Bro History

We Interviewed the Guy Who Organizes Paid Protests


Listen Later

Adam Swart is the founder and CEO of Crowds on Demand — a company that literally organizes protests, rallies, and PR stunts for clients across the U.S.

In this interesting conversation, Henry and Danny dig into how this shadowy industry actually works: who pays for demonstrations, how they’re staffed, and where ethics fit in when civic action becomes a paid service.

Swart claims his firm turned down $20 million in offers to organize anti-Trump protests, and insists “paid protestors” aren’t what conspiracy theories make them out to be.
But Danny pushes back — asking whether commodifying civic activism cheapens democracy itself.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro: Who is Adam Swart?
02:00 – How the “Crowds on Demand” model was born
05:00 – The mechanics of paid activism
08:00 – Drawing the ethical line: Who he’ll work with
15:00 – “Protest is advertising, not voting”
20:00 – Does paying people for civic action corrupt democracy?
27:00 – The myth of “grassroots” movements
35:00 – Why Swart turned down $20M in anti-Trump business
44:00 – Vetting protestors and the risk of instability
52:00 – The transparency problem
57:00 – “Paid protestors” and the class divide in outrage
01:02:00 – Swart’s upcoming “Protester Bill of Rights”


Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#340


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Bro HistoryBy Bro History

  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1
  • 4.1

4.1

874 ratings


More shows like Bro History

View all
The Martyr Made Podcast by Darryl Cooper

The Martyr Made Podcast

5,529 Listeners

The WW2 Podcast by Angus Wallace

The WW2 Podcast

1,245 Listeners

Our Fake History by PodcastOne

Our Fake History

3,471 Listeners

Angry Planet by Matthew Gault and Jason Fields

Angry Planet

801 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,801 Listeners

History Unplugged Podcast by History Unplugged

History Unplugged Podcast

4,038 Listeners

Tides of History by Wondery /  Patrick Wyman

Tides of History

6,338 Listeners

History That Doesn't Suck by Prof. Greg Jackson

History That Doesn't Suck

6,081 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,269 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

14,579 Listeners

School of War by Nebulous Media

School of War

452 Listeners

History of Everything by Stakuyi

History of Everything

695 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,511 Listeners

History of Philosophy Audio Archive by William Engels

History of Philosophy Audio Archive

44 Listeners