I Don't Speak German

We're delighted to welcome back Craig Johnson - of Fifteen Minutes of Fascism - to chat about the politics and value of native English speakers learning other languages, especially Spanish.

Episode Notes:

Spanish language papers:

Pagina12: left Peronist, Argentina: www.pagina12.com.ar Proceso, Mexico: www.proceso.com.mx elDiario.es and Público, Spain: www.eldiario.es, www.publico.es

Again, not an endorsement of these as the best and most perfect news sources in the world, they have their own biases (esp regarding their own domestic left), but good for different perspectives.

Craig:

How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, book.

15 Minutes of Fascism at Soundcloud

IDSG on 15MoF

Craig's bluesky

Craig's Patreon

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

A News Roundup episode, and an episode of two halves. We start with a discussion of the recent public Oval Office meeting between Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa, in which Trump harangued the South African president with accusations of 'white genocide' based on 'evidence' which tracks straight back to people in our usual wheelhouse. Then we move on to a chat about the recent decision by language learning app Duolingo to replace loads of their contributors with AI, plus some dismaying news about Babbel, leading to a discussion of the impending AI jobs crisis. Then we cap it off with an odd flex for us... a feel good story!

Episode Notes:

Trump spreads racist South African Farm Murders Memes in meeting with Ramaphosa

Trump/Ramaphosa meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLkZv3gzO0

Response:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/politics/video/trump-ramaphosa-south-africa-video-larry-madowo-vrtc

*

A check of Trump's false claims about white genocide in South Africa | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-makes-false-claims-white-genocide-south-africa-during-ramaphosa-meeting-2025-05-21/

Trump's evidence of South Africa 'white genocide' contains images from DR Congo – The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/world/africa/2025/05/23/trumps-evidence-of-south-africa-white-genocide-contains-images-from-dr-congo/

Trump confronted South African president with 'evidence' of genocide – here's what the video really showed | The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-south-africa-genocide-video-b2755625.html

Trump ambushes South African president with video and false claims of anti-white racism | Trump administration | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/21/trump-south-africa-president-meeting?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&CMP=bsky_gu

What's Behind Trump's South Africa Obsession? | Benjamin Fogel | TMR https://youtu.be/gR_gwPI5l-0?si=QfWeEuoosYeUD-JG

South Africa to offer Elon Musk Starlink deal ahead of Trump meeting | Business Insider Africa https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/south-africa-to-offer-elon-musk-starlink-deal-ahead-of-trump-meeting/v0k8bxk?op=1

White Nationalists Praise Trump's Promotion Of White Genocide Conspiracy Theory – Angry White Men https://angrywhitemen.org/2025/05/22/white-nationalists-praise-trumps-promotion-of-white-genocide-conspiracy-theory/

Exclusive: Trump Shared Racist, Flat-Earth Facebook Account With South African President https://www.meidasplus.com/p/exclusive-trump-shared-racist-flat

Roaming Charges: White Lies About White Genocide - CounterPunch.org https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/05/23/white-lies-about-white-genocide/

DR Congo: Killings, Rapes by Rwanda-Backed M23 Rebels | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/13/dr-congo-killings-rapes-rwanda-backed-m23-rebels

As Goma ceasefire largely holds, Congo rushes to bury bodies from rebel offensive | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/east-congo-city-goma-rushes-bury-bodies-after-rebel-offensive-2025-02-04/

A white nationalist moved to Idaho in search of an 'ethnic enclave.' He's not alone. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jul/21/a-white-nationalist-moved-to-idaho-in-search-of-an/

*

Duolingo Replacing Contract Workers With AI

The Verge, "Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI"

https://www.theverge.com/news/657594/duolingo-ai-first-replace-contract-workers

"AI isn't just a productivity boost," von Ahn says. "It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn't scale. One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP."

von Ahn's email follows a similar memo Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke sent to employees and recently shared online. In that memo, Lütke said that before teams asked for more headcount or resources, they needed to show "why they cannot get what they want done using AI."

Fortune, "Duolingo CEO walks back AI-first comments: 'I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do'"

"To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before)," he wrote. "I see it as a tool to accelerate what we do, at the same or better level of quality. And the sooner we learn how to use it, and use it responsibly, the better off we will be in the long run."

Babbel quietly ending Babbel Live

Babbel Support, "Discontinuation of Babbel Live"

https://support.babbel.com/hc/en-us/articles/26749152437522-Discontinuation-of-Babbel-Live

"Babbel Live was introduced in 2021. Knowing the power of human teachers, we aimed to offer our learners this experience from their homes. Over time, however, we did see a clear trend: the majority of them did not accept Babbel Live as part of their language learning path, making it impossible for us to sustain it as a business.

This change will help us achieve our goal of helping you become fluent in your new language quickly by enabling us to focus on improving our app, which most learners, especially beginners, prefer."

Boycott Over Upcoming E-sports Event in Riyadh Makes Geoguessr Change Its Stance

Geoguessr Community Protests Esports World Cup by Disabling Popular Maps.

https://www.si.com/esports/news/geoguessr-protests-esports-world-cup

Statement from Feneb, one of the World Championship players, about his decision to boycott the Riyadh event.

https://discord.com/channels/1003591679644807229/1026965093331779634/1375003211513204746

"The decision to participate in the Esports World Cup, which is directly funded by the Saudi Arabian government in an effort to distract public attention from the above human rights violations, is thus directly incompatible with any stated aims by GeoGuessr to promote an inclusive and diverse community, and extremely disappointing. I also do not want to dismiss the issue of hosting a tournament in Saudi Arabia, regardless of whether the event is directly run by the Saudi government or not. It is completely unnecessary to host a tournament in a country which some current or possible future world league players would be unable to travel to safely."

Statement from Geoguessr regarding their decision to reverse the event in Riyadh (Reddit)

https://www.reddit.com/r/geoguessr/comments/1ksky0k/geoguessr_is_withdrawing_from_the_esports_world/

Geoguessr challenge links:

(Standard) World Map

https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/MIJFcVhIFNpVapVs https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/sedHxYRoMPdmFxdZ https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/eIRYCYBhuUUBVIT2

An Official World

https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/tK9A8O1KUXQfZgCu https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/NGYJ4uk0WhxNR5Ui https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/Yc4uD6P8lFISKIgb

A Community World

https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/B87Y20LMvmtDvUwN https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/I9ub9gc9CmoEQpjn https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/ZwKxnW3Ms9UTZZt6

*

The AI jobs crisis is here, now - by Brian Merchant https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/the-ai-jobs-crisis-is-here-now

Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market - The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/archive/2025/04/job-market-youth/682641/

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Daniel and Jack are joined by special guest, South African anti-disinformation advocate, Bianca van Wyk, to discuss the issue of 'South African farm murders', the reality vs the right-wing narrative, some of the bad actors pushing the fake version of the story, and the links to the 'white genocide' conspiracy theory. Bianca helps us get the whole thing into proper context, especially re South Africa's history and current politics. Also discussed: the recent fast-tracking of refugee status for white South Africans by the Trump administration, the US Right's embrace of the South African far-right's propaganda, the 'Kill the Boer!' chant and what it really means, Elon Musk, and the recent reprogramming of X's AI chatbot Grok.

Content Warnings apply.

Episode Notes:

X @biancavanwyk16

TikTok @BiancaSays3

YouTube @WhiteWhineTalks

Sour Grapes — The Toxic Vintage of White Whine by Bianca https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2024-05-16-bianca-van-wyk-sour-grapes-the-toxic-vintage-of-white-whine/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/23/trump-orders-close-study-of-south-africa-farmer-killings

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/23/white-farmers-trump-south-africa-tucker-carlson-far-right-influence

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/us-grants-asylum-to-54-white-afrikaner-south-africans

https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-whites-south-africa-us-fdef8e9d4d2186227f75b817d8e1d7eb

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/14/elon-musk-grok-white-genocide

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/elon-musk-x-grok-white-genocide-holocaust-1235341267/

https://www.404media.co/why-did-grok-start-talking-about-white-genocide/

https://newrepublic.com/article/195383/trump-south-africans-takes-immigration

https://apnews.com/video/trump-defends-admitting-white-south-africans-as-refugees-after-halting-resettlement-for-most-others-b3e74c6b4e584a02b798f7598dfd2132

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/us/politics/trump-south-africa-afrikaners.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/white-south-africans-refugees.html

https://www.levernews.com/trump-taps-refugee-fund-to-welcome-white-south-africans-within-days/

https://www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/trumps-south-africa-tweet-tucker-carlson-has-turned-white-nationalist-narrative

https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/post/tucker-carlson-injected-white-nationalist-propaganda-into-the-presidents-brain

https://theconversation.com/south-africas-white-right-the-alt-right-and-the-alternative-103544

https://jacobin.com/2025/03/musk-looks-to-the-motherland

https://jacobin.com/2025/02/musk-south-africa-white-far-right

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyj1198wy3o

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45336840

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wg5pg1xp5o

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2q937wlqgo

https://harpers.org/archive/2019/03/the-myth-of-white-genocide-in-south-africa/?curator=alphaideas

https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/dangerous-myth-white-genocide-south-africa/

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

In this immediately out-of-date episode, Daniel and Jack discuss the 2024 movie Conclave in light of the (at the time of recording) underway 2025 Conclave in the Vatican to choose a new Pope. Both your hosts talk a little about their own religious backgrounds, review the film, and then get onto the politics of the Catholic Church, particularly the integration of right-wing US bishops with American reactionaries.

Episode Notes:

https://www.ncronline.org/culture/book-reviews/playing-god-traces-history-catholic-conservatism-gone-extreme

https://publicseminar.org/2024/08/the-catholic-new-right-and-project-2025/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/catholic-right-celebrity-conversion-industrial-complex?srsltid=AfmBOooTq0kt0MevV9R8VfOMTL3vn5n2JBO1URs0O1qbA9760WPUWsRa

https://www.politico.eu/article/vaticans-church-catholic-pope-francis-hard-right/

https://sojo.net/magazine/march-2019/rise-catholic-right

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/maga-catholics-vatican-pope-conclave

https://youtu.be/Mb3zYyhrUWg?si=d1UG7bpGi16WAaRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKW-0fIDHdw&t=220s

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Trump released all the remaining secret JFK files! Except not really. And they're full of revelations! Except not really. (They're mainly full of people's social security numbers which, it transpires, is pretty much all the remaining redactions were hiding.) Anna Paulina Luna (R, FL) is leading a new congressional investigation! Er... no, she's inviting conspiracy theorists into Congress to confirm her ill-informed beliefs. The mystery is solved! Or deepens! Except nope nope and nope.

In this impromptu News Brief, Jack and Daniel jump off from a supremely stupid clip of reactionary conspiracybrained shitheads Bill Maher and Andrew Sullivan to ponder the changing political meaning of the conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination, why it has migrated from a left preoccupation all the way over to being an obsession of MAGA and the far-right.

Along the way we encounter the peculiar and controversial author Gerald Posner, who is able to debunk JFK conspiracy theories but apparently unable to see the problems with Israel's policies in Gaza, Elon Musk doing seig heils, or Gender Criticals who think the Trans movement is all funded by evil rich Jews (or possibly alien lizards).

Yes, this is the world we live in folks.

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

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IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

*

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Posner#Controversies

https://www.justthefacts.media/

https://www.justthefacts.media/p/the-ressurection-of-oliver-stone

https://www.justthefacts.media/p/hitler-musk-and-the-art-of-the-smear

https://www.justthefacts.media/p/the-transgender-money-pipeline

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/LGB_Alliance

https://web.archive.org/web/20211009112830/https://twitter.com/christapeterso/status/1368635513775689728

https://web.archive.org/web/20211029170407/https://twitter.com/LGBAlliance_CA/status/1368988077901905925

https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2022/02/fears-of-creeping-transhumanism-give-space-for-overt-conspiracism-in-gender-critical-communities/

https://progressive.org/magazine/antisemitism-meets-transphobia-greenesmith-lorber/

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/donald-trump-bill-maher-real-time-b2732092.html

https://youtu.be/aE9mTr2uI10?si=4OaFzGM27Y1lots9

https://youtu.be/KAMC9cxEPzo?si=4SMhZoH9XKWLcaQ5

https://youtu.be/UJ28qfIR_8M?si=-rDyDFG70OvE3--x

https://youtu.be/-Lo1ButCuqE?si=tNl46hKnHyXdfvnO

Sean Munger: Oswald Acted Alone Part 1: https://youtu.be/DC8tO16xdrY?si=jhWAKR-GzJHnQacz

Part 2: https://youtu.be/Ptt1ti63IiE?si=Dkr3Nd75Jjlv6j95

Our 'movies about presidents' series continues (probably for four more years) with a much better movie this time. 1993's Wolfgang Peterson joint In the Line of Fire, featuring Clint Eastwood again (are we... doing a Clint Eastwood season now?) as jaded old Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, veteran of a particular epic fail in Dallas 1963, up against the 90s serial killer shtick of rogue CIA super-assassin John Malkovich and, even more dauntingly, the merciless side-eye of fellow agent Rene Russo. A superior slice of 90s Hollywood nonsense with a nice line in gentle self-mockery and some adorable early digital effects.

This is a fun one, kids.

Full episode exclusive for Patreon subscribers.

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month.

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IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

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IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Our series on 'movies about presidents' continues with a fun discussion of this 1997 'thriller', written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman based on the debut novel of David Baldacci, starring/produced/directed by noted chair-interviewer Clint Eastwood, and boasting a splendid cast - including recently-deceased screen legend Gene Hackman - none of whom are given anything very interesting to do. Clint plays a suave cat burglar - with the unlikely name of Luther Whitney - who accidentally witnesses the president of the United States sexually assaulting a woman (far-fetched, right?) and getting her killed. All Hell then persistently threatens but repeatedly fails to break loose. Instead we get a slow, aimless, half-baked movie filled with good elements that don't cohere or go anywhere special. It sparked an amusing conversation though, as we hope you will agree.

Full episode exclusive for Patreon subscribers.

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month.

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IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Jack and Daniel welcome to the show Craig A. Johnson - academic, researcher, antifascist, and host of the (excellent) podcast 15 Minutes of Fascism - to chat about his (excellent) new book How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, a primer on today's fascist and far-right, in all their styles and iterations, aimed at people worried that a young person in their lives (most especially a young man, obviously) is being sucked into the darkness.

Episode Notes:

How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, book.

15 Minutes of Fascism at Soundcloud

IDSG on 15MoF

Craig's bluesky

Craig's Patreon

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Daniel and Jack chat about the eventful millennia that have passed since they last convened...

Features Cantwell News!

Show Notes:

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

With apologies for our latest recent hiatus, here's an old bonus episode - formerly just for patrons - in which Daniel and Jack chat about 1992's A Few Good Men, a military courtroom drama written by Aaron 'West Wing' / 'Social Network' Sorkin, and starring Kevin Pollack and some other people probably.

We're still alive and the show will be back. We appreciate your patience.

Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.

Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts

Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true

IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod

Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper

Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_

Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social

Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social

IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1