Behind the Bastards / It Could Happen Here Weekly 199

Date: September 13, 2025
Podcast: Behind the Bastards (Cool Zone Media / iHeartPodcasts)
Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 199

Episode Overview

This week's episode is a "mega-compilation" covering the major news and deep dives from the past week. The episode oscillates between urgent and darkly comedic coverage of state violence, surveillance, crime, politics, and ideological capture, featuring insightful conversations between regular hosts (Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Honey German, Dana Elkurd, Mia Wong, Michael Tura, and guests including Cooper Quinton from the Electronic Frontier Foundation).

Key themes include:

• The social construction of crime and effective methods for crime reduction
• The rise (and hidden right-wing backing) of "Abundance" ideology in policy circles
• New ICE spyware and the limits (and realities) of smartphone hacking
• Netanyahu, Gaza, and the hollowness of statehood recognition for Palestine
• The assassination of Charlie Kirk, its political fallout, and the surge of political violence
• Major immigration, gun policy, and Cop City court updates
• The full release and discussion of Jeffrey Epstein’s "50th Birthday Book," with particular focus on Trump and other powerful figures

Everything is delivered in the podcast’s signature journalistic, cutting, occasionally irreverent style, and conveys both context and practical advice amid America’s accelerating social unraveling.

Key Segment Summaries & Insights

I. Crime: What Actually Works? (03:05–43:58)

Speaker: Propaganda / Robert Evans (main), with interventions by Dana Elkurd

• "Crime has become a color mute term in the era of Trump. It kind of always has been, but it's really obvious now with the National Guard being unleashed onto the streets of Washington, D.C." — Propaganda (06:13)
• Deep dive on how “crime” is constructed and racialized—pointing out that “the crime is that you exist,” particularly for Black and marginalized communities.
• Cites a TikTok quoting Freeway's lyrics: economic desperation, not inherent criminality, drives “crime.”
  • "We still hustle till the sun come up...but without this drug shit, your kids ain't got no way to eat, huh?" (16:30)
• Increasing police presences doesn’t help: overpolicing leads to more harm and recidivism.
• Data shows sharp crime reductions in recent years (contrary to right-wing claims of a “crime wave”).
  • Examples: Philadelphia and Baltimore; both showed dramatic drops in homicide through city investment in community-based interventions, mentorship, and by treating violence reduction as a public health issue—not just policing.
  • "Homicides in Philadelphia are at the lowest level they've been in 25 years...in Baltimore, the homicide rate has fallen 40%.” (34:20, 36:13)
• Solution: "If you just care and you spend money on trusted sources and provide resources, crime drops." (43:30)

II. Tech Fascism & the “Abundance” Agenda (48:08–68:15)

Speaker: Mia Wong, with commentary by others

• The rise of "Abundance" as a liberal/centrist policy movement, spearheaded by figures like Ezra Klein but largely funded and ideologically shaped by right-wing tech oligarchs (Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Koch brothers).
• "Abundance is an attempt by the tech oligarchs to take over the left, the same way they took over the right. And that makes the ideology extremely dangerous." — Mia Wong (51:51)
• Dissected “Abundance” ideology:
  • Argues: Just build more, reduce regulations, treat government like a business.
  • Critics (Bastards crew) point out: This is simply “supply-side Reaganomics”, tailored for a new, tech-rich audience.
  • Explains price-fixing examples (RealPage, OPEC) to show markets are about power, not neutral “supply and demand.”
  • "In the real world, markets are not neutral institutions that operate according to neutral laws. They're institutions created and enforced by the state." (61:46)
• The “Network State”: the dream of techno-libertarians to create corporate-controlled city-states, already being tested in Solano County, CA (“California Forever”), Prospera in Honduras, etc.
  • "They want the world to be composed of these networks of venture capital tech corporations run and ruled by them, by the tech elite for profit." (68:13)
• Central warning: Tech right is trying to co-opt the left via “abundance” language and policy—ultimately to serve corporate, anti-democratic interests.

III. ICE, Surveillance, and the Reality of Smartphone Hacking (78:16–112:50)

Host: Garrison Davis, interviewing Cooper Quinton (EFF)

• News: ICE contract with Israeli spyware firm Paragon was unfrozen; ICE to start using “Graphite” spyware.
• Cooper Quinton (EFF): Paragon's “Graphite” is powerful, but not omnipotent (can read messages in chat apps but doesn't totally take over your phone like NSO Pegasus).
  • “This is a very stripped-down malware...it's not magical, it's not omniscient.” — Cooper Quinton (86:07)
• Most dangerous if you are a high-profile figure—journalist, immigration advocate, activist—not for random protesters/ordinary citizens (90:42+).
• Real security advice:
  • Keep your phone up to date (software updates make exploits much more expensive for spyware firms).
  • Use disappearing messages in Signal or WhatsApp.
  • Use iPhone lockdown mode or Android advanced protection (“All my homies love lockdown mode.” – Cooper, 108:03)
  • Delete old chats and files; be proactive about “digital hygiene.”
  • Regularly reboot your phone — “It’s overblown to say that, once it's on your phone, it's on your phone forever. Rebooting can wipe Paragon’s exploits.” (100:10)
• Surveillance threat is real, but don’t buy the hype that ICE can mass-hack millions of phones at will.

IV. Palestine, Statehood, and the Limits of Diplomacy (117:44–139:33)

Host: Dana Elkurd

• Analysis of the international moves to “recognize” Palestinian statehood (France, UK, others), and why it is largely symbolic and possibly even a trap.
• Historical background: Oslo accords, mutual recognition, the deliberate ambiguity of “statehood.” “Sovereignty” for Palestinians always meant autonomy — but Israeli and U.S. policy never truly intended a real Palestinian state.
  • “What is statehood in the context of occupation and ethnic cleansing? What state is actually being recognized?” — Dana Elkurd (118:22)
• Most Palestinian surveyed have no faith in “recognition” as a path to actual liberation/sovereignty; they see it as a fig leaf for western/Israeli stalling and exploitation.
• Recognition can have some diplomatic or symbolic power, but without real change (ending occupation, real sovereignty, representation), it risks enabling a “police state alongside a settler colonial entity.”
  • "Recognition isn't the solution. Statehood may not even be the solution, at least not in the terms they're offering." (138:15)

V. The Week’s Biggest Story: The Assassination of Charlie Kirk (143:45–172:15)

Panel Discussion: Garrison Davis, Sophie Lichterman, Robert Evans, J. James Stout, Honey German, Michael Tura

• Detailed breakdown of how Charlie Kirk (right-wing agitator) was assassinated during a public campus event in Utah.
  • “Kirk was shot once in the neck. It hit his brain stem. You can kind of tell by the way his arms moved after he was shot.” — Michael Tura (145:00)
• Uncertainty and conspiratorial frenzy around the shooter’s identity (early claims of connection to “transgender and antifa ideology” were cautionarily walked back by authorities—155:33).
  • “A senior law enforcement official...cautioned that report had not been verified by atf. Analysts did not match other summaries of the evidence and might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted.” (154:43)
• Political fallout:
  • Trump and right-wing media immediately frame the assassination as the work of the “radical left,” with calls for “revenge,” new crackdowns, and escalation of culture war rhetoric.
  • Hosts note extreme right-wing hypocrisy: the right both incites/celebrates violence and exploits it when they’re the victims.
• "Political violence exists across the spectrum. This is not a left wing problem. This is an American problem." — Garrison Davis (163:21)
• Warnings about weaponization of rhetoric—promises of “war” and moves toward digital crackdowns (Clay Higgins seeking lifetime social media bans; calls for infiltration and arrests).

VI. Policy, Immigration, and Activist Updates (172:15–192:42)

Key topics:

• DOJ considering, but not confirming, new restrictions on trans gun rights following another school shooting—NRA opposes, worried about slippery slope (174:10+).
• Supreme Court decision upholding ICE/CBP racial profiling in Los Angeles (178:07).
• Attempted mass deportation of Guatemalan minors interrupted by a judge (180:53).
• 300+ South Korean workers at a Georgia Hyundai plant detained and removed following a raid, illustrating the contradictory impulses of nationalism and economic development under Trumpism (183:43+).
• Update on the Cop City RICO case: defense wins a key motion gutting the state’s RICO charges, with major implications for the prosecution of activists (188:28).

VII. Epstein’s “50th Birthday Book,” Trump, and Power’s Deeply Dark Networks (193:02–211:46)

Detailed rundown & live reactions from the panel.

• The full “Epstein birthday book” is released: letters and “jokes” from dozens of powerful men implicating themselves socially (if not criminally).
• Trump, Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, and others wrote creepy, chauvinistic, or flat-out repellent tributes or stories.
  • “It’s no secret that Jeffrey appreciates beautiful women… But not many people know he can create them out of thin air.” (198:40, Bill Elkus letter)
  • “Truly nauseating” jokes and art about girls and “buying women” (including a “joke” check from Trump to Epstein “for the girl”) (204:10)
  • The infamous note (“Enigmas never age…”) is illustrated with a drawing of a pubescent girl. Trump’s signature is present and matches other known signatures, yet Trump claims it’s a fake (205:41).
  • “This is so much more creepy than anyone who tried to draw what this might have looked like, has previously imagined.” — Garrison Davis (205:35)
• House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans spinning desperate defenses of Trump as an alleged anti-Epstein "FBI informant” — then immediately walking back those claims (207:12–208:11).
• Short coda: Project Veritas uses a dating app "honeytrap" to secretly record a DOJ employee gossiping about Epstein files; DOJ does damage control (208:12).

Notable Quotes & Timings

• “The crime is that you exist.” — Propaganda, on racialization of crime (06:13)
• "Crime's a social construct. Because if that's the case, how is George Zimmerman still walking?" (13:30)
• "If you just care and provide resources, the crime — it drops itself." (43:30)
• “Abundance is an attempt by the tech oligarchs to take over the left, the same way they took over the right. And that makes the ideology extremely dangerous.” — Mia Wong (51:51)
• “This is a very stripped-down malware...it's not magical, it's not omniscient.” — Cooper Quinton (86:07)
• "Palestinians want a state. They want A state in the full meaning of the term." — Dana Elkurd (126:04)
• "Political violence exists across the spectrum. This is not a left wing problem. This is an American problem." — Garrison Davis (163:21)
• "Some unverified information...contain(ed) engraved wording on (the shooter's) cartridges expressing transgender and antifa ideology." — Garrison Davis (154:43)
• "It’s not a great picture. It could also be something else because...it just looked like any hunting rifle on a store rack." — Honey German (148:38)
• "Who is that man with Epstein?...Jeffrey Epstein is, of course, one of the world's most famous men...But what is he doing flying to Africa with an obscure former politician from Hope, Arkansas?" — Alan Dershowitz parody letter (199:41)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Crime as Social Construct & Community Solutions: 03:05–43:58
• Tech Fascism & "Abundance": 48:08–68:15
• ICE Spyware, Surveillance, and Digital Hygiene: 78:16–112:50
• Palestine Statehood & Sovereignty: 117:44–139:33
• Assassination of Charlie Kirk, Political Fallout: 143:45–172:15
• Immigration, Cop City & Policy Updates: 172:15–192:42
• Epstein’s Birthday Book, Trump & the Dark Web of Power: 193:02–211:46

Memorable Moments

• Propaganda’s Freeway lyric breakdown as social critique of criminalization (16:30+)
• Direct, data-driven dismantling of police-centric crime narratives using Philly/Baltimore case studies (34:20+)
• Mia Wong exposing the right-wing capture of “liberal” abundance politics (51:51+)
• Cooper Quinton’s clear, myth-busting tech advice on spyware realities (86:07+)
• Forensic reading and visceral reaction to the Epstein book’s grotesque “in-jokes” and illustrations, especially the Trump letter (204:10+)
• Real-time critical commentary on weaponization of political violence after Kirk’s assassination (154:43+)

Tone & Language

The episode mixes clear, data-driven journalism and deep expertise with sharp, often profane critique and gallows humor. The hosts' language is direct, at times sardonic, and unafraid to name political actors and systems as complicit, hypocritical, or outright criminal.

Takeaways

• Crime is best solved not by punitive policing, but by community care, mentorship, and meeting basic needs.
• The new “Abundance” movement is a dangerous Trojan horse for oligarchic, anti-democratic policy—beware of tech and billionaire capture of “the left.”
• ICE’s spyware is real, but most at risk are outspoken activists; most people can mitigate some risk with basic digital hygiene.
• Symbolic statehood for Palestine will not deliver sovereignty without deep and democratic structural change.
• The assassination of a right-wing agitator is being weaponized to escalate repression, even as right-wing violence remains the main threat.
• The power elite’s ties to Epstein—and the farcical, sickening evidence of their complicity—are now fully in public view, even as they desperately spin and obfuscate.

Links to Additional Resources:
Links promised by hosts for studies, policy papers, surveillance self-defense guides, and Cooper Quinton’s contacts can be found in the episode description.

For a richer, more granular understanding of any segment, see specific timestamps and quotes above, or consult the episode’s show notes.