Podcast Summary: It Could Happen Here Weekly 216

Date: January 24, 2026
Hosts: Robert Evans, Mia Wong, Garrison Davis, James Stout, Margaret Killjoy
Featured Guest: Ellie Bell (Community Organizer)

Main Theme

This episode is a compilation of several recent recordings, structured as a weekly digest. Its primary focus is the intensifying wave of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids and state-led ethnic cleansing, alongside deep dives into the implications of Trump administration policy on the Federal Reserve, global trade tensions, and a high-profile left-wing terrorism prosecution. The episode’s through-line is the continuity and escalation of state violence and the varied forms of community resistance, especially on-the-ground organizing and grassroots solidarity efforts.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Escalating ICE Raids and Their Human Toll

(Starts ~01:32, Deep dive: 02:46–48:00)

• Rolling Ethnic Cleansing & Community Trauma:
  Mia Wong opens with the grim reality of ethnic cleansing in the US, perpetrated by ICE and Border Patrol with police assistance. There is focus on a series of ICE shootings and the lack of data transparency, intentional obfuscation, and lack of public outcry, particularly for non-white victims.

  • "One of the many, many, many, many, many crises that are unfolding in this country right now is a rolling ethnic cleansing carried out by ICE in border patrol with the assistance of the cops." (01:32, Mia Wong)

• Personalizing the Crisis – Alberto’s Story:
  Ellie Bell shares the story of Alberto, an asylum-seeker father detained in Indiana after an early morning ICE raid in Chicago. The account emphasizes the randomness of ICE targeting, the trauma to families, and the community’s attempts to secure his release.

  • ICE agents are described as targeting non-white people indiscriminately, often without proper warrants.
  • Alberto, described by his neighbors as "a shining beacon in a community," represents countless others disappeared by ICE.
  • "I want to be very clear that people are watching, people care, and more people need to be watching and more people need to care when it happens to people who are not white." (11:11, Ellie Bell)

• Systemic Racism and the Response Gap:

  • Pointed contrast drawn between the national fundraising support for a white victim (Renee) versus Alberto, highlighting entrenched racial empathy gaps.
  • Detention regimes described as deliberately brutal, with medical neglect (Alberto’s seizure disorder as recurring example) and psychological torment.
  • "These are not numbers. These are not just names on a page. These are real people's lives. This is a real man whose three children... don't know where their dad is." (13:09, Ellie Bell)

• Calls for Solidarity and Proactive Action:

  • Organizers urge leveraging privilege, broader community involvement, and micro-to-macro collective action.
  • “Rest as resistance” is discussed alongside practical organizing advice – logistics, mutual aid, and digital campaign support.
  • Direct action, pressure on legislators, crowdfunding, and information dissemination promoted.
    • "The more of you that there are at a thing, the less likely they are to kill you." (15:26, Mia Wong)
    • "We need everyone who can possibly do anything, whether that's putting your bodies on the line in person or... post something online." (18:34, Ellie Bell)

2. The Federal Reserve Showdown and Trump’s Economic Power Grab

(Starts ~84:57, Deep dive: 98:44–122:51)

• Powell vs Trump – An Unprecedented Power Struggle:
  Mia Wong unpacks the escalating clash: Trump’s attempts to remove Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, the unusual public resistance by Powell, and Supreme Court pushback on Trump’s efforts to fire Fed board members.

  • "Fucking with the Federal Reserve is fucking with the money." (approx. 90:00, Mia Wong)

• Explaining the Fed in Depth:

  • The Fed’s public/private hybrid nature explored—a “quasi private entity,” with confusing and contradictory public-facing explanations.
  • The Fed’s functions (setting interest rates, printing money, managing assets and payments systems) are explained in direct, irreverent language.
  • Discussion of how the Fed’s (currently) technocratic independence is the lynchpin of American and global capitalism—and why threatening this alarms not only technocratic elites but also the financial sector.

• Implications of Losing Fed Independence:

  • Historical examples (e.g., Turkey under Erdoğan) cited as warning signs.
  • Trump’s stated desire for a Greenspan-like chairman—read as a recipe for renewed speculative excess and possible economic collapse.
  • Consensus that Fed control is the “red line” which could unite even capitalists against Trump.

• Critical Perspectives:

  • David Graeber quoted at length, connecting money, central banking, and war.
  • The panel emphasizes that neither the current Federal Reserve nor Trump’s regime serve the people, framing this as a battle between two sectors of capital with little hope for ordinary people unless the economic elite stands aside at a breaking point.
  • "The only way you can find out if the action that you are taking is going to be the one that knocks everything over is by doing it." (52:30, Mia Wong referencing Andor)

3. The Turtle Island Liberation Front Case – Left-Wing Repression and Prosecution

(Segment by Garrison Davis, ~56:38–84:57)

• FBI Entrapment and “Antifa Terror” Narrative:
  • A deep-dive into the arrest and federal prosecution of four alleged members of a direct-action group accused of plotting bombings.
  • Detailed facts from court documents recounted, with focus on informant involvement, opsec failures, and the performative terrorism discourse by officials.
  • Skepticism voiced about the group’s origins, genuine activist credentials, and how the state leverages these cases to chill dissent and frame left activism as terrorism.

4. International Escalations – Greenland, Tariffs, and Global Order

(~144:14–174:19, plus Davos segments)

• Trump’s Greenland/Iceland “Crisis”:

  • Recap of transatlantic tensions over Trump’s Greenland ambitions, his tariff threats against EU/NATO allies, and eventual backdown.
  • Dramatic escalation/de-escalation cycle described, with contextual analysis of EU countermeasures—including the so-called “trade bazooka” and threats to dollar hegemony.

• The Shifting Global Order – Canadian PM at Davos:

  • Canadian PM Mark Carney delivers unexpectedly frank analysis: the “rules-based international order” was always a fiction for US convenience and is falling apart under weaponized economic integration.
    • "This fiction was useful... but this bargain no longer works. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition." (168:08, Mark Carney via Davos speech)

5. Rapid-fire News and Community Reaction From Minneapolis

(123:38–138:34)

• On-the-Ground: ICE Killings and Community Defiance:
  • Latest on the ICE shooting of Julio César Sosa Selles in Minneapolis. Contradictions between government accounts and family/witness testimony highlighted.
  • Military and police occupation, with National Guard on standby—attire now so similar to police that high-visibility vests are needed.
  • Notable: an overwhelming wave of community solidarity, mutual aid, and everyday resistance visible on the streets; citywide unity against ICE described.
    • "Every neighborhood here feels like the neighborhood most in lockstep... everyone is watching out for each other... of every age and demographic." (137:01, James Stout)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the ICE crackdown and racial disparity:

• "Nobody deserves to be treated this inhumanely. Unless, of course, you're a fascist, then I think, you know, fair game." (09:26, Ellie Bell)
• "Not just white women, because obviously Renee's murder is horrific... but Alberto's campaign has been at $14,000 for more than a week. We can't raise more money because people have so much more sympathy and empathy for white people." (11:36, Ellie Bell)

On resistance and organizing:

• “We owe each other everything and we owe each other witnessing… There are so many people who are not doing any of the labor, all of that labor gets distributed so unevenly among a few people.” (16:30, Ellie Bell)
• "If you showed one of the people in the Seattle 1919 General Strike... a computer, they would have a heart attack. And they did this. So I believe in all of you." (24:02, Mia Wong)

On the Federal Reserve and Trump:

• “Fucking with the Federal Reserve is fucking with the money.” (90:00, Mia Wong)
• "The creation of central banks represented a permanent institutionalization of that marriage between the interests of warriors and financiers that had already begun to emerge in Renaissance Italy, and that eventually became the foundation of financial capitalism." (117:00, quoting David Graeber via Mia Wong)

On the changing global order:

• "We knew the story of the international rules based order was partially false ... This bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition." (168:08, Mark Carney)

On hope and collective action:

• "Solidarity forever. Okay. I believe that we will win. If what you do is make memes, make a meme... the more you speak out, the more you make it possible for other people to speak out." (48:47, Ellie Bell)
• All Star by Smash Mouth quoted as a motivational anthem. (53:04, Ellie Bell)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:32–48:00: ICE ethnic cleansing, Alberto’s story, organizing, and community response.
• 56:38–84:57: The Turtle Island Liberation Front case: details, FBI press conference, legal landscape.
• 84:57–122:51: The Federal Reserve battle: Trump’s power grab, what the Fed is, economic implications, historical context.
• 123:38–138:34: On-the-ground reporting from Minneapolis: ICE shootings, community defense, National Guard.
• 144:14–174:19: Greenland tensions, trade war threats, the “trade bazooka,” global economic order, and Davos analysis.
• 176:12–184:13: Update on Iran, Syria/Kurdistan, ICE warrant escalation, calls for support and fundraisers.

Action Items & Calls to Action

• Support for Alberto and other detained immigrants:

  • Donate to crowdfunding campaigns (links in episode description).
  • Share stories; sign and share petitions to pressure Congress for ICE releases.
  • Activate community networks, spread information, and participate in mutual aid.

• On Organizing:

  • Recognize the uneven burden on vulnerable organizers. White and/or privileged listeners urged to actively participate and share the load.
  • “The more you speak out, the more you make it possible for other people to speak out.” (49:35, Ellie Bell)

Tone and Language

The tone throughout the episode is urgent, irreverent, and insistent on moral clarity. Hosts oscillate between humor (often dark or absurd), analytical deep-dives, personal storytelling, and direct calls for solidarity and action. Technical explanations (e.g., of the Fed) are delivered in accessible, frequently profane language.

Summary

Episode 216 of "It Could Happen Here" blends frontline immigration reporting, economic analysis, and global geopolitical commentary in a cohesive narrative of a world in advanced crisis. State violence—especially via ICE—serves as the central motif. The panel contextualizes these developments within both immediate tragedy (disappeared immigrants, community trauma) and broader historical-political frameworks (capital’s need for technocratic stability, shifting global alliances). The episode offers a spectrum of resistance tactics, from mutual aid to direct advocacy, and insists that only deep, collective transformation can meet the scale of the ongoing collapse.

Additional Resources

• [Alberto's Crowdfund & Petition] (Refer to episode description)
• Resources for Minneapolis mutual aid and Kurdish refugees mentioned near episode end
• For more analysis, check out back episodes of Executive Disorder and It Could Happen Here

“We owe each other everything.” – Ellie Bell (52:46)