Podcast Summary: New Books Network – "Year Zero #1: A Chapo Trap House Anthology"

Date: October 14, 2025
Guests: Chris Wade & Will Menaker (Chapo Trap House)
Host: Michael Vann

Episode Overview

This engaging episode of "New Books in History" features Chris Wade and Will Menaker—core contributors to the influential political comedy podcast Chapo Trap House. The two discuss their latest creative venture, Year Zero, Volume 1, a comics anthology published by Bad Egg in 2025. Beyond previewing the book’s content, the conversation delves into the Chapo ethos, the group’s historical sensibilities, their foray into comics, and the ways history, politics, and satire intertwine in their work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chapo Trap House: Ethos, History, and the Dirtbag Left (04:23–19:57)

• Origins & Description
  • Will Menaker recounts a memorable early critique:

    “Someone described it as Mystery Science Theater 3000 for politics… I found it to be entirely appropriate.” (04:23)

  • The show’s trademark is caustic, satirical commentary on America’s political spectacle.
• Role of History
  • All major Chapo hosts have a robust background in history—Wade, Menaker, and Matt Christman were all history majors; Felix Biederman is described as having “an insane grasp of modern American history.” (08:17)
  • Will:

    “To me, history is just like the unfolding comedy tragedy of human existence... It’s an unfolding story of which we were all characters in, and to understand, like, your role ... is ... the importance of history.” (09:32)

  • Wade’s Marxist high school history teacher instilled a dialectical lens for understanding the world.
• On the “Dirtbag Left” Label
  • Coined by Amber A’Lee Frost, the term references a leftist ethos that’s irreverent, uncredentialed, and dismissive of mainstream media pieties.
  • Will:

    “...a kind of independent DIY ethos of ... people who are maybe smart and talented but ... didn’t necessarily have the career ambition or temperament to be the kind of person who gets a media platform ... It was our brazenly churlish dismissal of traditional media...” (14:59–16:36)

• Critique of Mainstream Political Media
  • Wade:

    “[Chapo is] a gleeful dismissal of the kind of fake polite comity ... where everything had to be mediated through these niceties and politenesses ... Even though, as we all know, American politics is this theater of cruelty.” (16:36)

2. Why Comics? Making “Year Zero” (22:06–31:35)

• How the Project Came Together
  • An opportunity “landed in our laps” via Bad Egg, a publisher with a mission to bring online cult figures into comics. (23:04)
  • Chris:

    “Comics are such a great way to get an interesting narrative out at a fairly small scale, where also you can depict basically anything ... without any additional cost.” (24:25)

  • Will:

    “...comics is a perfect narrative medium that allows us to work in genre ... unbound by budget ... You’re only limited by what the artist can depict.” (24:31)

• Comics vs. Traditional Narrative
  • The visual medium allows for dynamic shifts in time, space, and perspective—especially powerful for historical storytelling and satire.
  • Michael Vann (host):

    “...the way that you can jump through time in the graphic medium is much easier than you can in other genres.” (27:48)

  • Comparison to Alan Moore’s From Hell:

    “When you add the visual element to creating or reproducing the world of the past, it’s so much more seductive ... narcotic ...” (30:28)

• Influence of Alan Moore
  • The team credits Moore’s blend of meticulous research and play with form as a model for serious, historically dense comics.
  • Wade:

    “What Alan Moore brings to comics ... is always a deep sense of him thinking about history in communication with the contemporary world, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly.” (33:06)

  • Wade drew inspiration for including “supplemental dossier” materials between comic chapters.

3. “Year Zero, Volume 1”: Story Synopses & Themes (35:15–66:18)

Each story in the anthology reflects its creator’s unique interests and the group’s broader historical and political preoccupations.

a. Crew Expendable (Wade & Joel Sininski) [57:12]

• Summary:
  On a privatised Mars colony in 2061, an eccentric trillionaire buys the settlement, unleashing chaos as stable systems are bent toward profit and single-owner ambition.
• Themes:
  • Satire on tech capitalism and megalomaniacal billionaires (inspired by Elon Musk/Twitter).
  • Near-future sci-fi grounded in contemporary and historical “if-then” logics.
• Quote:

  “Imagining an already existing Mars colony ... bought and privatized by a ... eccentric trillionaire.” (57:49)

• Attribution: Chris Wade & Joel Sininski. Art: David Cousins, JP Jordan, Jody Trotman.

b. Loop Jumper (Felix Biederman) [36:29]

• Summary:
  An ‘80s-style action/sci-fi satire: a former special operator fights the American deep state and Iran-Contra-era villains, using quantum suicide (via cocaine overdose!) to “loop jump” through time and battle shadowy conspirators.
• Themes:
  • Satire of American Cold War history (Iran-Contra, Bush Sr., etc.)
  • Absurdist takes on action-genre tropes (with a Metal Gear Solid flavor).
  • Features George H.W. Bush in a time-travel shootout with himself.
• Quote:

  “[It] goes to some truly insane places ... opening with George H.W. Bush killing a past version of himself with some kind of quantum handgun.” (38:21, 38:38)

• Attribution: Felix Biederman. Art: Rick Joyck, Ken Knudsen, Charlie Kirchoff, Dave Sharp.

c. Clinton Hill Horror (Will Menaker) [41:58]

• Summary:
  A Lovecraftian horror set in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, moving between the Revolutionary War and early 20th century, inspired by local history, including the overlooked horrors of British prison ships.
• Themes:
  • Historical fiction meets cosmic horror; inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and Gore Vidal’s Burr.
  • The trauma of war and alienation; deep research into overlooked American history.
  • Explores the “Prison Ship Martyrs Monument” and grim realities of Revolution-era NYC.
• Quote:

  “I wanted to do my version of an H.P. Lovecraft story...about the neighborhood that I currently live in, Clinton Hill.” (41:58) “Basically half of that book [Vidal’s Burr] takes place in the American Revolution... so I was thinking about that time period and ... a meta, present day narrative...” (42:42)

• Art: Simon Roy, Sergei Nazov, Judy Trotman.
• Historical Note:
  Will corrects himself on the numbers: About 10,000 (of 25,000) Revolutionary War deaths were POWs dying in horrendous British conditions. (74:02)

d. Beat the Dang Devil (Amber A’Lee Frost) [53:18]

• Summary:
  An Appalachian horror: a coal miner, poisoned by his work, sells his soul to the devil to help his family—then survives and must battle the devil’s agents to win it back.
• Themes:
  • Labor history meets horror and gothic folklore.
  • Union politics, class struggle, and American gothic.
• Quote:

  “Hell is not a place, it’s a job. And I think that sums up this story very well.” (56:21)

• Attribution: Amber A’Lee Frost. Art: Justin Greenwood, Judy Trotman.

e. ¡No Pasarán! (Matt Christman, Josh Androwski, Amber A’Lee Frost) [61:03]

• Summary:
  A straight historical narrative: a graphic adaptation of Matt Christman’s much-acclaimed history of the Spanish Civil War, focusing on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
• Themes:
  • The perennial drama & tragedy of the left; “what went wrong?” in 20th-century revolutionary hope.
  • Revisiting American radical memory: “...that used to be something every sort of lefty American student knew about. I think that’s slipped from consciousness...” (66:18)
• Quote:

  “Giving these straightforwardly historical texts the graphic novel treatment does just open that dimension of life to them in a way that a text on a page does not.” (65:19)

• Attribution: Matt Christman, Josh Androwski, Amber Frost. Art: Dean Kotz, Danielle Miwa, David Sharp.

4. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On historical understanding:

  “History is very funny and it’s full of absurdities and characters ... the ultimate dramatic irony because you know what’s going to happen.” —Chris Wade (10:55)

• On 1980s political villains:

  “George H.W. Bush is ... one of the most cold-blooded operators in American political history.” —Will Menaker (39:11)

• On mainstream liberal media complicity:

  “I think the American government is evil top to bottom...coming into adulthood in the shadow of 9/11 ... I saw all of the traditional organs of the liberal media all sign up to kiss George W. Bush’s ass.” —Will Menaker (17:39)

• On labor, family, and legacy:

  “In those historical references, my family is consistently on the wrong side of absolutely everything.” —Michael Vann (66:59)

5. Recommended Books & Media (69:28–72:57)

• Will Menaker:
  • Burr & Julian by Gore Vidal
  • Alan Moore’s From Hell (in discussion)
• Chris Wade:
  • 20th Century Men by Deniz Camp (comic)
  • Constantine (comic series)
  • Revolutions podcast's “Mars Revolution” season by Mike Duncan

Book, Production, and Availability Details

• Year Zero, Volume 1 is an oversized, premium-format comic anthology (approx. 122 pages) with plans for two further volumes.
• Pre-sales guide print run: Available at Bad Egg Publishing.
• Certain stories derive from and adapt existing Chapo side projects and podcasts—especially Matt Christman’s Spanish Civil War.

Closing Note: Group Dynamics, Next Steps, and Gratitude

• Chris Wade is about to go on paternity leave.
• Will Menaker has no immediate projects but continues with Chapo.
• Host Michael Vann thanks the Chapo team for their historical insight and humor:

  “You guys matter and we appreciate it.” (76:08)

For more:
Bad Egg Publishing – Year Zero