Behind the Bastards: It Could Happen Here Weekly 214

Date: January 10, 2026
Hosts: Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, James Stout, Mia Wong, Sophie Lichterman
Topic: Weekly roundup of U.S. and global politics, listener Q&A, tech industry trends (CES), and breaking news on Venezuela and domestic U.S. events (notably ICE violence).

Episode Overview

This wide-ranging episode covers multiple main areas:

• A listener Q&A with the full team, sharing personal stories and insights on recent projects.
• Predictions and analysis about U.S. politics (midterm elections, the economy, the state of the Democratic and Republican parties).
• Tech industry trends with a report from CES 2026, focusing on the rise (and possible stall) of AI and wearable gadgets.
• In-depth discussion of the U.S. military kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro, the geopolitical and ethical fallout, and public protest responses.
• Breaking domestic news, notably an ICE agent’s killing of a protester in Minneapolis and its resonance with previous police violence.

The tone oscillates between irreverent, bleakly humorous, and deeply earnest as the team discusses the chaos of the last year and the dark shape of things to come.

1. Listener Q&A – Humor, Humanity, and Political Reflections

[01:46–24:59]

Team Banter & Personal Stories

• The team trades deeply personal and often darkly comic stories from their youth.
  • James Stout talks about past gorings by bulls, admitting, “First of all, you shouldn't be unkind to animals. So I did deserve it.” ([04:58])
  • Sophie Lichterman recalls public humiliation from ripping her pants at an eighth-grade picnic: “That was my fun, non-incriminating story from youth.” ([06:08])
  • Robert Evans recounts being stripped by the Ganges while whitewater rafting in India: “As soon as I get in the water, [my pants are] gone, torn off by the Ganges. And then I am naked from the waist down.” ([07:55])

Recent Work & Pride

• Robert Evans confirms the sequel to After the Revolution is finished and near release ([09:24]).
• Team members reflect on episodes they’re most proud of:
  • Garrison Davis cites his “dog whistle politics episode” on understanding modern propaganda as continuing to resonate amid fascistic government social media posts ([19:52]).
  • Mia Wong is proud of her episode predicting the “turn away from social media” and the team’s work helping stop anti-trans Medicaid cuts through news coverage ([22:34], [23:28]).
  • James Stout values “the border stuff” and seeing people “change the things they do every day” in response to reporting ([24:04]).
  • Sophie Lichterman highlights commissioning the Anti Vax America series ([24:59]).

Scars of Political Cynicism

• The panel discusses what “Jokerified” them in the past year, citing disillusioning moments like the DNC, conspiracy rabbit holes, and the left increasingly embracing “lie fights” and flattening tactics with the right:
  • “The uniformity of the embrace of counterfactuals… I don't feel like fact-checking works.” (Robert Evans, [26:58])
  • “Trying to get people fired... and then the left embracing conspiratorial thinking… this flattening of tactics across the left and right has been useful for me.” (Garrison Davis, [29:15])
  • Deep frustration at how any mass shooting is instantly followed by transphobic “transvestigations.” ([30:32])
  • General despair at the left’s ignorance about guns and gun policy debates ([31:41–32:12]).

Dual Power & Uprisings

• The team discusses historical and current “dual power” (parallel/alternative institutions to the state):
  • Mia Wong: “The people who've objectively done the best job of it is the Zapatistas… They've held out against, you know, the wrath of the Mexican state.” ([32:35])
  • Robert Evans and James Stout point to Rojava, the PKK, and the YPG/J as broader models ([33:08]).
  • U.S. examples include NYC DSA, immigration defense networks, and local mutual aid safety strategies ([34:06], [34:24]).

Notable Quote

“All of the news is bad, but not all of the work is useless. Sometimes it matters.”
— James Stout ([24:22])

2. Predictions & Analysis – Midterms, Economy, and the Copycat Era

[40:24–74:20]

Review of Last Year’s Predictions

• The team reflects on their 2025 predictions, with surprising accuracy on the Trump-Musk breakup and ongoing disappointment as authoritarian regimes (e.g., Myanmar) cling to power ([41:05]).

The Era of “Lone Wolf” Political Violence

• Dramatic increase in high-profile, copycat killings and attacks, inspired by events like the Shinzo Abe assassination and the Trump shooting:
  • “Sloppy Luigi copycat” attacks became “a super, super dominant part of 2025,” continuing the escalating “runaway feedback loop” of violence ([47:54–49:54]).
  • Activists respond via decentralized, rapid mobilizations—especially against ICE—which force federal agencies to adapt tactics even as large protests decline ([50:39–52:10]).

2026 Predictions – Tech Bubble, Economic Turmoil, Elections

• Mia Wong predicts: “Someone is going to invent a cryptocurrency that can only be mined by large language models… They’re going to try it. It's going to suck” ([53:39]).
• Unease about an “AI/tech bubble” collapse, rising layoffs, economic crumbling insulated from the stock market due to AI irrational exuberance ([54:25–57:36]).
• Sophie Lichterman predicts rise of “influencer shopping” and AI-powered targeting of consumers ([58:14]).
• Garrison Davis notes recession nostalgia cycle aligning with actual economic hardship ([59:00]).
• Backlash among younger generations against AI in both language and education ([59:40–61:21]).

Midterms Outlook

• Garrison Davis: Predicts Democrats will “do okay”—perhaps take one chamber, but not a landslide ([63:13]).
• Mia Wong: Strongly disagrees: “D plus 14. This is going to be a massacre!” (i.e., massive blue wave; [64:33]).
• Structural obstacles for Democrats discussed (redistricting, Senate/House dynamics) ([67:13–67:25]).
• The importance of local strategies and the DNC’s fecklessness ([68:10]).

War and the Trump Cabinet

• Predictions of further U.S. military adventurism, especially in Venezuela, Mexico, and the Sahel ([71:34–73:33]).
• Trump’s cabinet: Less turnover than expected, with “loyalty, not competence” the defining trait ([70:58–71:12]).

Notable Quotes

"We are living through the era of copycats—runaway feedback loops of violence because that's the only way to get attention."
— Robert Evans ([49:54])

"It's not a skill or competency that got these people their jobs—it's loyalty."
— Garrison Davis ([71:04])

3. Tech Industry & CES 2026 – AI Plateau, Data Risks, and Dispiriting Futurism

[122:04–168:53]

Smart Glasses and Wearables

• Garrison visits CES: Overwhelming focus on AI-powered smart glasses and wearable tech, but little practical advancement—gadgets are “virtually identical,” just with sleeker form factors ([123:25–126:37]).
• Mixed applications (e.g., swim and ski goggles with displays) but the sense is of innovation stalling—“less sexy,” “not excited to get a phone anymore” ([125:16–126:45]).

AI, Data, and Security

• Robert Evans questions Intuit’s CMO at a panel about exposing sensitive financial info to AI prompt injection attacks: “Every digital security expert I've talked to says it's a matter of when, not if that there is financial data revealed by these attacks.” ([142:32–143:58]).
• The CMO is stumped, unable to detail how liability or security is handled for such data leaks ([143:59–144:37]).

Marketing Meltdown

• Panels focus on AI as a friend (“not your enemy – it's here to help!”), but repeatedly cite low trust in AI among users.
• New “model hacking” strategies: flooding the internet with positive or targeted mentions so chatbots will recommend your brand. “What is the SEO of getting chatgpt?” ([134:29]).

Creative Bankruptcy & AI Content

• Example of AI “supercharging” creativity: A whiskey company lets you buy bottles printed with AI-generated art in a specific illustrator’s style—a trivial application ([157:31]).
• At Showstoppers, Garrison is pitched an app that will “write three books in 24 hours”—producing unreadable, empty, generic novels ([158:05–165:32]).
• “If you ever have to read through a lot of AI writing… it was so boring I forgot to take pictures.” ([160:55])

Notable Quote

“We have a new audience: we are speaking to machines. We're building content for engines. We are building websites to be scraped so that an LLM can understand what you want it to understand about your brand.”
— Jay Patasol, Forrester (quoted by Robert Evans, [153:11])

4. U.S. Coup in Venezuela – “Mask Off” Empire

[74:36–120:07]

The Operation

• U.S. special forces carried out a night assault in Caracas, kidnapping President Maduro and his wife, killing a sizable portion of their security (including 32 Cubans), and bringing them to New York to be arraigned on drug and weapons charges ([76:01]).
• The legal pretext: U.S. law enforcement agents needed protection to carry out an arrest. This is interpreted by the panel as an outright act of war and raw assertion of global hegemony ([77:08–78:08]).

Justifications and Precedent

• Comparisons to past regime overthrows (Noriega, Aristide), but this time “the mask is off.” No AUMF fig leaf, no Congressional consultation.
• “The Americas are our property, and we're perfectly justified in intervening to take resources that we want.” (Stephen Miller doctrine, summarized by Evans, [79:53])
• Media/diplomatic confusion as the Trump admin vacillates between claims of “running Venezuela” directly and working with a new “interim” government ([86:07]).

Oil, Empire, and Sanctions

• Real motivation is control of Venezuelan oil. Trump openly announces he will “control the profits.”
  “At other times in U.S. history, saying 'no war for oil' was provocative; now they just say, 'yes, war for oil.'” (Mia Wong, [181:11])

Repercussions

• Grave implications for international law, sovereignty, and global nuclear arms races:
  • “This is going to embolden the worst instincts of both the people running the U.S. and leaders around the world… It's comprehensively bad for everyone.” (Evans, [84:48])
• Precedent of extrajudicial U.S. actions against hostile heads of state.

Reactions

• Public opinion is sharply negative—more so than during the Bush invasions—72% of Americans worry the “U.S. will get too involved in Venezuela” ([113:02]).
• Concerns about Venezuelan nationals in the U.S. being forced to return and the impact of blockades, oil seizures, and further strikes ([115:31], [117:23], [199:12]).

Notable Quotes

“Maduro's personal qualities are irrelevant… What we're doing is illegal and bad. Sweet baby Jiminy Christmas.”
— Robert Evans ([120:24])

“Saying that it is illegal and wrong to kidnap Maduro does not mean we think Maduro is great. Just in the same way that saying the Iraq war is wrong doesn’t mean we love Saddam Hussein. People who tell you otherwise, you grow up.”
— James Stout ([120:07])

5. Breaking News: Domestic ICE Violence Echoes State Power

[169:30–178:44]

ICE Killing in Minneapolis

• Hours before recording, ICE agents shot and killed a woman in her car during a routine anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis—a block from where George Floyd was murdered ([170:02–170:48]).
• Video evidence makes clear the agent was not threatened, and no verbal warning was issued.
• The government labeled it “self-defense” and “terrorism” by the victim, consistent with a pattern of lies in past ICE shootings ([173:49–175:04]).
• Minneapolis mayor demands ICE “get the fuck out of Minneapolis” ([177:04]).

Protests and Continuity

• Immediate protests and broader anger liken ICE actions to police violence against Black Americans.
• The shooting is interpreted as the state using violence to enforce political priorities, “a demonstration of the continuity of the violence of the American state as can possibly be produced.” (Mia Wong, [176:45])

6. International Updates: Iran, Syria, Gaza, and Migration

[200:14–210:53]

• Flare-up between Kurdish and Turkish-backed forces in Aleppo; Kurdish groups in Iran united amid broader unrest.
• Israel blocks operations by global NGOs in Gaza.
• U.S. border and immigration news—San Diego sues for Trump policies damaging border property; concerns about forced returns of Venezuelan migrants amid new regime change.
• Supreme Court decision on tariffs pending.

Notable Memorable Moments / Quotes

• “You ever just lose your pants in the Ganges in front of a sacred city?”—Robert Evans ([08:29])
• “The only thing cropping [the economy] up in numbers is fucking Nvidia. Well, Nvidia less so now, but just irrational exuberance over AI in general.” —Robert Evans ([46:13])
• “We make them money and they in return say, keep doing what you’re doing, kid. Kiddos. Buckaroos.” —Robert Evans, on not being censored by iHeart ([19:14])
• “ICE was forced to change their tactics by the fact that giant mobilizations by ICE were going badly for them.” —Mia Wong ([50:39])
• “We are building content for engines. We are building websites to be scraped so that a LLM can understand what you want it to understand about your brand.” —Jay Patasol (quoted at [153:11])
• “No one’s going to die in 2026.” (re: skipping the traditional “death segment” at end of predictions; [74:17])
• “Saying the Iraq war is wrong doesn’t mean we love Saddam Hussein.”—James Stout ([120:07])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Q&A and Youth Stories: [01:46–14:30]
• Books and Media Discussion: [12:46–17:27]
• Favorite Projects: [19:41–24:59]
• Jokerification & Political Despair: [25:30–33:00]
• Dual Power and Activism: [32:17–36:05]
• Predictions Review & Copycat Terrorism: [40:24–52:10]
• 2026 Predictions (Economy, AI, Elections): [52:28–74:20]
• CES & Tech Industry Analysis: [122:04–168:53]
• Venezuela Coup Deep Dive: [74:36–120:24]
• ICE Domestic Violence: [169:30–178:44]
• International News Roundup: [200:14–210:53]

Closing Thoughts

This episode sharply encapsulates It Could Happen Here’s blend of gallows humor and urgent, clear-eyed critique of authoritarian trends. Its panoramic scope—shuffling from bull gorings and tech foibles to global coups and street shootings—is both grimly entertaining and alarmingly timely. The hosts lay bare the rising threat of unchecked power abroad and violence at home, with a thread of hope in grassroots resistance and critical, unbought journalism.