I Don't Speak German

Originally published 11th April 2024. Our series on 'movies about presidents' continues with a fun discussion of this 1997 'thriller', written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman based on the debut novel of David Baldacci, starring/produced/directed by noted chair-interviewer Clint Eastwood, and boasting a splendid cast - including recently-deceased screen legend Gene Hackman - none of whom are given anything very interesting to do. Clint plays a suave cat burglar - with the unlikely name of Luther Whitney - who accidentally witnesses the president of the United States sexually assaulting a woman (far-fetched, right?) and getting her killed. All Hell then persistently threatens but repeatedly fails to break loose. Instead we get a slow, aimless, half-baked movie filled with good elements that don't cohere or go anywhere special. It sparked an amusing conversation though, as we hope you will agree. Full episode was originally exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Please consider donating to help u

After a brief review of Grok becoming 'MechaHitler', we chat about the hysterical meltdown that ensued upon Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primaries to become candidate for Mayor of New York.  Jack brings his researches into the New York Times smear story and the fascist eugenicist blogger Jordan Lasker (AKA Cremieux) who gave the Times the leaked info.  Daniel brings clips of Megyn Kelly's unhinged Islamophobic response to Mamdani on her podcast, including a conversation with Charlie Kirk in which racism wars for inanity for supremacy. Content warnings. Episode Notes: NBC News, Asked to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’ Mamdani says mayors shouldn’t ‘police speech’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggV2SeiGrVw Zohran Mamdani told director mom Mira Nair to pass on Harry Potter movie https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/zohran-mamdani-mira-nair-harry-potter-namesake-b2778144.html "'She explained that she was just a month away from filming The Namesake when Warner

...oh my. Daniel and Jack talk about the latest lunacy with Musk and Grok, The Big Beautiful Bill, social murder, the expansion of ICE, recent SCOTUS rulings and the assaults on trans rights and birthright citizenship, Alligator Alcatraz, the horrifying flash floods in Texas and the cuts to the National Weather Service, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Big content warnings for this one.  Lots of dead children in here.  Because that's the news in July 2025. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-ger

We're delighted to welcome back Craig Johnson - of Fifteen Minutes of Fascism - to chat about the politics and value of native English speakers learning other languages, especially Spanish. Episode Notes: Spanish language papers: Pagina12: left Peronist, Argentina: www.pagina12.com.ar Proceso, Mexico: www.proceso.com.mx elDiario.es and Público, Spain: www.eldiario.es, www.publico.es  Again, not an endorsement of these as the best and most perfect news sources in the world, they have their own biases (esp regarding their own domestic left), but good for different perspectives. Craig: How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, book. 15 Minutes of Fascism at Soundcloud  IDSG on 15MoF Craig's bluesky Craig's Patreon Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.co

A News Roundup episode, and an episode of two halves.  We start with a discussion of the recent public Oval Office meeting between Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa, in which Trump harangued the South African president with accusations of 'white genocide' based on 'evidence' which tracks straight back to people in our usual wheelhouse.  Then we move on to a chat about the recent decision by language learning app Duolingo to replace loads of their contributors with AI, plus some dismaying news about Babbel, leading to a discussion of the impending AI jobs crisis.  Then we cap it off with an odd flex for us... a feel good story! Episode Notes: Trump spreads racist South African Farm Murders Memes in meeting with Ramaphosa Trump/Ramaphosa meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLkZv3gzO0 Response: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/politics/video/trump-ramaphosa-south-africa-video-larry-madowo-vrtc * A check of Trump's false claims about white genocide in South Africa | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-ma

Daniel and Jack are joined by special guest, South African anti-disinformation advocate, Bianca van Wyk, to discuss the issue of 'South African farm murders', the reality vs the right-wing narrative, some of the bad actors pushing the fake version of the story, and the links to the 'white genocide' conspiracy theory.  Bianca helps us get the whole thing into proper context, especially re South Africa's history and current politics.  Also discussed: the recent fast-tracking of refugee status for white South Africans by the Trump administration, the US Right's embrace of the South African far-right's propaganda, the 'Kill the Boer!' chant and what it really means, Elon Musk, and the recent reprogramming of X's AI chatbot Grok. Content Warnings apply. Episode Notes: X @biancavanwyk16 TikTok @BiancaSays3 YouTube @WhiteWhineTalks Sour Grapes — The Toxic Vintage of White Whine by Bianca https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2024-05-16-bianca-van-wyk-sour-grapes-the-toxic-vintage-of-white-whine/ https://www.theguardian.

In this immediately out-of-date episode, Daniel and Jack discuss the 2024 movie Conclave in light of the (at the time of recording) underway 2025 Conclave in the Vatican to choose a new Pope.  Both your hosts talk a little about their own religious backgrounds, review the film, and then get onto the politics of the Catholic Church, particularly the integration of right-wing US bishops with American reactionaries. Episode Notes: https://www.ncronline.org/culture/book-reviews/playing-god-traces-history-catholic-conservatism-gone-extreme https://publicseminar.org/2024/08/the-catholic-new-right-and-project-2025/ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/catholic-right-celebrity-conversion-industrial-complex?srsltid=AfmBOooTq0kt0MevV9R8VfOMTL3vn5n2JBO1URs0O1qbA9760WPUWsRa https://www.politico.eu/article/vaticans-church-catholic-pope-francis-hard-right/ https://sojo.net/magazine/march-2019/rise-catholic-right https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/maga-catholics-vatican-pope-conclave https://youtu.be/Mb3z

Trump released all the remaining secret JFK files!  Except not really.  And they're full of revelations!  Except not really.  (They're mainly full of people's social security numbers which, it transpires, is pretty much all the remaining redactions were hiding.)  Anna Paulina Luna (R, FL) is leading a new congressional investigation!  Er... no, she's inviting conspiracy theorists into Congress to confirm her ill-informed beliefs.  The mystery is solved!  Or deepens!  Except nope nope and nope. In this impromptu News Brief, Jack and Daniel jump off from a supremely stupid clip of reactionary conspiracybrained shitheads Bill Maher and Andrew Sullivan to ponder the changing political meaning of the conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination, why it has migrated from a left preoccupation all the way over to being an obsession of MAGA and the far-right.  Along the way we encounter the peculiar and controversial author Gerald Posner, who is able to debunk JFK conspiracy theories but apparently unable to s

Our 'movies about presidents' series continues (probably for four more years) with a much better movie this time. 1993's Wolfgang Peterson joint In the Line of Fire, featuring Clint Eastwood again (are we... doing a Clint Eastwood season now?) as jaded old Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, veteran of a particular epic fail in Dallas 1963, up against the 90s serial killer shtick of rogue CIA super-assassin John Malkovich and, even more dauntingly, the merciless side-eye of fellow agent Rene Russo. A superior slice of 90s Hollywood nonsense with a nice line in gentle self-mockery and some adorable early digital effects. This is a fun one, kids. Full episode exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgp

Our series on 'movies about presidents' continues with a fun discussion of this 1997 'thriller', written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman based on the debut novel of David Baldacci, starring/produced/directed by noted chair-interviewer Clint Eastwood, and boasting a splendid cast - including recently-deceased screen legend Gene Hackman - none of whom are given anything very interesting to do. Clint plays a suave cat burglar - with the unlikely name of Luther Whitney - who accidentally witnesses the president of the United States sexually assaulting a woman (far-fetched, right?) and getting her killed. All Hell then persistently threatens but repeatedly fails to break loose. Instead we get a slow, aimless, half-baked movie filled with good elements that don't cohere or go anywhere special. It sparked an amusing conversation though, as we hope you will agree. Full episode exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get ex

Jack and Daniel welcome to the show Craig A. Johnson - academic, researcher, antifascist, and host of the (excellent) podcast 15 Minutes of Fascism - to chat about his (excellent) new book How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, a primer on today's fascist and far-right, in all their styles and iterations, aimed at people worried that a young person in their lives (most especially a young man, obviously) is being sucked into the darkness. Episode Notes: How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, book. 15 Minutes of Fascism at Soundcloud  IDSG on 15MoF Craig's bluesky Craig's Patreon Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twit

Daniel and Jack chat about the eventful millennia that have passed since they last convened...  Features Cantwell News! Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1  

With apologies for our latest recent hiatus, here's an old bonus episode - formerly just for patrons - in which Daniel and Jack chat about 1992's A Few Good Men, a military courtroom drama written by Aaron 'West Wing' / 'Social Network' Sorkin, and starring Kevin Pollack and some other people probably. We're still alive and the show will be back.  We appreciate your patience. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.   Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Jack is joined by friend (and friend-of-the-show), the writer George Daniel Lea, to talk about the online phenomenon known as 'Estranged Parents' or the 'Estranged Parents Movement'.  George did a deep dive and is here to tell us about what he found.  It turns out to be a lot more relevant to IDSG than it might seem at first glance! George's site http://www.strangeplaygrounds.com/ George on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:luidqaapyfdytwkv6eivrfid George on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@ExaggeratedElegy In researching this episode, and compiling a suite of clips of the infamous Estranged Parent content creator Diane, Jack made extensive use of the work of Maximmino on YouTube, who has covered this subject at length.  https://www.youtube.com/@Maximmmino Here is Maximmino's video on Diane's infamous deleted video, from which Jack harvested several clips. https://youtu.be/SpSRkNYUiAw?si=Af4kRPvMg2PQJ57i Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Pa

We begin our seventh year (!) with a conversation with special guest Teddy Wilson, the journalist behind Radical Reports, on the state of the January 6th convictions, prosecutions, and investigations in the looming shadow of a second Trump presidency. Episode Notes: https://bsky.app/profile/reportbywilson.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/radicalreports.bsky.social https://www.radicalreports.org/ Teddy's previous IDSG appearances: https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/123-moms-for-liberty-with-teddy-wilson https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/bonus-hanging-out-with-eiynah Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @

In a companion piece to the last public bonus, Daniel and Jack discuss Adam McKay's Vice from 2018, a dense metafictional dramedy biopic of Dick Cheney, unofficial president during the George W. Bush years and architect of the 'War on Terror'.  An interesting movie, possibly as flawed as it is brilliant.   Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1

Another in our series of election year chats about movies about presidents.  Originally published 18th October, exclusive for Patreon subscribers of Daniel or Jack, now released for all.  By patron request, we watched and discussed 1999's delightful neo-screwball teensploitation 70s-nostalgiafest Dick, in which two teenage girls - Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams - accidentally find themselves befriending Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya) and becoming entangled in Watergate. It's terribly fun. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.   Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1  

Normal service to be resumed soon.  In the meantime, Daniel and Jack continue their series on movies about the presidency by considering Oliver Stone's baffling 2008 movie W., an aggressively irrelevant and annoyingly whimsical dramady biopic of blood-soaked war criminal George W. Bush.  The movie stars Josh Brolin as the charming mass murderer, and a host of respected American actors doing impressions of neocon profiteer warmongers in what looks weirdly like a bloated SNL sketch.  Both your hosts find their dusty old rage about the 'War on Terror' (and the myriad other vicious and authoritarian horrors of the Bush administration) suddenly reawakened. Links to clips included: Naomi Klein on the Iraq invasion as an orgy of privatisation: Naomi Klein on C-Span: Triple Privatization in the Iraq War Greg Palast on the Republican conspiracy to rig the 2000 for Bush in Florida: The 2000 Election Vice on corporate profits from the Iraq invasion: Was the War in Iraq All About Profit? | WHILE THE REST OF US DIE Brown

Daniel and Jack sit down across from each other in brown leather armchairs and ruthlessly interrogate each other about their many crimes.  We also continue our election year series on movies about (or at least mentioning) US Presidents by talking over the deeply mid 2008 Ron Howard movie Frost/Nixon, an almost entirely fictional account of some TV interviews in which a chat show host helped a mass murdering crook present himself to the world as a thoughtful and moral person, to enormous acclaim.  Thankfully the media learned their lesson and don't launder horrific people anymore just because they're powerful. * Originally exclusive for Patreon subscribers. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper J

Results.  Reasons.  Prospects.  The future of the show. Please do not expect any sugar on the pill.   Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent.  Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1