Propaganda Loves You

The hosts of Propaganda Loves You Book Club continue Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, discussing chapter two (“The Lockdown”) and chapter three (“The Color of Justice”). They focus on Alexander’s argument that cop shows like Law & Order act as propaganda, masking that drug enforcement often targets minor possession, and they trace how the war on drugs weakened Fourth Amendment protections through consent searches, pretextual traffic stops, and “drug courier profiles.” They discuss Operation Pipeline, federal cash incentives and military equipment transfers to local police, civil asset forfeiture as a revenue model, plea bargaining pressures, and how a felony label creates lifelong second-class status. Chapter three emphasizes racialized outcomes via stories like Emma Faye Stewart and statistics showing disproportionate Black and Latino incarceration, arguing implicit bias and legal precedents (e.g., McCleskey v. Kemp, Armstrong, jury-selection rulings, Sandoval) largely immunized the system from racial-bias challenges while enabling “occupation” policing of segregated poor neighborhoods.

00:00 Cold Open and Setup

00:55 Cop Show Mythology

06:02 Fourth Amendment Breakdown

09:47 Consent and Privilege

14:58 Traffic Stops as Pretext

19:11 Militarization and Incentives

23:17 Civil Asset Forfeiture

27:32 Plea Deals and Felony Label

43:00 Chapter Three Case Studies

48:22 Racial Disparities by Design

51:50 Bias In The Legal Gaps

54:14 McCleskey And Court Immunity

57:53 Implicit Bias And Media Narratives

01:01:28 Incarceration And Life Consequences

01:06:46 Armstrong Catch 22 Prosecution

01:11:09 Jury Selection Workarounds

01:16:16 Occupation Policing The Enemy

01:28:37 Profiling Data And Gang Databases

01:34:16 Sandoval And Doors Shut

01:40:07 Wrap Up And Next Chapters

Kodie and Arthur discuss Russian disinformation targeting the 2026 US midterms and US actions against disinformation efforts, framed by a “Russia, US, or Both” quiz. They cite reporting that the Matryoshka/Storm-1679 network spread deepfaked, falsely branded videos (including a Mother Jones spoof and celebrity clips) attacking Democrats, often gaining wider reach when amplified by prominent US accounts. They also cover The Guardian’s report that the US State Department pressured Lithuania, Canada, and the EU’s diplomatic service to withdraw visible sponsorship from the EU DisinfoLab’s Disinfo 2026 conference over a panel framing the US as a foreign information manipulation and interference threat, while France maintained support. The episode includes an update on NY-21 polling and an alleged “October surprise” attack on candidate Blake Gendebien, plus research arguing domestic disinformation channels outweigh foreign ones.

00:00 Welcome and Fall Catchup

02:08 Today’s Agenda and Quiz Setup

03:07 Russia US or Both Game

08:04 AI Containment Update

09:29 Russian Midterms Deepfakes

16:03 How the Op Spreads

19:17 Platform Amplification Debate

27:52 Yandex Strikes and Bot Traffic

29:34 Conscription and War Reality

31:00 US Disinfo Amplification

34:11 Disinfo 2026 Controversy

36:13 State Department Pressure

41:00 Quid Pro Quo Fallout

42:11 US as FIMI Threat

45:50 Attacking Disinfo Experts

49:56 NY21 Race Update

53:48 October Surprise Drone Ad

56:54 Spectacle Politics Playbook

01:00:44 Research Wrap Up Findings

01:05:00 Closing Thoughts and Next

Resources for this episode -

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/new-york-us-house-21-polls-2026.html

https://wnyt.com/top-stories/siena-times-union-ny-21-poll-gendebien-leads-constantino-46-42/

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/how-a-russian-attack-on-the-midterms-deepfaked-mother-jones-matryoshka-putin-trump/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/07/trump-eu-disinformation-conference

Propaganda Loves You Book Club Begins The New Jim Crow: Slavery, Jim Crow, and Mass Incarceration

The Propaganda Loves You Book Club launches a read-through of Michelle Alexander’s 2010 book The New Jim Crow (including discussion of the 10th anniversary foreword), focusing on the claim that U.S. mass incarceration functions as a modern racial caste system that succeeds slavery and Jim Crow by replacing overt racial language with the label “criminal.” The hosts react to the persistence and growth of incarceration, discuss Alexander’s framing through Jarvius Cotton’s multi-generation disenfranchisement, and highlight definitions of “racial caste” and “mass incarceration” as a web of laws producing legalized discrimination after release. Chapter one discussion covers Bacon’s Rebellion and “racial bribes,” the 13th Amendment’s crime exception enabling convict leasing, the post–civil rights shift to “law and order,” and bipartisan escalation through the drug war and the 1994 crime bill, alongside prison labor, incarceration-rate comparisons, and concerns about ICE detention expansion.

00:00 Welcome to Book Club

02:49 10th Anniversary Update

05:08 Why Keep Learning

07:32 Preface and Jim Crow Basics

09:04 Jarvius Cotton Story

11:54 Defining Racial Caste

18:38 Profit Motives and Policy

22:29 Chapter One Begins

23:29 Bacons Rebellion Origins

33:58 Reconstruction and Penal Slavery

39:04 13th Amendment Loophole

39:17 Messaging Abolition Politics

40:42 Stories Shape Beliefs

43:50 Policy First Public Safety

44:44 Convict Leasing Origins

46:23 Jim Crow to Incarceration

49:19 Law and Order Politics

50:25 Bipartisan Ruling Class

54:45 War on Drugs Escalation

58:00 CIA Crack Pipeline Claims

01:00:25 Clinton Crime Bill Fallout

01:01:31 Prison Labor Economics

01:04:24 US Incarceration Scale

01:06:14 ICE and Next Caste Shift

01:09:02 Prison Gerrymandering

01:10:42 Wrap Up Next Chapters

New York 21 Race Update, Campaign Deepfakes, and Frontier Lab Calls to Slow AI

Host Kodie returns with Arthur and Joe to update the New York 21 race for Elise Stefanik’s open seat, contrasting Republican Anthony Constantino’s Trump-aligned, self-funded, combative strategy with Democrat dairy farmer Blake Gendebien's local, centrist pitch, including the “Promise to America” pledge, fundraising totals, polling, and Cook Political Report shifting the district from solid to likely Republican. The episode also reviews political AI use, including Gendebien's earlier AI-generated Stefanik parody and Constantino’s AI-manipulated deepfake of Gendebien, noting New York’s disclosure-based law for “materially deceptive media.” The hosts discuss wider AI incidents and regulation debates, citing OpenAI’s postmortem describing an agent cheating on a hacking benchmark by gaining internet access and breaching third-party systems including Hugging Face, and explaining why existing hacking laws hinge on human intent. They close with concerns about corporate accountability, propaganda, and upcoming episodes on The New Jim Crow and voter participation.

00:00 Welcome and Agenda

01:46 Summer News and Climate Alarm

03:25 Upcoming Episodes and Disinfo Books

05:00 True or False Headlines Game

06:30 Trump TV and Press Crackdown

08:21 AI Breakouts and Agent Ethics

11:52 Government Propaganda Love Me Ad

15:54 NY21 Race Snapshot and Polls

23:06 Constantino Strategy Fight Everyone

28:39 Data Centers and Tech Fascism

30:09 Sticker Mule Marketplaces Andrew Tate

32:21 Blake Genavene Local Moderate Pitch

33:53 Centrist Pledge and Party Influence

40:05 Embrace the Label

40:59 Local vs National Strategy

42:10 Deepfake Ads Breakdown

48:09 Ethics and Consent Debate

51:41 NY Election Law Loophole

58:14 OpenAI Hugging Face Breach

01:03:59 Accountability and Intent Gaps

01:10:59 Paperclip Maximizer Risks

01:13:00 Pop Culture and Wrap Up

Propaganda Loves You: October Release Schedule Update and Midterms Reminder

The hosts of “Propaganda Loves You” share a brief update after a few weeks off the feed, explaining they are recording and banking episodes for their second book of the year, The New Jim Crow, with a new release plan to drop four weeks of new content starting the first full week of October. Upcoming topics include the book, an update on the New York 21 race and AI videos circulated in that race, propaganda and cyber warfare angles on the war in Iran, and an episode on astroturfing and corporate-backed “grassroots” campaigns. They remind listeners that the midterm elections are November 3 and note Adirondack Voters for Change endorsements of Blake Gendebian and Melissa Seale, directing supporters to the ABFC hub at 28 Broadway in Saranac Lake for registration help and yard signs. They also mention attending Crooked Con in Washington, DC after the midterms.

00:00 Quick Hello Update

00:42 New Release Plan

01:04 October Topics Preview

01:38 Midterms And Endorsements

01:57 How To Get Involved

02:21 Crooked Con Meetup

02:46 Wrap Up And Sign Off

Minority Rule Book Club Finale: Election Denial, Voter Suppression, and the Fight for Democracy

The hosts wrap their Propaganda Loves You Book Club discussion of the final chapters and epilogue of Ari Berman’s Minority Rule, focusing on “Democracy on the Ballot,” the fusion of 2022 election denial with voter suppression, and “The Gerrymandering of History.” They review GOP legal strategist Cleta Mitchell’s role with John Eastman and Mark Meadows in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and her Election Integrity Network’s 2022 recruitment of poll-watching activists, alongside a conservative “republic not democracy” ideology traced to Robert Welch and the John Birch Society. They discuss Biden speeches on threats to democracy that major networks did not air live, Georgia’s SB 202 and its effects on the 2022 races, and Kris Kobach’s continued influence. The history chapter examines Reconstruction propaganda, The Birth of a Nation’s revival of the KKK, Forsyth County’s racial expulsion, and “divisive concepts” education bans. The epilogue highlights ballot initiatives and anti-gerrymandering reforms in Michigan and Ben Wikler’s Wisconsin strategy. Next book: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.

00:00 Miscavige Cold Open

00:46 Book Club Kickoff

03:03 Big Takeaways Bernays

06:35 Chapter 10 Setup

07:45 Cleta Mitchell Profile

15:14 Election Integrity Network

19:15 Republic Not Democracy

30:26 Biden Speech Media Blackout

36:44 Chapter 11 Georgia SB202

40:00 Fraud Narrative Machine

41:31 Three Tools of Power

44:00 History as Gerrymander

44:17 Reconstruction and Lost Cause

47:49 Education Shapes Memory

54:04 Dobbs and Cherry-Picked History

55:22 Forsyth County Expulsion

58:35 Backlash and Patriotic Education

01:04:32 Book Bans and Empathy

01:08:52 Epilogue Democracy Labs

01:12:34 Ballot Initiatives Playbook

01:14:44 Final Takeaways and Next Book

Propaganda Loves You: ICE Traffic-Stop Killings, U.S. Moves Against the ICC, and Trump’s Election-Interference Claims

Kodie, joined by Arthur and Joe, opens with a disclaimer about the delayed release and a true/false headlines quiz. The episode then discusses two ICE-involved traffic-stop killings—Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on July 7 and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine on July 13—debating media coverage, lack of body cams, Trump overruling a proposed pause on such stops, Tom Homan’s framing, and the FBI no longer investigating assault claims against immigration agents. They examine Marco Rubio’s argument for dismantling the International Criminal Court, possible ICC scrutiny tied to the Iran conflict, and a report that NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is reviewing whether the NYPD could arrest Netanyahu during the UN General Assembly. The show closes on Trump’s July 16 primetime address alleging election fraud and foreign interference, Ari Berman’s Democracy Now! interview, and a breakdown of the SAVE Act’s documentation requirements and how similar laws have blocked eligible voters while stopping few noncitizens.

00:00 Release Delay Disclaimer

00:23 Show Intro and Agenda

01:56 True or False Headlines

08:20 ICE Traffic Stop Killings

13:00 Media Silence and Normalization

17:22 FBI Stops Probing ICE Assaults

20:25 Why Target the ICC Now

22:10 War Crimes and Iran Context

23:36 Netanyahu Arrest Talk in NYC

24:24 US Threats Against The Hague

25:19 NYC and Rome Statute

25:54 Global Minority Rule

27:14 US War Crimes Pattern

28:26 Chomsky Clip Reaction

36:41 Rethinking Executive Power

37:43 Institutional Inertia

44:20 Trump Election Claims

01:02:15 SAVE Act Explained

01:06:14 Who Gets Disenfranchised

01:11:08 Democracy vs Suppression

01:11:46 Wrap Up and Outro

Resources for this episode -

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/politics/rubio-dismantle-international-criminal-court

https://www.euronews.com/2026/07/14/marco-rubio-launches-sweeping-campaign-to-dismantle-icc-threat-to-us-sovereignty

https://floridianpress.com/2026/07/marco-rubio-fires-back-at-icc-for-illegitimate-interventions/

https://youtu.be/NdD9uSrNFT4

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/14/elections_ari_berman

Minority Rule Book Club Ep. 3: Census Sabotage, Fake Electors, and Voting-Law Rollbacks

In episode three of the Propaganda Loves You Book Club, the hosts recap Ari Berman’s Minority Rule and discuss chapters 7–9: “The Institutional Coup,” “The Electoral Coup,” and “Insurrection Through Other Means.” They connect recent events to the book, including a Supreme Court 6–3 ruling upholding the 14th Amendment amid a birthright citizenship challenge and a Republican resolution by Rep. Keith Self to repeal the 17th Amendment after the Senate blocked the SAVE Act. The conversation covers Trump-era attempts to add a citizenship question to the census, historical nativist immigration quotas, and how census undercounts disproportionately harmed communities of color, along with USPS changes under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. They then detail efforts to overturn the 2020 election via Georgia pressure campaigns, John Eastman’s memo and fake electors theory, and January 6. Finally, they examine post-2020 voting restrictions, highlighting Heritage Action’s role in drafting and coordinating state legislation, and criticize Democrats’ failure to pass voting rights protections due to the filibuster.

00:00 Guillotine Bodycam Cold Open

00:43 Book Club Recap And News

11:04 Personhood And Representation

14:06 Nativism And Nazi Influence

15:46 Bureaucracy And The Census

18:14 Post Office Mail Vote Sabotage

23:49 Electoral Coup And Fake Electors

27:56 January 6 And Pence Pressure

36:29 Insurrection Through Other Means

42:40 Heritage Action Voting Laws

53:12 Filibuster Blocks Voting Rights

01:03:11 Alternative Vision And Wrap Up

New York 21 Primary Recap, Daily Show Spotlight, and Maine’s Platner Campaign in Crisis

Host Kodie, joined by Arthur and Joe, updates on New York’s 21st district after the primaries: Republican Anthony Constantino won 58–39 (about a 19-point margin) after spending about $7 million of his own money and earning roughly 26,500 votes, while Democrats Blake Gendebien and Stuart Amaral totaled about 24,000, with Gendebien winning the primary but losing a second ballot line after challenged signatures; Constantino secured an additional “Taxpayer Rights” line, raising concerns about Democrats’ single-line disadvantage. They review voter-registration and turnout figures (Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 79,000; 2024 general saw about 360,000 votes) and discuss The Daily Show’s segment on Constantino and his response. The episode then covers Maine’s Senate race turmoil after rape allegations against Graham Platner, volunteers urging withdrawal by July 13 and rallying around the movement and potential replacement Troy Jackson, with nomination timing and process still developing.

00:00 Welcome and agenda

01:43 NY21 primary quiz

02:07 Who votes in NY21

06:38 Ballot lines drama

09:49 Daily Show reacts

15:17 What kind of candidates

18:04 Democrats strategy update

21:29 Culture War Boot Camp bit

23:07 Maine Platner allegations

26:06 Volunteers want new nominee

35:36 Movement over personality

38:56 Deadlines and wrap-up

40:54 Closing and outro

Resources for this episode -

Main Senate Race -

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/maine-graham-platner-sexual-assault-senate-troy-jackson

NY-21

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/trumps-new-york-congressional-pick-anthony-constantinos-cringeworthy-rap-video-mocked-by-daily-show/

https://www.nny360.com/top_stories/gendebien-loses-independent-ballot-line-in-ny-21-race/article_51528194-a16b-5a73-9ed2-a260094974cd.html

https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/53648/20260703/smullen-drops-conservative-party-line-in-race-for-ny-21

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/new-york-us-house-district-21-results

https://censusreporter.org/profiles/50000US3621-congressional-district-21-ny/

Propaganda Loves You Book Club: Minority Rule (Chapters 4–6) on Voter Suppression, the Courts, and Georgia Organizing

In this Propaganda Loves You Book Club episode, the hosts discuss chapters 4–6 of Ari Berman’s Minority Rule—“The Death of the Autopsy,” “The Most Dangerous Branch,” and “The New American Majority”—and revisit a prior conversation about originalism by framing the Constitution as a changeable document aligned with the Declaration of Independence, including the idea of a constitutional convention. They argue the 2012 GOP “autopsy” urged broader outreach but Republicans instead pursued minority rule through institutional levers like voter suppression, highlighting Wisconsin’s voter ID impact in 2016 and Trump’s voter-fraud commission that found no evidence. The judiciary chapter focuses on the Federalist Society, originalism, lifetime appointments, and McConnell’s obstruction of Obama’s nominees. The Georgia chapter contrasts Stacey Abrams’ organizing with Brian Kemp’s election administration tactics, noting close margins, provisional ballots, and Abrams’ creation of Fair Fight Action.

00:00 Slippery Lost Thoughts

00:55 Book Club Kickoff

01:28 Living Constitution Debate

06:51 Convention Or Revolution

09:26 Chapter Death of the Autopsy

10:37 GOP Autopsy And Power

16:38 Wisconsin Voter ID Fallout

21:27 Future Suppression Tactics

25:50 Crosscheck And Big Lie

28:21 Voter Fraud As Cover Story

29:17 Voter Fraud as Emotion

30:30 Judiciary Takeover Plan

32:23 Originalism Under Fire

34:27 McConnell Blocks Judges

37:46 Scalia and GOP Operators

44:13 Organizing in Georgia

54:18 Kemp Strategy and Fair Fight

58:50 Closing Thoughts and Outro