SHOW NOTES SUMMARY:

Crypto markets crash $79B as Baron Trump allegedly profits from shorts. Trump tours Asia for rare-earth theater while Canada prepares historic condemnation of U.S. human rights abuses. The election theft machine operates in plain sight: Cyber Ninjas alum runs DHS election integrity, Cleta Mitchell trains poll watchers, SCOTUS targets voting rights, and Republicans now own the voting machines they claimed were rigged. Blue Jays battle through 18 innings, down 2-1 in World Series.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ Bezos Fires 30,000 While Trump Demolishes the East Wing He Paid For

Amazon announced plans to lay off 30,000 workers in a massive push toward robotics and AI—the same quarter Jeff Bezos spent $100 million on his own wedding. This comes the same week Trump is demolishing the White House East Wing that Bezos helped fund with a $20 million donation. The timing exposes the complete lack of humanity from tech oligarchs who’ve pledged allegiance to Trump. Bezos told everyone “democracy dies in darkness” when he bought the Washington Post, but his heel turn is complete. He’s not here to employ Americans—he’s here to fire as many people as possible now that drones and self-driving vehicles can do the work. While the economy sheds jobs at historic rates and Americans struggle to afford groceries, Bezos fires minimum wage workers to pad margins. The billionaire class got what they wanted from Trump, and American workers are paying the price.

4️⃣ CBS Loses the One Anchor Who Challenged Trump

John Dickerson is leaving CBS News after 16 years, abandoning the Evening News anchor chair just months into what was supposed to save the third-place newscast. He publicly challenged his own network earlier this year for settling Trump’s lawsuit over the Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview, asking the question that mattered: “Can you hold power to account after paying it millions?” CBS is losing one of the few anchors willing to interview Trump critically—he did it more than 20 times and moderated two presidential debates in 2016. The network already lost executive producer Bill Owens who cited interference from executives. Dickerson’s exit raises obvious questions about whether CBS made his position impossible after he broke ranks on the Trump settlement.

3️⃣ Trump Floats Third Term—Again

Trump continues telling supporters “I would love to” serve a third term, refusing to rule out strategies to circumvent the 22nd Amendment’s explicit two-term limit. The Constitution couldn’t be clearer, but Trump’s repeated references create a permission structure among his base to treat the idea as viable rather than legally impossible. Congress has introduced legislation reaffirming the 22nd Amendment specifically because of Trump’s rhetoric. The pattern is familiar: normalize the constitutional violation through repetition, then claim popular demand justifies it. Every time he says it, he moves the window further.

2️⃣ Alberta’s Independence Rally Is Hybrid Warfare

Twenty thousand Albertans filled Edmonton demanding sovereignty in what looked like grassroots populism. It wasn’t. The same day, Trump announced 10% additional tariffs on Canada—days after canceling trade talks over a Reagan commercial. X’s algorithm amplified the protest through bots and politicized accounts using the refined convoy playbook. Two months ago, Putin made his first U.S. visit in a decade—to Alaska, meeting Trump for three hours about “infrastructure.” Days ago, the Kremlin proposed an Alaska-Siberia tunnel using Musk’s Boring Company. Every route requires Alberta territory—geography offers no alternatives. This is the Ukraine playbook without tanks: identify the geographic corridor essential to strategic objectives, apply coordinated pressure until it fractures. Alberta faces simultaneous pressure from Trump’s economic warfare, Russia’s infrastructure blueprint, and China’s rail concept. If Alberta destabilizes, North American energy security collapses and USMCA fractures.

1️⃣ $40 Billion Argentina Bailout Protects Trump’s Crypto Investment

Treasury delivered a $40 billion rescue to Argentina—$20 billion in currency swaps, $20 billion in sovereign debt facilities, plus peso purchases—officially to support libertarian President Milei. Actually? The same two weeks, Tether scrambled to raise $15-20 billion while expanding gold operations. Trump pardoned Binance founder CZ on October 23, eliminating the regulatory threat to Tether’s liquidity. Argentine beef import quotas quadrupled to 80,000 tons, directly benefiting Adecoagro—the agricultural empire Tether bought 70% control of earlier this year. Tether now holds $127 billion in U.S. Treasuries, making it a top 20 holder of government debt globally. Trump’s family launched the USD1 stablecoin in Tether’s market. A Tether collapse would eviscerate Trump’s financial positioning after two years cultivating crypto wealth. He’s using taxpayer money to backstop the company at the center of his personal fortune—while screwing American ranchers and farmers. Even Tommy Lahren noticed Trump turned his back on American beef to buy inferior Argentine product, though she’s not quite connecting why.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Donald Trump canceled trade negotiations with Canada in an overnight Truth Social tantrum not over substance. Not over economic disagreements. Over a television commercial.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford authorized a $40 million ad campaign—now increased to $75 million—featuring a 1987 Ronald Reagan speech explaining why tariffs devastate your allies. Trump saw it during his television monitoring session and detonated. He accused Canada of “cheating,” of “fraudulently” using Reagan’s words, and claimed Canada was attempting to “illegally influence the United States Supreme Court” ahead of a critical tariff ruling.

The accusation is absurd on its face. The Reagan speech exists on YouTube. His anti-tariff position is extensively documented. Ford simply deployed Reagan’s own argument against Trump’s trade war. But Trump’s fury achieved the opposite of suppression—he amplified the very message he wanted buried. The Reagan speech now dominates news cycles, its view count exploding as Trump’s tantrum directs millions of Americans to hear their conservative icon dismantle the current administration’s signature economic policy.

The commercial exposes more than Trump’s thin skin. It reveals the fundamental weakness of his tariff position. Reagan’s speech from 1987 flawlessly argues why tariffs harm American consumers and damage relationships with allies. When your best defense requires claiming Reagan secretly loved tariffs despite his recorded speeches saying the opposite, your position collapses under scrutiny.

But the commercial controversy masks a deeper conflict. Behind Trump’s manufactured outrage sits a harder truth: Mark Carney’s government refused to give Trump what he actually wants. Canada was preparing to announce a sectoral deal covering steel and aluminum. Trump demanded more. He wanted Canadian energy included. He wanted American access to Canada’s rare earth minerals—lithium, and other resources representing some of the largest deposits on Earth.

Carney said no. Canada is executing a nation-building project to extract and control these resources, diversifying buyers beyond American dependence. Trump’s team made their position clear: include energy in the deal. Grant America first right of refusal on mining operations. Open Canadian resources to American plunder. When Carney refused, Trump’s negotiating team issued threats. Shortly after, Carney publicly declared negotiations over. He essentially told the American president to go f**k himself on national television—in diplomatic language, but the message landed clearly.

Trump found this embarrassing. Doug Ford embarrassed him with Reagan’s words. Carney embarrassed him by refusing his demands and walking away. Now Trump faces a strategic problem: Canada controls resources America desperately needs, and Canada’s government won’t surrender them to American pressure. Ford and Trump make an interesting matchup—two similar personalities, both corrupt populists, now clashing across borders. The difference: Ford fights for Canadian interests while Trump fights for Trump.

Dean Blundell interrupted his niece’s wedding reception in British Columbia to record this episode because Canada’s position matters. The message from north of the border: Canada won’t abandon America or American values, but it absolutely will not do business with Trump’s regime. Canada believes in North American democracy enough to fight for it—and possesses the leverage to make that fight meaningful.

Trump wanted this negotiation conducted quietly, with Canada accepting subordinate terms. Instead, Reagan’s ghost rose from the wrecked East Wing to deliver an economics lesson Trump can’t refute, while Carney demonstrated that democratic allies don’t surrender sovereignty to authoritarian threats. The commercial will keep running. The Reagan speech will keep circulating. And Canada’s rare earth minerals will keep developing under Canadian control.

Trump remains free to throw tantrums on social media. The adults are conducting actual statecraft.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Nick Paro, Northern Variables, Cat, Pamela, Leah Anderson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell and Lev Parnas! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl landed this week, and it’s already sparking conversations that go far beyond the salacious Epstein headlines. On today’s FiveStack, we brought in journalist Tara Palmieri—who traveled with Giuffre for her investigative series Broken: Seeking Justice—to cut through the noise and explain why this book matters.

The details Giuffre provides aren’t just about naming powerful men. They’re about understanding how predators identify and exploit vulnerability. Giuffre describes abuse starting with her father, continuing with family friends, and escalating to life on the streets by age 11. By the time Ghislaine Maxwell found her, Giuffre was what Palmieri calls “easy prey”—a young woman who had never experienced healthy boundaries or pure love.

“When you read the true story of her life, you realize she was constantly being abused,” Palmieri explained. “She went through cycles of abuse starting as a young girl. She didn’t know what it was like to be loved purely, the way a parent should love their child.”

The book reveals how Epstein positioned himself as protector rather than predator. Giuffre saw them as family in a twisted way—she and Maxwell would collect seashells together, she showed empathy for Epstein’s own supposed childhood trauma. Even while traveling the country with Palmieri, Giuffre would reference Epstein constantly, pointing out a desalinization plant and noting “Jeffrey wanted to do that.”

This isn’t the behavior of someone scheming for a payday. It’s the profile of someone whose brain was fundamentally altered by sustained trauma. Palmieri emphasized that abuse at this level literally changes brain formation, making survivors vulnerable to revictimization and mental health struggles.

The memoir also puts to rest conspiracy theories about Giuffre being killed or operating as some kind of sophisticated operative. She was a severely traumatized young woman navigating a world that offered no protection. The powerful men she was trafficked to—and the institutions that looked the other way—were the sophisticated operators.

Which brings us to the other critical element of this story: the banks. As Zev noted on today’s show, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank knew what was happening. They weren’t passive bystanders—they were part of the infrastructure that enabled Epstein’s operation. The girls weren’t just victims of individual predators; they were casualties of a much larger system of corruption that has undermined democracy itself.

Palmieri hopes the book will do more than satisfy curiosity about Epstein’s network. She wants it to save lives—to help other survivors recognize they have agency, to help society understand the mechanisms of trafficking, and to shut down the dismissive narratives that frame victims as opportunists.

The book opens with Virginia’s own words about why she wrote it, acknowledging the personal cost of going public. As Palmieri pointed out, many survivors struggle with how much to reveal. Giuffre chose radical transparency, giving readers access to the complexity and nuance that proves her truth.

For anyone who has questioned Giuffre’s credibility, Nobody’s Girl provides the answer. Not in dramatic revelations, but in the accumulation of painful detail that could only come from someone who lived it. The book is both Virginia’s reclamation of her own story and a roadmap for understanding how abuse compounds, how predators operate, and how institutions fail.

Tara Palmieri’s work with Epstein survivors continues through her Red Letter Substack and The Tara Palmieri Show, where she gives voice to those seeking justice. Her deep reporting on the Maxwell family and years traveling with survivors like Virginia Giuffre has positioned her as one of the most trusted journalists covering this story.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Today’s FiveStack turned into something we didn’t expect—a passionate, substantive debate between two whistleblowers about how to actually stop Trump’s authoritarian takeover. But first, they agreed on the foundation: it is our sacred duty to defend against tyranny. That’s not up for debate. The Constitution demands it. History requires it. The question isn’t whether to resist—it’s how to organize that resistance most effectively.

Lev Parnas came on with a singular message: the Epstein files are the key. They contain direct evidence of Trump’s criminality. If the resistance makes their release the singular, relentless demand, it’s game over. But the resistance is scattered across a hundred battles, exhausting itself on symptoms while ignoring the disease.

Zev pushed back: history shows authoritarian regimes don’t fall to single revelations—they fall to sustained, visible resistance that makes the system unsustainable. We need coordinated protest at Lafayette Square, not scattered demonstrations Trump can pick off. One growing chorus outside the White House using the constitutional right to petition for redress of grievances, backed by Federalist 28’s defense of the people’s right to resist tyranny.

It was the kind of debate the resistance needs to have out loud. Not because there’s an easy answer, but because the strategic choices matter. While Trump demolishes the White House for a billionaire ballroom and considers pardoning sex traffickers, everyone agrees on the sacred duty. The genuine disagreement is about execution.

The Parnas Perspective: The Epstein Files Are The Key

Lev’s position is stark and uncompromising. The Epstein files contain direct evidence of Trump’s criminal conduct. They’re the roadmap to the corruption inhabiting the White House. Maxwell got Trump’s “Queen for a Day” immunity deal during her proffer sessions—meaning she gave prosecutors information in exchange for limited immunity. That information almost certainly implicates Trump directly.

Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir drops today, documenting her trafficking by Epstein and Maxwell starting at Mar-a-Lago when she was 16. Her testimony died with her when she took her own life at 41. Meanwhile, rumors swirl about potential clemency for both Maxwell and Diddy. Trump’s clemency record proves he pardons anyone who can offer him something—money, loyalty, silence.

Lev’s thesis: if those files become the singular demand of every protest, every congressional inquiry, every media interview—if Democrats and Republicans alike face constant pressure to release them—it’s game over for Trump. This is the smoking gun. This is the direct evidence. But instead, the resistance is scattered across a hundred different battles, exhausting itself on symptoms while ignoring the disease.

His concern about current protests runs deeper: Trump’s playbook expects scattered First Amendment demonstrations. He wants protesters in Portland and Chicago to show up predictably so the National Guard can arrest them, label them Antifa, and use them as examples of “chaos” requiring more authoritarian crackdown. The game has changed. You can’t play 1960s protest tactics in a 2025 authoritarian framework and expect the same results.

“Trump understands that most people want to use the Constitution against them,” Lev argued. “What most people don’t understand is Trump doesn’t care about the Constitution you’re trying to use against them.”

The Shalev Counter: Lafayette Square And The Constitutional Right To Resist

Zev’s response acknowledged the power of the Epstein files—yes, they matter, demand them. But he offered a different organizing principle rooted in the document Trump claims to revere but actually fears: the Constitution itself.

The vision is specific: sustained, coordinated protest at Lafayette Square, directly across from the White House. Not scattered demonstrations in Portland and Chicago that Trump can pick off with the National Guard. Not one-time marches that generate headlines then dissipate. A constant, growing presence—organized with volunteer shifts, coordinated messaging, visible every single day.

The demand: release the Epstein files. Hear our votes. Redress our grievances. Restore democracy.

The constitutional foundation: Federalist Paper 28, where Alexander Hamilton wrote explicitly about the people’s right to resist tyranny. Hamilton understood that when government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, the people must have recourse. He wrote: “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.”

This isn’t revolution—it’s the Constitution working as designed. The right to petition for redress of grievances isn’t a polite suggestion. It’s the escape valve the Founders built in when they knew tyranny would eventually come again.

History proves the model works. South Africa’s apartheid didn’t collapse from one revelation—it fell when sustained resistance made the system unsustainable. Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. Eastern Europe’s Velvet Revolution. Everywhere authoritarianism crumbled, it was because people maintained presence, the international community couldn’t ignore it, and the cost of suppression exceeded the cost of capitulation.

“I’m not calling for a revolution,” Zev stressed. “I’m calling for what the Constitution explicitly protects—sustained, visible, peaceful resistance using our sacred right to defend against tyranny. One location. Growing numbers. Volunteer shifts so people can participate without burning out. Make it impossible to ignore and impossible to suppress without proving our point about tyranny.”

Yes, maintain every other check and balance—the courts, the investigations, the documentation, the congressional pressure. But center it all around one visible manifestation of the people exercising their constitutional right to say: this government has lost its legitimacy, and we will be heard.

Meanwhile, Democracy Gets Demolished

While two men debated strategy, the news kept rolling in:

The White House is literally being torn down. Demolition crews began ripping apart the East Wing with backhoes to build Trump’s $250 million ballroom—despite his explicit promise the construction wouldn’t “touch” the existing building. After photos went viral, Treasury immediately gagged employees from sharing images. The 90,000-square-foot addition is financed by corporate donations up to $25 million from Apple, Amazon, Coinbase. Power buying access while destroying the People’s House.

Trump’s nominee for the Office of Special Counsel—the agency that investigates discrimination—told a Republican group chat that MLK’s holiday belongs in “the seventh circle of hell.” Paul Ingrassia used racial slurs, declared all Black holidays should be “eviscerated,” and admitted “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time.” His confirmation hearing is Thursday.

Trump’s Putin summit collapsed. Days after announcing they’d meet “within two weeks,” the White House now says there are “no plans” for a meeting “in the immediate future.” Russia rejected his freeze-the-conflict proposal. Zelensky warned that Russia only negotiates when Ukraine has weapons—the opposite of Trump’s approach. The Art of the Deal president can’t close.

And Canada’s Blue Jays are going to the World Series. Down 3-1 in the seventh inning of Game 7, George Springer sent one over the fence. For the first time in 32 years, the team from the “fake country” will play for America’s national pastime trophy. Lunch pail kids versus the $600 million Dodgers. If they win, does Trump invite them to the White House he’s demolishing?

The Debate Matters

Here’s why today’s argument between Lev and Zev matters more than the usual resistance platitudes: they agreed completely on the foundation. It is our sacred duty to defend against tyranny. The Constitution demands it. The Founders built it into our framework knowing this moment would come. That’s settled.

But the strategic question—where to focus limited time, energy, and resources—is where they genuinely disagree.

Lev believes the Epstein files are the smoking gun that ends this. Everything else is a distraction from the one thing that could actually bring Trump down. The resistance needs to stop scattering its energy and demand one thing relentlessly until it breaks through.

Zev believes sustained, visible, constitutional resistance at Lafayette Square—combined with all other checks and balances—is what history shows actually topples authoritarian regimes. Not one revelation, but sustained pressure that makes the system unsustainable. South Africa. Ukraine. Eastern Europe. The pattern is clear.

These aren’t easily reconciled positions. Lev sees focused demands on files as the strategy. Zev sees Lafayette Square protests demanding multiple things—including transparency on Epstein—as the strategy. One emphasizes singular focus. The other emphasizes sustained, visible, multi-front pressure.

Both men have earned the right to their positions through their sacrifices and their witness. The debate between them is the debate the resistance needs to have—not to pick a winner, but to understand the strategic choices in front of us.

Because the endpoint everyone agrees on: this government has to go. The sacred duty to defend against tyranny isn’t debatable—that’s the Constitution talking. The strategic execution is what patriots are arguing about, and that argument matters.

What do you think? Join the conversation below.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

From White House betrayals to posthumous truth bombs, here’s what matters today.

5️⃣ Trump Betrays Ukraine Behind Closed Doors

In a Friday White House meeting that went exactly as predicted, Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hand over the entire Donbas region to Russia or face destruction. Sources say Trump literally threw maps across the room, warning that “Putin will destroy you if you don’t agree now.” The about-face came immediately after a call with Putin, who demanded full control of Donbas as his price for peace. Just days earlier, Trump had mused about giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles—a promise that evaporated the moment Putin made his demands clear. European intelligence sources, including former Danish intelligence officer Jacob Carsbo who joined us today, called it “predictable” and part of Trump’s pattern of capitulating to Moscow whenever crucial decisions approach. Zelensky left Washington disappointed again, now rallying European support while asking the question that haunts this entire charade: “Who says Putin won’t go further in a few years? Who can guarantee that?”

4️⃣ 7 Million Americans Proved Democracy Still Works

Saturday’s No Kings protests saw 7 million peaceful demonstrators across 2,500 locations—zero arrests in New York City’s 350,000-person march, zero arrests in Chicago’s 250,000-person demonstration, zero arrests nationwide. Compare that to January 6th’s violent insurrection: over 1,000 arrests, 140 injured police officers, $1.4 million in Capitol damage. The contrast couldn’t be starker, yet House Speaker Mike Johnson called peaceful protesters “pro-Hamas supporters, Antifa types, and Marxists” while Republicans urged Americans to stay home and watch football instead. Trump responded by posting an AI image of himself as “King Trump” dumping sewage on protesters from a fighter jet. When millions exercise their constitutional rights peacefully, and the president fantasizes about attacking them with excrement, you know exactly who the authoritarian is.

3️⃣ DOJ Whistleblower Fired for Refusing to Lie

Erez Reuveni, a decorated Justice Department lawyer who defended Trump’s first-term immigration policies so effectively he was promoted quickly in the second term, was fired after refusing to falsely label a wrongly-deported man as an MS-13 terrorist. In a damning 60 Minutes interview, Reuveni described DOJ official Emil Bove—Trump’s former criminal defense attorney—telling career lawyers that if courts tried to stop deportation flights, “we may have to consider telling that court, ‘f**k you.’” Over 35 federal cases now show judges criticizing the Trump DOJ for providing false information, with one warning that “trust earned over generations has been lost in weeks.” This isn’t about immigration policy—it’s about an administration that views courts, truth, and the rule of law as obstacles to power rather than foundations of democracy.

2️⃣ Ingraham Goes Into Business With Trump Jr.

Fox News star Laura Ingraham, who spent years attacking Hunter Biden’s business dealings as corrupt, has joined a special-purpose acquisition company with Donald Trump Jr. seeking to raise $260 million. The SPAC explicitly plans to capitalize on “America-first cultural shifts after the 2024 election” with Ingraham chairing the compensation committee that controls payments to the president’s son. This is the same host who claimed Hunter’s clients expected “certain benefits in return from the U.S. government” and that “the Bidens are getting richer while your family is getting poorer.” Now she’s literally cashing in on her loyalty to Trump’s family while covering them on her primetime show. No credible news outlet would allow this conflict of interest—but Fox crossed that line when they put Lara Trump on the payroll.

1️⃣ Virginia Giuffre’s Final Truth Bomb Drops Tuesday

Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir “Nobody’s Girl” publishes Tuesday with leaked allegations that a former prime minister—widely believed to be Israel’s Ehud Barak—raped her so violently she bled from her “mouth, anus, and vagina for days.” The book stands as Giuffre’s final testament in her decades-long fight against Jeffrey Epstein’s network, a fight that already brought down Prince Andrew, who just announced he’s giving up his “Duke of York” title. Flight logs show Barak visiting Epstein’s New York mansion monthly for over a year. This isn’t just another name—it’s proof that the international scope of Epstein’s trafficking operation still hasn’t been fully exposed or held accountable, and that some of the world’s most powerful men remain terrified of what Virginia knew.

Show Notes Summary: Trump told Zelensky to surrender Donbas or be destroyed in a brutal White House meeting. 7 million Americans peacefully protested authoritarianism while Trump fantasized about dumping sewage on them. A DOJ whistleblower was fired for refusing to call a wrongly-deported man a terrorist. Laura Ingraham went into business with Trump Jr. after years attacking Hunter Biden. And Virginia Giuffre’s memoir drops Tuesday with bombshell allegations against a former prime minister.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Mike Harkreader, HoldingTheLine, Courtney 🇨🇦, Jason Dyer, monique, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell and Jacob Kaarsbo! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

5️⃣ The Putin-Trump Tunnel: When Satire Becomes Strategy

A Kremlin operative is openly marketing a tunnel from Russia to Alaska with a trade corridor carved through Canadian sovereignty, and Trump finds it “interesting.” Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s point man who runs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has flooded social media with the proposal—even tagging Elon Musk’s Boring Company—while passing documents through Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna. The plan treats the Yukon and British Columbia as empty space on a map, ignoring that pesky detail of Canada being a sovereign nation. Putin doesn’t need this tunnel built; he needs the conversation normalized. Every tweet about avoiding World War III by building bridges with Russia is another step toward forgetting Ukraine exists. The audacity isn’t the proposal itself—it’s watching American officials legitimize it in real time.

SPECIAL NO KINGS COVERAGE TOMORROW

Nick Paro of Banner & Backbone will go live with Narativ with Zev Shalev on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET for ‘NO KINGS’ LIVE COVERAGE. If you’ll be at a protest, please share video and/ or photos or go LIVE - Notify Banner & Backbone via DM of where you’ll be and how you can take part.

4️⃣ Venezuela Prepares for America’s Next Forever War

Maduro is mobilizing troops and militias along the Caribbean coast as the largest U.S. military buildup since the 1980s continues growing offshore. The Pentagon has B-52 bombers, eight warships, and Special Operations helicopters circling less than 90 miles from Venezuela’s coast while Trump floats the idea of ground troops. Venezuela’s military might be underfunded and ill-trained, but guerrilla warfare doesn’t require billion-dollar weapons systems—it requires terrain, desperation, and time. Iraq and Afghanistan taught us that overwhelming firepower means nothing when you’re fighting an asymmetric war in unfamiliar territory. The Senate is trying to stop this escalation, but Trump keeps blowing up boats and planning invasions while bypassing congressional oversight entirely.

3️⃣ The Drug War Produces Witnesses

The sixth U.S. boat strike in Caribbean waters killed an unknown number of suspected traffickers Thursday, but for the first time, survivors were captured and detained on a Navy vessel. Twenty-seven people are confirmed dead across these operations, and now the administration has prisoners creating massive legal problems they didn’t anticipate. Trump claims he’s in “armed conflict” with terrorists, but international law requires protecting captured combatants. Admiral Alvin Holsey, who oversaw these strikes, is stepping down after just one year of a typical three-year assignment—convenient timing as Congress questions whether any of this is legal. The Pentagon won’t publicly announce operations, won’t explain the legal framework, and can’t answer what happens to these prisoners now that they exist.

2️⃣ Bolton Learns the Price of Telling the Truth

John Bolton pleaded not guilty Friday to 18 counts of mishandling classified information, facing 180 years in prison for keeping diary notes while serving as Trump’s national security adviser. His book was reviewed and cleared by White House classification officials, but Trump has wanted him prosecuted since 2020 when “The Room Where It Happened” was published. The Wall Street Journal editorial board called this what it is: retribution. Bolton worked for Trump, got discarded over policy disagreements, then criticized him publicly. The lesson is clear—loyalty to Trump matters more than loyalty to country, and the criminal justice system exists to punish his enemies. If Bolton had praised Trump instead of exposing him, he’d be on Fox News right now instead of facing life in prison.

1️⃣ Trump Chooses Putin Over Ukraine (Again)

Zelensky arrived at the White House Friday seeking Tomahawk missiles to strike deep inside Russia, but Trump had just finished a call with Putin that produced a Budapest summit and sudden skepticism about providing the weapons. For days Trump suggested he might give Ukraine the missiles; one Putin phone call later, he’s saying “we need Tomahawks for the United States too.” Putin has suffered no new tariffs while every other nation faces Trump’s trade barriers. Putin never faced consequences for ignoring Trump’s May ultimatum demanding a 30-day ceasefire. Putin keeps successfully delaying American support for Ukraine by dangling summits and trade deals, and Trump keeps taking the bait. Zelensky spent the night at Blair House this time instead of being expelled from the Oval Office, but that’s cold comfort when Putin controls the conversation.

This Saturday marks another historic #NoKings day of action, with 2,600 rallies scheduled across America and expectations of 10-25 million participants. When your grandchildren ask what you did to stop authoritarianism, you’ll want a better answer than “I stayed home.” The fight against fascism has always been the American story—from World War II to the streets this weekend. Show up. Be peaceful. Don’t take the bait. Make history.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

SHOW NOTES SUMMARY: Putin promotes Alaska tunnel through Canada as Trump wavers on Ukraine aid. Venezuela mobilizes for potential U.S. invasion while boat strikes produce prisoners creating legal chaos. Bolton faces revenge prosecution as #NoKings rallies prepare for historic turnout.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The mask isn’t slipping anymore—it’s been thrown in the trash. Florida Congresswoman Ana Paulina Luna just did something that would have ended careers a decade ago: she publicly solicited documents from the Kremlin, received them from Russia’s ambassador, thanked Moscow on Twitter, and promised to publish whatever they handed her. No CIA vetting. No intelligence community review. Just a direct pipeline from Putin’s regime into the U.S. Congress.

And Lev Parnas, who sat in rooms with these exact people when they ran this playbook in 2019, says what we’re watching now is the 2016 operation moved from the shadows into daylight.

The Document Drop

Luna announced she received a 350-page Soviet-era report on the JFK assassination directly from Russia’s ambassador to Washington. She called it “of massive historical significance” and promised translation and public release after “expert review.” Within hours, Kirill Dmitriev—Putin’s economic envoy who was investigated during the Mueller probe—amplified her statement as evidence of “productive U.S.-Russia dialogue.”

This should sound familiar. It’s exactly what happened in 2019 when Lev Parnas and Rudy Giuliani pushed Russian disinformation through congressional Republicans to attack Joe Biden. The difference now is they’re doing it openly. No backchannels. No coded language. Luna is thanking Moscow by name and treating sanctioned war criminals like legitimate diplomatic partners.

“Back then, when I put a picture out of Senator Johnson or Rudy Giuliani standing with Andrei Derkach, a sanctioned Russian agent, they all were like no, no, no,” Lev told us. “Now you fast forward. They’re doing it on Twitter.”

The Normalization Letter

On October 8th, Luna sent a letter on congressional letterhead announcing her scheduled meeting with Kirill Dmitriev. She wrote about fostering “conversations of peace and trade between Russia and the United States,” claiming “our two countries do not need to be enemies.”

Notice what she emphasized: “Trade” appeared twice. “Peace” appeared once. Missing entirely: any mention of Ukraine’s 30,000 abducted children, the ongoing invasion, or Russia’s systematic war crimes.

Lev knows Dmitriev’s history intimately. “Kirill Dmitriev was born in Kiev, Ukraine during the Soviet Union, just like myself. He came to the United States, went to Ivy League schools, married a woman who is partners with Putin’s daughter, then went back to Russia to head the Russian Direct Investment Fund. In 2017, he met Jared Kushner in Saudi Arabia. That’s where this all started.”

The connection between Dmitriev, Kushner, and Steve Witkoff runs through decades of Russian capital flowing into American real estate, technology startups, and political campaigns. Leon Black sat on the RDIF board. Stephen Schwarzman maintained connections. This isn’t conspiracy theory—Lev was there. “I was sent by Giuliani and Trump to help with the Russian and Ukrainian vote in Israel when Netanyahu was running. I was working with Huckabee, with Netanyahu’s son Yair. There was no daylight between me and all these people.”

The Theater of War

While Luna schedules meetings with Putin’s envoys, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood in Brussels threatening Russia with American firepower. Trump floated Tomahawk deliveries to Ukraine. Russian MiG-31s violated Estonian airspace. The war drums are loud.

But Dmitriev doesn’t seem worried. His Twitter feed tells the real story. Two hours before our show, he defended Steve Witkoff against “fake news” about stepping back from the administration. He praised Trump’s team. He attacked critics. He amplified Luna’s JFK document announcement.

“If Donald Trump was upset with Vladimir Putin for one second, trust me, Kirill Dmitriev would not be flying over here to meet with Ana Paulina Luna,” Lev explained. “Trust me, Steve Witkoff would not be going to Moscow. Trust me, Melania would not be maintaining direct communication with Putin. Watch their body language. Watch their actions. Forget what comes out of their mouth.”

The chaos serves a purpose. NATO countries stockpile weapons for their own defense instead of sending them to Ukraine. European allies grow uncertain about American support. Russia gains time to grind forward in the east. Delay becomes strategy. Distraction becomes policy.

The Endgame

Luna’s document stunt isn’t isolated. It’s the culmination of Trump’s post-Alaska summit strategy to rehabilitate Russia’s international standing. The plan depends on Ukraine’s eventual collapse, allowing Trump to broker a “peace deal” that hands Putin territorial gains while opening trade relationships that benefit American oligarchs invested in Ukrainian resources.

“This was supposed to happen in Ukraine just like it happened in Gaza,” Lev said. “Ukraine was supposed to be the Palestinians. They were supposed to take it down. That’s why Trump keeps saying he thought this would be the quickest war—because Putin promised him Russia would roll through in weeks.”

But Ukraine held. Zelenskyy didn’t fold. The timeline collapsed. So now Trump’s team works to normalize Russian relations anyway, hoping exhaustion and reduced Western support will eventually break Ukrainian resolve.

Every meeting between congressional Republicans and Putin’s envoys moves that normalization forward. Every document exchange. Every softening of rhetoric. Luna isn’t a rogue actor—she’s the pilot program for how Russian influence will operate in Trump’s second term. Out in the open. Shameless. Betting that Americans have stopped paying attention.

“What you’re seeing here is nothing compared to the manipulation in Europe,” Lev warned. “Telegram is the number one app there. Russia has bought media, social media, entire political parties. They have decades of money and control we’re only beginning to understand here.”

The infrastructure for Russian influence no longer operates in shadows. Ana Paulina Luna accepts documents from Moscow’s ambassador. Trump’s advisers shuttle between Washington and Moscow. Sanctioned officials tweet support for administration policies. And Lev Parnas, who helped run this operation before his conscience caught up with him, is trying to warn anyone who’ll listen that what once required backchannels now happens on congressional letterhead.

The bear is at our door. Are we going to open it for him?

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Ellie Leonard, Nick Paro, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Oleksandr Bolbirer, Robin Payes, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell and Lev Parnas! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

The Week Democracy Pushed Back

This week revealed something remarkable: the paper tigers are showing their papery construction.

5️⃣ Trump Allegedly Delayed Gaza Ceasefire For Electoral Advantage

NPR reporting from 2024 suggests Trump’s circle urged Netanyahu to hold off on Biden’s ceasefire framework so Trump could claim the peacemaker title. The delay cost roughly 20,000 Palestinian lives between Trump’s inauguration and this month’s announcement. Biden’s plan—three phases, hostage exchanges, staged withdrawal—was the same structure Trump just signed off on, only delivered six months late with premium lighting. Meanwhile, a leaked Gaza redevelopment plan called The GREAT Trust reads less like humanitarian relief and more like a real estate prospectus, complete with digital property tokens and “voluntary” relocation language. As Dean Blundell reported at deanblundell.substack.com, this is staged peace—a war extended for a better camera angle while a real estate-first rebuild plan quietly set the table. Trump flew to Tel Aviv for photos. Netanyahu skipped Egypt, knowing he’d face a room full of leaders who despise him. There are no detailed implementation plans. Five Palestinians were shot by IDF forces the day Trump declared peace. Much like the migrant crisis, Trump chose to prolong human suffering so he could be the one taking credit for solving it.

4️⃣ Barron Trump Proposed For TikTok Board

Jack Advent, Trump’s former social media manager, wants 19-year-old Barron Trump on TikTok’s board as the platform transitions to American ownership under Oracle, Silver Lake Partners, and Michael Dell. Barron—currently at NYU’s Stern School of Business—has already made approximately $150 million through his father’s crypto ventures and serves as an ambassador for World Liberty Financial. Political science professor William F. Hall warns the appointment could create “an appearance of impropriety” around “ethics and enrichment by public officials.” But let’s be honest: putting the president’s teenage son who’s fluent in internet culture on a social media platform’s board is probably the least corrupt thing happening in this administration. It’s still nepotism. It’s still self-dealing. But at least Barron actually understands TikTok.

3️⃣ Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Out “Weak Republican Men”

The Jewish space laser lady is having a moment of unexpected clarity. MTG is conducting what Republicans call “a media blitz from hell,” attacking Mike Johnson’s shutdown strategy, siding with Democrats on healthcare subsidies, and supporting efforts to release Epstein files against Trump’s explicit wishes. She argues only one Republican woman chairs a committee versus five Democratic women, while Trump stocks his cabinet with female leaders. Greene slammed Johnson for giving Elise Stefanik “some honorary b******t role” after yanking her UN ambassadorship to reward Michael Waltz despite his Signalgate scandal. She’s one of only three Republican women joining the Epstein files discharge petition. This isn’t principle—it’s survival. Greene reads the tea leaves and sees what’s coming. She’s creating daylight between herself and the pedophile protector crowd before those 218 signatures hit and the files drop.

2️⃣ Major Airports Reject Noem’s Partisan Propaganda Video

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem produced a TSA checkpoint video blaming Democrats for the shutdown and unpaid workers, then mandated airports play it on repeat for captive audiences. Las Vegas declined due to “political messaging.” Portland cited Hatch Act violations—the 1939 law prohibiting federal employees from using public assets for partisan politics. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey refused, as did Seattle, Charlotte, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Westchester County called it “unnecessarily alarmist” and “inconsistent with values we expect from top public officials.” Even airports understand propaganda when they see it. Watching Noem blame Democrats for a shutdown caused by Republicans controlling every branch of government would be comedy if it weren’t being forced on travelers waiting for delayed flights.

1️⃣ Fox News Joins Networks Rejecting Pentagon Press Rules

Here’s the headline: Fox News stood with ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN to reject Pete Hegseth’s unprecedented Pentagon press policy requiring journalists to sign loyalty pledges restricting their reporting. Only One America News signed on. Everyone else—from the Washington Post and New York Times to right-wing outlets like Newsmax and the Washington Examiner—said no. The policy prohibits accessing information the Pentagon doesn’t officially provide and threatens credentials for non-compliance. Starting Wednesday, for the first time since 1943, no major outlets will be accredited to cover the department spending nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer money. Pentagon journalists spent Tuesday emptying decades of accumulated equipment from their workspace. When Fox breaks with Trump to stand with mainstream media, you’re witnessing authoritarian overreach so blatant even state-friendly outlets can’t stomach it. Hegseth is waving goodbye to empty press rooms with emoji, apparently unaware he just lost the information war.

The Pattern

Five stories. One through-line. Trump manufactures crises and “solutions” to distract from Epstein files, tanking approval ratings, and the government shutdown he caused. He’s waging war on Americans at home while cosplaying as a peacemaker abroad. He’s trying to lock up red states through gerrymandering before the 2026 midterms while his approval ratings crater. He’s attempting to control Pentagon reporting, airport messaging, and social media platforms while institutions push back harder than they have in years.

The No Kings rallies this weekend could hit 10-15 million people—approaching that critical 5% threshold where protest movements successfully challenge authoritarian governments. Trump shut down the government and allegedly delayed a Gaza ceasefire for better optics. He’s putting his teenage son on corporate boards and his propaganda on airport screens. And for once, the pushback is unified, loud, and coming from unexpected places.

Democracy isn’t dead. It’s just finally waking up.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe

Two federal judges question presidential authority as administration stages bizarre press conference comparing American protesters to ISIS

5️⃣ Katie Porter’s Gubernatorial Campaign Faces Turbulence

Two videos derailed California Congresswoman Katie Porter’s frontrunner status in the 2026 governor’s race this week. First, she berated a CBS reporter for asking about Trump voters. Then a 2021 clip showed her screaming at a staffer to “get out of my f*****g shot” during an online discussion. Porter’s non-apology—claiming she holds herself and staff to “high standards”—fell flat as Democratic opponents piled on. Former controller Betty Yee called for her to drop out entirely. The whiteboard queen who built her brand interrogating corporate executives just revealed she can’t handle basic questions or control her temper when challenged. In a state exhausted by unhinged leadership, Porter’s character test became her character flaw.

4️⃣ Gaza Ceasefire Signed, But Details Remain Murky

Israel and Hamas signed the first phase of a ceasefire deal Thursday that halts fighting and releases all remaining hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gaza detainees. Trump claimed credit and announced he’ll travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony with hostages expected Monday or Tuesday. The thornier issues—Hamas disarmament, Israeli troop withdrawal, Gaza’s future governance—got kicked down the road to “phase two.” Netanyahu reportedly called Trump to say “everybody’s liking me now,” which tells you everything about how both leaders measure success. More than 67,000 Palestinians died in this two-year war. The deal brings relief, but leaves the hardest questions unanswered.

3️⃣ Trump’s Naked Hunger for Nobel Peace Prize Reaches Climax

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announces this year’s winner Friday, and Trump’s months-long public campaign has been nothing short of desperate. Pakistan, Israel, Cambodia, and Taiwan nominated him. Pfizer’s CEO lobbied for him. He called Norway’s finance minister while the man walked down the street to “float the topic.” The 79-year-old president claims he’s “settled seven wars” and says not winning would be “a big insult to our country.” Multiple sources say his hunger for the prize accelerated the Gaza ceasefire announcement—a former Israeli negotiator noted “the Friday morning deadline is shaping the timeline.” The Peace Prize Committee typically hates public campaigns. Trump’s done nothing but campaign publicly for months. He won’t win.

2️⃣ The Three-Part Scaffold to Tyranny Takes Shape

The Trump administration built a deliberate pathway to militarizing American streets in under two weeks. First came NSPM-7, mobilizing DOJ, Homeland Security, Treasury, and the IRS against “organized political violence.” Then Wednesday’s surreal White House “Antifa roundtable” where Kristi Noem claimed she arrested the founder’s girlfriend—except Antifa started in 1922 Italy fighting actual fascists, making that girlfriend 145 years old. Kash Patel vowed to “follow the money” and crush donors. Trump bragged his administration has “taken the freedom of speech away” to prosecute flag burning with one-year prison sentences. Now senior officials confirm they’re drafting legal justifications to invoke the Insurrection Act and send active-duty troops into cities. The memo created the bureaucracy, the spectacle created the narrative, the Insurrection Act provides the muscle. It’s a playbook assembled in real-time, and it’s falling apart just as fast.

1️⃣ Federal Courts Question Where Presidential Power Stops

Two federal courtrooms held simultaneous hearings Thursday on Trump’s National Guard deployments to Chicago and Portland—a watershed moment for presidential power and military force on U.S. soil. In Chicago, Judge April Perry pressed administration lawyers to define limits, noting “I am very much struggling to figure out where this would ever stop.” In Portland, the Ninth Circuit heard whether courts can even review the president’s deployment decisions. About 500 troops are staged for Chicago operations, with 200 Texas National Guard members sleeping in vans outside a Broadview immigration facility. Oregon troops remain federalized but blocked from entering Portland by a Trump-appointed judge who called the deployment unconstitutional. Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt broke ranks, criticizing the Texas deployment as violating “states’ rights” and federalism. The legal question cuts deep: can presidents declare cities are in “rebellion” and send in troops, or do courts check those claims against reality? Oregon’s lawyers argued Trump’s assessment is “untethered from reality.” The Trump administration argues courts have no authority to review these decisions at all. These rulings will define how far a president can go.

The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email [email protected]. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.

Thank you Cash Flow Collective, Nick Paro, Cat, Cathy R. Payne, Nancy McAllister, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narativ.org/subscribe