Seeking a Fren: Episode 5 - Persecution and the Art of the Deal
Added 2025-01-08 12:00:17 +0000 UTCThe 2016 primary and presidential elections turns the right into a state of outright civil war as only a handful realize the vessel they’ve been looking for is right in front of them. Unfortunately, a shock victory would teach them all the wrong lessons.
This episode draws from Max Chafkin’s The Contrarian and Joshua Green’s Devil’s Bargain. For a full list of sources, check our works cited doc here: www.chapotraphouse.com/seeking
Comments
love the line about churches talking about jews like tolkien fans talk about elves
VIOLETTO
2025-09-06 13:30:51 +0000 UTCThe most naive thing about this series, in retrospect, is that the gamer gate saga was a dumber time. Compared to where we are today, we were putting up rookie numbers.
king_von_diesel
2025-07-15 17:39:41 +0000 UTCHoly shit I forgot about Bernie Bernstein! That was fucking hilarious when it happened.
lyle menendez
2025-01-29 01:22:30 +0000 UTCAs in The County Bear Jamboree
Laura
2025-01-28 22:03:27 +0000 UTCliterally thought the speed on my podcasts got set to 3x speed when I heard shapiro speak in the intro. what an insufferable dweeb. even worse is meeting a guy who adopts shapiro as his new personality 🤦♂️
kenneth hammond
2025-01-20 15:18:18 +0000 UTCProbably the best episode ever.
Martynas Klimas
2025-01-20 09:48:05 +0000 UTCIt was perfect, just like Christine’s voice
Violet Lucca
2025-01-15 13:10:03 +0000 UTCB O N F I R E
Wagner Koop
2025-01-13 22:59:29 +0000 UTCPOV: Centipede Drop Denial (HOT)
Wagner Koop
2025-01-13 22:56:15 +0000 UTCGlad to hear about Roy Moore's race! It was such a wild episode in Alabama politics. Not mentioned was the main reason Moore won the primary. Luther Strange very publicly traded not prosecuting Gov Bentley on corruption charges for the senate seat. The corruption was overstated; he was fucking his secretary. Strange argued that her salary was therefor embezzled state funds. So everyone in Alabama saw Bentley resign and do community service doing free dermatology screenings, and Strange become senator
Arid
2025-01-13 22:28:17 +0000 UTCThat's such an insane thing to admit on a huge show
Arid
2025-01-13 22:06:40 +0000 UTCIt sort of melted my mind a bit. Also that RLM episode was hilarious.
Skwerral
2025-01-13 18:58:56 +0000 UTCI have never seen someone do that in my life
William Engels
2025-01-13 18:13:29 +0000 UTCI will say it should be noted that the big jumping off point of Pepes from Rand to the trump campaign is when Rand came out as anti confederate flag in the wake of the Charleston church shooting
bruce moment
2025-01-13 13:56:37 +0000 UTCPixar’s Sodas
Joseph O'Brien-Applegate
2025-01-13 05:33:51 +0000 UTCFelix's Shapiro impression sounds too much like Wallace Shawn
Bonepile
2025-01-13 02:22:09 +0000 UTCIn an incredibly funny coincidence the latest Red Letter Media episode has them watching an anti porn video by James Dobson. Worlds almost colliding
Joel Drayer
2025-01-12 22:16:24 +0000 UTCthis is one of the most salient, crystallized, concrete vivisections of our modern era - thank you chapo, felix- this series and the hell of presidents/ hell on earth / are mainstays of my inner monoglub- reasons why i shill out the monthly dough
Jack Krastny
2025-01-12 14:30:29 +0000 UTCVery nicely written and organized.
Cooper Kulpa
2025-01-12 03:13:55 +0000 UTCOh sure the ol' Blame-It-On-Your-Bisexual-Girlfriend bit
ploob
2025-01-12 02:25:50 +0000 UTCI'll take 'Cars Catching Dogs' for $800 Alex
ploob
2025-01-12 02:23:34 +0000 UTCCorn cob pipe, red long jons, suspenders, straw hat, scraggly beard. Empty jug of moonshine with 'xxx' on the side, the man blows air into the jug in a rudimentary musical fashion. Thus the bumpkin hoots the jug. Hillbilly type shit
fuzz
2025-01-11 22:23:14 +0000 UTCI guess it's fine to point out that right wingers are weird and distasteful as long you acknowledge in the same breath that they have been overwhelmingly successful over the past 50 years. Otherwise this is just cope.
buttface
2025-01-11 19:23:56 +0000 UTCCan someone explain what a jug hooter is?
Darren R Young
2025-01-11 15:30:11 +0000 UTCIsn’t Mulan a ftm classic
5 inches is plenty
2025-01-11 11:51:03 +0000 UTCI idolized my libertarian brother until 2016, when he said Ben Carson should've won the Republican primary. Between that, this show, and Street fight, my entire world view changed lmfao
Beef
2025-01-11 06:14:04 +0000 UTCI'm surprised we weren't also regaled with SPencer's legendary breakdown after Charlottesville. Still one of the funniest things I've ever listened to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVW9bFBtdpM&pp=ygUccmljaGFyZCBzcGVuY2VyIGxlYWtlZCBhdWRpbw%3D%3D
Brad Plumb
2025-01-11 05:25:28 +0000 UTCFelix is really outing himself as a political nerd here (not a criticism).
Brad Plumb
2025-01-11 05:20:52 +0000 UTCits so fucking bad bro
hot_local
2025-01-11 02:54:26 +0000 UTCHe quite literally stated that it was indisputable that Russia helped at this point lol. He does brush it off a bit later on though. Oh well.
Drew McGill
2025-01-10 22:45:58 +0000 UTCDoes the Patreon app suck or what.
not_today
2025-01-10 22:06:32 +0000 UTCI thought the point he made was that fb helped Trump, not Russia per se
trent
2025-01-10 21:18:42 +0000 UTCI see the overall spirit of the series as “these people are so weird.” The fact that they are dorks and losers is ancillary
Terrance McDonald
2025-01-10 20:41:41 +0000 UTCOk Maaahtt Jah-mez Reeczh
Terrance McDonald
2025-01-10 20:40:13 +0000 UTCShitlibs do
ForWhomTheDoinkBeeps
2025-01-10 16:07:12 +0000 UTCTurd comment
ForWhomTheDoinkBeeps
2025-01-10 16:05:37 +0000 UTCShapino and pals do an excellent job of debating against children that don't know anything.
Adam H.
2025-01-10 15:35:14 +0000 UTCFuck yeah! So fun to remember all the crazy shit that went down! Plus, Who knew Felix was good with a script?
Fernslinger
2025-01-10 14:15:12 +0000 UTCBetween Amway, Blackwater, school privatization and the fact that they are genuinely onerous and stupid people, they may actually be the worst family on the planet.
THEKILLERWHALE
2025-01-10 13:17:51 +0000 UTCForgot how weird and ridiculous shit got for trump the last go round. These next 4 years finna be a doozy
GnarlyRaeJetson
2025-01-10 13:13:49 +0000 UTCits a name, you can say it however you like
Terry Buckley
2025-01-10 12:05:10 +0000 UTCThat Milo-Rogan clip was fucking vile, jesus christ.
Garth Hillsborough
2025-01-10 10:22:18 +0000 UTCBetsy Devos, pronounced "Duh-vahs", not "Deh-vohs". It's a Dutch last name, not Greek.
Matt James Rich
2025-01-10 07:16:48 +0000 UTCI am 12 years old and learning all this for the first time. Great stuff
Justin Buell
2025-01-10 06:12:02 +0000 UTCBest episode yet
William Hubel
2025-01-10 01:57:17 +0000 UTCI work for that rich Birmingham suburb mentioned in the Roy Moore discussion! I was pumping my fist and honking my horn
Daniel Daughhetee
2025-01-09 23:46:15 +0000 UTCThank you for the astute forensics in the tone we need.
cboss
2025-01-09 23:21:50 +0000 UTCI’m still kind of consider this to be more of a companion piece to on the medias “the divided dial” which premiered two years ago and covered much of the same topics https://www.google.com/search?q=on+the+media+2022+cobservativr+media&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS721US722&oq=on+the+media+2022+cobservativr+media&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgkIBRAhGAoYoAEyCQgGECEYChirAjIJCAcQIRgKGKsCMgkICBAhGAoYqwLSAQkxMDQzMWowajSoAhOwAgHiAwQYASBf&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
robert ryan
2025-01-09 23:14:03 +0000 UTCI don’t think the Russians really did anything that swayed the 70,000 least excited Trump voters away from Hillary. This wasn’t like 500 votes in Florida. It was something serious enough that the fbi investigated it for two years and sessions recused himself but they were never going to find a smoking gun either.
robert ryan
2025-01-09 23:09:54 +0000 UTCThe Milo-Rogan exchange is bananas
Kvvvy
2025-01-09 22:47:47 +0000 UTCOnce again, Felix one liners are unmatched
Kvvvy
2025-01-09 22:44:32 +0000 UTCBroke out in a huge grin for that Phantom of the Opera needle drop
Joe E
2025-01-09 22:30:23 +0000 UTCi tried to like this but it's impossible to follow and i believe it's ultimate conclusion -- that the conservatives are hapless morons who were doomed to fail -- is wrong considering how much they are owning right now.
buttface
2025-01-09 20:39:46 +0000 UTC“Girlfriend in a Coma” after bringing up Jeb!’s failed campaign was inspired. A+ would clap
Michelle
2025-01-09 19:47:58 +0000 UTCI love that section about the first few days of the Trump admin where you have to assume the point of view of someone that suffered a severe concussion and thought that he would enact the Richard Nixon agenda
etienne
2025-01-09 19:07:01 +0000 UTCPerhaps a subtle tribute to the fascist, Koch-owned Wisconsin governor, a different Scott Walker, who destroyed unions & collective bargaining in that state c. 2012-13. Not important enough for his own segment (I think he did run in some R. primaries for Pres., went nowhere), nod & a wink.
Mark Schneider
2025-01-09 18:54:27 +0000 UTCWeeeeeeeeelllllll
Leonardo Restrepo
2025-01-09 18:24:56 +0000 UTCThe Andrew Lloyd Webber reference when introducing Trump's campaign did not go unnoticed
Ryan
2025-01-09 18:09:41 +0000 UTCThe drake sample
Instantdumbass
2025-01-09 17:57:28 +0000 UTCinternationalist movement of nationalist lmao nice one
mariol struga
2025-01-09 15:46:35 +0000 UTCAt around 1:34:23 Eric Prince is Betsy Devos Brother not her nephew.
christoph.s
2025-01-09 15:35:47 +0000 UTCLoving the series!
christoph.s
2025-01-09 15:32:31 +0000 UTCI can’t believe he mentioned Roma Downey as Dobson’s wife and didn’t mention she was the lead in the show “Touched by an Angel”
Julian Perez
2025-01-09 14:58:34 +0000 UTCOf course he is ma'am.
K H
2025-01-09 14:39:57 +0000 UTCForgot to comment on the fact that this is so great. Felix shines here, he's so funny off the cuff and just as funny scripted. Loving this
Bill Vog
2025-01-09 14:23:06 +0000 UTCDo we actually think Russia undeniably helped Trump? They made a few shitty memes that in no way helped lol. Maybe something more substantial came out that I missed since I really stepped out of russiagate bs. I’m genuinely curious now because I didn’t think the Chapo boys were one of those dweebs.
Drew McGill
2025-01-09 13:09:19 +0000 UTCdunno the reason for the handful of scott walker drops in these episodes but i sure do appreciate them!!
g haslam
2025-01-09 10:52:22 +0000 UTCI've only watched that show because my bisexual gf. I didn't grow up with Elton because my dad thought he was gay.
J Christie
2025-01-09 10:47:44 +0000 UTCKeep up
Justin Thomas
2025-01-09 10:31:48 +0000 UTCas in blowing into a jug like a musical instrument
Sean Green
2025-01-09 10:26:49 +0000 UTCOmfg I forgot about the Trump centipede thing! That was 8 YEARS AGO!?!
Craig
2025-01-09 08:56:28 +0000 UTCThey've been very generous these last couple months.
Matt James Rich
2025-01-09 08:26:34 +0000 UTCOops all Wayne Tedrow Seniors
Goff Costello
2025-01-09 08:13:29 +0000 UTC>the guy who interrogated Bane You mean the one and only CIA?
William Engels
2025-01-09 08:11:50 +0000 UTCSo good
Ben
2025-01-09 07:58:55 +0000 UTCwtf does that even mean it's ungoogleable
William Engels
2025-01-09 07:47:42 +0000 UTCThis series has triggered more political engrams since Hell of Presidents. I remember all those wretched people and can be reminded with a twinge of all the damage they inflicted on the body politic.
Zen Ben
2025-01-09 07:08:36 +0000 UTCThe crossfire clip is iconic - I remember seeing that on YouTube in 8th grade and instantly becoming Jon Stewart’s strongest soldier.
tapwaterskeptic
2025-01-09 06:08:32 +0000 UTCThe centipede needle drop sent me into a flashback fugue state. What the fuck are the last ten years
Clark Stoehl
2025-01-09 05:54:09 +0000 UTCLil ass boy. How is your zoomer ass even watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure dumbass?
K H
2025-01-09 05:43:54 +0000 UTCI started taking a shot every time Felix says “jug hooters” and now I have cirrhosis.
trillhouse
2025-01-09 04:56:54 +0000 UTCHey this shit’s kinda good
Jack Gude
2025-01-09 04:50:12 +0000 UTCTiny Dancer by Elton John
Max Seuberlich
2025-01-09 04:12:44 +0000 UTCAn immense heap of Felix brand slop. Thank you very much! This is my favorite companion series to chapo thus far!
Evan Pitkin
2025-01-09 04:08:02 +0000 UTCFuck how could I forget… “Jeb is a MESS. Jeb is a WASTE” find those Vic Berger videos if you’ve never seen them
J
2025-01-09 02:41:19 +0000 UTCThe hilarious republican primary in 2016 was what first got me interested in politics. I was just starting high school and Vic Berger’s videos of the debates were so funny I started reading the news. I can still see kasich getting off his tour bus and waving to a crowd of nobody LMAO.
J
2025-01-09 02:38:04 +0000 UTCBanger
ezra
2025-01-09 00:53:00 +0000 UTCThis series is the most I have ever listened to actual right wing media and dear god how do people stand this it sounds like shoving cats into a shredder while whining
John Leavitt
2025-01-09 00:41:52 +0000 UTCFor a minute I thought Felix was using an AI voice emulator (a la Elon /Adrian Dittmann)
Brendan Costello
2025-01-08 22:44:42 +0000 UTCIt's kinda nuts that I look forward to this more than the main show lol
Tyler Sutherland
2025-01-08 22:32:27 +0000 UTC"Wily Hobo John Kasich" line of the episode so far
Kompy
2025-01-08 22:25:26 +0000 UTCI've already been enjoying this series but this episode really whips
Declan Kennedy
2025-01-08 22:24:20 +0000 UTCHope you turn this into a book so I can give it to my lincoln project pilled dad
Alex Lorden
2025-01-08 22:14:43 +0000 UTCThe fact that I was ever fell for that anti-SJW BS is a shame I've carried for a long time
Rusty
2025-01-08 21:57:29 +0000 UTCInsane nostalgia hit when Centipede dropped
Sarah Camino
2025-01-08 21:53:54 +0000 UTCIt's a salve for the monotany
Evan
2025-01-08 21:34:51 +0000 UTCI also listened to this in one sitting while filling out a spreadsheet 😭
Keith Huston
2025-01-08 21:28:13 +0000 UTCTiny Dancer by Elton John
Richard Cochnar
2025-01-08 20:54:46 +0000 UTClove too hear zoomers do nostalgia for Portal to Hell moments like the pandemic and the '16 election
etienne
2025-01-08 20:49:31 +0000 UTCThe Erran Morad interview with Roy Moore was classic. https://youtu.be/3kaJaDx51iw?si=vIPdfIwMdWj8VOqi
Jim Chapman
2025-01-08 20:20:05 +0000 UTC"Butt thugs" has me thinking of Benghazi as another instance of Ray J Through History
Michael S. Judge
2025-01-08 20:12:17 +0000 UTCWhat's the song played in the outro?
J Christie
2025-01-08 19:44:45 +0000 UTCOver 2 hours? Is it my birthday?
Tim
2025-01-08 19:41:49 +0000 UTC“I don’t blame myself”
Donnie Stellmaker
2025-01-08 19:20:32 +0000 UTCI'm loving the new series, Felix. Thank you for your hard work. It makes filling out spreadsheets a lot less monotonous.
Evan
2025-01-08 18:13:50 +0000 UTClove me my 2 hour chapos to chill and shit on company time to
Shane-A112
2025-01-08 17:28:03 +0000 UTCGloryhole in the washtub
NYCM&AHole
2025-01-08 17:08:36 +0000 UTC^ the Skiffle Bluegrass Expert has logged tf in
etienne
2025-01-08 17:00:03 +0000 UTCHell yeah lets go
The True Horror
2025-01-08 16:55:56 +0000 UTCTo make a washtub bass, you have to put a HOLE IN THE WASHTUB!!
Danika Lagorio and JDawg ConLorde
2025-01-08 16:54:41 +0000 UTCWe're the bears who sing for duke, dooo da, dooo da Drinking moonshine til we puke, alllllll the dooo da dayyyy
The True Horror
2025-01-08 16:53:28 +0000 UTCLoved the timing of the “Nice for What” lyrics😂
Dan
2025-01-08 16:51:08 +0000 UTCPrivate equity, not venture capital. Private equity strips something that’s been built already. Venture capital loves juicero
NYCM&AHole
2025-01-08 16:13:46 +0000 UTCit's when you have a band where one guy plays a banjo, one guy is raking a washboard with an empty beer bottle, one plays a bass made with a round steel bath tub and a broom stick, one guy wears a barrel with suspenders, and the lead soloist plays whistle with a whiskey jug, and all their songs are about carrying a bindle on the railroad
etienne
2025-01-08 16:05:06 +0000 UTCAll of this tracks.. except wtf is a "jug hooter"
Danika Lagorio and JDawg ConLorde
2025-01-08 16:00:20 +0000 UTCFelix sees a spider at 2:22:32
Coleman Cox
2025-01-08 15:59:35 +0000 UTCColumba bush is not Colombian but I wish she was
Daniel Dermont
2025-01-08 15:48:03 +0000 UTCNever thought I'd hear Knife Party on a Chapo episode.
Andrew Fedje, Conduit of Corn
2025-01-08 15:45:19 +0000 UTCUs gals gotta stick together in this world. 😅
Ralley Taura
2025-01-08 15:35:18 +0000 UTCSame. Lol
Ralley Taura
2025-01-08 15:34:44 +0000 UTCGood lord that Roy Moore-Drake drop is an all timer
Sam Bondurant
2025-01-08 15:32:46 +0000 UTCgreat episode
kiteme
2025-01-08 15:19:00 +0000 UTCWily hobo John Kasich
David Brown
2025-01-08 14:57:41 +0000 UTCVery very good.
Adam J.R. Tallman
2025-01-08 14:33:49 +0000 UTCAfter all this time I'm still not clear on who this Benjamin Ghazi guy is or why he's had such and impact on American politics.
Mountain Dew Or Crab Juice
2025-01-08 14:31:30 +0000 UTCPhantom music sent me reeling LMAO
sarah
2025-01-08 14:05:03 +0000 UTCTo be fair, "you're a good comedian but your lectures are boring" aged far better than pretty much anything else said in that interview.
Joe S.
2025-01-08 13:58:19 +0000 UTCWhen Ben Carson was rambling about ‘excuse me for this but I’m not one of these politically correct people’ only to start complaining about the deficit I choked on my warm soy milk
JD Nonce
2025-01-08 13:19:27 +0000 UTChell fucking yes
kiteme
2025-01-08 12:50:48 +0000 UTCThe phantom of the Opera drop made me so happy. The man himself would be simply thrilled
bruce moment
2025-01-08 12:41:50 +0000 UTCThat voice after the intro haha☠️
Niko
2025-01-08 12:26:01 +0000 UTCFelix starts speaking at 00:00:01
Saying Monty Python Quotes In Lieu of Conversation
2025-01-08 12:07:41 +0000 UTCfirst
Akumeoy
2025-01-08 12:07:17 +0000 UTC
