It Could Happen Here Years of Lead Paint
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Sep 18, 2025 The hosts dive into the haunting parallels between Italy's Years of Lead and today's political violence in the U.S. They explore the organized terror campaigns of the past versus the chaotic, online-driven attacks we see now. Special attention is given to incidents like the Charlie Kirk shooting and the concerning rise of conspiracy theories. The dialogue touches on the normalization of state-sponsored doxing and the troubling rhetoric that intertwines civil society with governmental power. It's a thought-provoking look at violence's evolution in modern politics.
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Years Of Lead Aren't A Perfect Parallel
- The original Italian Years of Lead were organized, state-influenced campaigns of violence with concrete factions and intelligence involvement.
- Today's US violence is decentralized, internet-fueled, and lacks the same institutional orchestration.
Piazza Fontana And A Suspicious Death
- The Piazza Fontana bombing was blamed on anarchists while fascist group Ordine Nuovo actually carried out attacks.
- Giuseppe Pinelli, an arrested anarchist, died mysteriously falling from a police station window during interrogation.
Decentralized Violence Changes The Threat
- Recent US political violence is mostly decentralized lone actors radicalized online rather than structured insurgent groups.
- That makes motives more idiosyncratic and harder to trace to traditional political factions.
