The Great Purple State

In the first episode of a two part series on concentration camps, Emerson and Conall discuss the history of concentration camps from their origins in Spanish-ruled Cuba during the 1890s to their adaptation by various European states over the next several decades, including the British in the Boer War (1899-1902) and the Ottoman Empire in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. We emphasize that concentration camps can take many forms and that they were used for various purposes in their early history. We also briefly analyze the historical legacy of Nazi Germany’s camp system and how it has influenced the public perception of what concentration camps are supposed to look like. 

FACTUAL CORRECTION: 
The Red Cross was founded in 1863 in response to the Italian Wars of Independence (particularly the Second Italian War of Independence), not the Crimean War. 

Next week: we discuss the Nazi camp system in-depth and how it evolved over the 12 years that the Nazis ruled Germany. 


Main Works Consulted (good for additional reading on the topics covered here!):
One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps by Andrea Pitzer
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, A Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard 
Cuba: A New History by Richard Gott 
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder 

In this episode, Emerson and Conall discuss the decisive role Wisconsin will play in the 2020 presidential election, along with Wisconsin's storied political history, both recent and not so recent. In particular, we discuss the electoral and political legacy of former governor Scott Walker, and we dive into the numbers behind why Wisconsin is likely to be the tipping point state in 2020. We have a special guest outro as well!

FACTUAL CORRECTIONS:
Doug La Follette is not Robert La Follette’s great great great grandson, but rather a great grandfather of his was Robert’s uncle.
The sewer socialists held the mayoralty of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940, and again from 1948-1960. So most, but not all of the period from the mid 1910s to 1960.

Link to The Fall of Wisconsin, a great read on how the far right built up massive infrastructure to take control of Wisconsin.
https://www.thefallofwisconsin.com/

CONTENT NOTE: discussions of racist language and ideas, extremist violence 

In this episode, Conall and Emerson discuss the upsurge of white nationalist - that is, white supremacist - extremism and how the alt right uses memes and “irony” to spread their message and radicalize people. In addition, we discuss white nationalism in the context of American history to see where it falls (hint: it’s well within the historical norms of the US). Recent events of extremist violence such as the attacks on Charlottesville and Christchurch are analyzed as well. Finally, we talk about ways to counter the alt right and white supremacist extremism and ways to spot their often slippery and obscure messaging. 

Conall and Emerson discuss the issues that trans people encounter as a result of the abuse and discrimination they face, at both individual and institutional levels. We also talk about the political reasons as to why the Republican Party and the Trump administration have been attacking trans people so aggressively. Finally, we emphasize actions that can be taken to support the trans people in your life and the trans community at large. 

NOTE FROM CONALL: There were many things we didn’t touch upon in the video - we primarily focused on trans women and the oppression they face. We hope you’ll take the time to learn more about trans people and their experiences, starting with some of the links we have here.  

FACTUAL CORRECTION: STAR was founded in 1970, not 1972. 

LINKS TO DONATE TO:

https://www.thetrevorproject.org - The Trevor Project

https://www.twocc.us - The Trans Women of Color Collective

https://transequality.org - National Center for Transgender Equality

ContraPoints YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/user/ContraPoints - ContraPoints’ channel! Subscribe to her - she’s fantastic!

Conall and Emerson dive into the relationship (or lack thereof) between Iran and the United States and its tense history. We explore why the Obama admin ultimately decided to seek a nuclear arms control agreement with Iran, and why this was so controversial. Finally, we explore the future of the agreement in light of recent hostilities between Iran and the US and President Trump’s withdrawal from the accord in May of 2018. We also discuss the possibility of war with Iran. 

Note from Conall: I was very tired when this was recorded, so we hope you will forgive me and still enjoy the podcast despite my occasional misspeaking. 

Some minor corrections and clarifications: 
At one point, Conall says the P5+1 +the US + Iran. This is redundant, since the US is part of the P5. 
At around 3:50, Conall meant to say Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. This was the last Shah of Iran’s name. 
The facility known as Arak sounds a lot like the country of Iraq, but it refers to a city in Iran. 

Conall and Emerson FINALLY wrap up the 2016 Presidential Election... like.... FINALLY. We discuss how Trump was able to defeat Hillary Clinton in an upset. Although we also observe that the polling in 2016 was not nearly as off as the media portrayed it and that Trump had a significant chance of winning the election.
**Guest appearance from "Bernie Sanders"**

Minor fact check: Brazil and Argentina were not signatories of the TPP. 

Conall and Emerson discuss the 2016 Democratic primary between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We cover the rifts that were developing within the Democratic Party that allowed Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, to mount such a strong challenge to establishment favorite Hillary Clinton. We also explore the growing anger in the American electorate in 2015 going into 2016 and the populist mood that was taking hold on both the right and the left. We hope you enjoy the moderately cringeworthy introduction (and VERY special outro).

This is part 2 of a very fun series on the 2016 presidential election, AKA the election from hell. Next episode, part 3, will be our finale of this series, covering the general campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Afterwards, topics we intend to cover in future episodes include the Iran Nuclear Deal, white nationalism, and transgender rights. Thanks for your support everyone!

CONTENT CORRECTION: In the podcast, Conall says that the superdelegates would not have been enough to swing the nomination away from Hillary. This is incorrect. Hillary won a majority of delegates, but in a last ditch effort to secure the nomination, Bernie tried to convince the superdelegates to swing the nomination to him, since they were enough to narrowly give him an edge over Hillary. This effort failed.

Conall and Emerson discuss the 2016 Republican primary and the forces and rifts within America that allowed outsider Donald Trump to seize the Republican nomination for president. We explore his history around things like race and racism, including his promotion of the birther conspiracy theory about Obama's citizenship and his aggressive stance against the Central Park Five. We also explore the rise of movements like Black Lives Matter and how that fed a cultural rift which Trump capitalized on. Special easter egg at the very end that we're sure you'll love ;)
This is the first part of a three part series on the 2016 presidential election. Next week: we discuss the Democratic primary. 

Correction: While many GOP primaries at the presidential level are winner-take-all, the NH primary for the GOP is not winner-take-all, as Conall implied. Still, the winner-take-all primaries in other states like Florida allowed Trump to ascend to the nomination despite getting only about 45% of the vote in the GOP primary.

Conall and Emerson discuss gerrymandering - the history, what it is, what it looks like, the first "gerrymanderer," modern-day gerrymandering, and potential solutions. Emerson forgets the name of the Three-Fifths Compromise and Conall says a salty goodbye. 

Conall and Emerson dive into the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the history that led to its creation, as well as modern-day implications. Not using the best mic. Some background noise. And our friend Cvikota drops in. 

FACTUAL CORRECTION: Lynching is STILL not, as of writing this correction in 2020, a federal hate crime. The bills mentioned in the podcast to make it so have gotten stalled in Congress - in particular by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Ain't that some shit?