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

Links for Hannah:

• Newsletter: Posts from Underground

• Bluesky and X (Twitter)

  
  

Transition Music: "Precious" by Depeche Mode

Mehdi Hasan, a journalist renowned for confronting power directly and dismantling opponents in political debates, joined Posting Through It to reflect on his viral appearance on "Surrounded" — a YouTube debate show that recruited him to argue against 20 "far-right conservatives."

Over nearly two hours, his opponents took turns sitting across from him and espousing racist bigotries, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and anti-democratic beliefs. When the cameras stopped rolling, Mehdi said one participant stood up and declared: "Left or Right, we all hate the Jews."

"No one said a word," Mehdi recalled.

The episode's explosive popularity (10.2 million views on YouTube alone) has reignited debates about "platforming" extremism and whether engaging with the far-right this way serves any constructive purpose. On this episode, we explore those criticisms with Mehdi, discuss his “hygiene tests” for debates, and explore why so many people who try to face off against the far-right end up failing.

Links for Mehdi:

* Check out Zeteo.com

* Read “Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking”

* Watch “7 Debate Lessons YOU Can Learn From My Jubilee Video”

* Follow @mehdirhasan on X and @mehdirhasan.bsky.social on Bluesky

Transition Music: “WILL U STILL U” by Jeff Rosenstock

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

Links for Anna:

* Read her story in Mother Jones: How Does the Epstein Scandal End?

* Check out her book: “Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power”

* Follow her on Bluesky: @annamerlan.bsky.social‬

Transition Music: “Stars” by Hum

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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

Get 50% off your first Magic Mind subscription using the code THROUGHIT50 at https://www.magicmind.com/throughit50. #magicmind #mentalperformance

“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.

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.

Get 50% off your first Magic Mind subscription using the code THROUGHIT50 at https://www.magicmind.com/throughit50. #magicmind #mentalperformance

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

Throw a few bucks in our digital tip jar: https://tiptopjar.com/postingthroughitpod

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.***

Get 50% off your first Magic Mind subscription using the code THROUGHIT50 at https://www.magicmind.com/throughit50. #magicmind #mentalperformance

***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”

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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:

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