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 MAGA movement and “manosphere.”

Mike and Jared are joined by Robert Silverman, a feature writer who has covered Portnoy and his media empire at excruciating length. Practically everything you’ll hear on this episode comes directly from his reporting. (Listeners will remember Silverman from April’s “Who the Hell is Tim Pool?” episode.)

Some tip jar contributions this week will help us thank Robert for his work on this episode by taking him to a New York Mets game. (As if he has not suffered enough.) If you loved this episode, show your appreciation by tossing in a few bucks: https://tiptopjar.com/postingthroughitpod

Links to Robert’s reporting:

* Inside Barstool Sports’ Culture of Online Hate: ‘They Treat Sexual Harassment and Cyberbullying as a Game’ (The Daily Beast, 2018)

* Barstool Sports ‘Hemorrhaging Money,’ Top Editor Flips Out at Writers (The Daily Beast, 2020)

* How Barstool Built an Empire by Swiping Sports Highlights (The Daily Beast, 2023)

Transition Music: “Sports” by Viagra Boys

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“Who the Hell?” is an unofficial longform series that examines the lives and careers of prominent right-wing social media personalities. Prior episodes in this series covered Jack Posobiec, Tim Pool, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes.

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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 Israeli government?

Links for Ben:

* Read his book: “Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism”

* Check out his work: Political Research Associates

* Follow his socials: X and BlueSky

Exit Track: “Hunger for Death” by PUP

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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 administration has reversed course entirely — leading some MAGA movement figures to call for resignations of key administration figures.

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Links for Will:

* Subscribe to his newsletter: “False Flag” at The Bulwark

* Read his book: “Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America” via HarperCollins

* Follow him on X and Bluesky

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

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 alleging its members are “feds.”

The show will be off next week. We’ll return on July 14.***

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***Jeff’s reporting on Patriot Front:

* Patriot Front Timeline

* Patriot Front secretly using the active clubs network to sustain its influence

* Patriot Front Leader Involved in Fatal Utah Car Crash

* ‘We Will Fight!’ The Soldier Waging War Against America from Fort Liberty

* Extremist lawyer appears to be training Patriot Front members to fight

Outro Music: “It’s Alive” by Ratboys***

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***

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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 considered how the role researchers play has changed in the second Trump era.

Links:

* Website: It’s Going Down

* Podcast: “The Beautiful Idea”

* Social: Bluesky / Mastodon

* Unicorn Riot: Protest ‘Peacekeepers’ Shot Two People at a March in Salt Lake City. One Died, the Other Went to Jail.

Outro Song: “I Got Heaven” by Mannequin Pussy

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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

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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 Moore is a freelance journalist who has covered far-right extremist movements for national news outlets, including Mother Jones, The Intercept, and The Nation. Moore spent nearly a year undercover in far-right movements and draws upon that experience to inform her reporting.

Links for Amanda:

* Follow Amanda on social media: X (Twitter) / BlueSky

* Subscribe to Amanda’s newsletter: “The Turtle Diaries”

--

These biographical episodes take weeks to produce and involve many hours of research, fact-checking, and editing, which we do on our personal time. If you found value in the show, please consider tossing a few bucks into this online tip jar:

https://tiptopjar.com/postingthroughitpod

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Edward Ongweso Jr, a writer and editor who covers tech, labor, and finance, joined for an in-depth discussion about the artificial intelligence tech industry and Silicon Valley’s efforts to expand its political power. Industry leaders have promised that their AI products will catapult humanity in a new era, but how might these tools be used to surveil, oppress, and harm the rest of us?

Edward’s links:

* His newsletter: “The Tech Bubble”

* His podcast: “This Machine Kills”

* His socials: X (Twitter) and Bluesky

* Articles referenced:

* Evgeny Morozov: “The True Threat of Artificial Intelligence”

* Meredith Whittaker: “Origin Stories: Plantations, Computers, and Industrial Control”

* Edward Ongweso: “AI, slavery, surveillance, and capitalism”

Transition Music: “NEVER ENOUGH” by Turnstile

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

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 theories, like those related to Jeffrey Epstein’s death in 2019.

Links for Kim Kelly:

* Her book: “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor”

* Young reader’s edition: “Fight to Win! Heroes of American Labor”

* Her articles: inthesetimes.com/authors/kim-kelly

* Her heavy metal newsletter: salvo.ghost.io/

* Her Patreon page: patreon.com/kimkelly

Outro song: “Enshrined in Concrete” by Glacial Tomb

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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, listeners… “it's just after 10 p.m. This is the adult tour, which means you can drink if you want and we can say whatever the HELL we want.”

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com