Podcast Summary:

It Could Happen Here – Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #44
Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts | December 5, 2025
Hosts: Garrison Davis, James Stout, Mia Wong, Sophie Lichterman

Overview

This episode of "It Could Happen Here" delivers a comprehensive rundown of the week in White House news, U.S. government actions, and their connections to wider trends in American collapse and resistance. Highlights include intensifying surveillance and military activity abroad, evolving immigration crackdowns, controversial law enforcement incidents, major legal battles over tariffs, and alarming developments in higher education and media. The team analyzes both headline-grabbing and under-the-radar government activities, always with an eye toward the lived impact on ordinary people, the trajectory of collapse, and emergent possibilities for building a better future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. International Surveillance and U.S. Military Activity

[02:47 - 06:30]

• US Manned Surveillance Flights in West Africa:

  • The U.S. is conducting ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) flights over Nigeria and parts of the Sahel, suggesting potential UAV (drone) strikes soon, targeting groups like ISWAP and JNIM.
  • James Stout jokes about their gender-neutral acronym obsessions:
    “When you get killed by an unaccountable drone, but it’s gender neutral.” (03:43, James)

• National Park Service Changes:

  • New fees: $100 upcharge for non-U.S. residents at 11 major parks and $250 for an interagency pass, modernized passes include Trump’s image—a motif of Trump branding government assets.

2. Legal & Intelligence Revelations

[06:30 - 08:41]

• DOJ Updates – Pipe Bomb Case:

  • After nearly five years, an arrest was made connected to the January 6 pipe bomb incident. The suspect’s “anarchist leanings” were noted, but with ambiguous meaning.
  • The case partially debunks previous conspiracy theories and misidentified suspects.

• FBI Surveillance of Left Organizing:

  • FOIA requests reveal FBI investigation into the Socialist Rifle Association under Biden, though no charges resulted.

3. Concerning Criminal Plots and Indictments

[08:48 - 11:07]

• Foiled Texas Plot on Haiti:
  • Two Texas men indicted for plotting to invade Haiti’s Gonave Island for horrific purposes, including plans for murder and enslavement—one even joined the Air Force this year for military experience.
  • Discussion underlines the overlap of violent fantasies, militarism, and America’s armed institutions.
  • James: “While planning to invade a small island and enslave everybody, he got into the Air Force. That… should be a story.” (10:34)

4. Tariff Talk with Mia Wong

[11:45 - 20:33]

• Impending Supreme Court Ruling on Trump Tariffs:

  • Legality of sweeping Trump-era tariffs challenged; major corporations (notably Costco) are pursuing lawsuits to recoup losses should the ruling overturn the tariffs.
  • Mia: “It is so patently illegal. It is an astounding demonstration of the complete abdication of the Supreme Court’s pretensions at being one of the branches of government...” (11:51)

• Trump’s Trade Confusion:

  • Trump now threatens to abandon or re-negotiate the USMCA, his own 2020 replacement for NAFTA—despite having championed it as a core achievement.
    • “Brother, you did this. This was your trade deal.” (16:43, Garrison)

• Latin America Strategy:

  • Trump attempting to replicate past cordial U.S.-Brazil ties, lowering some Brazilian tariffs as a result—even as U.S. gears up for possible conflict in Venezuela.

• Structural Critique:

  • The hosts emphasize NAFTA and its replacements hurt both American and Mexican workers, and Trump’s moves are political theater with little benefit to workers.

5. Shocking Updates – Military, Immigration, and Violence

[25:17 - 36:34]

• National Guard Shooting in DC:

  • On Thanksgiving, West Virginia National Guard troops patrolling in DC (part of Trump’s “crime crackdown”) were attacked, resulting in one death.
  • The shooter was an Afghan refugee with a history in a CIA-backed paramilitary—raising questions of trauma, veteran care, and the U.S.’s responsibilities to its wartime allies.
    • Garrison: “Specifically… mental health support for these people… probably doesn’t exist.” (28:58)

• Immediate Policy Crackdown:

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halted all asylum, green card, and citizenship applications from “high-risk” countries, using spurious criteria (visa overstay rates).
  • List includes Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and several African countries.
    • James: “This doesn’t have anything to do with risk… They do not justify the inclusion of these countries based on potential for people there to do terrorism.” (30:27)

• Trump Administration TPS (Temporary Protected Status) Moves:

  • Announced end of TPS for Somalis in Minnesota, but without legal authority—immigration enforcement ramps up regardless, leading to targeted ICE actions and state fear.

6. Congressional & Military Controversies

[36:34 - 41:57]

• Drone Strike Debate:
  • House hearings question whether U.S. forces conducted a “double tap” strike on survivors of a drone attack against alleged “narco-terrorists” at sea.
  • Tom Cotton and others use bizarre justifications; the team points out the legal and moral issues, with little hope for accountability.
    • James: “You’re not at war. You’re in a suit in a room watching a TV screen.” (37:01)
    • James: “It doesn’t matter what term we use to describe this other than war crime.” (39:47)
  • U.S. signaling possible escalation in Venezuela—grave humanitarian concerns.

7. Deep Dive – New York City Sanctuary Policies & Zoran Mamdani

[46:19 - 61:58]

• Clarifying the Law:

  • Explanation of NYC’s sanctuary provisions: only honor ICE detainers for 170 listed “violent or serious” crimes and with judicial warrant.
  • James: “Sanctuary laws are not the same in every city. People have an understanding of them which could do with being improved.” (48:16)

• Limits of Local Power & Harm Reduction:

  • Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani is constrained, but pushing for stronger sanctuary policies, more legal funds, and less cooperation with ICE—while negotiating with federal authorities to avoid federalized raids and National Guard deployments.
    • Garrison: “There is a difference between being the mayor of a local municipality and what a legitimate politics of actually stopping our current process of deportations looks like.” (57:02)

• ICE and Local Policing Realities:

  • Even with sanctuary laws, ICE can act independently; real protection depends as much on local vigilantism and community organizing (e.g., Canal Street blockade) as official policy.
    • James: “That is what kept those people safe… it was members of their community.” (63:05)

8. Culture Wars on Campus: Academic Freedom under Attack

[63:18 - 75:30]

• University of Oklahoma Grading Scandal:
  • A trans graduate instructor is suspended after flunking a junior psychology major for a religiously-motivated, citation-less reflection paper denying the existence of non-binary gender and opposing “Satanic lies.”
  • The right-wing group TPUSA launches a media blitz, and the student becomes a conservative celebrity.
    • James: “This is not a scientific response. It is… entirely vibes based.” (70:47)
    • Garrison: “This is chilling speech at universities by making it so you can’t teach certain topics, especially if you happen to be trans yourself.” (74:39)
  • The case illustrates how academia is under siege from external political attacks, especially targeting queer and progressive educators.

9. Media & Predictive Data – The Rise of Betting on News

[75:30 - 79:27]

• Prediction Markets in Key News Outlets:
  • CNN and CNBC partner with Kalshi—online political betting platform—to feature prediction market data (i.e., gambling odds) as news “data.” Rival PolyMarket partners with X (Twitter) and Yahoo Finance.
    • Garrison: “It’s incredibly dangerous to democracy... It’d be very easy to interpret these gambling numbers as genuine poll information.” (78:56)
    • James: “There is one possible benefit. Will it stop Nate Silver being so fucking annoying?”
  • The hosts warn that this distorts public understanding of elections and major events, disguising speculation as objective reality.

Notable Quotes & Standout Moments

• “When you get killed by an unaccountable drone, but it’s gender neutral.”
  — James Stout (03:43)

• “Brother, you did this. This was your trade deal.”
  — Garrison Davis (16:43)

• “You’re not at war. You’re in a suit in a room watching a TV screen.”
  — James Stout (37:01)

• “It doesn’t matter what term we use to describe this other than war crime.”
  — James Stout (39:47)

• “This is not a scientific response. It is… entirely vibes based.”
  — James Stout (70:47)

• “It’s incredibly dangerous to democracy... It’d be very easy to interpret these gambling numbers as genuine poll information.”
  — Garrison Davis (78:56)

• “That is what kept those people safe… it was members of their community.”
  — James Stout (63:05)

Important Segment Timestamps

• International Surveillance & Park Fees: [02:47 - 06:30]
• Pipe Bomb Suspect & FBI SRA Tracking: [06:30 - 08:41]
• Texas-Haiti Atrocity Plot: [08:48 - 11:07], [25:04 - 25:32]
• Tariffs and Trade Policy: [11:45 - 20:33]
• National Guard Shooting & Afghan Refugee: [25:17 - 36:34]
• Deportations & Immigration Crackdown: [31:14 - 36:34]
• Venezuela Drone Strikes, Law of War: [36:34 - 41:57]
• NYC Sanctuary Law, ICE Policy: [46:19 - 61:58]
• Academic Freedom Controversy: [63:18 - 75:30]
• Kalshi, Prediction Markets in News: [75:30 - 79:27]

Tone & Language

• Deeply skeptical, darkly humorous, and indignant about abuses of law and power
• Unflinching coverage of “collapse” with a rigorous, anti-establishment perspective
• Informal, direct, and laced with profanity, gallows humor, and historical references

Final Thoughts

This episode exemplifies the show’s blend of rapid-response news analysis and systemic critique. The hosts cover a daunting array of stories, always returning to the human stakes of policy, the dangers of unchecked power, and the importance of local (sometimes direct) resistance. The show’s coverage is clear about the real dysfunction at the executive level and the collapse of normality, while rooting for the emergence of better futures from below.

For a deep dive on any segment, consider listening from these timestamps, or use the summary above to catch the episode’s most crucial moments and central themes.