The Insurgents

Abraham Josephine “Josie” Riesman, author of the New York Times bestseller “Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America” joins us today for a great discussion on how kayfabe, the art of presenting staged acts as authentic, has evolved and spread beyond the world of wrestling and into our politics. Josie explains the concept of neokayfabe and how the WWE has slyly blurred the lines between performance and reality in ways that have crept in broader society. We also learn about the long friendship between WWE chairman McMahon and Donald Trump, and the consequences that friendship has had for the country.You can follow Josie here: https://twitter.com/abrahamjosephYou can pick up a copy of the book here: https://www.ringmasterthebook.com/To become a subscriber (paid intern!) to the Insurgents and gain access to an additional episode every week, you can subscribe here:Our most recent premium episode with Alex Pearlman on Congress trying to ban TikTok and the free speech, censorship and foreign policy implications the bill would have is available here:You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.insurgentspod.comAlex Pearlman, Pearlmania500 on TikTok, joins us to discuss the “RESTRICT Act,” the bipartisan piece of legislation that purportedly will ban TikTok but ultimately has much broader implications. We get into the threats it poses to individual privacy and free speech rights, how the rhetoric around TikTok is ultimately ju…

Ken Klippenstein (still under a lifetime ban from the podcast) joins us today to react to Donald Trump’s felony indictment over his hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. We take a look at some of the funniest reactions from folks on both the left and right, discuss whether Trump will actually be convicted, what this means for Trump’s likely top opponent in the GOP primary Ron DeSantis, and much more.You can follow Ken here: https://twitter.com/kenklippensteinTo become a subscriber (paid intern!) to the Insurgents and gain access to an additional episode every week, you can subscribe here:Our most recent premium episode with Ari Drennen on how the right is using the Nashville shooting to further their anati-trans crusade is available here:You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.insurgentspod.comAri Drennen, LGBTQ Program Director at Media Matters for America, joins us to discuss the latest in the anti-trans panic. This time, right-wing talking heads using the Nashville shooting on Monday to further their crusade against trans people and, despite transparently hollow calls in the past to not “politicize” mass shootings, doing exactly that this …

Spencer Ackerman, author of the fabulous book “Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump,” joins us to reflect on the US invasion of Iraq 20 years later. We discuss the way Americans behaved in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and in the run-up to the invasion, taking their anger and fear out on innocent strangers who, in many cases, were not from Afghanistan or Iraq and/or were not Muslim, the xenophobia and racism Americans engage in during times of conflict, the coercion and forced patriotism in the media and society at large and lessons we should take away from that period and apply to future international challenges.Spencer’s new comic from DC Comics, Waller vs. Wildstorm, which we discuss at the end of the episode, is out on March 28. Please pick up a copy at your local comic book store.You can follow Spencer here: https://twitter.com/attackermanTo become a subscriber (paid intern!) to the Insurgents and gain access to an additional episode every week, you can subscribe here:Our most recent episode with Rep. Ro Khanna is available here:You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

Congressman Ro Khanna joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the government response to the East Palestine train derailment and his rail safety bill, how Democrats can win back more working class voters, Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, his upcoming fundraiser with David Sacks and what progressives should call for in regards to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

Ed Zitron returns to the show to discuss venture capitalists and tech elites congratulating themselves on the Treasury & Federal Reserve taking action to protect Silicon Valley Bank depositors. We get into the self-absorption of the tech and investing class, why they can’t shut up and how tech workers—who are exploited daily by these same people—are the ones who truly would have been hurt had depositors not been covered.You can follow Ed’s Substack here:To become a subscriber (paid intern!) to the Insurgents and gain access to an additional episode every week, you can subscribe here:Our most recent premium episode with Senate candidate from Missouri Lucas Kunce is available here:You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.insurgentspod.comLucas Kunce, candidate for Senate in Missouri who is hoping to unseat Josh Hawley, joins us to talk about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, the tech and financial elites who spent the weekend demanding a bailout, how the government response to cover all depositors is something working people never experience, and how Jos…

Note: This Sunday night we’re having another subscriber-only live chat over on the Substack app — this time for an Oscars watch party. Become a Paid Intern and join us at 8 pm ET on Sunday night:Frank Cappello, host of the new Lever podcast Movies vs. Capitalism, joins us to talk about the new podcast and how it’s ok to be critical of movies and also enjoy them. We make some Oscar predictions, discuss how Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked to make an address during the awards show (and was denied), war propaganda in films and we do a deep(ish) dive into one of the best picture nominees, “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”You can find Movies vs. Capitalism on all podcast providers here: http://mvcpod.com/Our most recent premium episode with Ryan Broderick about the ethics of AI, Mr. Beast and more—which billions of listeners have said is the greatest Insurgents episode of all time—is available here:To become a subscriber (paid intern!) to the Insurgents and gain access to an additional episode every week, you can subscribe here:You can find The Insurgents elsewhere on…YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheInsurgents/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinsurgentspod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/insurgentspod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.insurgentspod.comRyan Broderick, author of the fantastic Garbage Day substack, joins Jordan (Rob is out this week) for a discussion on the ethics of AI, the push for AI personhood, Mr. Beast’s chocolate bar line, fan-inclusion in online social movements, Twitter’s continued service outages and much more.You can follow Ryan here: https://twitter.com/broderickYou can subs…