It Could Happen Here Weekly 208 – Episode Summary

Date: November 15, 2025
Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts/Contributors: Mia Wong, Garrison Davis, James Stout, Robert Evans, Dana Al Kurd, Ahmed Moore

Episode Overview

This week’s “It Could Happen Here Weekly” offers a sweeping look at collapse, resistance, and realignment in the U.S., with a focus on the aftermath of Zoran Mamdani’s historic win as New York City Mayor, the implosion of the American right over anti-Semitism and the Nick Fuentes/Tucker Carlson/Heritage Foundation scandal, as well as shifts in the pro-Palestinian movement, threats to public lands, and the ongoing political fallout from the Epstein files. The show’s trademark mix of irony and urgency is present as hosts and guests break down both big structural shifts and surreal political theater.

1. The Aftermath of Mamdani’s Victory: Winners and Losers (02:47–18:00)

Main Theme

The episode opens with a spirited, satirical ‘sports-like’ postmortem on Zoran Mamdani’s shocking mayoral win in New York—a win seen as a watershed for socialists, progressives, renters, childcare advocates, and anyone opposing the old establishment, particularly Andrew Cuomo.

Key Points

• Winners:

  • Lindsey Boland – First woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. Boland's joy is symbolically lauded, with Mia declaring, “This moment belongs to her” [06:06].
  • People with Children: Free childcare on Mamdani’s platform (09:00).
  • Renters & Working-Class New Yorkers: Expansion of rent controls, stabilization, and more rent-controlled housing [09:20].
  • Food-buyers: Stressed distinction between elites who never buy their own groceries and ordinary people who do—underscore on class divide [09:57].
  • Anti-Modi Speak-Out: Triumph as Mamdani publicly calls out Indian PM Modi as a war criminal—a first in US politics [10:13].

• Losers:

  • Laurа Ingraham & Fox News Right: Embrace “Democrats are winning but actually losing” copium [11:29].
  • Ross Douthat (NYT), Mike Cernovich, Heritage Foundation, others: Tried to downplay or rationalize the left’s win; Cernovich’s posts are ridiculed for their incoherence [12:55–14:21].
  • Right-wing fracturing—Heritage Foundation struggles with overt Nazis in their ranks (14:21).
  • Conservative Meltdowns: Abbott, Rick Scott, and others court New York “refugees”; empty threats about people leaving NY; no one actually leaves per Defector [16:40, 28:36].
  • Israeli Far Right & Mainstream Pro-Israel Groups: Outraged by Mamdani’s opposition to Israel’s policies, vow to monitor anti-Semitism in NYC (25:13–27:05).
  • Islamophobic and racist campaigners: Cuomo’s racist, Islamophobic campaign against Mamdani went down in flames.
  • Elon Musk et al.: “Suicidal empathy” rants mocked; inability to handle losing to an attractive, charismatic opponent [18:04].

Key Quotes

• “We will beat these monsters. New Yorker said no more to Andrew Cuomo. And that is just remarkable. And this shit rocks. This rocks. Fuck him.” – Mia Wong [07:33]
• “The right has so much just sort of weird projection shit...you called Barack Obama, the most neoliberal Democrat, a communist. Now you have a democratic socialist. And you’re just saying, this time, it’s really communism.” – Mia Wong [22:12]
• "There's been a whole genre of this – 'Democrats are win, actually losing.’” – Mia Wong [11:37]

2. Right-Wing Fracturing: Heritage, Fuentes, and Tucker Carlson (38:46, 114:38–177:48)

Main Theme

An extended segment tracks the explosive fallout on the American right after Tucker Carlson’s friendly, widely viewed two-hour interview with Neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, and the subsequent institutional chaos at the Heritage Foundation—a staple of conservative respectability. This has spurred staff resignations, donor flight, and a public schism between fraying “no enemies to the right” and old-guard “cancel the Nazis” conservatives.

Key Points

• Tucker Carlson Interviews Nick Fuentes: Hugely viewed; mass publicization of white identitarian ideas previously kept at the margins.
• Heritage Foundation’s Response: Initial refusal to “cancel” Tucker or Fuentes; attempted “debate not deplatform” line, criticized as safe-space wokeism by outraged staff; anti-antisemitism task force implodes; donors and Jewish Republican groups disaffiliate; president Kevin Roberts forced to apologize, blames chief of staff [129:24].
• Ben Shapiro’s 40-min. Video: Diatribe against Tucker/Heritage for “laundering” Nazis; calls for drawing moral lines; notes that this genie is out of the bottle through actual mainstream conservative failures [128:28–138:53].
• Groiper Infiltration: Extensive reporting and behind-the-scenes chatter about a generation of far-right Zoomers filling junior GOP staff posts, especially in DC—estimates of 30–40% [174:21].
• Media & GOP Reactions: Splits within Republican ranks; “leopards eating people’s faces party” meme as various factions realize their creation is escaping their control (e.g., “I never thought the leopards would eat my face…”).
• Nick Fuentes’ Ascendancy: Surging audience, social platform bans now ineffective, mainstream conservative fecklessness seen as enabling.

Notable Quotes

• “We will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda. That includes Tucker Carlson, who remains, and as I have said before, always will be, a close friend of the Heritage Foundation.” – Kevin Roberts [123:37]
• “If Republicans decide to cower before the likes of Neo Nazis and their propagandizers, they deserve to lose and they will lose.” – Ben Shapiro [138:53]
• “Google Pat Buchanan Nazi, Pat Buchanan anti Semitism… it’s been like this for a long time. They’ve just been so focused on campus activists protesting the Palestinian genocide that they've missed the festering anti-semitism spreading across the right.” – Garrison Davis [145:18]

3. Pro-Palestinian Movement in America: Interview with Ahmed Moore (84:07–110:06)

Main Theme

Dana Al Kurd interviews author and activist Ahmed Moore about the transformation of U.S. pro-Palestinian organizing since October 7, 2023, and the Gaza genocide, how it’s moved from rights-based to anti-empire/settler colonial critique, and what the future may hold.

Key Points

• Post-2023 Realignment: The genocide radicalized and mobilized countless Americans across ideological lines; Palestine now seen as a test of democracy and American complicity.
• Collapse of Taboo: Once-marginal discussions (settler colonialism, anti-Zionism) thrust into the center of U.S. political discourse [87:19–91:30].
• Electoral Politics: Hope and limits shown by Mamdani's success; skepticism about whether the American system can be reformed from within.
• Shift from Human Rights to Anti-Colonial Framework: Core demand is no longer the two-state solution, but real equality and accountability.
• Diaspora Politics: Need for a more aggressive, locally anchored Palestinian diaspora; more focus on principle than seeking establishment permission.
• Grim Outlook for Palestine: Ethnic cleansing underway; skepticism that statehood hopes will yield meaningful justice [107:07].

Memorable Quotes

• “Palestine is indispensable to understanding how our elites…have been captured by special interests, by corporatist interests. We’re beginning to see that rebound in meaningful ways.” – Ahmed Moore [88:23]
• “We need to be aggressive, we need to be forceful in calling for a total reconstitution of [the] Democratic Party, no half measures. And I think Zoran Mandani did a good job of illustrating what that could look like.” – Ahmed Moore [95:16]
• “The continuity of Palestinian life in Palestine is not guaranteed…” – Ahmed Moore [108:59]

4. Public Lands and Environmental Threats: Mike Lee’s Renewed Attacks (42:36–81:58)

Main Theme

James Stout and Garrison Davis detail Utah Senator Mike Lee’s latest attempts to gut environmental protections and undermine U.S. public lands—now justified in the name of border security.

Key Points

• Mike Lee’s New Bill: Proposes “inventorying” and paving illegal roads within 100 miles of any border; would destroy wilderness protections nationwide under the guise of fighting immigration [48:53].
• False Pretexts: Border state? No. Lee claims Biden’s “open border chaos is destroying America’s crown jewels.” His logic is bogus and designed to let extractive industries and real estate leapfrog longstanding protections.
• Larger Pattern: Trump’s appointments (e.g., Doug Burgum at Interior, Steve Pierce at BLM) have tilted entire federal land management toward maximal exploitation.
• Broad Coalition Possible: Call to all listeners—hunters, leftists, democrats, conservatives—to resist land sell-off.
• Other Developments: New York's wilderness protection deal through a land swap; GOP trying to “wokify” anti-environmentalism [75:19].

Quotes

• “We've suddenly gone from affordable housing as the excuse to border security. Utah is not a border state, Garrison.” – James Stout [49:16]
• “He hasn’t even made an effort to join the dots...” – Garrison Davis [52:13]
• “Public lands is one of those things where I have conversations with dudes who do not agree with me politically at all…if you can help people see this as part of a bigger problem, that’s a good thing.” – Garrison Davis [68:25]

5. Executive Disorder: Shutdown Fallout, Epstein Files, and D.C. Reality (182:10–247:54)

Main Theme

The “Executive Disorder” news round-up covers the end of the government shutdown (engineered by Democrats with minimal gains), the ongoing drip of Epstein files implicating Trump and other elites, the lasting damage to public trust, and the shifting landscape on LGBTQ+ rights and economic policy.

Key Points

• Shutdown Ends: Democratic senators collude with GOP to avoid Obamacare subsidies in shutdown deal; slide in “no bread, no circuses” conditions [182:34].
• Epstein Files: Scandalous new emails show Trump, Bannon, others in contact with Epstein; direct lines about “Trump asking Ghislaine to stop” [187:43]. Media ignored it in 2018, while over-blowing “migrant caravan” threats.
• Elite Impunity: Panel emphasizes the continuity of sexual predation from Columbus to Epstein, unbroken through the ruling class.
• Fake Data & Economic Unreality: BLS statistics now possibly rigged; government stops publishing full job reports [243:12].
• Catholic Church on Immigration: USCCB issues strongest rebuke of anti-immigrant policies; progressive in comparison to U.S. political parties, but still anti-trans in hospital care [226:04].
• Tariff Follies: Trump’s non-credible $2k ‘tariff dividend’ checks and pasta tariffs lampooned.
• GOP Culture War Fatigue: SCOTUS declines to overturn same-sex marriage; anti-trans scare tactics may finally be losing traction [245:42].

Notable Quotes

• “We are ruled by a group of pedophiles, and I refuse to call them a cabal because 'cabal' implies they work in the shadows. They were not. The entire ruling class knew this was going on openly and they're joking about it.” – Mia Wong [192:35]
• “You can pick and choose whatever you do. I think to your point, Mia, however you react to this is not going to change anything, right?” – Robert Evans [199:57]
• “A choice was made not to cover the Epstein stuff… while the Times ran 12 stories on the 'migrant caravan.' They’re literally saying, look over there.” – Garrison Davis [203:47]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Winners & Losers Post-Mamdani Win: 02:47–18:00
• The Right’s Civil War: Heritage, Fuentes, Tucker: 114:38–177:48
• Pro-Palestinian Movement Interview: 84:07–110:06
• Mike Lee/Public Lands: 42:36–81:58
• Epstein Files, Executive News, Culture Wars: 182:10–247:54

Memorable Moments — Soundbites & Tone

• Satire and sarcasm drive much of the hosts’ commentary (“Eat your pheasants, drink your wine, your days are numbered, bourgeois swine…” [02:47]).
• Blistering candor on the failures and dangers within the establishment right, especially regarding their laziness or willingness to “debate” Nazis instead of taking meaningful action.
• Deep historical perspective and anger over the continuity of sexual violence and elite impunity.
• Movement between earnest policy analysis, biting humor, and tragic reflection (“We are on year 500 of this from Columbus to Jefferson to Epstein to Trump”).

Takeaway for New Listeners

This episode is dense, combative, and sometimes darkly comic, moving seamlessly between meta-political analysis and on-the-ground realities. The show’s core: collapse is both chronicled and contested; the power to build (or demolish) a better future remains with the many—if they refuse both elite lies and the seductions of nihilism.