Listen Now: Dan Taberski’s Manifesto

Summary

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Podcast Summary: American Scandal – Listen Now: Dan Taberski’s Manifesto

Host: Dan Taberski
Series: American Scandal (Audible Originals)
Episode: Manifesto Preview
Date: July 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode serves as an introduction to Dan Taberski’s new podcast, "Manifesto," where he explores the complex and often dangerous power of the written (and spoken) manifesto. With reference to notorious and impactful manifestos—both benevolent and malevolent—Taberski seeks to reclaim the concept from its current dark associations with violence and restore its place as a tool for artists, visionaries, and those seeking real social change. The episode uses the high-profile case of Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer turned vigilante, and the legacy of historical manifestos such as the Black Panther 10-Point Program, to question the roots, motives, and consequences of rage channeled through a manifesto.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Peril and Potential of Manifestos

• Reclaiming the "Manifesto": Taberski’s mission is to shift the meaning of "manifesto" away from its recent association with mass violence, aiming to highlight its historical place among artists, activists, and visionaries.

  • “This project is my attempt to take the Manifesto back for mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the artists and the warriors, the visionaries, the regular folks with just the right amount of crazy who've got something to say and the guts to say it.” (00:14)

• Anger as a Creative Driver:

  • Taberski reflects on his own feelings of suppressed rage in today’s world and explores how manifestos often serve as a vessel for turning anger into action—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.
  • “Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own?” (01:03)

2. The Christopher Dorner Case: Rage in Motion

• Setting the Scene: February 2013, Venice, California—Taberski describes his content life before the harsh reality of a chilling event in Southern California.

  • “It's my last few months in Los Angeles before I move back east...I feel amazing. I look amazing...But I'm not taking you back in my time machine because of how good I looked...it’s because of what happened next in Southern California…” (01:05)

• The Murders and Police Response:

  • The episode recounts the double murder of Keith Lawrence and Monica Kwan in Irvine, CA, initially appearing motiveless and meticulously executed.
    • “The guy was a public safety officer at USC and she was an assistant basketball coach at a local university, murdered while parked in their white Kia Optima.” (02:13)
  • Lack of evidence of robbery, use of a silencer—indicating a professional, calculated act.

• Christopher Dorner’s Manifesto:

  • Introduction of Dorner, described as a former LAPD officer, now fugitive, targeting police.

    • “Dorner was an LAPD officer...and a reservist for the United States Navy.” (03:25)

  • The turning point: his manifesto, posted to Facebook, reveals motives and targets.

    • “A particular interest at this point in the investigation is a multi page manifesto in which the suspect has implicated himself in the slayings.” (03:46)
    • “I tell you, this manifesto...scares the hell out of me.” (04:08)

  • The manifesto acts not only as a confession but as a catalyst for fear and action.

3. Personal Encounters with Rage and Micro-Rebellion

• Supermarket Example:
  • Taberski details a personal moment of rebellion against the seemingly small injustices of modern life, such as the shopping cart coin system at the grocery store.
    • “I have been for a while now, to be honest. The world is on fire. I'll spare you the details...But even more concerning for me...has been my own reaction to it and how difficult it's been to get a handle on how angry it has all made me.” (04:21)
    • Story of sabotaging the shopping cart system as an act of personal liberation.
      • “I sat, he said, fuck it, I'm not gonna do this anymore...So he takes a coin and he jams it into the slot so it won't come out. So now no one's playing the stupid shopping cart game, are they?...it felt like a moment of liberation.” (06:01–06:32)

4. The Historic and Transformative Power of Manifestos

• Black Panther Ten-Point Program:

  • The episode contextualizes manifestos within social movements, playing archival audio of Bobby Seale reading the demands from the Black Panther Party in 1968.

    • “Number seven. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.” – Bobby Seale (06:51)
    • “They have not had a fair trial, because they've been tried by all-white juries. And that's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew.” – Bobby Seale (07:06)

  • A manifesto in this context becomes a threat, a promise, and a blueprint for social change.

    • “Manifestos aren't just pretty poems. They are, in a sense, a threat. A hard packed snowball of grievance and timing and nerve and real impact...” (07:23)
    • “But when it happens, when a manifesto catches fire, it can change our world. It can rewrite our future. But there's a hitch.” (07:40)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Manifestos and Rage:

  • “Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own?” – Dan Taberski (01:03)
  • “Manifestos aren't just pretty poems. They are, in a sense, a threat.” – Dan Taberski (07:23)

• On Personal Acts of Rebellion:

  • “Then all of a sudden, there was that one moment when...I said, fuck it, I'm not gonna do this anymore...And it felt so good. It felt like a moment of liberation.” – Dan Taberski (06:01–06:32)

• On the Power of the Black Panther Party’s Words:

  • “Number seven. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.” – Bobby Seale (06:51)
  • “They have not had a fair trial, because they've been tried by all-white juries. And that's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew.” – Bobby Seale (07:06)

• On Dorner’s Manifesto:

  • “And it says he's been very well trained...And I tell you this manifesto...scares the hell out of me.” – News Segment (04:08)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] – Dan Taberski introduces the motivation for the "Manifesto" series
• [01:55] – News reports on the Irvine, CA double murder
• [03:15] – Police identify Christopher Dorner as murder suspect
• [03:46] – Introduction and significance of Dorner's manifesto
• [04:21] – Taberski’s personal internalization and struggle with anger
• [05:34] – Supermarket story as an allegory for suppressed rage
• [06:51] – Bobby Seale reads from the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program
• [07:23] – Taberski’s analysis of the impact and risk of manifestos

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Conclusion

This episode preview of "Manifesto" sets the stage for a much broader exploration, blending personal introspection, historical context, and a dissection of famous (and infamous) manifestos. Taberski raises critical questions about the legitimacy and risks of channeling collective rage into action: when does a manifesto inspire positive change, and when does it incite destruction? The episode provides a nuanced look at how our attempts to articulate and organize anger can shape society, for better or worse.

Listeners are invited to continue with the full saga of "Manifesto" to see how Taberski’s search for inspiration—and caution—unfolds.

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Transcript

[A]

Hey, Dan Taburski here. You might know me from podcasts like Hysterical or Missing Richard Simmons. And now my latest adventure, Dan Taburski's Manifesto. This project is my attempt to take the Manifesto back for mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the artists and the warriors, the visionaries, the regular folks with just the right amount of crazy who've got something to say and the guts to say it. I compare notes with radicals, secessionists and Internet trolls out for a laugh and punk singers screaming their guts out, all trying to turn their anger into the world that they want to see. And along the way I write my own manifesto about manifestos. But the question that rises up pretty quickly Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own? From Audible Originals and Please and Thanks Productions, this six part series explores the power and precariousness of the Manifesto and asks can we get inspired again and can we do it without a bullet? I'm about to play a clip from Manifesto. You can listen to Manifesto wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Manifesto ad free right now. Start your Audible subscription on the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts. February 2013 Venice, California. It's my last few months in Los Angeles before I move back east. I'm in my late 30s, living by the beach, learning to surf the crumbly waves on my longboard. My skin smells like the ocean all the time. I feel amazing. I look amazing. I look amazing. But I'm not taking you back in my time machine because of how good I looked. Which was very it's because of what happened next in Southern California that cut through that dreamy scene and swapped it out with harsh reality.

[B]

Police in Irvine, California are investigating the double murder of a young couple in the parking lot of their apartment complex.

[A]

Reports of a homicide in Neighboring Orange County.

[B]

27 year old Keith Lawrence and his fiance, 28 year old Monica Kwan, were found shot to death in Lawrence's car late Sunday night.

[A]

Two young people, a couple, recently engaged. The guy was a public safety officer at USC and she was an assistant basketball coach at a local university, murdered while parked in their white Kia Optima.

[B]

Investigators do not yet have a suspect

[A]

description or motive and immediately the details of the crime begin to add up to something bigger than a one time thing, like when their bodies are found by the police. The victim's necklace is still on her neck. Her new engagement ring is still firmly on her finger. Which means this isn't a Robbery. Also, investigators find evidence of 14 shots having been fired. That's a lot of bullets for just two people cornered in their car. But the number of neighbors who actually heard those 14 shots, zero. So maybe there was a silencer on the gun, which would mean the killer probably isn't new to this, that maybe they're a professional.

[C]

Irvine detectives have been working day and night since this tragedy.

[A]

The Irvine police chief takes to the podium to tell the people of Southern California that they are going to have to buckle up for a ride today.

[C]

We have identified Christopher Dorner as a suspect in this double homicide because the

[A]

suspect, Christopher Dorner, is no ordinary suspect.

[C]

Dorner was an LAPD officer through 2009 and a reservist for the United States Navy.

[A]

Dorner is a former LAPD cop and he's still out there. And there's reason to believe that he's going to kill again, that maybe he already has. And we know this because Christopher Dorner left something behind.

[C]

A particular interest at this point in the investigation is a multi page manifesto in which the suspect has implicated himself in the slings.

[A]

And this manifesto on Facebook is 11 pages long. Trace this manifesto from this suspect who's targeting cops. It's stunning. It is stunning, Shep.

[C]

And it says he's been very well trained. You know, lapd, some of the best trained officers in the country. And I tell you, this manifesto, it

[A]

scares the hell out of me. I'm Dan Tabursky from Audible Originals and please and thanks Productions. This is Manifesto Episode 1 2America. Subject Last Resort. I am in the market for a manifesto. I have been for a while now, to be honest. The world is on fire. I'll spare you the details. We've all got our own faves and I mean, really, what fresh words could be left to describe what fresh hell we're presented with day after day? But even more concerning for me, even more surprising, has been my own reaction to it and how difficult it's been to get a handle on how angry it has all made me. I'm not an angry person. I am a relatively happy guy, but I find myself seething underneath all the time. My patience has become strained, my temper too short, my ability to hear anyone has. It happens at, of all places, a supermarket where the whole economic order is reduced down to cans on a shelf where you can buy two of crap you don't need for the price of one.

[D]

And this feeling of discontent that I've had in shopping at supermarkets, you know, for years and years before that, and being dissatisfied with the whole feeling of walking in there and having the choices that they're giving me and the way that I. It just felt like something that I don't want to do. But I kept on doing it.

[A]

He goes to grab a shopping cart. Only it's one of those setups where you got to insert a coin to get the cart, and you only get the coin back if you return the shopping cart. As if none of us can be trusted.

[D]

You know, basically, they asked me to sort of use the shopping cart, put the coin in and take the coin back and put it back to where it belongs. Then all of a sudden, there was that one moment when. When I sat, he said, fuck it, I'm not gonna do this anymore, and I'm not gonna stop other people from doing it as well.

[A]

So he takes a coin and he jams it into the slot so it won't come out. So now no one's playing the stupid shopping cart game, are they?

[D]

And it felt so good. It felt like. Like. It felt like a moment of liberation.

[B]

That.

[A]

That space right there where emotion becomes action when you're inspired to just do something already. That is the stuff of manifestos. Individuals, groups, entire swathes of society use it as the funnel to focus their erupting rage.

[E]

Number seven. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.

[A]

This is activist Bobby Seale reading the Black Panther Manifesto in 1968. They called it the Ten Point Program.

[E]

We want all black men held in counties, states, federal jails and prisons to be released because they have not had a fair trial, because they've been tried by all white juries. And that's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew.

[A]

Manifestos aren't just pretty poems. They are, in a sense, a threat. A hard packed snowball of grievance and timing and nerve and real impact, a sparking of real, honest to God, change is the longest of long shots. But when it happens, when a manifesto catches fire, it can change our world. It can rewrite our future. But there's a hitch. Binge all episodes of Dan Taburski's manifesto ad free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts.