Chapo Trap House

Ryan Grim shares an anecdote about democratic congressman and party hatchet-man Josh Gottheimer from his new book on The Squad. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

We had some other news items to discuss, but the bulk of this episode is taken up with one piece of breaking news: Did you know that there's a tunnel under Eastern Pkwy? Yes we’re discussing the ridiculous story out of Brooklyn about a group of Chabad-Lubavitch members attempting to dig a secret and unlicensed tunnel under the streets of Crown Heights. We also take a look at Bill Ackman facing some blowback against his wife in his crusade against “academic plagiarism”. Alone, you come India. Buy Amber’s book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250269621/dirtbag

Will and guest Séamus Malekafzali discuss the Houthi Red Sea blockade. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

Stavvy baby joins us to ring in the New Year with some talk on Christmas gift-giving, review some recent comedic offerings from Israeli TV and Tucker Carlson’s X show, and finally to look at some of recent political developments in the great city of Baltimore and state of Maryland. Watch Stav’s special “Fat Rascal”, streaming now on Netflix. And listen to the Stavvy’s World podcast wherever you get podcasts.

Ben and Hesse from Seeking Derrangements stop by to cover a slew of gay-related news stories, from gay sex in the senate hearing room, to the downfall of George Santos, sex crimes among the sex-panicked Moms For Liberty, and some guys trying to build a libertarian utopia in the Mediterranean. Subscribe to Seeking Derrangements at: https://www.patreon.com/seekingderangements

After a last minute guest cancelation leaves Will in a tight spot, Hesse Deni from Seeking Derangements and Movie Mindset comes off the bench to field another slew of questions sourced from advice columns. Q's include: What to do when your mom spends too much money on premium pornography? What if your child is in school with a dark psychopath? How to defend your home from the tooth fairy and much more. Subscribe to Seeking Derangements https://www.patreon.com/seekingderangements/posts Submit Questions to the Seeking Derangements help line at 332 203 8247

TrueAnon’s Liz Franczak helps us look at this week’s GOP debate, the candidates’ pandering to the weirdest freaks in their audience, and Ron DeSantis’ love of Calvin Coolidge. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

Felix is joined by Stef aka @iwrite4jacobin to discuss his investigation into Argentina’s AMIA bombing. The 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires has generated much speculation as to who the perpetrators actually were, accusations of irregularities in the investigation, suspicions of cover-ups, connections with intelligence agencies, and the probable suicide of a prosecutor related to the case. Stef takes us through the whole story and its implications for relationships between America, Israel, Iran and Argentina. Find Stef’s series of essays on the incident on Substack, starting with Part 1 here: https://whitesiadbarre.substack.com/p/interpreting-the-amia-i-peronism And follow him on twitter here: https://twitter.com/iwrite4jacobin

Sports journalist Karim Zidan returns to the show to catch up with Felix about the world of combat sports and their attendant politics. They discuss responses to Israel/Gaza in the MMA world, developments in Saudi Arabia’s use of sports for soft power, political use of fight sports in Chechnya, and the deep bromance between Dana White and Donald Trump. Find Karim's writing at: https://www.sportspolitika.news/ Follow Karim at: https://twitter.com/ZidanSports Prod note: we’re putting out two public episodes today, partially to re-align the episode numberings to keep Monday eps even and Thursday eps odd. Obviously something only I care about, but also just letting you know to expect a regular Patreon ep this Thursday.

TrueAnon’s Brace Belden returns to the show as the crew continues discussing the war in Palestine. We look at Israel’s military shortcomings, the IDF’s penile obsession, the domestic propaganda war, and some measures Biden could take we might actually support. We also touch on Gavin Newsom’s vetoing of an anti-Caste based discrimination law, and a Ron DeSantis aide who apparently willed himself to death. Catch Will at the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s 2024 Moby-Dick Marathon: https://www.whalingmuseum.org/program/moby-dick-marathon-2024/ And keep an eye on TrueAnon’s feed for an upcoming announcement that will “end politics as we know it”.

Matt begins his series on the Spanish Civil War with the wave of anti-clerical violence that engulfed the nation at the beginning of the 2nd Spanish Republic Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

To celebrate Joe Biden’s 81st birthday, we’re joined by Delaware state representative Madinah Wilson-Anton to dish about all things Delaware. Rep. Wilson-Anton leads us through Delaware’s legal peculiarities that make it ripe for international corporate malfeasance, her personal experiences with Joe Biden and his “think tank,” and some tales of Delaware politics, ranging from corporate crime, feral senate dogs, chip thievery, and lots of casual racism.

Mark Ames recounts the absurd lengths the ADL went to spying on U.S. citizens on behalf of foreign regimes, including apartheid South Africa. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

Will, Felix and Amber pick up a few stories we missed last week, including Tim Scott girlfriend reveal (and campaign end), and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s father/son porn monitoring. We then look at a litany of increasingly absurd bungles and PR disasters from the Israeli government, all from just the last week. Pick up your copy of Amber’s new book Dirtbag here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250269621/dirtbag And find all the new Chapo offerings at our digital shop here: https://www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse/shop

Chief Foreign Policy correspondent Derek Davison returns to the show for updates on Palestine, including discussion of recent videos of Palestinian arms and tactics, the Biden administration’s response to the war, the potential for further regional conflict, and where the new American focus on Israel leaves Ukraine. Find Derek’s podcast American Prestige at: Americanprestigepod.com And find Derek’s newsletter Foreign Exchanges at: Foreignexchanges.new fx.substack.com

Felix muses on how belief in the paranormal requires all religions to be essentially true. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

Author Vincent Bevins returns to the show to discuss his new book “If We Burn” covering the “mass protest decade.” We discuss global protest movements from Brazil to Tunisia to Egypt to Chile, how they’ve affected or failed to affect global politics, and how the last decade of protest and activism relates to the ongoing conflict in Palestine. You can find Vincent’s book here: www.ifweburn.com

Taking a break from heavier war topics, the Will, Felix and David discuss the new NBC show Found and how it’s sure to continue the trafficking psychosis of suburban moms everywhere. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

David J. Roth joins us this week as we continue discussing the relatively limp and unconvincing propaganda emerging around the Israel-Gaza war. Then, David gives us his review of “Moneyball” Michael Lewis’ new book on Sam Bankman-Fried, and we take a look at a new Washington Post piece chronicling Jim Jordan’s career arc from college wrestling champion to almost-Speaker of the House. David’s review of Going Infinite is here: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/how-michael-lewis-got-duped-by-sam-bankman-fried.html

Will & Felix continue last week’s discussion on Gaza & Palestine with further thoughts on the brutality of the unfolding conflict, reactions and narratives pushed through the American media, shifts in public opinion, and the unstable positions of Israel & America. Here are a few Palestinian aid organizations worth your support: https://www.pcrf.net/ https://www.anera.org/ https://www.map.org.uk/