Half the Answer

Trent and Caitlin talk to Greg Sargent, journalist and podcaster with The New Republic, about recent stories including the striking failure of the president to be cool about the newest round of Jeffrey Epstein news, the bizarre time dilation of being a conservative, and the childish insistence that every bad thing on the right is because of an overreach on the left.Resource:https://newrepublic.com/article/198247/trump-epstein-fiasco-ron-wyden

Caitlin and Trent chat with civil rights lawyer Joshua Erlich about the state of civil rights under Trump. What civil rights has this administration targeted? How are they achieving their goals? Is there anything that can be done to get in their way?Resources:Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, by Richard Hofstadter: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Intellectualism-American-Life-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394703170“Alligator Alcatraz” conditions https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/allowed-lawmakers-split-conditions-alligator-alcatraz-rcna218498 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alligator-alcatraz-florida-detainees-conditions-fungus-mosquitoes-rcna220205 SCOTUS education ruling https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/supreme-court-clears-the-way-for-trump-administration-to-massively-reduce-the-size-of-the-department-of-education/ Dept. of Ed can’t resolve civil rights complaints in a reasonable time https://www.wxyz.com/us-news/education/civil-rights-work-is-slowing-as-trump-dismantles-the-education-department-agency-data-shows Lawsuit against DOGE https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/20/trump-will-face-first-lawsuit-targeting-elon-musks-doge-moments-after-taking-office/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/01/20/doge-trump-musk-ramaswamy/

Join Maureen Kosse, a linguist and expert on far-right ideologies, as she unpacks the complex views on Israel from various right-wing factions. She explores the contradictions in pro-Israel sentiment intertwined with anti-Semitic agendas. Maureen discusses how groups like Christian nationalists manipulate biblical narratives while revealing their xenophobic extremes. The conversation also sheds light on the evolving dynamics of US aid to Israel amidst rising domestic challenges, and the strange bedfellows in the intersection of politics and religious ideologies.

Caitlin and Trent speak with Eiynah about how people simply cannot be normal about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, the way the New York Times keeps getting puppetted by far-right propagandists, and the manufactured nature of “newsworthiness.”Resources:News media propagate moral panics: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203828250/folk-devils-moral-panics-stanley-cohen“Newsworthiness”: https://discourses.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Teun-A.-van-Dijk-1991-Racism-And-the-Press.pdfIteration: https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810107885/limited-inc/ Reported speech can be recontextualized: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378216699000806 The Bulwark Podcast June 17: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/zohran-mamdani-fypod-crossover New York Times June 21: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/nyregion/mamdani-globalize-intifada.html https://theintercept.com/2025/07/10/mamdani-globalize-intifada-democrats/ Don’t quote the ADL: https://truthout.org/articles/its-time-to-break-with-the-adl-as-a-source-for-news-and-research-on-extremism/ Dan Goldman’s bias should be mentioned: https://www.dangoldmanforny.com/israel Jon Chait asks, why won’t he denounce the phrase? https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/zohran-mamdani-globalize-intifada/683300/ Jon Chait hates attacks over a “decontextualized phrase or weaponized misunderstanding” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/cancel-culture-illiberalism-dead/681031/ NYT Columbia hacked https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/nyregion/columbia-university-hacker.html NYT Columbia “exposé” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/nyregion/mamdani-columbia-black-application.html NYT looking for justification: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/us/census-racial-categories.html “Black New Yorkers”? https://nypost.com/2025/07/04/us-news/black-new-yorkers-rage-over-mamdanis-african-american-claim/ https://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5388110-black-new-yorkers-slam-zohran-mamdani-over-race-claims-on-his-college-application/Why the NYT keeps getting played: https://www.findinggravity.net/p/christopher-rufo-and-elise-stefanik?utm_source=publication-searchhttps://www.theverge.com/culture/700082/nyt-mamdani-news-judgment Chris Rufo lying about a drag queen: https://x.com/caitlinmoriah/status/1582415915508895746Chris Rufo lying about eating cats in Ohio: https://web.archive.org/web/20240914120637/https://christopherrufo.com/p/the-cat-eaters-of-ohioCrémieux/Jordan Lasker https://www.cjr.org/news/times-mamdani-college-application-race-article-hack.php Lasker is a grad student who believes in racist pseudoscience https://x.com/thecollegehill/status/1847372903077335501 Mamdani’s policies are not out of step with US opinion https://www.yahoo.com/news/poll-zohran-mamdanis-policies-are-popular-with-americans-outside-new-york--even-if-mamdani-is-not-162406841.html Mamdani eats with his hands: https://newrepublic.com/post/197538/maga-reaction-zohran-mamdani-eating-food-hands

Caitlin and Trent talk to anthropologist Rebecca Sear about the troubling trend in academia of allowing scientific racism, or the pseudoscientific belief that humans can be divided into genetically distinct racial groups with discrete measurements for things like IQ, personality traits, and behavior, to persist and present itself as a legitimate academic pursuit. They discuss how political activists have helped fund projects that propel scientific racism into the academic literature, popular media, and public policy.Resources:Musk on birth rates https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EPrNsxf-AUYJD Vance: “I want more babies in the United States” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23XJ2SqI8FARFK, Jr. on “healthy kids” and COVID https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/well/rfk-jr-cdc-children-covid-vaccines-data.htmlOrigin of Eugenics https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/origins-eugenicsHistory of Eugenics https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/timelines/eugenics Galton on “selection” 1883 https://archive.org/details/cu31924028925332/page/n325/mode/2upEugenics in the 1920s https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20speople-improving-the-nations-stock-for-great-and-greater-britain-eugenics-in-the-1920s/ Eugenics Record Office https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/368657 ‘National IQ’ datasets: https://osf.io/26vfb_v1Dark Money https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215462/dark-money-by-jane-mayer/ Merchants of Doubt https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/ Collins Family profile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnd1Taw4CEE&t=174s Polygenic embryo selection https://theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/science-fictions-are-outpacing-science Bo Winegard defending race science https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/sasha-gusev-is-wrong?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webWinegard accused of eugenics https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/12/assistant-professor-says-hes-been-fired-because-he-dared-talk-about-human-populationWilliam Shockley on Firing Line https://youtu.be/7JOIqkh2ms8?si=rxH8Ym7_4SU0PYPR Richard Haier on Lex Fridman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9RxrsvcS-k Peter Singer on disabled newborns https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2017/04/now-peter-singer-argues-that-it-might-be-okay-to-rape-disabled-people

Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Steven Monacelli, a special investigative correspondent for the Texas Observer, about the evolution and current-day doings of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the dangers they pose to citizens and noncitizens alike, and the experience of being a journalist observing resistance to authoritarian police actions.Resources:Steven’s Observer work: https://texasobserver.org/author/steven-monacelli/Steven’s website: https://stevenmonacelli.com/ “Less lethal”: https://wired.com/story/what-tear-gas-does-to-the-human-body/ Australian reporter hit by rubber bullet: https://youtube.com/watch?v=fkdajl35J48 ICE prosecutor running white supremacist account: https://texasobserver.org/ice-prosecutor-dallas-white-supremacist-x-account/ ICE fact sheet: https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice/ Immigration enforcement costs: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/cost_of_immigration_enforcement_factsheet_2024.pdfTrump wants immigrants tortured: https://vox.com/scotus/416163/trump-supreme-court-deport-immigration-convention-torture AI license plate readers: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/06/10/cities-halt-license-plate-readers/ Trump wanted a police state: https://rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-police-state-troop-deployment-los-angeles-1235360655/ ICE escalates on purpose: https://wsj.com/us-news/protests-los-angeles-immigrants-trump-f5089877 Voters don’t like it: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3924

Caitlin and Trent reconnect with librarian and intellectual freedom advocate Katie Talhelm for an update about the legislative attacks on public and school libraries since we last spoke. She provides a window into the procedure libraries follow to decide which books to acquire.UPDATE: Texas Governor Abbott announces special legislative session beginning June 21 https://texaspolitics.com/2025/06/23/gov-abbott-unveils-special-session-plans-reviews-legislative-wins/ResourcesLibrary collection development: https://ala.org/tools/atoz/Collection%20Development/collectiondevelopmentTX SB 12: https://kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-dei-ban-public-schools-final-approval-house-senate/269-eae4ff23-c1fe-46e1-bea0-73dc220fbe12TX SB 13: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/26/texas-school-library-bill/TX HB 3225: https://kltv.com/2025/05/29/tyler-reps-bill-ban-explicit-library-books-minors-falters/TX SB 412: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/02/texas-legislature-teachers-parents-protections/ Rep. James Talarico on SB 13: https://instagram.com/reel/DKVRGhEJyCN/?igsh=c3huYzRydHF4M2hkRep. Anne Johnson on HB 3225: https://youtu.be/TCNioq57WIA?si=9tJU6MtqT9U_LptVPhoto of Moms for Liberty founder: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty#/media/File%3ATina_Descovich_on_Reason_Magazine.jpg

Trent and Caitlin talk to their old friend Clay Jackson, a former litigator and current licensed attorney in Texas. They discuss his plans to embrace a life in his new home on the range, recent developments in immigration rights, and the death penalty in the US. They discuss the history and justifications for the practice, highlight the stories of some Texas men who are wrongfully convicted, and ask listeners to advocate for the people currently sentenced to death.Support the Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org Upcoming executions: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/upcoming-executionsPolice abuses in LA: https://bbc.com/news/articles/cj93d3r0zz0o Inhumane conditions in ICE facility: https://cbsnews.com/news/immigrants-at-ice-check-ins-detained-and-held-in-basement-of-federal-building-in-los-angeles/ Legislators denied entry to ICE facility: https://nytimes.com/2025/06/08/nyregion/ice-detention-federal-plaza-nyc.htmlStephen Milller & Kristi Noem pushing for more abuses: https://newrepublic.com/post/195787/stephen-miller-screams-ice-not-arresting-enough-peoplePortland, OR: https://opb.org/article/2025/06/06/asylum-arrest-portland-yzlh/ JD Vance threatens Menswear Guy: https://axios.com/2025/06/09/vance-post-suggests-deporting-the-menswear-guySources for the history of execution:https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/history-of-the-death-penalty/#fn6https://archive.org/web/20131129221302/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1023 https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/lawes-divine-morall-and-martiall/ https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/yeardley-sir-george-bap-1588-1627/ Wilkerson v. Utah: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/99/130/Furman v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/ Gregg v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/153/ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/criminal-defense/second-degree-murder/ Public opinion on death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/research/analysis/reports/year-end-reports/the-death-penalty-in-2024/public-opinion “Eye for an eye” dominates reasons for support https://news.gallup.com/poll/1606/Death-Penalty.aspx No evidence for deterrent effect: https://scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-does-not-support-the-use-of-the-death-penalty/ Financial costs: https://cato.org/blog/financial-implications-death-penalty Bryan Stevenson’s Book: https://justmercy.eji.org/ Our hero Gretchen Sween: https://gsweenlaw.com/uploads/1/3/1/1/131145032/light_got_in.pdf Robert Roberson: https://themarshallproject.org/2023/09/15/texas-shaken-baby-syndrome-baby-death-robert-robersonCharles Flores: https://freecharlesflores.com/Pablo Torres Finds Out: https://youtu.be/JUm2YgmBG1o?si=z4FCTmrrblxpAwIZ

Caitlin and Trent talk with Maureen Kosse, a linguist from Colorado who researches the semiotics of alt-right and far-right discourse. We talk about how everything is cuck—the right-wing cannot get over their insecurities about masculinity, sexual control of women, and people of color, and their visceral horror of people who are different from themselves—and how we’re all paying for it now in the form of a government whose members are involved with and fans of the figureheads of those very online, very gross movements.Resources:Maureen’s paper: https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.1558/genl.21079 Katie & Stephen Miller/Elon Musk: https://yahoo.com/news/breaking-down-claims-stephen-millers-130000331.html Ye Cuck: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuck_(album) Birth control: https://breitbart.com/tech/2015/12/08/milo-birth-control-makes-people-less-attractive/ Limbaugh: https://rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/07/22/trump_was_supposed_to_be_gone_by_now/ Lewis on ‘cuck’: https://dailycaller.com/2015/07/23/whats-behind-the-cuckservative-slur-nsfw/ Yiannopoulos on ‘cuck’: https://breitbart.com/politics/2015/07/28/cuckservative-is-a-gloriously-effective-insult-that-should-not-be-slurred-demonised-or-ridiculed/ 10 Signs You Might Be A Cuck: https://web.archive.org/web/20151220181840/http://www.returnofkings.com/68170/10-signs-you-might-be-a-cuckservative “Racially conscious whites” https://thepoliticalcesspool.org/jamesedwards/the-american-cuckservative/ Kevin DeAnna: https://splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/emails-reveal-identity-longtime-white-nationalist-propagandist-onetime-conservative-insider/DeAnna & Thiel: https://buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/peter-thiel-donald-trump-white-nationalist-support Don’t Be A Cuck, Zuck: https://breitbart.com/social-justice/2016/05/17/dont-be-cuck-zuckerberg/ Bannon vs. Kushner: https://thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-calls-jared-kushner-a-cuck-and-globalist-behind-his-back/Cuck Lite Beer ad: https://youtu.be/yHtQtk20aUg?si=Zn3K5u1K2Fo7M6zU Yarvin on electioncucks: https://graymirror.substack.com/p/vae-victisMusk: “Zuck is a cuck” https://forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/07/10/musk-hits-below-the-belt-with-latest-zuckerberg-attacks-zuck-is-a-cuck/ Nick Fuentes booted from TPUSA conference: https://msn.com/en-us/news/world/white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-booted-from-tpusa-conference-israel-controls-this-event/ar-BB1ofsDM

Trent and Caitlin talk to Layla al-Sheikh, who provides the history and context of the establishment of the Israeli state on Palestinian land, the many displacements and violent ethnic cleansings of the last century in that region, and the evolving relationships of the surrounding nations with the United States.Resources:Theodore Herzl https://britannica.com/biography/Theodor-HerzlNakba https://un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/ The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile https://monthlyreview.org/product/disinherited/ Dear Palestine https://sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/dear-palestine Said on the Oslo Accords https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Edward-Said-%C2%B7-The-Morning-After-%C2%B7-LRB-21-October-1993.pdf US as “Israel’s Lawyer” https://aljazeera.com/news/2011/1/24/israels-lawyer-revisited America and Iran https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/59417/america-and-iran-by-john-ghazvinian/Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East https://beacon.org/Brokers-of-Deceit-P1029.aspx Image of Dead Sea: https://openverse.org/image/collection?source=flickr&creator=trialsanderrors