The Insurgents

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.insurgentspod.com Kat Abughazaleh joined us this week to talk about the student encampment in DC, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and whether Seinfeld could get made today???????? | You can follow Kat here: https://www.tiktok.com/@katmabu

Jay Willis, editor in chief of Balls & Strikes, joined Jordan to talk about Trump’s Supreme Court case regarding a president’s purported total immunity. The hypotheticals offered by the judges were as absurd as the arguments offered by Trump’s legal team, but Jay shows us what Trump’s ultimate motivation was in this case. You can follow Jay here: https://twitter.com/jaywillis | Become a subscriber to the podcast to gain access to an additional bonus episode every week: https://www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe | Photo by Victoria Pickering 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.com The protests at Columbia University continue to capture the media’s attention, so we take a closer look at who some of the people driving the narratives around it are and what their motives could be.We open, however, with some chatter on the landslide vote at VW Chattanooga, where workers voted by over a 70% margin to unionize.

Barry Williams for New York Daily News Over the last six months as Israel has carried out its genocidal ethnic-cleansing campaign in Gaza, American political and media figures have been more obsessed and fixated than ever before on the dangerous threat being posed by pro-Palestine protests, particularly on college and university campuses. This tension reached a boiling point this week as Columbia University invited the NYPD onto its campus to disrupt the Gaza solidarity encampment there which resulted in the arrests of over 100 student activists. I talked to The Intercept’s Prem Thakker about this situation and the growing divide over the US’s support for Israel between average people and powerful figures in politics, media and acedemia. Find Prem’s reporting with the Intercept here. Subscribe to the Insurgents podcast by clicking this button: 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

Amir Cohen/REUTERS There’s been a lot of speculation about how Iran was going to respond to Israel bombing their consulate on April 1st. We got our answer this weekend and the response took the form of a very deliberate barrage of missiles and drones, telegraphed days in advance, on military targets in Israel that, according to who you ask, was either the worst thing to ever happen or a pathetic failure that Israel (along with its usual allies) repelled easily. Nima Shirazi has not only been talking and writing about Iran, Palestine and Israel for a long time but also co-hosts the Citations Needed podcast which does a fantastic job analyzing the various tactics the media uses to manufacture certain narratives, so he was really the perfect guest to talk about all this with. This would normally be a subscriber-only episode but it’s pertinent and really informative so we’ve gone ahead and unlocked it. BUT, if you do like this show and want to support the work we do, please subscribe if you can. 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

Arvin Alaigh, a political activist and PhD student at the University of Cambridge, joined Jordan to talk about his new piece in The Nation about New Jersey’s “county line” ballot design that helps protects incumbents, preserve power in the party machine and block out insurgent and outsider candidates. But, that ballot design could go away soon thanks to a lawsuit from Rep. Andy Kim. Subscribe to the show to get access to a premium episode every week here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe 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.com Matt Lech, producer of The Majority Report and host of Left Reckoning joined us to talk about the eclipse, how Fox claimed cartels and migrants would use it to cross the border and whether or not the eclipse is woke. We also talk about Elon’s investigation in Brazil, and Trump’s comments on abortion and tax cuts for the wealthy. You can follow Matt here:…

Assal Rad, a Middle East scholar and analyst, joins us to talk about Joe Biden’s conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the pressure and leverage Biden can use over Israel, the fallout from the WCK strike and much more. Subscribe to the show to get access to a premium episode every week here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe 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.com We talk about Chaya Raichik’s visit to Indiana University and her inability, yet again, to answer basic questions about her purported core ideals. We also discuss the Planet Fitness bomb threats which, coincidentally, came after several days of her singling out the company for inclusive locker room policies.Also in the episode: California’s minimum wage…

Dharna Noor of The Guardian joins us to talk about her reporting on the ground in Baltimore after a container ship collided with the Key Bridge, causing it to collapse into the harbor. We discuss the conspiracies and racial myths pushed by the right and the ways some commentators on the left have tried to conflate the crisis with other issues. Dharna also shares the plans to construct a new bridge, how long it will take and the environmental concerns associated with the harbor being out of commission. Subscribe to the show to get access to a premium episode every week here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe 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.com Lauren of the Batting Around podcast joined me to talk about the growing scandal surrounding baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, the ways that sports betting and gambling has become completely inseparable from sports culture, what that says about our broader economic health, and also whether the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge was caused …

David Masciotra, author of the upcoming book “Exurbia Now: The Battleground of American Democracy” joins Jordan to talk about the ways the exurbs—towns outside of the suburbs—have been a breeding ground for radicalization, fringe politics, extremism, militia activity and more. They also talk about their love of Slayer.You can pre-order a copy of David’s book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740832/exurbia-now-by-david-masciotra/—Our most recent premium episode with Andrew Perez of Rolling Stone on AIPAC’s talking points denying mass starvation in Gaza is available here: 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.com Andrew Perez, senior politics editor at Rolling Stone, joins us to talk about AIPAC’s talking points that instruct allies to deny mass starvation in Gaza or that aid is being blocked. We explore why they’re doing that, their role in upcoming elections and the amount of money they’re throwing around this cycle which could have serious consequences at the…

As you all know, normally on The Insurgents podcast we celebrate when political figures from different ideological backgrounds come together to pass bipartisan common sense legislation, but in this case, passing a de-facto ban on Tik Tok — the platform that has transfixed millions around the planet with videos of bottles filled with different colored liquids being pushed down concrete staircases — seems like it might be a step in the wrong direction. Rob spoke to Kat Tenbarge of NBC News to investigate. Please subscribe to the podcast by clicking this button: 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.com Ken Klippenstein is back to talk about his recent story in The Intercept about the Feds’ plans to go after extremist gamers. We explore what their plan entails (or doesn’t) and what 4th Amendment issues may arise with mass data collection. As the government continues to pave new avenues for “countering extremism” we discuss whether they’re actually look…

Mike from PA joins us again to talk about John Fetterman’s ongoing abandonment from his previously espoused progressivism. Mike takes us through the things Fetterman used to do and stand for at the state and local level and we try to get to the root of his antagonistic behavior as of late. We also recap the Super Tuesday results and look ahead to the general. You can check out Mike’s show here: https://www.twitch.tv/central_committee | Our most recent premium episode with Matt Ford about the Supreme Court and Trump’s ballot eligibility is available here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/p/ep-257-scotus-gives-trump-a-win-ft 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.com Matt Ford, who covers the Supreme Court for The New Republic, joins us to explain what SCOTUS actually decided when it ruled states can’t remove Trump from the ballot. We get into the 14th Amendment issues around disqualification the court seemingly ignored, the long-term risks this decision could pose, and what implications this may have on the upcomin…

Dan Boguslaw is back on the show to talk about his piece in The Intercept revealing what went on at the New York Times in the run up to the story alleging a pattern of systemic, organized sexual assault by Hamas on October 7. These explosive claims, Dan and his co-authors Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill found, were not rooted in fact, and the reporters on the story relied on flimsy sourcing. As a result, the piece was used to further justify Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. We also talk about Dan’s piece on how one unionized factory manufactures the entire supply of Zyn, and the vote uncommitted campaign in Michigan. You can check out Dan’s Substack here: https://triggerdiscipline.substack.com/ | Our most recent premium episode with Joshua P. Hill is available here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/p/ep-255-an-extreme-form-of-protest 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.com Joshua P. Hill joins Jordan to talk about Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation, the way media has covered this form of protest, the smear attempts by some pundits and members of the press and more. We also discuss Taylor Lorenz’s interview with Libs of TikTok, Nex Benedict and how best to approach public figures who are responsible for real-world hate. You ca…

Hunter Walker and Luppe B. Luppen, aka “nycsouthpaw,” join Jordan to talk about their new book “The Truce: Progressives, Centrists, and the Future of the Democratic Party.” We talk about the ways progressives and Biden’s camp sought to find unity and build a coalition to defeat Trump and fight for legislation, but how over time and with key White House departures the arrangement became strained. You can grab a copy of their book here. We also talk about Tim Burke’s absurd indictment at the top. His legal fund is here: https://timburkelegalfund.org/ Our most recent premium episode for paid subscribers (Paid Interns!) with Ricky Hayberg of Internet Today is available here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/p/ep-253-we-will-win-the-discourse 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