Podcast
Ball of Thread
Hosted by Marcy Wheeler · EN
Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler unwinds the true story of the attack on democracy that is bringing the United States to the brink of fascism.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Trump's Twin Intractable Psychological Dilemmas
3w ago00:11:20Tap to summarizeTo find a resolution with Iran, Trump will need to budge on one or another of his most fundamental psychological rules: He can't oppose Vladimir Putin and he cannot admit that Obama was a better President than Trump. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
Transcribe →Think of the Iran War as Global War
4w ago00:31:38Tap to summarizeYou can't separate Trump's disastrous war in Iran from the opportunities it gives Russia and China to wreak havoc in Europe and elsewhere. WATCH: https://youtu.be/nqNVpudA6_A?si=1G2dbnGp3eRZyS_t Read more: Produced by https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Transcribe →Trump Hoards the Money He Stole
Mar 200:22:14Tap to summarizeBy sending an invoice for the damages Trump's tariffs did to the American consumer, JB Pritzker will make it obvious that Trump is trying to hoard the money he stole from American consumers. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/trumps-tantrum-tariffs/ Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Back these podcasts and more at LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Transcribe →Marco Rubio Tries to Tell Europe He's Not the Grandson of an "Illegal" Immigrant
Feb 2300:17:54Tap to summarizeMarco Rubio went to Europe and invited them to remain allies of the US, but only if they adhere to a vision of Western culture and history that excises the contributions of Latinos like him, to say nothing of Black Americans. Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Support these podcasts and help change brains: www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Transcribe →Behind the Masks
Feb 1300:07:01Tap to summarizeBehind the masks that Stephen Miller's goons are wearing lies a truth about America that destroys his claims of white supremacy. He cannot carry out his deeply racist project without relying on the labor of brown people. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/stephen-miller-paid-latino-thugs-to-murder-alex-pretti/ Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Help change brains: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Transcribe →Swapping VA Care for Dead VA Nurses
Feb 1000:16:54Tap to summarizeRepublicans have made a choice: to dump billions of money that previously went into healthcare, including VA care, to pay goons who are shooting people dead in Minneapolis and elsewhere. They've literally taken money used to fund VA care to pay goons who shot VA nurse Alex Pretti in the back. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/marco-rubio-will-let-2-5-million-children-die-so-sarah-rogers-can-fund-far-right-extremists-in-europe/ Subscribe to emptywheel and support the cause: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Produced by LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Transcribe →UPDATE: Murder on Ice and Water
Feb 200:50:15Tap to summarizeTwo weeks ago we argued that Stephen Miller thinks of his invasions of Venezuela and Minneapolis the same. This week, after Alex Pretti's murder, Donald Trump confirmed that. Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
Transcribe →Feed the MAGAt Conspiracism
Jan 2200:13:59Tap to summarizeIt may be easier to separate MAGAt from Trump by stoking their conspiracism than by explaining, factually, all the problems with Trump. Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/portfolio-item/where-we-go-from-here/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Join LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Transcribe →Murder on ICE and Water
Jan 1300:41:41Tap to summarizeStephen Miller's plan to murderbomb boats in the Caribbean and invade Venezuela and Greenland has direct ties to the latest invasion of Minneapolis. Watch this: https://youtu.be/dIi6tA-DV_k?si=cLWePZcwI6gSZSzR Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/07/stephen-miller-has-similar-plans-for-colombia-and-columbia/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Transcribe →RE-RELEASE: The Meaning of January 6th
Jan 600:57:58Tap to summarizeDonald Trump will never accept losing anything – whether an election or a bet. But that wouldn't matter if he didn't convince millions of Americans to make his grievances their own. This Ball of Thread unwinds what made the pincer attack that overran the Capitol on January 6th possible. Donald Trump's grievance narratives gave disaffected Americans meaning, and in that meaning, he convinced thousands of people to throw their lives away in his name. The thing is, it's all the same con. That con defeated the Russia investigation and weaponized the Department of Justice against his opponent. And when he lost in 2020, he unleashed it to unite fringe right-wing groups and mainstream Republicans in a shared revenge fantasy. Thus, he was able to raise a ragtag army to sack the nation's Capitol briefly, and in the process, savagely battered hundreds of police officers and ended America's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power. Though the attack ultimately failed by only delaying the certification of Joe Biden's victory, the bets Trump and many of his biggest fans made on January 6, 2021 are now paying off in ways that were inconceivable on January 6, 2025.
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