Chapo Trap House and the rise of the dirtbag left

the most recent premium was really good i thought, most enjoyable episode in a while. amber + will + matt + felix is my favorite chapo configuration

both eps were strong this week, though the Trump segment was a little wearisome just because of the subject matter, even if Roth is one of the only worthwhile writers on the subject

felix has the best twitter

I enjoyed the last two episodes and they’d probably describe me as a “neolib.” 🤷‍♂️ I really like PFT Commenter and David Roth.

I'd prefer PFT Commenter if he just stuck to commenting on Paul F. Tompkins

That Atlantic article about remaking the NY subways was a real find, exactly the kind of thing I come to Chapo for.

His twitter thread on the article is worth a read too:

The subway is a mess. It's time for a radically reimagined underground transportation system, @peterwayner argues. https://t.co/lE7c2Xu66u

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) June 9, 2018

Amazing how many people even find it worthwhile to engage him, as though there is some kind of meaningful and adequately-considered idea here to be debated. Great illustration of (1) my new favorite phrase, which I cribbed from Wild Wild Country: "educated beyond their intelligence," and (2) the fact that a very stupid person can get far in life with the right ideology.

otm the piece itself is somehow ten times dumber than as read on chapo

watching him dig himself deeper and deeper defending it on twitter is just unreal

btw had a dream that the cumtown boys came to my parents' house for rosh hashanah dinner and that Nick Mullen got drunk and "went too far" with the antisemitism and I started beating the shit out of him. Hilarious bc the idea of Mullen "going too far"

haha

realized the other day that unlike nick and stav who regularly plug standup dates in NYC and all over the country, adam never does. then i started cackling remembering the old show description, "hosted by PROFESSIONAL COMEDIANS nick mullen and stavros halkias"

the subway article reminds me of what LA did with the street cars. lets just tear this shit up and be legends! surely traffic will improve once we replace mass transit with individual vehicles.

god the bill clinton book bit killed me

that and the transit article in combination gave me a very eerie feeling like reality has truly ruptured now and will never be recognizable again

The Dennis Miller clip in the new episode is so uncomfortable to listen to. Brain worms jokes aside, my grandma was more coherent in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

Another good(if sporadic) dirtbag leftist pod is Little Beirut, based in Portland:

http://littlebeirutpodcast.com/2018/06/12/little-beirut-ep06-kremlins-2/

Little Beirut - Ep06 – Kremlins 2

This episode features comedian/Russian agent Lee Camp, Portland DSA co-chair/Russian agent Olivia Katbi-Smith, woke Pokémon (Wokémon?), alien sex parties, and Jessie Ventura

the Dennis Miller segment was almost disturbing, wtf is going on with that dude

Sam Seder has been playing Dennis Miller clips for years. DM seems deeply depressed. Just talks about watching Turner Classic Movies all day, afraid to go outside

Just talks about watching Turner Classic Movies all day, afraid to go outside

Godamnit don't make Dennis Miller relateable.

also the Krauthammer reading was great. More vintage reading series pls

Lee Camp pushes a lot of dumb conspiracy shit on his RT show. He’s a worse Joe Rogan basically.

i would like to hit the author of that Atlantic transit piece in the head repeatedly with a hoverboard or scooter

when Will says, unlike Robert DeNiro, "Ted Nugent hasn't been a celebrity since the 70s" 🤔🤔🤔

I find it kind of funny that Red Scare, the closest there's been (to my knowledge) to a female counterpoint to Chapo, is roughly 10x as problematic

hehe

I find it kind of sad

(nb I don't really, I'm doing a bit)

The Chapo and Red Scare takes on Israel/Palestine are...a study in contrasts.

Maybe it's the virtue of low expectations but I'm enjoying the XXXTentacion bonus ep w/ Tarpley Hitt, though it's always funny/jarring when Felix switches to Serious Journalist Delivery

truly he contains multitudes

xp lol Simon I was expecting something like his usual bonus interviews, fewer jokes, but this intro is straight up This American Life ahahaha

lol I had the EXACT same thought listening to the intro. Not sure I can sit through it though, no idea who this guy is or why I should care.

it's only worth it if you buy or are at least somewhat interested in Felix's theses about The Youth Of Today

I'm enjoying it, the fandom for XXX is mystifying to me & this is p informative & certainly better than reading half a dozen thinkpieces

I would pay an extra $1 a month for Felix's theses on vegan hardcore

same

Asad Haider has been having a lot of great interviews lately on the history of collective action and how “identity politics” has been mis-used from its formulation in the 70s. This here is another:

https://thisishell.com/interviews/1009-asad-haider

his book is very good!!!

The interviews I've seen so far don't seem super new/insightful to me if you've already read How We Get Free, which this seems to derive a lot from, but I'm happy to see more of that sort of analysis kicking around

New ep is predictably bifurcated into "joy" and "despair" halves, though Matt's "Hey, hey LBJ...how ya doin', buddy?" bit was a good one

His interviews draw a lot on that book, but he’s able to add to that.

note the date

Can't wait to built a neo-Nazi fanbase that commits pogroms on my order but then reveal that I was doing irony the whole time and it's okay.

— Matt Christman (@cushbomb) September 3, 2016

Matt’s been right a few times

With Nostradamus predictions

Who's claiming irony now?

the bad milo

and speaking of prophecy

Nazi strategy: "Leftists will recognize dog whistles and know we're crypto, but normies won't listen to them." pic.twitter.com/YSkLp1J95C

— Natalie Wynn (@ContraPoints) August 13, 2017

New double-length Mic Dicta on the Supreme Court and, uh, JBP's lawsuit is likely worth a listen.

https://soundcloud.com/micdicta/episode-17-the-truth-is-looking-straight-at-you#t=0:00

the twin attack of virgil's wonksplaining and matt's frustrated rants is too much sometimes

Lmfao at the picture for the new premium episode

who would have thought that the guy on this show to say "before we begin, i have a few cuhveets" would be virgil and not will