Behind the Bastards – "It Could Happen Here Weekly 219" (Feb 14, 2026)

Host: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts
Summary by Podcast Summarizer

Episode Overview

This special episode of Behind the Bastards compiles a week's worth of "It Could Happen Here" coverage, focusing on disturbing trends in American culture and politics. The main themes:

• The spread and meaning of online memes (particularly the “Lonely Penguin”) and their appropriation by reactionary and far-right politics
• The ongoing normalization of self-destructive, nihilistic power structures in the Trump era
• The myth of "returning to normal" in social and economic life
• Grassroots resistance to ICE’s rapidly expanding network of detention centers
• A deep-dive into the disturbing DOJ handling of the Epstein files
  Intense, sometimes darkly humorous, and always incisive, the episode offers a sweeping look at how today's political and cultural disasters are deeply interwoven and historically rooted.

Segment 1: The "Lonely Penguin" Meme & Far-Right Symbolism

[02:32 – 15:04] Host: Garrison Davis & Team

Key Points:

• The Trump administration used a viral penguin meme—originating from remixed Werner Herzog documentary footage—to symbolize their Greenland expansion efforts.
  • "[An] image of Trump walking hand and flipper alongside a penguin holding an American flag... sparked ridicule... based on the fact that there aren't any penguins in Greenland." —Garrison Davis [02:40]
• Meme’s online evolution: Far-right groups interpret the penguin’s solitary trek as a metaphor for heroic male rebellion and Western “greatness,” despite Herzog portraying the penguin's journey as deranged and doomed.
  • "Users, mostly male, saw the penguin as a powerful rebuke of secular modernity." —Garrison Davis [05:39]
• Government agencies, anti-immigration groups, and politicians co-opted the meme for propagandistic purposes, using AI-generated versions.
• The actual documentary shows the penguin is lost, doomed, and wandering to its death — making its adoption as a right-wing mascot deeply ironic and disturbing.

Notable Quotes:

• “The penguin is not the Ubermensch. The penguin will not achieve individual greatness… the penguin is going to die.” —Garrison Davis [15:04]
• "The Nazis get the skull, we get a f---ing penguin." —Garrison Davis [15:32]

Segment 2: The Death Drive & The Suicidal State

[15:04 – 38:33] Host: Garrison Davis

Key Points:

• Details philosophical concepts connecting fascist and reactionary politics to a “death drive”—a subconscious desire for self-destruction and societal collapse.
• Draws parallels from Deleuze, Guattari, and Virilio’s analyses of fascism; contrasts with totalitarianism, arguing that contemporary American right-wing is accelerating its own unraveling rather than seeking control.
  • “The suicide state… is not just a manager of death. It is rather the ongoing agent of its own catastrophe...” —Garrison Davis citing Vladimir Svatli [31:56]
• Explores real-world manifestations: The "Killdozer" and "Sky King" incidents as folk-heroes for young nihilistic men on the far right.
• Highlights economic and ecological crises as symptoms of wider, self-destructive political routines, from tariffs to dismantling of public institutions.

Notable Quotes:

• "Instead of resolving crises, [fascism] produces constant crisis for it to feed off of, forming… a war machine that no longer had anything but war as its object…” —Garrison Davis [32:08]
• “Only in transformation of ordinary social life into the horrific in the minds of the populace can the fascist find their surest means of governing.” —Garrison Davis [49:16]

Segment 3: The Myth of Normal and "Progress"

[36:26 – 67:38] Hosts: Andrew Sage & James Stout

Key Points:

• Scrutinizes nostalgia for a "normal" America, noting that many systemic issues—imperialism, economic exploitation, climate crisis—have persisted for decades and are products of "normalcy," not aberrations.
  • "Trump is not truly exceptional. Rather, he's a product of the normal that people seem to be yearning for." —Andrew Sage [36:42]
• Discusses the fallacy of linear progress, referencing Malcolm X and social theorists.
  • "Is it really progress to go back to a state that already was?” —Andrew Sage [40:24]
• Examines techno-utopian fantasies and ecological realities, questioning sustainability and ideas of endless growth.
• Offers critiques of individualism and the illusion of independence, discussing the performativity of self-sufficiency in influencer/homesteader culture.
• Emphasizes mutual aid, community, and interdependence as paths to weather ongoing and coming crises.

Notable Quotes:

• “We can't supplement each and every individual person with a car for all of time.” —Andrew Sage [44:55]
• “The whole homesteading fantasy is this very comforting illusion… people… lived off the land… in community.” —Andrew Sage [67:02]
• "The community support and the shared resources are going to matter a lot more than your personal purchasing power." —Andrew Sage [68:50]

Segment 4: Organizing Against ICE Warehouses – The Georgia Case

[74:05 – 103:08] Host: James Stout & Guest: Sam Hamilton (Advancing Justice-Atlanta)

Key Points:

• ICE’s new initiative: converting massive warehouses (including a 1M sq foot site in Social Circle, GA) to house thousands of detainees.
  • "ICE intends to use a warehouse… over 1 million square feet to detain about 8,500 people." —Sam Hamilton [74:45]
• Describes how small, relatively affluent, conservative towns, blindsided by the news, mobilize when ICE announces facilities without local input.
• Community opposition focuses first on practical concerns (property values, local resources), but expands to human rights and abolitionist advocacy as more learn about ICE’s abuses.
• Tactics: demonstrations, media outreach, legislative and legal strategies, coalition-building—including unlikely alliances across political lines.
• Emphasis on urgency and respect for existing immigrant-led organizing: newcomers warned not to "pop in and tell us how to do everything" but to build coalitions and move fast and respectfully.

Notable Quotes:

• "This is a concentration camp… they're filling [the warehouses] with people that apparently we don't want. It's one of the more horrific things." —James Stout [100:01]
• “Legal tools will not liberate us… it's people power, coming together, mass collective action that is… going to do it.” —Sam Hamilton [94:44]

Segment 5: Petty, History, & Smashing the Politics of Respectability

[108:44 – 154:49] Special Interview: Brandon Kyle Goodman, Amanda Nelson (Amanda's Mild Takes)

Key Points:

• Amanda Nelson discusses demystifying history and politics via accessible social media explainers, humor, and snark.
  • “...history [is] not that difficult to grasp if you just speak like a regular ass human.” —Brandon Kyle Goodman [110:10]
• Amanda's background: raised conservatively as a racialized minority in Virginia, develops political consciousness by interrogating the South’s history and expanding into activism.
• Commentary on the necessity of dragging online trolls and men who have never experienced consequences: “If you're a 50-year-old white man, you have never experienced a consequence for running your mouth ever. And I'm going to be that consequence for you.” —Amanda Nelson [127:21]
• Critique of historical analogies: warns against over-focusing on Nazi Germany as an American precedent while neglecting our homegrown histories of resistance and oppression (e.g., Black Panthers, labor, civil rights).
  • “Resistance in America comes from Black and Indigenous and Latino people… you have got to become more familiar with your own people.” —Amanda Nelson [140:01]

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• “You can call me the Pettysburg address”—the art of being “mean to people you're not supposed to be mean to” as strategic empowerment.
• “The people in power are not smarter than you.” —Amanda Nelson [138:36]

Segment 6: The Conservative Media Counter-Spectacle – "All-American Halftime Show"

[158:52 – 181:11] Main Cast Discussion

Key Points:

• Turning Point USA’s attempt to stage an “All-American Halftime Show” flops comically compared to Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl halftime.
• Small attendance, awkward performances, derivative and sometimes incoherent lyrics, revealing a conservative yearning for folk authenticity but producing cringe.
• Kid Rock’s performance and subsequent explanations mocked; event's technical issues further underline the cultural disconnect.

Notable Moments:

• “It's so good… This all sounds like an ‘I Think You Should Leave’ sketch.” —James Stout [165:01]
• “You're being paid to sing about this… in fact, it's your job because you're not there for your musical abilities.” —James Stout [170:47]

Segment 7: Current Events Roundup – Immigration/ICE, Policing, Tech Law

[181:13 – 194:08] Main Cast

Key Topics:

• Police use “brutal force” against high schoolers participating in anti-ICE and immigration enforcement walkouts in Illinois.
• ICE officer involved in accidental firearm discharge illustrates lax safety and broader problem with armed law enforcement.
• Family separations & targeting children in ICE deportation efforts; "baiting" tactics decried.
• Washington state proposes draconian legislation to require 3D-printer manufacturers to install firearm blueprint-blocking tech, raising civil-liberties concerns.
• California unleashes lawsuits targeting 3D-printed firearms code and websites.

Segment 8: The Epstein Files & Pam Bondi’s DOJ Coverup

[194:26 – 215:14] Main Cast

Key Points:

• Congressional hearings on DOJ’s handling of Epstein files—focus on deliberate or grossly negligent exposure of victims' names, while still redacting co-conspirators, abusers, and clients.
  • “You published their names… for the world to see… you acted with some mixture of incompetence, indifference, and jaded cruelty.” —Rep. Jamie Raskin [201:29]
• Pam Bondi, new Trump-appointed AG, refuses to answer survivors, dodges all questions with extreme “whataboutism,” brings up stock market numbers, anti-Semitism, and irrelevant political affiliations as deflections.
  • “You are here for a hearing on the Epstein files. You are the Attorney General of the United States and you are a fucking piece of shit.” —Gia Giudice [208:07]
• Bondi actively avoids facing survivors, disrespects their trauma, and is roundly condemned by the pod’s hosts.
  • “She did not ever turn around and look at these survivors... She did not answer a single question honestly.” —Gia Giudice [206:56]

Memorable Quotes

(with speaker & timestamps)

• Garrison Davis: "The Nazis get the skull, we get a f---ing penguin." [15:32]
• Garrison Davis: “Trump is not truly exceptional. Rather, he's a product of the normal that people seem to be yearning for.” [36:42]
• Amanda Nelson: "If you're a 50-year-old white man, you have never experienced a consequence for running your mouth ever. And I'm going to be that consequence for you." [127:21]
• Andrew Sage: "The whole homesteading fantasy is this very comforting illusion and fiction, in my view. Because… people… lived off the land… in community." [67:02]
• Rep. Raskin (quoted by Gia Giudice): "You published their names… you acted with some mixture of staggering incompetence, cold indifference and jaded cruelty..." [201:19]

Takeaways

• Right-wing politics continues to embrace chaos, spectacle, and death drive impulses, even (ironically) in meme culture.
• Grassroots opposition forms in even the most unexpected communities in response to draconian immigration enforcement tactics.
• The myth of "normal" America is deeply misleading—our present crises are born of long-standing historical trends, not sudden deviations.
• Direct action, community mutual aid, and historical knowledge are necessary to counter systemic collapse and reaction.
• In matters of public accountability, the state’s contempt for the vulnerable and for justice (as seen in the Epstein case) is both deliberate and deeply sickening.
• Personal empowerment and the reclamation of history—from dragging trolls to organizing diverse coalitions—may provide the only viable resistance.