Posting Through It

Anthony Cumia was once one of radio's most prolific shock-jocks, best known for co-hosting "Opie and Anthony" from 1995 to 2014. In recent years, however, you're more likely to find Cumia mulling around the white nationalist movement. This episode examines Cumia's life and career, exploring the significant impacts he had on comedy, entertainment, and politics during his profe...

Hannah Gais is a researcher and journalist who covers far-right extremism. She joins the show to look back on the white nationalist “alt-right” movement, eight years after the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia. While the movement today is a shadow of its former self, the ideology that drove it seems as mainstream as ever. On this episode, we explore an...

Mehdi Hasan , a journalist renowned for confronting power directly and dismantling opponents in political debates, joined Posting Through It to reflect on his viral appearance on "Surrounded" — a YouTube debate show that recruited him to argue against 20 "far-right conservatives." Over nearly two hours, his opponents took turns sitting across from him and espousing racist bigot...

Anna Merlan is a senior reporter at Mother Jones who covers disinformation, technology, and extremism. She joined us to discuss the Trump Administration's efforts to address the "Epstein Files" controversy and why calming supporters' anger over this issue has proven particularly challenging. We also explored how right-wing media has sought to downplay Ghislaine Maxwell's role...

Dave Portnoy has leveraged his digital media empire — Barstool Sports — to amass so much political influence that there’s a term for it: " Barstool Conservatism ." This episode retraces the story of Portnoy’s life and career to explain how he made millions combining sports entertainment, reactionary politics, and pizza reviews. It also reflects on Portnoy’s influence within the broader M...

Ben Lorber is a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates. He joined the show for a discussion about the pro-Israel groups cheapening the real antisemitism affecting Jewish people by doing things like pick fights against children’s entertainers like Ms. Rachel and Elmo. How do we keep our moral compass steady against those who seek to wield it as a bludgeon to silence critics of the...

Will Sommer is a senior reporter at The Bulwark, where he authors the newsletter “ False Flag .” A longtime chronicler of right-wing media, Will joins the show to discuss the fallout facing the Trump Administration as it backs off its promise to release the “Epstein Files.” After years of promising to unveil new information about one of the highest profile pedophiles in United States history, the...

Jeff Tischauser , an academic and researcher covering the “white power” movement, joins the show to talk about Patriot Front: a neofascist group known for it’s theatric flash demonstrations and plentiful propaganda. This episode walks through the early years of Patriot Front, scrutinizes its stated beliefs and objectives, sizes up what threat they actually pose, and examines why MAGA keeps allegin...

Mike and Tom — two folks from the anarchist media collective It’s Going Down — joined the show for a conversation about translating the mass appeal of anti-Trump protests into meaningful acts of antifascism against a far-right extremist government. The crew looked back on antifascist organizing in recent decades, discussed ways that anyone can make their activism materially impactful, and consider...

Mike and Jared say hello to the show’s new “Groyper” listeners then talk about Trump’s military parade, the murder of a Minnesota politician, media coverage of “No Kings” protests, Terry Moran’s exit from ABC News, and Democrats’ latest ploy to win new voters. Links: * Molly Ivins: The Fun’s in the Fight Support the show and get access to weekly bonus episodes: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/PostingThro...

Nicholas J. Fuentes is the most prolific white nationalist in America today, and he’s just 26 years old. The Chicagoland native’s nightly livestreams have earned him a cult-following of “Groypers” who have helped him push an entire generation of young Republicans toward racist and antisemitic ideologies. This episode traces notable moments in Fuentes’ life that made him what he is today. Amanda Mo...

Kim Kelly , a labor journalist and author, joined to discuss how unions and other organized worker groups are faring in today’s hostile political landscape. Kim also discussed modern metal music and current-day anarchist organizing. Before that, Mike and Jared talked about MAGA supporters souring on FBI leaders Dan Bongino and Kash Patel as they try to pivot away from “deep state” conspiracy theor...

Mike and Jared return from a week off to discuss Kanye West’s pro-Hitler song, a Minnesota woman’s big payday after calling a child the n-word, Trump Administration officials supporting racist conspiracy theories about “white genocide” in South Africa, and conservative personalities debating each other’s “woke-ness.” (Note: This episode contains explicit language, more so than usual.) And, listene...

Candace Owens soared to right-wing media superstardom within weeks of posting her first YouTube videos in 2017. This episode reviews Owens’ life and career arc, exploring how someone who was victimized by racial hatred in high school became one of the MAGA movement’s most prominent — and most divisive — political commentators. This episode features exclusive comments from Candace Owens, provided t...

Hannah Gais and Steven Monacelli join for a wide-ranging discussion about the state of Twitter (now called “X”) three years after Elon Musk first moved to purchase it. Since then, Musk has transformed the platform into a self-serving MAGA machine that is crowning a new generation of right-wing media royalty. Monacelli walks us through his reporting on one of the platform’s newer standouts — “Capti...

Teddy Wilson , a journalist and researcher, joins to discuss developments within the Radical Right since Trump issued pardons and commutations for every one of his supporters involved in the 2021 riot at the US Capitol Building — including extremist movement members and supporters — at the start of his second term. Mike and Jared take a trip down memory lane to reflect on the ways Republicans have...

Nikki McCann Ramírez , a political reporter at Rolling Stone and co-host of the podcast “ American Friction ,” joined to discuss the inhumane prison system in El Salvador where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants — effectively disappearing them from their families and denying them any methods of recourse. Before she joined, Mike and Jared reflected on the rising power of Stephen...

Tim Pool draws millions of viewers — and dollars — making political podcasts and commentary videos on YouTube. This episodes explores Pool’s evolution, from a self-proclaimed “activist” live-streaming Occupy Wall Street protests to one of today’s most-popular MAGA pundits. Along the way, we review Pool’s early media career, eventual drift into far-right politics, and rapid construction of the medi...

Renée DiResta is one of the nation’s leading researchers of social media and the author of “ Invisible Rulers : The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality ”: a book about the ways social media platforms are used — and abused — to reshape the way we think and behave. Renée also shared her thoughts on the government’s hostility toward researchers who study social media and some of her experiences interac...

Eoin Higgins is a historian and author who joined the show to discuss his book: “ Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left .” The gang talks in-depth about Glenn Greenwald and some of the other characters featured in Eoin’s book, right-wing billionaires’ attempts to undermine the news industry, and 90s techno. Check out Eoin’s other work: * Twitter / Bluesky...

The Anti-Defamation League has invited controversy for its leaders’ coziness with the Trump administration, and for its characterizations of student-led protests against Israel’s mass-killing of Palestinian civilians . Mike and Jared recap the events that got us here, the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, and why they see the ADL’s political maneuvering as cause for concern. Later on, Emmy-nominated repor...

Jack Posobiec is one of the MAGA movement’s biggest social media stars, recently seen accompanying Pentagon officials on an overseas trip and posing for photos with Donald Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office. This podcast explores Posobiec’s early political career and its overlaps with white supremacist movements, “Pizzagate” conspiracy theories, and hostile state influence operations — among ma...

J.M. Berger wrote the book on extremism — literally. The internationally renowned expert discussed methods of defining “extremism” and whether a mainstream political movement, like MAGA, could be accurately labeled that way. Read J.M. Berger’s work: * Extremism (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series) * The Social Construction of Extremism (Dissertation) * Lawful Extremism (Series) A huge thank...

Max Read joins to talk about the online “ Soy Right ” and how the MAGA movement became everything it thought it hated about “soy boy” liberals. This episode pairs well with tofu. Programming note: We’ll be back on March 3. Check out Max Read’s newsletter, “Read Max.” Support the show and get access to weekly bonus episodes: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/PostingThroughIt⁠

Julia Carrie Wong joined the show to discuss her recent exploring comparisons between today’s Democratic Party and Vichy France: a short-lived rump state that capitulated to the German Nazi party in WWII. You can read Julia’s article here: Capitulating to Trump: why people are warning about ‘Vichy’ America . In the wake of recent political events, the trio would also like to encourage those who ar...