Chapo Trap House and the rise of the dirtbag left

I find it amusing enough as a light podcast for driving but they're going to have to move on to keep listeners.

Agreed, I think this will be a necessity after the inauguration anyway

tbh I mostly enjoy their eviscerations of liberal commentators/thinkers - fish in a barrel, sure, but undeniably satisfying

Have never listened to the show, read the article, I think i follow a couple of them on twitter. I hadn't realized they responded to the article with vicious mockery on their show, that's kind of a bummer since I saw them responding to outraged CTH devotees on twitter with essentially "chill the fuck out, it was a pretty good profile."

in the following episode they emphasized that they were embarrassed by people defending them

I think the 'jerks being jerks' stuff is overstated. I've listened to 10-12 eps now and there's nothing really offensive? They pick on dweeby Twitter people and pundits.

The episodes where they read from Ross Douthat and Megan McCardle's books are the best I've heard, followed by the interview with Adam Curtis.

Can someone explain to me how this podcast and its Patreon patrons are connected to progressive causes by something stronger than the tether between Hot Shots: Part Deux and the US Navy?

It's an Air America show that can survive on its listener base, I don't think anyone's expecting them to start a revolution with a podcast. It's amusing to listen to a talk show with an actual left-wing viewpoint.

At least some of them are active with DSA and similar groups but they're also just relatively privileged liberal arts college NYC alt-media people.

I'm realizing I could have asked the same question about Das Racist (RIP) and gotten kind of the same answer and it would have been fine. Why I felt the need to ask it of a podcast as if that requires a different kind of "authentic" pedigree is weird, and my thinking needs unpacking on that

Can someone explain to me how this podcast and its Patreon patrons are connected to dirtbag causes?

I think I need it explained to me how they are not directly related

I've listened to most episodes, it's a great podcast. Their coverage of the primaries was often very funny. An early ep had a great guest who detailed the situation w teacher strikes in Mexico. Occasionally they do succumb to the more deluded and counter productive tendencies of hardcore Berners though.

i'll out myself. matt's a thoughtful guy. felix is lol in most moods and he reminds me eerily of turkey-obsessed college friends i miss; also i found his les mis reading compelling. will clearly guides the whole thing and holds episodes together but imo is the blankest when he goes on the attack. some episodes really are just them giggling at their own press clips. thought it was completely hilarious that their william f buckley impression was actually a capt. peter peachfuzz impression.

obviously the keep it negative dickhole zing crew should run podcasting

I don't think "keep it negative" is a fair summation of their worldview

a vigorous and funny response to the alt-right is probably a good thing, but this just sounds like a load of jerks being jerks

maybe if we brainstormed some more descriptions of trump's hair

afaict they're in the same gen x/millenial straddler segment as a bunch of my peers, sneer at the gen x detachment and corporate institutions equally, and are well-versed in the web communities that predate the 4chan weird bullshit, parallel to or members of somethingawful and other shit of the time

idk it's a thing where every political opinion coming from them seems like a deep-seated reaction from living through the late 90s and early 00s and that's the lens

douthat rip is savage

I'm trying to catch up to the Trap House but these things are like 90 minutes long. I'm on episode 4. By the time they're talking about current events, Trump's first term will be over

I thoroughly enjoy the Chapo Trap House. When I first discovered it it felt like a real catharsis to hear other people roughly my age or a little younger shredding New Democratism and bad centrist punditry of both liberal and conservative varieties but not in a lefty crank, counterpunch sort of way.

I can't say I love the new format with more regulars and preferred the dynamic of just Felix-Matt-Will. I like Amber and Virgil Texas individually I just don't feel like the show works as well with them regularly participating.

ALSO as I think we talked about a little on the podcast thread, it seems harder for them to find their footing in a Trump world, now that the irrelevant centrist punditry has actually been rendered irrelevant.

I'm trying to catch up to the Trap House but these things are like 90 minutes long. I'm on episode 4.

I've found that playback at 1.25x speed can be your friend.

i couldn't get through an episode of this, even though i generally agree with them

it just... isn't funny at all, or insightful. probably because the things that are funny and insightful in sad leftist twitter aren't funny outside of sad leftist twitter

Whiney, just listen to the Freeway Ross Douthat episode then skip to current events. Discussing the conventions doesn't really work as entertainment six months after the fact.

being a completionist about a politics podcast is the most onion a/v club thing i've ever heard

I tried to listen to an episode but I just found it unbearable, but I realize I should have listened before I read that interview they did with Paste, which is hands down the most embarrassing thing I read last year: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/07/chapo-trap-house-are-the-vulgar-brilliant-demigods.html

i've encountered enough asshole know-it-all leftists on twitter (including at least one of the chapo guys, i think) that i haven't exactly been eager to give this a try.

"I haven't listened to this but I don't like it based on reading an article about it" is the most boring and non-contributing thing you can possibly say.

Except I did listen to it?

Like, "I tried to listen to an episode" is the first goddamn thing I say in my post

They do definitely reflect the worst of leftist Twitter at times. Like it's clear from recent episodes their way of continuing in Trump World will be to still hammer Clinton relentlessly land act like centrist democrats are worse than actual fascists. They are really mad at Hillary for losing to Trump when all I heard from them for months was that she was just as bad.

The show works better for me when Matt or Amber bring up something that show they've done a but more homework on this stuff.

My particular fave episodes are stuff like having on Adam Curtis, Matt Karp on his book on Antebellum American politics setting up race science and eugenics shit trickling down to Breitbart, or even the pilot ep of sorts where they excoriate the weird mentality behind Michael Bay's "13 Hours."

xp p sure they're mad at hillary for beating bernie with the weight of the DNC behind her, propping up trump as an easy win and then running an embarrassing general election campaign built on "of course i'll win"

and given that this toolbag seems to be the presumptive 2020 favorite of the DNC, which has not shown any indication of shifting platform aside from a few pockets of support for keith ellison, keeping the fire under the democrats might be the only thing that saves us from 4 additional years of actual fascism

Nerderik P.

The "weight of the DNC" that Bernie's ramshackle campaign couldn't overcome but Obama could somehow. We can blame this vague "rigging" for Bernie's loss (and not acknowledge that maybe he should campaigned in the south) but can't admit the Comey letter had an effect on Hillary's?

After the primary was pretty much over they called the differences between Trump and Clinton "a wash". Matt Christman perpetuated the deluded idea that the Bernie delegates at the Nevada caucus were "disenfranchised", just as one example. Granted it wasn't the job of the left to get Hillary elected (I'd have personally preferred Bernie for a number of reasons) but you don't get to act mad at her campaign for losing when you perpetuated the equivalency narrative throughout the campaign. Many Dems have been able to acknowledge that she was a vulnerable candidate that we were stuck with because not enough people ran but it seems like it would literally kill many on the left to just say "we got carried away".

Also, encouraging people to spread "Bernie Would've Won" memes is pretty asshole-ish and counter productive but I don't know maybe stopping actual fascism will require purging People who don't hate Hillary but I could be wrong.

but you don't get to act mad at her campaign for losing when you perpetuated the equivalency narrative throughout the campaign

You kind of do? I listened to the post-DNC podcasts and a lot of commentary revolved around things that seemed iffy even at the time when it seemed like a lock - trotting out Mike Bloomberg, the lineup of neocon security/military people lining up for Hillary, etc.. It goes back to 2000/2002 - if you're going to present Republican-lite as the face of the party why wouldn't the voters who are into that just vote for real Republicans? They were also right back then on focusing on decency being poor judgement.

Were the Hillary fainting jokes in bad taste? Sure. That's still the most tiresome part of the podcast, but it's also a fairly small part of it.

Funny thing about Bloomberg is we was one of the few convention speakers who got kind of a positive reaction from the Bernie or busters there when he mentioned that he described himself as an "independent" what or John Lewis got anti-tpp chants. There was definitely messaging problems w HRC's campaign but given the consequences of the election (potential loss of social programs for one) people with visibility on the left seemed reluctant to encourage voting for the obviously better choice of the corny old lady and pickedvthr campsign apart for things all high level campaigns do becuae they were probably confident she was going to win anyway.

Also, encouraging people to spread "Bernie Would've Won" memes is pretty asshole-ish and counter productive but I don't know maybe stopping actual fascism will require purging People who don't hate Hillary but I could be wrong.

― Nerdstrom Poindexter, Wednesday, January 4, 2017 3:23 AM (twenty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't think spreading memes has ever been productive in any direction

seriously didn't realize there were still people aside from high ranking democrat pols and frederik who think the answer to defeating trumpism over the next 4 years is to double down on the 2016 strategy

this is some gluing humpty dumpty together again shit

that Bernie's ramshackle campaign couldn't overcome but Obama could somehow

yeah it's almost like these are two different candidates running on entirely different platforms with entirely different relationships to the DNC

how close are you to running out the "of course the DNC sank bernie, he wasn't a member of their party!" argument that was briefly popular 8 months ago in an entirely different america

Yes, Mike Bloomberg is a well-known figure on the socialist lecture circuit. Hugely popular on the left. Yuge.

It is a reminder that the one thing worse than jokes about Hillary's medical problems is the narrative around BernieBros and "Bernie or Busters" where whatever ills that pop into your head can be ascribed to them.

The fundamental disconnect here appears to be your belief that the left's issue with Clinton is that she was "corny."

xxp obvs

I never said "everything was perfect w HRC's messaging except that leftist twitter and this podcast didn't like it". I'd have preferred a different candidate but Hillary won the primary, she was obviously the better candidate compared to Trump. When you vote for a candidate you are voting a coalition into office. Making equivrlrncies beyeeen her and Trump was ridiculous then (kind of offensive actually when you put in perspective ) and looks even more ridiculous now. Maybe you can post the photo of them at a party together I've seen a million times and I'll withdraw that.

We have social media, we know the left got "carried away" I don''t see the point in denying that base level reality. I mean people were literally crying st the convention because they thought Bernie would get the nomination somehow.

kinda like liberals were hoping beyond hope that the Electoral College would swoop in and save the day - shit happens when you get emotionally invested.

I don't know what false equivalencies you're talking about, I've heard the Chapo people repeatedly talk (without irony) about Trump and the GOP's fascism, the worst they've said about centrist Dems is "managerial neoliberalism."

it's the duty of all good dirtbag leftists to shut up and keep compromising with (read: unquestioningly supporting) managerial neolibs. it's the new realism, baby.

I mentioned it before, a direct quote, I think it was Christman who called the choice between Trump and HRC "a wash". They used the example of Harlow's "wire monkey" experiments to bemoan the false difference between the two for a couple of episodes. Will Menaker was pretty insistent that HRC was intent on invading Iran which reminds me of Michael Tracy's now mocked POV that Trump was the peace candidate between the two , guest Jeremy Schahill seemed to take him back when he said that he thought Trump was likely to invade a country and she wasn't. Amber said on twitter that the DNC leaks had evidence of "massive corruption" which on one level I have to wonder is that disingenuous or just dumb? But I have a particular ire for people on the left who say those leaks constitute actual whistleblowing, you're basically continuing a right wing smear when you do that.

I genuinely like the show a lot. It's one of my favorite podcasts I find most of the analysis good. There are just these points of obstinance the left has that are troubling toward the end of unifying the party and there is no hope of the primary is relitigard forever. Smugly tweeting "Bernie Would Have Won" at people might be kind of shitty I don't know.

What's the point of politics if you can't be smug

just listened to the adam curtis episode. good stuff. can see the point now. remains to be seen whether they can sell a valid vision of a chapo trap house world though

Also in this sketch Felix name checks “misogynoir,” a word made up and used exclusively by grad students who don’t have enough characters left to type “misogyny against black women.”

Weird dig from the writer re 'exclusively by grad students' - too scared to put 'pretentious' or what?

Side note that term was invented BY a Black woman (actually queer Black feminist writer Moya Bailey) who presumably is entitled to describe her own experience and see if people like her agree. Clearly at least some do. Conversation over.

I still listen to this (the free show) though I'm annoyed by how often they can't seem to get an episode going and fall into the podcasting stereotype of being guys in a room cracking each other up with in-jokes while not being very entertaining.

Also, can't wait for the one dude to retire his hilarious Hillary impression, which is just an oddly emphasized madlib over and over: "I may not be (90s cultural figure) but I can really (phrase associated with that figure)."

I do laugh at the stuff they read sometimes, but it seems like lengthy re-enactments of Taibbi close-reading a Tom Friedman book, except that the people they attack are often twitter nobodies.

The clip of Michael Rappaport dissing them and their "coffee smelling breath" was funny though.

being a completionist about a politics podcast is the most onion a/v club thing i've ever heard

Listening to a podcast is the most Onion a/v Club thing and I'm embarrassed enough as is.

can someone explain to me what the hell michael rappaport's deal is? like i only recently figured out he did that ATCQ documentary thing (haven't seen it) and is a comedian/actor that's been in a bunch of stuff, but apparently he's also the broiest man alive and beefs with his teen son on twitter?

if this is too much of a sidebar i'll take it elsewhere

slogging through a pre-election podcast sounds fucking miserable

cumtown was a self-described "leftist podcast"

not so much "horseshoe theory" as it is not-funny hacks with zero principles in their quest for likes, larfs, and $

if the situation is too difficult for you, go back to your edge lord safe space where it's ok to call one another the R word. as for us on this board, i think we'd all prefer to live in reality. people suck, get over it. and yes you should feel embarrassed for even intimating a defense of these dumbasses and that hateful piece of shit ariel pink.

the dude out here defending RYM and Rick and Morty, watching The Orville, posting all over Zappa and TBMG and Magic the Gathering and Norm MacDonald threads, writing treatises on vaporwave... you may want to take a look at the people in your immediate circle there, dogg

― Whiney G. Weingarten

AND you're a hypocrite

you know what, i'm sorry. i don't give a shit about any of this and i'm not going to post about it anymore

I could never get into Cumtown, and found Stav the most iritating part of the few episodes I heard, but seems like he was smart to jump ship

cumtown was a self-described "leftist podcast"

lol no, it wasn’t. It’s (unlistenable) juvenile shock comedy. I see no reason to ever listen to the cretins who host it but reading any broader political angle into this about leftists and ‘Hillary stans were right’ is very very dumb.

Cumtown is a swim through a sewer - you know what you're getting when you dive in. It was definitely not a "leftist podcast" nor a political podcast in any sense.

that twitter files revelation about Matt was pretty funny

you guys think that the chapo-to-fash pipeline isn’t real? then how come all the chapo hosts combined into a single person to serve as DeSantis’s top bodyguard? pic.twitter.com/aY0cg25qqz

— ettingermentum (@ettingermentum) March 2, 2023

loooool

trueanon going to see shen yun is what I needed

https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/04/09/a103686837.html

Software CEO Racial Jake’s interview on New Tang Dynasty TV about the “wonderful” matinee performance of Shen Yun he just saw 👇👇👇 https://t.co/Zjpgi3NCSY pic.twitter.com/tMHD5KdJcd

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) April 14, 2023

Interview deceptively edited to remove all mention of Avicii…

— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) April 14, 2023

oh god they posted it

Yung Chomsky is Steve Goldberg??

https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/04/09/a103686837.html

Taylor Swift go on Cumtown

The Sun is reporting that Taylor Swift and 1975’s Matt Healy are dating. pic.twitter.com/RpoYtmdBDa

— Pop Tingz (@ThePopTingz) May 3, 2023

re Yung Chomsky

https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/4527936

https://www.patreon.com/posts/89694571

Matt's in hospital for something that will require "a significant period of recovery". Plus his daughter is due to be born on Sunday.

xp yeah that was floating around along with some other details of him in prior ventures

still pretty funny on the name coincidence

really awful news about matt christman :(

I hope it’s one of those things that’s urgent but also relatively low risk. Sounds like the timing couldn’t be worse

:( love to matt.

from the sound of the update, looks good but not out of the woods.

Will reading a prepared statement will always sound ridiculous. It took me a minute to realize it was serious and that the emergency medical situation was not the birth of the kid.

Looking forward to Matt recovering and coming back to the show to read all the tweets wishing him dead

lol. yeah would be a good replacement for riffing on the Desert Storm trading cards. The streams had been really good lately though.

now that I’ve listened to the update it sounds pretty bad. hoping for the best for the Christmans

[matt christman livestream]

I don’t think class consciousness will be attainable in our lifetimes. But I do think the seeds for an egalitarian society are already planted, we just have to water them.

*5 sec pause, looks at chat*

No I haven’t tried the new BK Spider-Man burger

— city steps transit advocate (@ohip13) June 5, 2023

Positive news

welcomed little baby christman into the world this morning, and she is perfect. today is a great day!

— amber rollo (@ambercrollo) September 24, 2023

TED TALK: “I had a stroke, I experienced ego death and collective consciousness. I realized we are one with the universe.”

ME: “I experienced that Dracula was cool.”

— crisp mattman (@cushbomb) November 25, 2023

Get well soon, Matt. Posting on Twitter probably won’t help this process, but…

S4 of Blowback is really good

TBH I'm kind of shocked that something this well-researched and professionally done was co-created by a member of the Chapo extended universe.

Christman has been recovering in public on Twitter, which I would posit as not being the best idea, but one wonders if they’d be able to stop him

idk these are some good tweets

CINESTE CORNER: it the characters was feeling good. He was clearly “I Feel Good”thus the theme I feel good.

— crisp mattman (@cushbomb) December 10, 2023

over/under on number of copies Amber's memoir will sell - 25

The latest episode of Trueanon was pretty great and had ILX alumni Max as the guest

Yeah, and they got into internet overexposure but also problems that educators are seeing with schoolchildren w/r/t screens and literacy

Kingfish, where can I find your podcasts? I lurk enough here (for 20+ years omg) but don’t keep up with the meta stuff like DN changes but you must have mentioned it at some time

My own show is kinda defunct but was called “Giving the Mic to the Wrong Person”

You can find it on iTunes and SoundCloud:

http://soundcloud.com/givingthemic