Knowledge Fight Episode #1105: December 3, 2025

Release date: December 29, 2025

Episode Overview

Dan and Jordan sift through Alex Jones’s December 3, 2025 InfoWars broadcast, unpacking conspiratorial claims about a supposed “deep state” coup against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. They analyze Jones’s shifting ethics around war crimes, his defensive partisanship, and the broader infighting and collapse of cohesion in the contemporary right-wing media sphere.

From the opening “Red Alert” shenanigans to a grim analysis of Alex Jones’s irreconcilable contradictions, the episode scrutinizes how far Jones (and by extension, his audience) have fallen from their former anti-establishment ideals.

Bright Spots & Banter (00:59–16:07)

• Holiday Reflections: Dan and Jordan open with cheerful post-Christmas stories and recount near-disastrous travel through a winter “boss battle” (01:22–01:49). Jordan shares a moving family moment: “My niece, the second child of my brother, has finally smiled at me. And she even said a word to me. She said hello.” (04:03)
• Cheese Talk: Dan introduces “Champagne Cheddar,” a New Year’s treat, which disappoints in flavor but sparks a playful discussion on cheese terminology.
• MacGyver Recap: Dan shares his love of MacGyver and dissects a recent episode, highlighting the show’s reliance on “contraptions” and improvisational problem-solving (06:23–15:05). Jordan: “In a way, MacGyver is the precursor to Mythbusters.” (11:32)

Setting the Stage: "Them Boats" and the Hegseth Crisis (16:07–34:08)

• Boats, War Crimes, and Hypocrisy: The InfoWars show focuses on “them boats”—strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels ordered by Hegseth, followed by fallout over civilian casualties (18:18).
• Alex’s Contradiction: Dan calls out Alex’s selective outrage:

  “At the core, what Alex is expressing is that he doesn't really care about killing noncombatants...The only relevant variable is whether or not he likes the people doing the war crimes.” (19:08)

• “Globalist Coup” Claim: Alex insists there’s a Pentagon coup to unseat Hegseth and threaten Trump (23:13), claiming:

  "There is a live deep state Pentagon coup going right now...then they're going to make their move on Trump." (23:13, Alex Jones)

• War on Drugs Escalation: Hegseth justifies sinking boats and firing on survivors as “eliminating the threat.” Dan is aghast:

  “Are we in a very literal international war on drugs now?” (36:48, Dan)

• Reversal on Rules of War: Alex waves off international law and morality:

  “I've studied the military...If he did [commit the strike], it's legal and lawful. Obviously...The mission: kill people, break things.” (40:03, Alex Jones)

• Geneva Convention Violation: Dan clarifies:

  “Once their ship is wrecked, you can't just shoot them as they tread water...People aren't upset about this...just so they can have a reason to...think that Hegseth or Trump are bad. They believe...because they do bad things. This is a prime example.” (41:49, Dan)

The Palace Intrigue: Manufactured Enemies & Loomer Segment (44:24–52:04)

• Scapegoating & Desperation: Laura Loomer “reports” on a coup against Hegseth, blaming Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll for leaking and “going jogging” with alleged Trump opponents (45:44, Loomer).
• Dan’s Take:

  “This is all very sad...This is such silly levels of scapegoating that you’re trying to engage in that all it really reveals is how deep underwater you are.” (46:25)

• Palace Intrigue, Not Policy: Alex and Loomer’s defense of Hegseth is simple:

  “Everybody needs you to be defending Hegseth...This is maximum absolute.” (50:36, Alex Jones)

• Nothing is Alex’s Side's Fault: Dan notes,

  “It’s not even a possibility that Alex can consider that maybe Pete Hegseth did something wrong.” (51:01) The conversation becomes overtly conspiratorial and gossipy—palace intrigue filling the void of any credible story or opposition.

Right-Wing Media Cannibalism & Trump Loyalty (52:04–59:25)

• Factions Splinter: Dan and Jordan dissect the ongoing fragmentation on the American right. With Trump now in full power, feuding between personalities—from Loomer to Fuentes—becomes rampant.
• Team Sports Morality: As Dan puts it:

  “If you're in a war against the devil, you kill the devil if you have the chance...the only audience that the palace intrigue stuff appeals to are entirely passive folks who are ready to accept any explanation.” (52:04-53:44)

• Strategic Collapse: Dan’s blunt: “Alex's angle on this raises more questions than it answers. And that's strategically really bad for him.” (53:44)
• Jordan on Governance:

  “It turns out getting together a bunch of whiny babies who can't think one year ahead is not a good long-term governance strategy.” (59:25)

Alex Jones’s Partisan Pivot & Rationalization (60:43–68:38)

• Alex Tries to Explain:

  “That's why I said the left right paradigm is false. I coined that term...Now you're saying we're Republicans. Now you're saying we're right wing. Back then it was totally controlled...It turned out we were able to reform because it was Christians and others. The Republican Party part, imperfect, but it's day and night.” (60:43, Alex Jones)

• Dan’s Analysis:

  “This is an explanation that's meant to justify his change in behavior, not an actual shift in American politics.” (65:39)

• Independence Lost: Dan theorizes Alex’s financial and legal entrapment—his debts mean he can’t afford to cross Trump-aligned sponsors or partners. “He’s no longer independent....Nothing can be truly sincere.” (68:38)

The “Secretary of Retribution” & Loyalty Oaths (71:09–78:13)

• Ivan Raichlin’s Petty Grievance:

  "If I was talking to President Trump, he's got to look him...in the mirror and decide for himself is he going to be a wartime...president. Because we are at...the apex of the 1770s meets 1860s meets 1960s.” (73:47, Ivan Raichlin) Dan notes this is mostly sour grapes over not being given power.

• Demand for Loyalty Oaths: Calls for Trump officials to pledge public loyalty like medieval vassals. Jordan lampoons the idea with a historical parody:

  “So you're in 1350...You gotta come to the court. You gotta publicly pledge your loyal[ty]...then I'm gonna chop your wife's head off.” (77:21, Jordan)

• Dictatorship Logic:

  “They rightfully complain about dictators making people do loyalty oaths...then they turn around and ask for loyalty oaths. What world are we living in?” (78:13, Dan)

Closing Reflections: A New (Darker) Alex Jones (79:15–End)

• Martial Law for “Freedom”: Alex proposes martial law to prevent...martial law:

  “They brought us here. They're doing it. They're the ones that want martial law, not us. But in response to them, we have martial law.” (79:15, Alex Jones)

• Dan’s Breaking Point:

  “Who cares, man? Give up.” (79:25) The hosts reflect on Alex’s irreversible transformation: “What he is now is a new thing. And we may just have to accept that.” (81:09, Dan)

• Character Study of Corruption: Jordan encapsulates the moral collapse:

  “I was always seeking to create a white nationalist imperialist state under a racist dictator. I always wanted that. But that wasn't acceptable for me to advocate for right in the past. So I pretended. I love the Constitution.” (82:02)

• Closing Metaphor: Jordan:

  “I definitely feel very uncharted. Not because it's, like, so unexpected or the events themselves are unusual for humans...it's just all the toys are so different.” (83:09)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On the Use of Force
  “I've studied the military...If he did [commit the strike], it's legal and lawful. Obviously...The mission: kill people, break things.”
  — Alex Jones (40:03)
• On Hypocrisy
  “This position...cannot be reconciled with his political beliefs when Obama and Bush were in office.”
  — Dan (41:49)
• On Palace Intrigue
  “Infowar has mostly become a gossip show about palace intrigue and people speculating on the fantasy coup plots that are going on behind every closed door.”
  — Dan (51:01)
• On the Trump Coalition
  “Their coalition is made up of people who fundamentally do not like each other. So ironically, their best case scenario is to be chasing power but never actually having it.”
  — Dan (59:25)
• On Alex’s Evolution
  “This is an explanation that's meant to justify his change in behavior, not an actual shift in American politics.”
  — Dan (65:39)
• On Martial Law to Prevent Martial Law
  “They brought us here. They're doing it. They're the ones that want martial law, not us. But in response to them, we have martial law.”
  — Alex Jones (79:15)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:59–16:07 - Banter, Bright Spots, Cheesy Disappointment, MacGyver Recap
• 16:07–34:08 - Alex Jones’s Boat War/Coup Narrative; War Crimes Debate
• 44:24–52:04 - Laura Loomer Segment, Coup Claims, Right-Wing Gossip
• 52:04–59:25 - Collapse of Right-Wing Media Unity, Internal Attacks
• 60:43–68:38 - Alex’s Partisan Rationalization and Financial Entanglements
• 71:09–78:13 - Ivan Raichlin’s “Retribution,” Calls for Loyalty Oaths
• 79:15–End - Martial Law Paradox, Closing Meditations on Alex’s Transformation and the Show’s Future

Tone & Takeaway

The episode blends acerbic wit, exhaustion, and moral horror as Dan and Jordan confront an InfoWars ecosystem lost in self-contradiction and cruelty. Their sober analysis underscores the show’s broader motif: when conspiracy theorists lose all external enemies, their moral narratives collapse inward—leaving only opportunism, circular logic, and a parade of new villains, real or imagined.

This is not just a critique of Alex Jones, but a case study in the descent of the wider reactionary movement as it eats itself from within.