chapotraphouse

Seeking a Fren: Episode 7 - The Old Man's Back Again

On a special postscript for Seeking a Fren for the End of the World, Felix, Josh, and Spencer discuss what the 2024 election signifies for the future of Con Inc., including the tech right's money machine, splits in the Daily Wire world post 10/7, and Terry Schilling's "Kamala is for they/them" ad.

For a full list of sources, check our works cited doc here: www.chapotraphouse.com/seeking

901 - VI-Day feat. Mohammad Alsaafin (1/20/25)

Journalist Mohammad Alsaafin returns to the show to discuss the temporary ceasefire & hostage exchange deal reached in Gaza. We discuss why and how this came about during the Biden-Trump transition, what the actual terms of the deal are, how it leaves the political situation in Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region, and the total effects of 15 months of war. Plus, what was actually in the gift bags given by Hamas to the freed Israeli hostages.

If you’re looking for ways to ...

900 - IT’S OVER 900!!!! (1/16/25)

For our nonacentennial episode, we take a slew of listener questions, from what Canadians can do to prepare for their imminent annexation, to essential media of the Biden era, the future of Liberalism, dating across political divides, and of course, which animals are the cutest. Thanks for listening, friends, much more to come.

Seeking a Fren: Episode 6 - Groyper’s Delight

When a midterm blowout leaves the Trump White House in disarray, his fans turn towards unusual sources for comfort; things only get worse as Trump loses and the same people who rallied around him scramble for an answer. Meanwhile, the real legacy of the Trump administration sends a tidal wave crashing down on the American public.

This episode draws from Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider’s A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door. For a full list of sources, check our works cited doc here: <...

BONUS: Y2K feat. Colette Shade

Author Colette Shade joins us to discuss her new book “Y2K” on the millennial era of ~1997-2008. Will and Colette review how the boundless optimism of ‘the end of history’ curdled into the permanent pessimism of the 21st century, how computer doomed everything even if the specific prediction of the “Y2K bug” maybe didn’t literally come to pass, how nostalgia can be both useful and a trap, and of course, how everything is 9/11.

Purchase “Y2K: How the 2000s Became Ever...

899 - Nut Up feat. Yasha Levine & Rowan Wernham (1/13/25)

We’re joined by journalist Yasha Levine & filmmaker Rowan Wernham of the new documentary “Pistachio Wars” join us to look at water in the state of California in light of last week’s L.A. wildfires. We discuss California’s water history, the network of real estate developers and agribusiness concerns that effectively control California’s water, the Resnick family and their Nut Empire, 21st century company towns, and how California water politics affect the Iran Nuclear deal. 2025-01-14 07:43:02 +0000 UTC View Post

898 - Bragg and Tag feat. Seth Harp (1/10/25)

We’re joined by investigative journalist Seth Harp to look at the two New Years terror incidents. Both involving military personnel associated with Fort Bragg, Seth helps us unpack the bizarre details around the attacks & attackers, their connections with the infamous fort, and the sprawling network of crime and conspiracy connected to U.S. special forces that could be connected to these events.

Pre-order Seth’s new book “The Fort Bragg Cartel,” covering everything di...

Seeking a Fren: Episode 5 - Persecution and the Art of the Deal

The 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....

897 - Urquellization (1/6/25)

We catch up with news over our long week off, including brief hits on the two new years truck attacks (more on that Thursday), MAGA civil war over immigration & visas, various instances of Musk buffoonery, Biden’s presidential medal of freedom recipients, and Semafor’s survey of what people in the media ‘got wrong’ about 2024.

Seeking a Fren: Episode 4 - Vidya Killed the Radio Star

Another brutal defeat leaves the right angrier than ever, and both the successes and failures of the left drive them to even darker places as the question of who is in charge of the party becomes much murkier.

This episode draws from William H. Tucker’s The Funding of Scientific Racism, Joshua Green’s Devil’s Bargain, and Deva R. Woodley’s Reckoning.  For a full list of sources, check our works cited doc here: 2025-01-01 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post

896 - Merry Christman (12/25/24)

For our final news episode of the year, we give Felix a little Christmas gift and let him go in on some actual fighter jet news. Then, just as the year grows old, we look at the increasingly aging & dying members of our government, from representatives found in dementia homes and seen yelling at reporters as they’re wheelchaired in for votes, to confirmation that Biden has been out to lunch basically his entire term. And finally, a poem from Matt to President Biden.

Seeking a Fren: Episode 3 - Matty Goes to Hollywood

After a generational collapse, the various factions of the right find themselves scrambling to pick up the pieces of the wreckage they wrought. They decide to break from the establishment Republican Party to pursue new strategies involving new technologies—one that’s short-term successes would be matched by its long-term consequences.

This episode draws from Lee Fang’s The Machine, Theda Skockpol’s The Tea Party and the Remaking of American Conservatism, Claire Bond Potter’s P...

Bonus: The Postman Always Is Nice

We’re discussing the ongoing labor disputes with the United States Postal Service with Tyler Vasseur, a shop steward with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). We discuss the BFN rank and file movement to transform the postal unions, fighting for transparency in bargaining on the long-stalled new contract for letter carriers, what an equitable contract would look like, how the letter carriers fight fits in the broader labor movement, cost of living adjustments in an era of hig...

Movie Mindset Bonus - Interview With Director Brian Yuzna

Will & Hesse are joined by Brian Yuzna, legendary horror writer/director/producer behind such films as Re-Animator, Society, From Beyond, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, and many more. We discuss adapting Lovecraft, all-nude Peter Pan, Clown Theory, copypastas, uniquely American ghouls, the importance of GOOP in cinema, and how real horror fans can enjoy horror even when it’s bad.

Pre-order the 40th Anniversary edition of Re-Animator her...

895 - Meat Cube feat. Seeking Derangements (12/19/24)

Hesse, Jacques and Max join us for some holiday fun on today’s episode. After some fruitful discussion of Mr. Beast’s plan to rent out the Great Pyramids of Giza, we turn to a perennial favorite: Dear Prudie. What to do when a busty neighbor jogs lustily in front of your children? What if your wife shits too much? Your home invader’s child is now in your pre-school class? Answers to all these questions plus granma’s chicken wings all in today’s show.

Hesse is performing at Sin...

Seeking a Fren: Episode 2 - The Eighteenth Brumaire of James Dobson

With a narrowly stolen election by George Bush, the religious right finds themselves in a greater position of power and influence than ever, as does an ascendant media empire by the former political operative Roger Ailes. They’d both find out, however, that power doesn’t necessarily mean success.

This episode draws from Dan Gilgoff’s The Jesus Machine and Gabriel Sherman’s The Loudest Voice in the Room. For a full list of sources, check our works cited doc here:

2024-12-18 12:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post

894 - Drone Bore feat. David J. Roth (12/16/24)

Defector’s David Roth is back on the pod. We start with his write up of the recent drone scare over New Jersey, and how our ever-skittish suburbanites are discovering new ways to be scared of the lights in the night sky. Then, a review of recent media reactions to Luigi-mania, including the Atlantic tut-tutting over “decivilization” and the Root having a certified “bruh” moment. Finally, the most important bellwether poll of the year: the PornHub annual search trends results.

...

893 - We Left The Percs With Maher feat. Derek Davison (12/12/24)

Chapo senior Foreign Policy analyst Derek Davison returns to the show as time continues to progress and events continue to occur. Today we turn to Syria, where the Assad regime suddenly collapsed over the last week. We discuss how Assad finally must go’d, the new groups filling the power vacuum, their relations to various regional and international states, and how Israel is exerting its power amid the chaos. We also discuss last week’s failed mini-coup in South Korea, and what that means ...

Seeking a Fren for the End of the World: Episode 1 - This is Really Just the Beginning

In a new series by Felix, Josh (@ettingermentum), and Spencer, we ask: how did the Republican Party, once the dominant force in American culture for almost a generation, become a group of bowtied cosplayers and rapist streamers yelling about Litterboxes? We trace this development back to the empires built by two men—Paul Weyrich and James Dobson—as well as the failures of one Pat Buchanan.

This episode draws from Dan Gilgoff’s The Jesus Machine and David Grann’s “Ro...

892 - Talking Points Memo feat. Jael Holzman (12/10/24)

We catch up briefly on news around the arrest of the alleged UHC CEO assassin. Then, journalist and musician Jael Holzman returns to the show to discuss a new piece she has for Rolling Stone on the potential threats to trans people in the coming Trump administration. We look at the rather grim potential of massively undermining of trans medical care, the equally grim state of Democratic opposition, and the general fecklessness with which Democrats have handled what Joe Biden once called the �...

891 - Open Enrollment Season feat. Pendejo Time (12/5/24)

The Pendejo boys are back to look at the abhorrent, misguided, COMPLETELY reprehensible...health insurance CEO gunned down by an assassin in midtown Manhattan this week. We also check out some IDF rap, a new home security tech start up called “Sauron” (please read another book!), and check in how Pete Hegseth's Secretary of Defense confirmation is going.

Check out Pendejo Time: https://www.patreon.com/pendejotim...

Introducing SEEKING A FREN FOR THE END OF THE WORLD // Matt Book Update

Felix is proud to bring you his new mini-series Seeking a Fren for the End of the World, an exploration of the evolution of Conservative media institutions over the last 50 years. Starting from the original innovators, the true-believer psychopaths like James Dobson and Paul Weyrich, the men who took the wreckage of the Nixon era into the Reagan Revolution, we trace t...

890 - Spare Us, Cutter (12/2/24)

We do the work of having conversations and connecting to people by reviewing last week’s Pod Save America episode featuring Kamala Harris’ top campaign staff. Through their telling, it was an amazing feat of data, precision and triangulation that somehow came up just slightly short, but we look at some different “stories to tell” from what they’re able to reveal about the campaign’s strategy. Plus, a Thanksgiving poem from Matt.

Felix’s new series “Searching for a Fren a...

889 - Citations Bleeding feat. Adam Johnson & Othman Ali (11/27/24)

We’re joined by Adam Johnson of the Citations Needed podcast and his co-author Othman Ali to discuss their series of articles for The Nation investigating the various ways the media has covered for the Biden administration in regards to the war in Gaza. Adam & Othman dismantle the various tropes and obfuscations deployed over the last year, including sowing distrust of information coming from Gaza, Biden’s supposed “anger” at Netanyahu, administration officials “tirelessly worki...

888 - Bustin’ Out feat. Moe Tkacik (11/25/24)

Journalist Moe Tkacik joins us to look at a number of issues she’s reported on recently. Starting with the alarming prevalence of sexual assault allegations among Trump’s new cabinet picks, we follow the trail of backlash to accountability among the ultra-rich to College campuses and of course, Israel. We then turn to Moe’s reporting on the growing tumor of private equity in the American healthcare industry, and how these financial barons are gutting our already threadbare hospital syst...

887 - General Dynamics feat. Bryan Quinby (11/22/24)

Master of Guys Bryan Quinby joins us to break down the conclusion of Tulsa King Season 2. We examine the frictionless and always-triumphant world of Dwight "The General" Manfredi, his rainbow coalition of criminal miscreants, easily vanquished villains, and discuss why Tulsa King is indeed the perfect show for the Second Trump era.

Find Guys, a Podcast about Guys, wherever you get pods & subscribe here: https://...

886 - Cabinet Curiosity feat. Alex Nichols (11/18/24)

We review the various freaks, toadies, goons, and TV personalities that Trump has tapped to build his second cabinet, and speculate how much damage Vivek & Elon can actually do with their kids-table DOGE advisory board. We also discuss the coalescing view among the pundit class that the Democrats need to abandon their various activist groups, as espoused in today’s reading series by Adam Jentleson. Finally, a new (hopefully semi-regular) feature from Matt.

MM32 - Vincent Price 2 feat. Theda Hammel

Boo!👻

Not only is that the classic thing a ghost says, it’s also what you’re all probably saying because Movie Mindset’s second Spooky Season is officially over! Apologies for this one being late, but we go out with a scary good episode, bringing back Certified Vincent Price Expert Thedeath Damnel to review the third and fourth Price movies she’s ever seen: The House on Haunted Hill (Castle, 1959) and House of Wax (De Toth, 1953)!

We talk about how each movie artifice t...

885 - Don’t Cry In Front of the Mexicans feat. Alexander Aviña (11/14/24)

Surely there’s no way a country in the rightward turning west could elect a woman…leftist…member of an incumbent party…in 2024? We turn our eyes to our neighbors to the south to look at Claudia Sheinbaum’s recent election as president of Mexico, and the phenomenal success of her party there. Professor Alex Aviña joins us to discuss Mexico’s recent political history, the victories and shortcomings of Sheinbaum & AMLO’s Morena party, US/Mexico relations, and varying perspecti...

884 - Pool Boys (11/11/24)

We start off with some Monkey News, then continue our post-mortem on the 2024 election. Does America have a Boy Crisis? Was $450k a day to put Kamala’s name on the Sphere worth it? How many votes did Queen Latifah swing? Are there sharks in the pool? Can Rebecca Solnit construct a metaphor to save her life? Will anyone learn anything from this boondoggle? We discuss.