234: Trump’s Conspiracist Cabinet

What do we worry more about: the far-right beliefs of trolls, or the coding skills of the trolls?  The split focus on Marco Elez and Elon Musk—are they Nazis, or hackers, or Nazi hackers?— highlight two prongs of emergent fascism. The ideological/aesthetic/psychological on one side, and the technocratic on the other. We can call them the manners and the machine.  First, Matthew unpacks a century-old thesis by an OG fascist that says totalitarian regimes take shape when both are working together, but that ultimately, the coup d’etat is about seizing control of the machine.  Then he rounds off with a rant about how easy it is liberal-centrist discourse about manners to distract from the reality of the machine. Why? It’s because in the absence of a clear analysis of how capital and power work—it’s in the sphere of manners—that liberals feel they have a fighting chance. But it’s also exactly where Musk and Elez and Vance and Trump can ignore them. Show Notes A Doomed Democracy | STANFORD magazine  The October Revolution - Introduction | Marx Memorial Library  Alexander Kerensky Dies Here at 89 - The New York Times  Curzio Malaparte | Italian Author, Journalist & Politician | Britannica  Reading the Eccentric Italian Writer Who Tried to Cover Up His Fascism ‹ Literary Hub  Curzio Malaparte: The Illusion of the Fascist Revolution  The Californian Ideology  The Californian Ideology Personified - Truthdig  Cyberlibertarianism: The Right-Wing Politics of Digital Technology on JSTOR  175: Diagonalism (w/William Callison and Quinn Slobodian) — Conspirituality  Opinion | Don’t Believe Him - The New York Times  Welcome to Neokayfabe — Abraham Josephine Riesman // Writer   40 Ways to Fight Fascists: Street-Legal Tactics for Community Activists — Spencer Sunshine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24 Helmi 6min

Education / Public service alert: Matthew critically reviews six books that define fascist eras and recount how they have been opposed. A kind of “here we are, now what?” episode that hopefully interrupts the doomscroll with the sobriety of some practical considerations. Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny (2017) Robert Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism (2004) Paul Mason, How to Fight Fascism (2018) Mark Bray, Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook (2017) Curzio Malaparte: Technique de Coup d’Etat (1931) Spencer Sunshine: 40 Ways to Fight Fascists: Street-Legal Tactics for Community Activists (2021) Formats range from popular nonfiction to academic history to pragmatic field guide. Politics range from liberal to anarchist. More feminist and non-white sources to be reviewed soon. Show Notes On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder  Timothy Snyder’s Bad History | City Journal  Robert O. Paxton - The Anatomy of Fascism  Is It Fascism? A Leading Historian Changes His Mind. - The New York Times  How to Stop Fascism  Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook   Curzio Malaparte - The Technique Of Revolution  40 Ways to Fight Fascists: Street-Legal Tactics for Community Activists — Spencer Sunshine Joyful Militancy | The Anarchist Library  Let This Radicalize You | HaymarketBooks.org  Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life — Natasha Lennard DISCOURSE ON COLONIALISM Aime Cesaire Translated by Joan Pinkham Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Helmi 35min

Raw Milk. Raw Water. Raw Meat. Mallory DeMille returns to break down the raw trend in wellness. We look at the science and cultural implications behind it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Helmi 54min

The eighth installment of Matthew’s Five Big Questions Posed to an Extremely Thoughtful Person.  Friend of the pod Blair Hodges joins Matthew to talk about how he’s transformed the teachings of his Mormon upbringing into inspiration for social justice, how he grapples with the limits of the nuclear family as he thinks about community building, and why James Baldwin is so important to him. Blair has degrees in journalism, religious studies, and disability studies from the University of Utah and Georgetown University. He’s currently working on a research project on the history of intellectual disabilities in Mormon thought. Show Notes Relationscapes—with Blair Hodges  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Helmi 26min

“You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, start a religion.” With those words, prolific sci-fi pulp fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard prophesied the course of his life’s work.  The 1950s saw the emergence of UFO- and alien channeling-based spiritual groups, as postmodern religious syncretism transformed supposedly ancient angels and demons into benevolent and/or terrifying aliens. No iteration of this fantasy has been more financially fruitful, culturally impactful, controversial, or bizarre than Hubbard’s brainchild: Scientology. In the latest episode of Roots of Conspirituality, Julian digs into the fascinating backstory of this prolific author, revered as prophetic by thousands, pursued as a fraud by the IRS for decades, described as a cult leader by church escapees, and called an abusive madman by his ex-wives. Allegedly… The religion is a complex blend of self-help psychology, elaborate pseudoscience, high-demand paranoia, and alien mythology that, at its height, commanded 100,000 members—and is still valued at roughly $2 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Helmi 6min

Given how much shit the zone is being flooded with right now, you might have missed Donald Trump screaming about the supposed mistreatment of white South Africans recently. Last week, he said “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly.” The trigger was a bill signed by South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, a former anti-Apartheid activist, trade union leader, and successful businessman—three qualities Trump doesn’t really understand. Like the Trump administration, we have our own South African on staff—and he’s legitimately employed here! Julian grew up under apartheid and left the country due to it. Derek chats with him about what life was like growing up there, and he explains the confusion that Trump is injecting into the body politic. Show Notes Trump vs. South Africa South African president signs controversial land seizure law No Proof Elon Musk's Grandparents Belonged to Nazi Party Errol Musk Talks About Elon’s Maternal Grandparents Understanding What the 2025 Expropriation Act Means Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Helmi 25min

As of recording time, RFK Jr has not yet been confirmed to the HHS Secretary position by the Senate. That might change by publication date. But if we were setting odds on this confirmation, we’d say put your money on Bobby. So, WTF. Bobby Brainworms will be in charge of US public health, and its influence around the world. Our years of reporting on him have been defeated by the influencer noise of the MAHA Mamas. But we. Will. Carry. On. Julian reviews the misinfo docket. Derek runs down the bureaucratic implications. And Matthew speculates on just how perfect someone like RFK Jr would be as the domestic health figurehead of a fascist movement, if, you know, that were ever to be possible. Show Notes Some Cancers Rising Amongst Younger people Increased Lung Cancer from the 1960s to 80s. Lung Cancer Rates Today Smoking Suppresses Appetite and Results in Lower BMI for Some 64% of Adults in UK Overweight 65% of Australians Overweight Diabetes Was 1.8% in the US in 1960 11.6% of US Population Has Diabetes Risk of Alzheimer’s Doubles Every 5 Years After 65 30% of Smokers are Overweight or Obese A recent study did NOT show vaccines cause autism, but RFK Jr. keeps pushing the lie. “A New Academic Publishing Model”: Right-Wing Dark Money Group Launches Fringe Medical Journal Judge Orders White House to Unblock Funding for NIH, Others RFK Jr.'s financial disclosures reveal millions in both debt and income as he awaits HHS confirmation Racial ‘Sterility’ and ‘Hyperfecundity’ in Fascist Italy. Biological Politics of Sex and Reproduction in  History of fascism, reproductive rights offers lessons for today Are tyrants good for your health?  When the leader is ill—or addicted to cocaine, meth, steroids, or hormones Five Pseudosciences That Fueled the Nazis ‘Hitler Was Centre of Our Lives’: Confessions of Nazi Criminals’ Wives | History | Nuremberg. Casus pacis  Theodor Morell: Hitler’s Particularly Odious Physician  Public Health Under the Third Reich Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Helmi 1h 1min

Derek meditates on a recent conversation about the left-right divide between Ezra Klein and James Pogue. Show Notes MAGA’s Big Tech Divide: Ezra Klein Show Going Back to Cincinnati — James Pogue Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets — James Pogue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Helmi 7min