Last Podcast on the Left: Side Stories – Dinner and a Manifesto
Release Date: April 29, 2026
Hosts: Henry Zebrowski & Marcus Parks
Episode Theme:
A wide-ranging conversation tackling the recent failed assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the contents and implications of the shooter’s manifesto, a deep dive into societal cynicism and institutional collapse in America, and some much-needed levity via truly bizarre crime stories and the phenomenon of “Scientology speedrunning.”
Main Episode Overview
This Side Stories episode grapples with the despair, anger, and confusion swirling in the wake of an attempted attack on President Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and the odd “reasonableness” of the manifesto left by the would-be assassin, Cole Allen. Hosts Henry and Marcus critique the media and government responses, reflect on generational shifts in patriotism and disillusionment, and explore the slow collapse of cultural innovation in late capitalism. The bleakness is punctuated by trademark irreverence, surreal humor, and, as always, the attempt to find humanity and hope amidst the horror.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Assassination Attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner
- [07:39 - 13:25]
- Incident Recap: Cole Allen attempted to attack the first Correspondents Dinner attended by President Trump. Allen was arraigned after a shooting outside the event; shots were fired but no fatalities.
- Media & Institutional Reactions: Discussion of the chaos among attendees, the atmosphere of entitlement and drug use among the political class, and the bizarre immediate aftermath—including guests looting tables and taking selfies as shots rang out.
“I've never seen more people on drugs in one room that weren't having a good time than the White House Correspondent's Dinner.” — Henry [10:19]
- Security Critique:
- Both hosts lambast the Secret Service’s apparent incompetence, noting the shooter’s manifesto even contains a “Dennis Miller style rant” about the lax security.
- The shooter had checked into the hotel with a “shotgun the size of a surfboard” [22:09–22:15].
2. The Manifesto: Uncomfortably Reasonable?
-
[20:15 - 24:24]
- Manifesto Content: Unlike most mass shooter writings, Allen’s manifesto is eloquent, deeply apologetic to bystanders, and lays out his grievances with the American government.
- Allen rebuts common objections to violence (“turn the other cheek,” “not a convenient time,” etc.) and frames his act—wrongly, the hosts note—as a desperate ethical act against a corrupt power.
“Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not true Christian behavior. It is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.” — [Shooter’s Manifesto, quoted by Henry, 22:48]
- Media Handling: The 60 Minutes anchor reads the manifesto to Trump on air, leading to the President’s defensive denial: “I’m not a rapist, I’m not a pedophile.” [21:22]
- Host Reaction: Both Marcus and Henry remark on the “clarity” of the screed compared to racist or delusional mass shooters’ texts—raising chilling questions about what happens when “coherent” individuals resort to violence.
3. Cynicism, Lost Identity, and Generational Malaise
- [15:06, 16:00–19:00, 27:37–36:00]
-
Millennial Disappointment: Marcus articulates the crisis of American identity for his generation, stripped of patriotism as endless scandals and systemic failure come to light.
“I did not realize until specifically the second Trump administration how much of my identity I had wrapped up in being an American.” — Marcus [16:31]
-
Both hosts mourn the total lack of heroes or trustworthy institutions. Even former comedians and presidents now seem absent or co-opted by moneyed interests.
-
Conversation drifts to the onslaught of unprecedented environmental, financial, and cultural stress, and the feeling of hopelessness it engenders.
“We have nobody... All of our heroes are either dead or just choosing to do something else.” — Marcus [29:35]
4. Violence, Mental Health, and Systemic Failure
- [32:17–44:09]
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Escalation Risk: Broad discussion on how an overstimulated, armed, and increasingly desperate population becomes fertile ground for violence—first the mentally ill, then, potentially, the terminally ill or seemingly “normal” but radicalized citizens.
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Systemic Blame: The system itself is deemed culpable for driving people mad and creating conditions for breaks with reality and horrific actions.
-
Ambiguity of Motives: Hosts push back on the reflex to label all mass violence as mere pathology, asking audiences to contemplate what happens if grievances sometimes root in harsh realities.
“Anytime someone tries to make an assassination attempt or if someone does a mass shooting, we just immediately, immediately go to mentally ill. And that sidesteps a much larger problem... The system that we have drives people insane.” — Marcus [43:12]
5. Collapse of Culture & Insidious Capitalism
- [60:31–63:58]
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Decoder Ring Shoutout: Marcus references a podcast arguing that America has experienced no real cultural innovation for twenty years—the culture looped and ossified by the outsized influence of risk-averse capital.
“We have no real monoculture... We're dying. Nostalgia is choking us to death. ...The real culprit is capitalism. Money is the culprit.” — Marcus [61:13 – 61:39]
-
Art is now primarily a vehicle for financial return, not expression or change—which trickles down to all levels of national malaise.
6. Irreverence and Levity: Crime Stories and “Helpers”
- [52:03–56:33]
- Dynamite Crime: A Suffolk County woman is convicted for tossing a stick of dynamite onto her sleeping boyfriend—he loses his hand in an incident straight out of Looney Tunes.
- “Look for the Helpers”: The closing reminder comes from Fred Rogers’ dictum. Despite the bleakness, hope is possible through local action and kindness.
7. ‘Scientology Speedrunning’ and Youthful Dissent
- [56:35–59:51]
-
Teens have begun “speedrunning” into Scientology centers with meta (augmented reality) glasses, livestreaming their infiltration of these notoriously secretive institutions.
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Discussion acknowledges the “harmless” nature of these pranks contrasted to prior generations’ more destructive mischief, celebrating the targeting of problematic organizations instead of the vulnerable.
“This is good for shitty kids. This is a great way to channel that energy.” — Henry [57:08]
8. Personal Agency & Stoicism in Hopeless Times
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Presidential Security:
“I noticed a sense of arrogance—as if they had the whole thing handled. … If I was an Iranian agent instead of an American citizen, I could have bought a damn medus in there and no one would have noticed.” — (Reading from manifesto, 35:15)
- On the Shooter’s Manifesto:
“When you are writing a fairly interesting manifesto about the current US Government… some might even say a reasonable manifesto… it’s kind of interesting.” — Marcus [20:24]
- On the Loss of Cultural Leadership:
“We have no fucking heroes. … We don't have anybody to fucking look up to anymore. Like, I used to look up to Conan. I used to look up to Jon Stewart.” — Marcus [29:01]
- On Hopelessness and Community:
“The only thing that we can do at this point is we can take care of our own small communities. … Don't make life worse for the people around you.” — Marcus [49:09]
- On Art and Capitalism:
“All of the great artists… they weren't putting out this art to make money. They were putting out this art to make art. … Now… it’s not passion. Because it needs to be. It has to be passion first.” — Marcus [62:19]
Timestamps for Critical Segments
- [01:01] – Episode begins (post ads/intro)
- [07:39] – Introduction to the shooting, Secret Service critique
- [20:24] – Shooter’s manifesto discussion, content excerpts
- [27:37] – “No more heroes” and generational malaise
- [32:17] – On escalation and potential future of violence
- [43:12] – Systemic failures versus ‘mental illness’ scapegoat
- [52:03] – Suffolk County ‘dynamite’ crime story
- [56:35] – Scientology speedrunning phenomenon
- [60:31] – Cultural stagnation and capitalism’s chokehold
- [65:13] – Hopes for space travel, “Star Trek” future
- [66:57] – Closing, comedy as survival
Takeaway
This is a bracing, sometimes bleak, but always darkly funny examination of an America in apparent decline—riven by absurd violence, leaderless, awash in nostalgia and economic anxiety, and yet still populated by people trying (more or less) to do the right thing, help each other, and make each other laugh. The episode concludes on a call for local kindness, small-scale agency, and (at least for the hosts) the balm of finding dark humor and camaraderie amid the ruins.
Hail yourselves. Hail Gein.
