CZM Rewind: Dogwhistle Politics and Nazi Code Hunting

It Could Happen Here – Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts
Date: February 2, 2026
Hosts: Garrison Davis, Mia Wong

Overview

This episode explores the current misuse and overapplication of "dogwhistle" politics, specifically Nazi code-hunting, in online discourse around government rhetoric. Hosts Garrison Davis and Mia Wong dissect how well-meaning anti-fascist education and impulse have morphed into conspiratorial pattern-finding, and why this trend may be missing the forest for the trees—especially when fascist or ethno-nationalist messaging is open rather than secret. Using recent examples from DHS social media and referencing foundational essays in conspiracy and fascist aesthetics, the hosts argue for a shift in focus from decoding supposed hidden signals to confronting explicit, real-world actions and policies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dogwhistles vs. Open Fascism

• Garrison starts with a (satirical) personal account of decoding "Nazi codes" from a hypothetical account "Hell Hitler," poking fun at online code-hunting.

• The episode pivots to critique the current overapplication of anti-fascist code-spotting, especially in analyzing official government communications (e.g., DHS tweets and posts).

• Example: A DHS post using the painting "American Progress" with the caption “A heritage to be proud of, a homeland worth defending” is analyzed—not just for its virulent colonial imagery but for planned word counts (trying to find 14 words, referencing the white supremacist "14 words").

  Notable Quote:

  "People have been noticing patterns, noticing trends in official communications from the DHS... But this is about how we understand the messaging of fascists and how anti-fascist education works, and ways that I think it's currently being misapplied."
  — Garrison Davis (03:02)

• Hosts point out: Instead of focusing on surface-level dogwhistles or covert numerology (e.g., capital letter counts or word-into-number conversions), the actual content and history—such as open use of genocidal symbolism or policies—are evidence enough.

• Mia: "If the regular whistle is already fascist...what purpose does a dogwhistle have?" (08:03)

2. The Paranoid Style in American Politics

• Garrison reads from Richard Hofstadter's "The Paranoid Style in American Politics" (12:36), highlighting how the urge to find secret knowledge becomes all-consuming, even counterproductive.

• The hosts compare current left and right behavior, noting liberals and leftists have mirrored paranoid, conspiratorial frame pioneered by QAnon. Accusations and code-decoding have become ends in themselves.

  Notable Quote:

  "It's such a romantic idea that, that I alone have the info or the clue to, to piece this together and it's my duty to inform the masses."
  — Garrison Davis (15:09)

• Mia: Highlights that, currently, fascist policies are literal:

  "...this is a conception of how a fascist takeover works that is so thuddingly literal that it defies narrativization because...there's no subtlety...they're just doing it." (16:21)

• Hosts stress: Dogwhistles and esoteric codes are less relevant when fascist policies are overt, such as ICE and DHS enacting mass deportations in visible, explicit ways.

3. The Psychology and Utility of Code-Hunting

• Garrison: Argues online code-hunting (e.g., "counting words and turning capitalized letters into numbers") is more about coping with gut-wrenching reality than about exposing or countering anything new.

• Hofstadter cited: The accumulation of "evidence" in conspiracy thinking.

  Notable Quote:

  "Looking at the horrific state of the federal government...this is a self-preservation mechanism."
  — Garrison Davis (18:24)

• Mia: Dogwhistling's purpose is over—"those guys are already in power." No need for secret signaling.

4. Dogwhistle Education Backfiring

• The hosts reflect on how well-meant antifascist education about Nazi codes may now be overapplied, and, paradoxically, help normalize or spread the codes.

  Notable Exchange:

  • Garrison: "Is there somebody out there in 2025 who's gonna finally realize that DHS as an agency has fascistic underpinnings...by counting words and turning capitalized letters into numbers?" (21:47)
  • Mia: "We've failed on the normalization front because again, like, it's the President of the United States...It's already become normalized because they have power." (23:03)

• They invoke the "OK" symbol fiasco, where what started as a 4chan in-joke to fool leftists became self-perpetuating until it was sometimes genuinely used as a fascist symbol. There's a fear the same could happen with number codes like "14 words."

  Notable Quote:

  “Dog whistles end up being created or spread further due to this gamified version of like Easter egg anti-fascism. It's kind of like the Barbra Streisand effect…”
  — Garrison Davis (26:26)

5. The Aesthetics of Fascism and Liberalism's Response

• Tangent on image vs. substance:
  The hosts discuss how both the public and liberal opponents are distracted by the aesthetics (how deportations look, what uniforms ICE wears, how DHS posts are worded) rather than the acts themselves.

  Notable Exchange:

  • Garrison: "Part of this focus on, on, on like these hidden codes and even just like these like messages online is a liberal opposition to the aesthetics of deportation, but not necessarily the act itself." (31:44)
  • Mia: "One of the cores of fascism is the replacement of politics with aesthetics." (34:12)

• Mia references Walter Benjamin: Capitalism and fascism replace actual politics with powerful images/aesthetics—creating a situation where even opposition is felt through images, not deeds.

• Garrison brings in Mark Fisher and Guy Debord (“Society of the Spectacle”), arguing “ultra authoritarianism and capital are by no means incompatible. Internment camps and franchise coffee bars coexist...” (35:24)

6. Where Do We Go From Here?

• Hosts concede anti-fascist code-spotting deserves some consideration, but it's largely beside the point in an era of open fascism.

• Effective opposition now requires action, coalition-building, and confronting the real machinery of state violence, not hunting for patterns.

  Notable Quote:

  “The time for Nazi code hunting, if there ever was one, has passed.”
  — Mia Wong (41:48)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Dog whistles don’t matter if the regular whistle is already fascist.”
  — Mia Wong (08:03)

• “Everyone in America wants to have access to secret information...that I alone have the info or the clue to, to piece this together and it's my duty to inform the masses.”
  — Garrison Davis (15:09)

• “There isn’t like a secret thing that you can say to convince people that they're, that all these people are Nazis...everyone hates them already.”
  — Mia Wong (19:40)

• "Dogwhistling is for trying to sneakily get racists or fascists into power while signaling to a nationalistic base that they are one of them. But these guys are already in power."
  — Garrison Davis (18:08 approx.)

• “The only way to denormalize it is not actually to do media critique, it’s to actually oppose them.”
  — Mia Wong (23:15)

• “If you don't exit the sort of mirror world of images...you're just gonna live in the fascist nightmare forever.”
  — Mia Wong (35:49)

• “The time for Nazi code hunting, if there ever was one, has passed.”
  — Mia Wong (41:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Satire on "Nazi Code Hunting": 00:41–03:59
• Discussing Dogwhistle Overapplication: 03:59–09:00
• Paranoid Style in Politics (Hofstadter Reading): 12:18–16:42
• Conspiratorial Thinking, QAnon/BlueAnon: 16:42–19:19
• The Psychology/Coping of Code-Hunting: 18:24–19:19
• Backfiring of Dogwhistle Education: 21:28–26:26
• OK Symbol as Dogwhistle Parable: 26:26–29:14
• Aesthetic Focus vs. Real Policy: 31:44–35:24
• Walter Benjamin, Society of the Spectacle: 34:12–37:05
• Fisher and Badiou on Aestheticized Politics: 37:05–40:45
• Concluding Reflections: 41:48–41:56

Conclusion

The episode thoughtfully dissects how obsessing over fascist dogwhistles and secret codes—despite good intentions—increasingly limits the anti-fascist response by focusing on aesthetics, pattern-recognition, and conspiratorial knowledge rather than mobilizing meaningful action against open, admitted state violence and ethno-nationalist policy. The current reality, the hosts argue, is one of open fascism where the time for code-hunting as a primary tactic has passed.

Final Summing Up:

“The time for Nazi code hunting, if there ever was one, has passed.”
— Mia Wong (41:48)