the above comments or reports. No studies, no evidence––not even anecdotally––is provided. Before the printer ink was dry on the ballots, centrist Democrats who lost or underperformed––or made a career out of defending those that do––rushed to blame the so-called "defund the police" movement, highlighting rightwing attack ads featuring the label. After some initial goodwill immediately following the global outpouring of protests after the horrific police murder of George Floyd, mainstream democratic party line has reverted back to it’s old playbook of blaming the Left and Black activists for offending or alienating a nebulous cohort of moderate white voters.

As the economy crashed and the world was turned upside down in the Spring of 2020, Democratic leaders had a chance to lobby for robust social welfare programs, guaranteed income, mortgage and rent cancellation and single payer healthcare to get us through this ongoing crisis, whose disastrous implications will extend well beyond the introduction of a vaccine. Instead, however, they lowered expectations, blamed Trump for their own unforced ideological limitations and almost never publicly took credit for the extension of unemployment benefits––the one good thing Democrats actually did achieve, albeit fleeting.

The result was a once in a generation opportunity blown, a possible leftwing shock doctrine that was crippled by unmovable austerity ideology. So when the elections came around and the Democrats underperformed, who was to blame? It can’t be party leadership blowing the COVID-19 response and it can’t be the security state-curated centrist tofu candidates who lost or barely won. It has to––once again––be those pesky far left activists. Because Democratic party leadership cannot fail they can only be failed, a scapegoat was needed.

On this week’s episode we discuss why "defund the police" and the broader abolitionist movement was that scapegoat, the long history of concern trolling Black activism and perennially blaming movements for justice for right-wing, white backlash from bad faith actors. We also detail how activists are now on the defensive as Democrats, having successfully exploited the broad sentiment of the George Floyd protests for Get Out The Vote fodder, now seek to lower expectations, purge Black Lives Matter of its truly radical elements, and go back to business as usual.

Our guest is human rights lawyer and abolitionist Derecka Purnell.

Episode 127: Democratic Leadership's Predictable Scapegoating of 'Defund the Police'

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.

500 - The Friends We Made Along The Way (2/22/21)

We’re joined by authors and educators Aaron Leonard and Connor Gallagher, coauthors of Heavy Radicals, A Threat of the First Magnitude, and the Folksinger and the Bureau. We take a closer examination on the assassination of Fred Hampton, operational differences between the FBI & the police, and what we can learn from it.

Music by Kyle Dixon

A Threat of the First Magnitude: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564701/a-threat-of-the-first-magnitude-by-aaron-leonard/