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In this public News Brief, we break down the selling of an unpopular, disastrous war in record speed. 

News Brief: Pundits Speed-run 15 months of Iraq War Propaganda for Iran in Five Days

This week we're joined by returning guest Tracy Rosenthal to discuss the Zohran Mamdani mayoral campaign: how it was shaped, how it won the Democratic Primary, what it may look like going forward, and how the rest of the media and political class is reacting to it. But first, we catch up on some housekeeping re: Israel and the U.S.'s war against Iran, and talk very briefly about Peter Thiel's fixation on the Antichrist.

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

Episode 398: If You Don't Fight, You Lose (w/ special guest Tracy Rosenthal)

Black Panthers, Third World revolutionary movements, CIA surveillance and plane hijackings. Elaine Mokhtefi is a century of history in a person. We speak to her about her experiences as an activist ranging back to protesting segregation in 1944. Her book Algiers: Third World Capital is an enthralling testament to a life of involvement in the tangible fight for freedom and justice in colonized and exploited countries.

Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes:
https://patreon.com/qaa

Buy Elaine Mokhtefi’s book: https://www.versobooks.com/products/760-algiers-third-world-capital

Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)

https://qaapodcast.com

QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

Elaine Mokhtefi (E330)

Comedy legend Larry Charles (Fridays, Seinfeld, Borat, Curb Your Enthusiasm & much more) returns to the show to discuss his new book Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter. We have a wide ranging discussion of Larry’s life in comedy including post-war Brooklyn as a comedy incubator, grinding out avant-garde sketch comedy with Andy Kaufman, the prevalence of coke and other drugs in the comedy writing scene, getting tackled by the Secret Service trying to get a joint to Jimmy Carter’s sister, and the difficulties in comedic creative relationships. Larry also gets candid about his disappointment with the prevalence of zionism among his erstwhile comedy partners, and we talk about the humanizing force of humor in the face tragedy and despair.

Pick up Comedy Samurai here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/larry-charles/comedy-samurai/9781538771549/?lens=grand-central-publishing

AND: get your pre-order in for YEAR ZERO: A CHAPO TRAP HOUSE COMICS ANTHOLOGY starting today at www.badegg.co

947 - Laugh Now, Cry Later feat. Larry Charles (6/30/25)

We read through the Jane Street-funded arms trafficking allegations made against a South Sudanese activist, talk Sudan and South Sudan, ask what the hell Gary Kasparov is up to, and give a classic coup review.

Hit the tip line: (646) 801-1129 | tips@trueanon.com

Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com

Episode 472: The Jane Street Coup

John Washington joins us to discuss his recent piece in the New York Review of Books, "The Roots of Bukele’s Gulag." 

Check out John's article here: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2025/06/01/the-roots-of-bukeles-gulag/

Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

Deep Background on Bukele's Gulags in El Salvador / John Washington

Many Trump voters were under the naive impression that his administration would release information about Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators in his child trafficking operation. So it came as a shock when the DOJ released a memo claiming that they couldn’t find any “client list,” there is no evidence of Epstein blackmail activities, and they did not find “evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.” 

Not even MAGA loyalists are buying this.

Jake, Julian, and Travis try to make sense of the DOJ’s blundering attempt to put an end to Epstein chatter, discuss how the memo contradicts previous statements by FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and explore whether this is scandalous enough to fracture Trump’s base for good.

Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon.

Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)

https://qaapodcast.com

Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa


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We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. 

Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians.

Listen to the first two episodes of Science In Transition and the rest of the six episodes as they are released weekly by subscribing through this link.

www.cursedmedia.net/

Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!)

////


REFERENCES

DOJ Epstein Memo
https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline

Metadata Shows the FBI’s ‘Raw’ Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified
https://www.wired.com/story/metadata-shows-the-dojs-raw-jeffrey-epstein-prison-video-was-likely-modified/

Investigation and Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Custody, Care, and Supervision of Jeffrey Epstein at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, New York
https://oig.justice.gov/reports/investigation-and-review-federal-bureau-prisons-custody-care-and-supervision-jeffrey

Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/politics/bongino-consider-resigning-epstein-files


The Great Epstein Backstab (E332)

"Facebook’s Zuckerberg backs online political ad regulations forwarded by Sen. Amy Klobuchar," reported the Associated Press in 2018. "CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says crypto needs to embrace regulation," announced Business Insider in 2021. "AI leaders: Please regulate us," read an Axios headline in 2023.

In recent years, major U.S. companies, especially in the tech industry, have given new life to a longstanding corporate PR strategy: self-regulation. It's a common tactic. After a scandal — say, revelations about pollution, rampant scams, or large-scale invasions of privacy — corporations rebrand as repentant and disciplined, ready to pay their debts to society and embrace the public good. "No need for oppressive and overly burdensome regulation", they insist, "we can handle it ourselves."

This, of course, isn't the real intention. Historically, this corporate voluntarism has generated little more than a few cosmetic reforms, if that, and allowed the continuation of business as usual in every industry from slavery to oil to tobacco to crypto, save for the occasional sacrificial lamb. So why, and how, do media keep assuring their audiences that, This Time, It's Different? That this time corporate America has learned its lesson and can be trusted to regulate itself?

On this episode, we examine the centuries-old damage-control strategy of industry self-regulation, looking at how corporate claims of self-policing, aided by news media, buy time and goodwill while concealing an agenda of weakening pre-existing regulations, manipulating new laws to the benefit of the private sector, or, often, preventing regulation altogether. Our guest is the Revolving Door Project's assistant director Timi Iwayemi.

Episode 224: Corporate Self-Regulation and the Fine Art of 'Preempting" Public Outrage

We talk to investigative journalist Jack Poulson (https://jackpoulson.substack.com/) about the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's roots in private equity, mercenary firms, private intelligence outfits, and intelligence agents in the US & Israel.

Hit the tip line: (646) 801-1129 | tips@trueanon.com

Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com

Episode 475: GHF

Episode 225: How US Media Frames Democracy that Actually Helps People as "Buying Votes"

To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/TrueAnonPod
---------
We’re joined by Charlie Moe (twitter.com/styledape) from Moss Planet (www.mossplanet.news/) to discuss the strange world of Kars 4 Kids, Oorah, Fiveish, and Lakewood, New Jersey.

Listen to Charlie's Podcast, Most Controversial: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ksXSHdHPc7yhRD3y7B0SW?si=17a3918f9f424e1c)

Hit the tip line: (646) 801-1129 | tips@trueanon.com

Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com

Episode 477: Kold Hard Kash (trailer)

This week we are joined by Dr.  Olivier Jutel, a lecturer in the Department of Media, Film & Communication at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His scholarly focus is in communication studies and media theory, particularly around populism, digital media, political economy, and critical theory.

Travis and Julian chat with Olivier about his iconoclastic take on the paradigms that have dominated U.S. technology and communications policy since 2016. 

Olivier argues that fear of foreign influence has been leveraged by a coalition of Silicon Valley firms, national‑security agencies and allied think‑tanks to deflect structural reform of platforms. Drawing on Cold‑War communication theory, this coalition frames all online conflict as “information warfare,” treating citizens as passive targets for behavioral manipulation while ignoring deeper political‑economic drivers of democratic decay. Jutel retraces the military origins of mass‑communication research, critiques Shoshana Zuboff’s “surveillance capitalism” thesis, and dissects the role of high‑profile disinfo professionals whose methods, he contends, don’t question the core assumptions of tech industry platforms and national‑security priorities. 

Olivier concludes that while this disinformation framework is past its heyday, its war‑like view of social life persists, empowering actors such as Palantir while sidelining antitrust and public‑interest remedies. The solution? A shift toward true democratic governance of digital infrastructure. 

Dr Olivier Jutel at University of Otago
https://www.otago.ac.nz/mfco/staff/olivier-jutel


Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon.

Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com)

https://qaapodcast.com

QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

///

We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. 

Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians.

Listen to the first five episodes of Science In Transition right now and all episodes after the sixth one is released by subscribing through this link.

www.cursedmedia.net/

Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!)


The Problem of Disinformation (E334)

We start off this week with some light discussion regarding a few items in the news lately, then pivot to a more serious discussion expanding on Monday's Patreon episode about the ongoing catastrophe and genocide in Gaza. We end with a lighthearted but still somewhat concerning article about a new AI school in Texas.

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

Episode 403: War Boy Academy

Will welcomes comedian Eddie Pepitone to the show for a bonus interview. They rap on keeping comedy political, celebrity sell-outs, veganism, Bill Maher vs. Billy Joel, trying to calm the rage, and of course, being Just Kids From New York. 

Check out Eddie’s new special at: https://veeps.com/eddiepepitone

It is your last day to pre-order YEAR ZERO: A Chapo Trap House Comic Anthology at badegg.co/products/year-zero-1!


BONUS - The Bitter Buddha feat. Eddie Pepitone

Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill return to talk more about the ceasefire deal in Gaza. We discuss what finally led to this moment, whether this ceasefire will be any different than the previous ones, and the future of Gaza, Israel, and the Gulf States. We then turn to the media’s coverage of Gaza: Jeremy’s new story on The Free Press’ “debunking” of the photos of malnourished Gazan children, the news that Douglas Murray and David Frum were writing speeches for an Israeli ambassador, a supposed document from Mohammad Sinwar, and Jacki Karsh’s pro-Israel journalism fellowship.

Subscribe to Drop Site here: https://www.dropsitenews.com/ 

NEW MERCH IS OUT NOW! Go to https://chapotraphouse.store/ and buy a new hat or shirt, especially our great new “Carousel Club” design.

AND be sure to pre-save the date of October 28 for Will and Hesse’s LIVE WATCH PARTY of Re-Animator! Tickets available now – use the promo code CHAPO20 for 20% off! https://checkout.stagepilot.com/collections/chapo-trap-house 

977 - The Next Day feat. Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill

Citations Needed is a podcast about the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit. It is hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson, and produced by Florence Barrau-Adams.

Episode 225: How US Media Frames Democracy that Actually Helps People as "Buying Votes"

Citations Needed Podcast

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