Empathy Avengers Podcast

From Ukraine's front lines back to Cold War disinformation playbooks, Disinformation analyst Dietmar Pichler helps us connect the dots. 

In this episode, we look at how the U.S. and Europe diverged on COVID and imperialism. We examine how the term "conspiracy theory" became weaponized to discredit dissent and rewrite history in real time, the co-opting of "Communism" as a weapon against the Democratic Socialist movement, and how polarization radicalizes the loudest voices while hollowing out the middle.  

Dietmar shares what it actually feels like to have lived under authoritarian rule and to watch your own democracy teeter on the edge, and the quieter machinery working against dissent: lawfare and SLAPP suits designed to bankrupt and silence critics, NDAs and CDAs used to bury wrongdoing, and the international legal networks that make it all possible. 

We also get into how social media algorithms can throttle or bury dissenting speech with zero transparency.

Sure it's a bit dark, but don't worry, the episode leaves the audience with gratitude for democracy, and a warning: division is the strategy, unity is the defense.

Disinfo Resilience Network: https://www.disinforesilience.eu/

INVED.eu: Inved.eu

Dietmar's 2024 policy brief: https://www.oegfe.at/policy-briefs/disinformation-and-foreign-interference-a-challenge-for-the-eu-and-its-member-states/

National treasure Craig Unger joins the podcast to discuss his tireless research into Russian corruption and influence in American politics.  

• He outlines the origins of Trump-Russian connections and influence dating back to the 1980s!  
• We discuss the 2016 Election and the WikiLeaks story and the lack of impact of the Mueller Report. 
• We get into the impact of social media and disinformation campaigns by foreign and domestic actors, as well as the mainstream media's contribution to 'information laundering' to brainwash the American people. 
• We touch on the grift by Jared Kushner and Trump's ventures into crypto and foreign affairs. 
• And we get a crash course on key figures Dugan, Dubin, Dougin, and other Russian contacts in Epstein's world. 

Dig into all Craig's extensive research on his website here: https://www.craigunger.com/ where you can find his latest book, Den of Spies (2024) and his others, American Kompromat, House of Putin, House of Trump, and other earlier work tracing corruption back to the Bushes, Karl Rove and House of Saud.  
Also follow Craig's ongoing investigative journalism writing at his Substack: https://substack.com/@craigunger

Jim Stewartson's game design background gave him the pattern-recognition to spot exactly what QAnon was doing back in August 2020 — long before most people had heard the term. In this episode, Jim traces that origin story into the bigger picture: decades of Russian influence operations working on Trump and people like Mike Flynn, a through-line from Snowden's leaks to the invasion of Crimea, and the psychological war being waged on our collective ability to think clearly.

Learn all about:

Mirroring — how outsourcing your judgment to your social circle erodes your ability to think for yourself.
Psychological boundaries — knowing your limits and stepping back from content you're not equipped to process.
Legal update — Flynn's lawsuit against Jim was dismissed; Kash Patel's is still ongoing.
The antidote — why radical empathy is key to standing up to authoritarianism.

Resources & links mentioned in this episode:

Support Jim's legal defense fund - www.defendspeechnow.org
Mind-War — Jim's Substack - https://www.mind-war.com/
American MindFuck — Jim's documentary - https://youtu.be/t3wvUkHikWs
Radicalized Truth Survives podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCz5A-aGaSZ4Ws9mLLXVsJIQ

What happens when the people exposing the truth become the targets?

In this episode, we sit down with Jackie Singh — cybersecurity expert for the Biden administration, and host of Hacking But Legal — for a conversation that goes deep on the dark machinery of online harassment. From the Panama Papers to the silencing of whistleblowers, Jackie breaks down how powerful interests weaponize the internet against those who dare to speak up.

She also speaks candidly about her horror at watching Pete Hegseth reshape the Army she once served — transforming it into a religious crusading entity — and what the erosion of church-state separation inside the U.S. military means for the country.

This one is urgent. Don't miss it.

Here's Jackie's article on Strategic Attacks Against Public Participation (SAAPP): https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/p/from-slapp-to-saapp-evolving-tactics

Follow her on all the socials @hackingbutlegal
Her website is https://www.hackingbutlegal.com/

A. Lady, author of "Donald Trump is my Frickin' Guru - Deconstructing the Mirage of Despair whilst Encouraging Presence of Mind", and also writes on Substack under No Blood for Hubris.  

Her background as a Trauma Clinician has given her a unique perspective on what has been happening in the United States.  She helps us understand that we have been under siege, and that the psy-op mind war we are living in can be counteracted by staying true to our humanity.  Don't let yourself fall into a state of apathy, remain repulsed by many of the things that are going on.   

A. Lady explains that our brain's amygdala is the “goat” that Donny gets; it detects incoming threats then shuts down your executive functioning brain, decision making, planning, getting stuff done.  And your prefrontal lobes don’t even know they’ve been hijacked.

Many of us suffer from Dorsal Vagal Collapse - where we have become useless to others, frozen, numb, trapped by feeling helpless, hopeless, and permanently damaged. 

A. Lady approaches this whole thing with levity and humor, as she describes Donny has left us a steamin’ stinkin’ hunka burnin’ snot-stack of helpless hopeless permanently damaged submissive lint.

Don't miss this episode for entertaining moments among real advice to help us get through this moment. 

Get A. Lady's book here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/donald%20trump%20is%20my%20guru
 
And subscribe to her Substack here:  https://substack.com/@nobloodforhubris
 
Trauma resources:

https://janinafisher.com/resources/
https://traumaresearchfoundation.org/ - Note: "Confronting the Forbidden Issues"

Don Goldmacher and Frances Causey join us to discuss their newly updated documentary from 2011, Heist:  Who Stole the American Dream? (updated 2025)

Learn how the Powell Memo and Citizens United destroyed the American middle class and lead to an American Oligarchy.  

Watch the updated version of Heist the Film here:  https://www.heist-themovie2025.com/

Also discussed was Frances' personal documentary, The Long Shadow, which you can find here: https://thelongshadowfilm.com/

Please note this episode was recorded back in December of 2025, before the Iran war, the big batch of Epstein files, and a lot of other crazy news that we've already lived through in 2026.  

Join us as we wrap up 2025 with a recap of the first 10 episodes of the Empathy Avengers podcast!  Mindy and Pamela discuss the highlights from each episode of the first season of our podcast!  Don't miss your favorites and see previews of the other episodes you missed this year.  

At the end, we preview our newest edition to the podcast for 2026, Empathy Avengers Unite: Rants and Raves!  
Happy New Year!  Cheers to an empathetic 2026!

One of Santa Claus' helpers joins us on Christmas to talk about how he gets so much joy from giving back to his community.  He provides us with tips on being Santa Claus, and inspiration to keep the generous spirit alive throughout the whole year.  We then unmask the man behind the beard, Ken Creighton, and reveal lots of other wonderful, charitable activities he has done in his community to become Honorary Mayor of San Pedro, a Los Angeles neighborhood.  We learn all about the best pizza in Connecticut, and we end with an inspirational memory from the White House Christmas in 2024. 

Political Psychiatrist Dr. Karin Tamerius joins the podcast to help us get through the holidays with tips to communicate and plant seeds with our family and colleagues on the other side of the political aisle.  The trick is to tread gently and with respect and not to hope for a major change right away.  

We also discuss retribution lawsuits and how "obeying in advance" is the wrong way to go in this political climate.  This is a must-listen episode to help get through the holidays!    

Karin's substack is The Smart Politics Way: https://karintamerius.substack.com/
The article referenced is "How to Tame a Trump Troll": https://open.substack.com/pub/karintamerius/p/how-to-tame-a-trump-troll/
Karin's upcoming book is "How to Move an Elephant" - her website for more info:  https://www.karintamerius.com/
To donate to the fund to support victims of SLAPP lawsuits: https://www.defendspeechnow.org/

OG Empathy Avengers Fred Silverman and Spocko join the podcast to discuss disinformation and sanitization of the mainstream media and what we can do about it.  

'We the People' can influence corporations like Disney to do the right thing, like putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air (they shouldn't have removed him in the first place, but we pushed back and they put him back within a week.

Don't let them obey in advance and punish them economically when they cave to fascist demands.  Learn tactics on how to fight back by voicing concerns to advertisers to influence their $ spend.  The "Spocko method" took Glen Beck off the air.  

Resources mentioned: 
Matt Binder's podcasts - Doomed: https://doomed.simplecast.com/
Scam Economy: https://scameconomy.com/
Cory Doctorow's new book - Enshittification: 
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/