
Thursday, August 7th, 2025 Today, Sections 9 and 10 of Article One of the Constitution were removed from the Library of Congress website in what the Trump Administration called a “glitch”; a bomb threat prompted an evacuation of the hotel where Texas Democrats are staying in Chicago; top Trump officials are meeting Wednesday night to discuss how to move forward with the Epstein cover up; Putin puppet Tulsi Gabbard ignored warnings from the CIA about releasing the Russia files; a former worker at the Florida concentration camp describes inhumane conditions; DHS removes the age cap on ICE agent applications; a person is in custody after a mass shooting at Fort Stewart claimed five lives; RFK Jr cancels nearly $500M in MRNA vaccine contracts, and Trump threatens to federalize the District of Columbia after two teenagers beat up the big balls DOGE guy; and Allison and Dana deliver the good news.
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Alison Gill
MSW Media. Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, August 7, 2025. Today, Sections 9 and 10 of Article 1 of the Constitution were removed from the Library of Congress's website in what the Trump administration called a glitch. A bomb threat prompted an evacuation of the hotel where Texas Democrats are staying in Chicago. Top Trump officials are meeting Wednesday night to discuss how to move forward with the Epstein cover up. Putin puppet Tulsi Gabbard ignored warnings from the CIA about releasing the Russia files. A former worker at the Florida concentration camp describes inhumane conditions. DHS removed the age cap on ICE agent applications. A person is in custody after a mass shooting at Fort Stewart claimed five lives. RFK Jr. Has canceled nearly $500 million in MRNA vaccine contracts. And Trump has threatened to federalize the District of Columbia after two teenagers beat up Big Balls McGinty or whatever his name is. The Doge guy. I'm Alison Gill.
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
Alison Gill
Hey, my friend. Happy Thursday today.
Dana Goldberg
And to you. And I did not know that was a real story when I saw it online, the Doge kid, I thought it was bullshit. So I'm fascinated that that actually happened. Not surprised, but I am fascinated.
Alison Gill
Yeah, well, at first they were like a gang, a roving gang of, you know, 3,000 thugs or whatever.
Dana Goldberg
Trans people and drag queens.
Alison Gill
Yes, it was just a group of woke. Leftist, whatever. It was two teenagers that did this. And we'll talk about that in a minute. And yeah, apparently there's a little bit of a recruitment problem over at Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they've removed the age cap.
Dana Goldberg
They're trying everything they can, man. They're trying to pay student loans. They're removing. And you know what's funny? I was thinking, I don't know many people who have student loans that would ever be part of ice, if you know what I'm talking about.
Alison Gill
I know what you're talking about. I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, they were like, yeah, sure, Dean Cain. Come on, man, sign up, whatever. Yeah, I think maybe Scott Baio could sign up. Kevin Sorbo hasn't had a job in a while. Maybe.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, let him have something to do.
Alison Gill
Yeah, for real. But, you know, I mean, that just shows you're right. They're given $50,000 signing bonuses, student debt forgiveness, and to be fair, anyone who works in for the government is eligible for public student loan forgiveness.
Dana Goldberg
Right.
Alison Gill
But, you know, on top of that, they offered and then rescinded a 200 bounty per deportation, expedited deportation. We talked about that yesterday. So, you know, we're like, they're not hitting their numbers. Yeah, we're going to see and talk about that. And, you know, the accidental removal of that habeas corpus bit from the Constitution.
Dana Goldberg
Whoopsie.
Alison Gill
As he's about to hire 10,000 more people for his secret police. I'm sure it was just a accident. Coding. Coding error.
Dana Goldberg
And probably no background checks.
Alison Gill
Yeah. Oh, for real. Like, no way. No way. We saw this when Trump tried to do it with Border Patrol, Customs and Border Patrol. I was like, we're gonna add 5,000 new jobs. And then all of those people came in and they had a lot of problems because a lot of those people would not have passed the psych eval part. So we ran into a lot of problems there in the first term. So we'll talk about that in the Hot Notes. And later on in the show, we're gonna be joined again by Garrett Graf about the last episode of Long Shadow. His very, very cool podcast is out now. It's about the broligarchy and the manosphere, you know, like Gamergate and Joe Rogan, stuff like that. Yeah. Andrew Tate and his brother, the Tate brothers.
Dana Goldberg
Ugh, Disgusting.
Alison Gill
And he has a new book out called the Devil Reached Toward the Sky, which is an oral history of the making and unleashing of the atomic bomb. Because we're approaching the 80th anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So we're going to talk about all of that, but first, we have a ton of news to get to, so let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up from Rolling Stone, Donald Trump is still trying to take over the Library of Congress, but the National Library already, apparently by accident, modified its online copy of the US Constitution to remove the president's least favorite part.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, boy.
Alison Gill
The provision that guarantees people's right to challenge their detention, and it demands the government justify their confinement. That's what habeas corpus is. Right now, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has publicly floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus to aid the president's efforts to arrest and deport immigrants. Quote, the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So that is an option we're actively looking at. That's what Miller said in May. We covered it here. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, puppet killer, who's helping lead Trump's mass deportation campaign, tried to claim that that same month that habeas corpus is a constitutional right. The president has to be able to remove people from this country, which is effectively the opposite of what habeas corpus means. Earlier in the month, Trump was asked about due process and whether as president he had an obligation to uphold the Constitution, and he said, I don't know. And within the past few weeks, Section 9 from Article 1 of the Constitution, which states the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it it disappeared from the Library of Congress's constitutional Annotated webpage. By Wednesday morning, officials in the Trump government were quietly telling staff that the deletions were the result of a technical glitch. As a result, personnel scrambled to fix the issue, figure out how it happened, and also review other parts of the website to see if there were any other conspicuous deletions. Some federal staffers raised their eyebrows at the blame, a glitch explanation given the apparently coincidental nature of the deletions affecting sections of the Constitution that the second Trump administration is openly working so hard to shred. Quote Funny coincidence, one federal employee who was dealing with the situation told Rolling Stone. The Library of Congress posted on Twitter Wednesday that the deletion was the result of a coding error. Quote has been brought to our attention that some of the Article 1 pieces are missing from the Constitution's annotated website, the Library of Congress wrote. We've learned that this is due to a coding error. What are you updating? Seriously, what are you updating in Sections 9 and 10 of Article 1 of the Constitution? We haven't really had a lot of updates to the Constitution anyway. We're working to resolve this issue and we regret the inconvenience. By Wednesday afternoon, the deleted portions of the Constitution had been restored. Quote, Due to a technical error, some sections of Article 1 were temporarily missing from the Constitution annotated website. This problem has been corrected and the missing sections have been restored. That's what the Library of Congress told Rolling Stone in an email. It should be noted that simply deleting sections of the US Constitution on a web page for an institution that isn't even the official custodian of the Constitution does not change American law. But no matter what the document does or doesn't say, the president and his senior appointees have made clear their intention to violate the Constitution as best they can. The modification of the Constitution website comes as Trump attempts to seize control of the Library of Congress. Even though the agency is technically part of the legislative branch, it functions as Congress's research army, while also Maintaining the world's largest collection of books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and recordings. And in May, Trump announced he was firing Carla Hayden. We talked about this. She's the Librarian of Congress before the end of her 10 year term. And remember somebody, I can't remember if it was Linda McMahon or some dumb from the Trump administration was like, I hear she was checking out books with gay things in them or something like the, like she thought the Library of Congress was like a library where you could go and check out books. Anyway, she was replaced with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, look at that.
Alison Gill
Who previously served as Trump's personal attorney and now his cover up and fixer in the Epstein files. After a judge refused to block Hayden's termination, she filed an appeal last week to the U.S. court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. So we'll keep an eye on that.
Dana Goldberg
All right, thanks so much, A.J. this is from CBS. Some of the Texas Democrats who left the state in protest of redistricting bill were temporarily evacuated Wednesday from their Chicago area hotel after a bomb threat. Now this is according to police and lawmakers. The hotel is in St. Charles, Illinois. It's west of Chicago. The St. Charles Police Department said first responders arrived at the hotel around 7:15am and they conducted a thorough search and no evidence was found. And I quote, in response to the threat, 400 people were immediately evacuated and the area was secured as bomb squad units conducted their investigation. Following clearance with authorities, all guests and staff have been safely returned to the premises. State Rep. Ann Johnson said in a statement that a bomb threat forced us to evacuate our hotel early Wednesday. Thankfully, no one was harmed. The House Democratic Caucus confirmed that a threat had been made, as did Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker. And Pritzker said in a statement that, quote, threats of violence will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable and that he had instructed Illinois State Police to investigate. And I have a feeling if J.B. pritzker wants to get something done, it's gonna get done.
Alison Gill
I think it gets done, too. So I'm interested to see what happens here. And this is from the Post. The Trump administration pushed to unveil a highly classified document on Russia's interference in the 2016 election after an intense behind the scenes struggle over secrecy which ended in late July when DNI Tulsi Gabbard released a minimally redacted version of the report. That's according to people familiar and we know that we've talked about this. Gabbard, with the blessing of Trump, overrode arguments from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that more of the document should remain classified to obscure US Spy agencies, sources and methods. The people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Attorney General Pam Bondi. I hate saying all those things. Have released a slew of intelligence and law enforcement reports over the last month that they claim without evidence, prove that spy agencies finding that Moscow intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump's. Trump is a hoax concocted by the Obama administration. So that annex that she released, that includes, by the way, manufactured by Russian spy emails for Hillary to frame Donald Trump, that puts our sources and methods at risk, but she released them anyway. She went along with what Putin and Trump wanted rather than what our intelligence communities wanted. Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Thank you, ag. This one's from cnn. Top Trump administration officials will gather at the Vice President's residence. This is Wednesday evening as they continue to weigh whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch's. Well, that name again. His recent conversation with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Galene Maxwell. The administration's handling of the Epstein case, as well as the need to craft a unified response because there has not been one, is expected to be a main focus of that dinner. This is from three people that are familiar with the source. It's what they told cnn. The meeting will include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Vice President J.D. vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Blanche.
Alison Gill
And.
Dana Goldberg
And a dinner party that I could not get out of fast enough if I was ever fucking invited. Are you kidding me? With the exception of Vance, the White House considers those officials the leaders of the administration's ongoing strategy regarding the Epstein files. This is two people familiar with it.
Alison Gill
Why don't they consider Vance part of that effort?
Dana Goldberg
You know, he's just a. He's just the wacky. Now the meeting comes as Trump's administration is considering releasing the contents of Blanche's interview last month with Maxwell. Two officials told CNN that the materials could be made public as early as this week. Now, there have also been internal discussions about Blanche holding a press conference or doing a high profile interview, possibly with popular podcaster Joe fucking Rogan. Of course, apparently he's involved in this Epstein decision, but J.D. vance is not considered important. That's according to people familiar with the discussions, though those conversations are probably preliminary. Rogan, who, as we know, endorsed Trump on the eve of last fall's election, has been highly critical of the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case and previously called their refusal to release more information about Epstein a line in the sand for him.
Alison Gill
Oh, which he will most eagerly cross.
Dana Goldberg
The moment the ocean washes it away, he will forget where the line is.
Alison Gill
He, I mean, he's going to believe Ghislaine Maxwell in this. Watch. Yeah, watch. All right. Also from the Post, a protege of Elon Musk and former Doge staffer was injured in an attempted carjacking early Sunday morning in D.C. according to a police report in an attack that captured the attention of Donald Trump and reinspired his threats to take over the nation's capital. Uh huh huh. Yeah. I'm sure it's just random people that did this to help him reinvigorate his threats of federalizing DC Quote, if DC doesn't get its act together and quickly, we'll have no choice but to take federal control of the city and run this city how it should be run and put criminals on notice that they're not going to get away with it anymore. That's what Trump wrote Tuesday.
Dana Goldberg
On Tuesday, the call is coming from inside the White House.
Alison Gill
Yes. Yes, it is. Or from the roof, maybe. Billionaire Elon Musk, who helmed Doge, wrote on Twitter that a Doge team member was attacked and Musk called to federalize D.C. a police report identifying the victim as Edward Corestine, who is also known as Big Balls. And I always just think of in the jerk, Iron Balls McGinty. That's who I think of. So I just said big balls McGinty. Trump's truth social post was accompanied by an image of a young person with blood on him sitting shirtless on the ground. Year to date, violent crime is down 26% in D.C. compared with 2024. That's according to D.C. police data. And on Tuesday, Trump called for children as young as 14 to be prosecuted as adults, adding they may have no choice but to take over the city. And interestingly enough, parts of the Constitution that disappeared from from the Library of Congress website protect that from happening. But here we are.
Dana Goldberg
Here we are indeed. All right. This is from the Associated Press. A sergeant shot five soldiers Wednesday at one of the country's largest army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops forcing a brief lockdown. This is all from officials. Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but officials said the shooter was Sergeant Cornelius Radford. He's 28 years old, who used a personal handgun, not a military firearm. The injured soldiers are stable. They're expected to recover this Is from Brigadier General John Lubas. Now, the soldiers who tackled Radford, they helped ensure his arrest. These soldiers without a doubt prevented further casualties or wounded. The latest act of violence on a US Military installation. Sites that are supposed to be among the most secure in the country. Again, it raises concerns about safety and security within the armed forces, their own walls. Army records released to the Associated Press show that Radford enlisted in January of 2018. He worked as a supply sergeant and has not been deployed. Radford faced an August 20th hearing, he's going to be an August 20th hearing in Hinesville, that's a small town near the base on accusations of driving under the influence and running a red light just after 1am now on May 18, according to a citation in court filing, all that happened in the past, he was given a blood test. He was freed on a eighteen hundred dollar bond. So this was all before the shooting ever happened.
Alison Gill
Yeah, back in May. Wow. Interesting.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Alison Gill
Yeah. And you know when they say it raises concerns about safety and security at the most secure facilities in the country, again, we have to look at the guns. Just my two cents. Oh, and by the way, the mental health of the people who are in the military.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, right.
Alison Gill
Next up from NBC, her name is Lindsay. NBC 6 is only using her first name because she worries about her family's privacy and safety. Says, quote, it's inhumane the way that they're keeping their residents. That's what she told NBC 6 and she's talking about the concentration camp in Florida. Lindsay provided NBC 6 documentation that shows she arrived at the so called alligator Alcatraz on July 6 and worked at the controversial detention center for about a week before she got Covid and had to isolate. Quote, I was aware that it was going to be the Alligator Alcatraz, said Lindsay, who added that while she knew she would be living in a shared trailer, she said the conditions were rough for everyone there. Quote, we had to use the porta Johns. We didn't have hot water half the time. Our bathrooms were backed up. They have no sunlight. There's no clock in there. They don't even know what time of the day it is. They have no access to showers. They shower every other day or every four days, she said. She added the bathrooms are all clogged and backed up because you have so many people using them. On rainy days, she said water pours into the tents. She described the conditions as miserable. And don't forget the constant battle with mosquitoes. Lindsay said she was fired from the facility after she got Covid she said she was accused of, quote, altering medical paperwork submitted to the company. Now, she's denied the allegations and she says she's coming forward because of what she saw there. Quote, I was fired. And yeah, I'm pissed off, but more so than ever, they're doing wrong. She said. Lindsay told NBC 6 she was never paid for her work there. The company Garda World. Do you believe that? Garda World did not answer our questions about Lindsay's allegations and referred us to state authorities.
Dana Goldberg
That's gross. All right. This is from the Times Health Secretary RFK Jr. Well, he's decided he's going to cancel nearly $500 million of grants and contracts for developing RNA vaccines. This is all from the Department of Health and Human Services. They announced this on Tuesday. I bet Dolly Parton's fucking pissed now. It is the latest blow to research on this technology. In May, the Department of Health and Human Services revoked a nearly $600 million contract to the drug maker Moderna to develop a vaccine against bird flu.
Alison Gill
Oh, great. Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
The new cancellations obviously have upset scientists, many of whom regard MRNA shots as the best option for protecting Americans in a pandemic. And I quote, this is a bad day for science. This is from Scott Hensley. He's an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania who's been working to develop an MRNA vaccine against influenza, which we need every year. The health department said in its release that the cancellations affected 22 projects, 22 projects managed by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or as they call it, barda. HHS said it will favor other types of shots over those using MRNA like wholesale vaccines and approach more than 100 years old. 100 years old. The United States has not used a whole cell vaccine for whooping cough since the 1990s, for example, because it was potent but harsh, often setting off really high fevers and seizures in people.
Alison Gill
Yeah, the old wholesale vaccines. You know, I don't know too much about the science here, but my understanding is the MRNA vaccines are better because you can manipulate them better for when strains of, you know, are developed through, you know, evolution. But they don't believe in that and, you know, they're just more versatile, more malleable and more effective and safer because you, you recall, I mean, like when I was joined the military back in 1996, and we went through that, you know, line where you had to get 17 vaccines all at once. And a lot of those older vaccines using, you know, whole cells are really, really tough, man. They knock you on your ass. And it wasn't like the COVID at least especially the novel COVID vaccine wasn't a walk in the park, but it would have been a million times worse, right, if you had to use a wholesale vaccine. Just a really old way of doing it. And it's awful. And again, we're seeding, you know, are being great in science to all the other countries now who will run with the MRNA stuff and we won't have it. It's awful. All right. For good trouble today, that's going to be our first installment in the good news. And that will happen right after this quick interview with the host of the Long Shadow podcast, Garrett Graf. So stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. So when the back to school rush starts and schedules get hectic, cooking at home often takes a back seat. But it doesn't have to. Home Chef makes it much easier to stay on track. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 50% off and free shipping on your first box. Plus free dessert for life. Just go to homechef.com DailyBeans Home Chef delivers fresh ingredients and chef design recipes right to your doorstep. I'm talking pre portioned, simple instructions meals that actually taste like something you'd get at a restaurant. And my favorite part, they're five ingredient meals. They're perfect for when you're low on time but still want to feel like you've cooked something real. With over 30 weekly options, it's easy to find meals that match your taste or your dietary needs. And it's affordable, too. On average, Home Chef customers save like $86 a month on groceries. That adds up fast, especially today. So whether you want classic meal kits or something oven ready or quick microwave meals for busy nights, Home Chef has you covered. Dinner doesn't have to be stressful. And with Home Chef, it's never boring. Their Katsu barbecue beef lettuce cups. Mmm. Total win. Quick, fresh, packed with flavor, delicious. The beef was sweet and savory and the Katsu sauce was amazing. The slaw added a great crunch and it took less than 20 minutes. The Sriracha mayo, by the way, just the right kick. I loved it. And for a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 50% off and free shipping on your first box. And free dessert for life. Just go to homechef.com dailybeans that's homechef.com dailybeans for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. So, you know, a little while ago we had Garrett Graff on the podcast to talk about long Shadow Season 4, Breaking the Internet. And the final episode is up now. It's called Red Pill and it's about women in male dominated spaces or just the manosphere in general. And then also Garrett has a new book that just came out on Tuesday, August 5, called the Devil Reached Toward the An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb. And since that book came out, and we've got the final episode of Long Shadow, please welcome Garrett Graf.
C
Hey, Garrett, thanks so much for having me back.
Alison Gill
It's really good to see you. How have things been going generally for you and for the podcast?
C
Good. I think the challenge of trying to do a podcast about the unraveling of the Internet and the polarization of social media is it feels like, as they say, trying to catch a falling sword. That sort of every day feels like a new storyline. That could be our new final episode.
Alison Gill
Yeah, I love that. It's called the Red Pill. Right. Because in the manosphere, particularly in the tech side, you've got all these people who are like, have you been red pilled? They're against woke, but they're very. For the Red Pill, which by the way, a script written by the Wachowski siblings, I should say. And it's a, it's about being woke. So I, you know, I think that that's pretty interesting that they co opted that phrasing. But let's talk about that because, you know, you go over things like Gamergate, for example.
C
Yeah. And I think one of the things, you know, to me, part of the fun of doing a podcast like this where you're looking back over, you know, years and in this case decades, is it lets you see and understand the importance of past events in a new light. And that's really where I think this final episode starts with Gamergate, which I'll say a bit about in a second, and then goes on to look at sort of the rise of the manosphere, the rise of sort of the bro podcast world, and the way that it all weaves together over the course of the 2020s with Elon Musk and Donald Trump's politics. And there's some really, really fascinating insights into how Donald Trump has identified and activated this sort of angry young male, disillusioned white male demographic, including. One of my favorite stories in this episode is how sort of Steve Bannon first figures out that. First figures out the power of gaming and the power of gamers, because he was helping to run in the early 2000s, basically a virtual World of Warcraft sweatshop in China where he had players playing the game World of Warcraft to advance in the game and collect goods that could then be sold for real money to other gamers. And that he sort of got to understand the way that his latest grift helped transform into what we now recognize as, you know, the angry male demographic in Breitbart and elsewhere. And, you know, I think that this is one of the things that has stood out start to finish in long shadow, is that these trends are more pronounced and more connected across really 25 years in terms of the deliberate decisions and choices that have led to this moment of polarization and partisan warfare online.
Alison Gill
And I think what's great about, I mean, not just the whole series, but this episode also in particular, is that there's gonna be something in it that applies to you. You know, when I started podcasting back in 2017 as a woman in a male dominated space, it was very kind of difficult at the start. People were like, no, you need to do it this way. You're not doing it right. You need to follow the formula. You need to make sure that your shows aren't more than 46 minutes long. And then we would start getting some feedback. Women telling us what's going on in the Mueller investigation is bs and we don't like it when you giggle. We can't stand your giggly voices. I mean, just. It was pretty nonstop at the start and we muscled through it. And then again, in what, July of 2023, there was like a bunch of men who put out this massive hit piece on our podcast and on me specifically. It didn't go anywhere. And, you know, obviously it was totally debunked, but the hatred is there. And I saw a lot of that, and we all saw a lot of that in Gamergate and in other male dominated industries. But now you've got stuff like Joe Rogan and, you know, oh, well, Kamala lost because she didn't go on Joe Rogan show. Or we need to find the Joe Rogan of the left, or we need to find the Stephen Miller of the left. And so having personally experienced that, it really spoke to me all of the things that you were talking about and the deep dive you were able to take. And like you said, hindsight is kind of 2020 in these cases where you can see them As a whole, for what they were. And I think that getting to the point here. Sorry, I got a little bit off track there. But I think getting to the point is that regardless of what industry you're in, I think that this touches all of us.
C
Yes. And I think that that's where the legacy and the shadow of Gamergate really is. That this event that in the early and mid 2010s seemed like it was one particularly very nasty episode targeting women in the gaming industry, has really come to be the blueprint for outrage and harassment and hate and misogyny online in basically every other realm in the years since. And that this is, you know, Gamergate at the time, I think, felt confusing to a lot of people. You know, sort of people could understand that sort of something was wrong, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was. And now I think we recognize that it was the. The beginning of the modern attack online.
Alison Gill
Yeah. And talk a little bit about what eventually happens to these quote unquote movements. They seem to all eventually fall apart because they're built on misogyny and hate and they're built on a house of cards. You sit on a throne of lies. Right. Like is what this reminds me of. So when we talk about Jordan Peterson or Andrew Tate, who's now, you know, in trouble with the law, or Joe Rogan losing his number one spot quite handily, of course, it's by some other men in the industry, but still. So these red pill folks, the hit pieces against me, all those people, their accounts are suspended, They've all gone away. It feels like they don't stand the test of time. And I'm wondering how that plays out for us now versus in the near future as well. I think that these structures, these misogynistic structures will eventually crumble.
C
And I think that, that, you know, the latter portion of the episode ends up being how all of these different threads, you know, the manosphere and the incels and the trolls and sort of all of these different groups sort of weave themselves together into the MAGA movement online. I think we're already starting to see how fragile that coalition really is. That I think in some ways the Epstein story over the last couple of weeks has indicated that the MAGA world is much more splinterable than we have previously seen it to be. And that I think, to your point, it's really unclear that anyone is going to be able to hold this together after Donald Trump. That when you sort of look at the heir apparents to it, whether it's J.D. vance or Ron DeSantis or Don Jr. Or whomever. That sort of none of them are going to have the charismatic hold on this very fractious and conspiratorial and heat filled movement in the way that Donald Trump does.
Alison Gill
Right? Well, because they kind of have to lie about the strength of the movement. Right. They have to lie about the poll numbers, lie about. They have to fire their labor statistics person because the, the numbers are rigged. They have to lie about how many books Don Jr. Sells by having the RNC purchase 400,000 copies of it. They have to lie about how many followers they have on Twitter because they're all sitting in a warehouse in front of 600 devices. They buy followers or they're robots or they're AI generated followers. And so they do all this to puff themselves up to look like we are a very strong coalition and it's really only a handful of folks and a bunch of smoke and mirrors.
C
Exactly. The role that Laura Loomer has come to play in this administration as sort of the ultimate arbiter of who's in and out of the good graces of the Trump administration. You know, it's impossible to capture how odd that is. You know, that the idea that this conspiracist can tweet something that gets the secretary of defense to, you know, instantly fire people or, you know, other officials across government to act immediately on her behalf is astounding. And I think, again, actually is a sign of weakness, not of strength of the underlying movement.
Alison Gill
Yeah, I agree. All right, let's shift gears a little bit while I still have you on. Talk about your book that came out on, on Tuesday, because August 6 marked the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and August 9, the 80th anniversary of Nagasaki. And so you have a ton of sources in this book and a ton of research. So talk a little bit about what prompted you to write this book.
C
Sure. So the book is in oral history. This is my third book length volume of oral history, following on books that I previously done, as you know, about September 11, which was a book called the Only Plane in the sky, and a book that came out last year about D Day called when the Sea Came Alive, and this book on the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings. I think these 80th anniversaries of World War II, as they have been passing us by over the last couple of years, and then, of course, next week, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Japanese surrender, I think feel so poignant and important because they mark Unofficially, the passing of that greatest generation that won World War II here in the United States and in Japan's case, survived the war. And so I wanted to do this book and the D Day volume last year to mark this moment where we effectively have every first person story we are ever going to have about World War II. And for me, there is a particular power that comes in oral history and putting us back in the shoes of the people who lived these apocal events as they experienced them. Because I think too often when we teach history, we make events seem neater, cleaner, simpler, and more preordained than they felt to anyone at the moment. You know, when you are living through these moments, we. You don't know how things turn out. And I think that that's something, you know, that has been complicated and hard for all of us to think about in this modern moment. You know, one of the things that I always said during the Trump interregnum in the Biden years was we don't know where we are in the Donald Trump story. We don't know whether we are in the beginning, the middle, or the end of Donald Trump's story in American history. And that in some ways is still where we are here in 2025. So to me, there's a power in going back to something like the Manhattan Project, like the atomic bombing, like World War II, and trying to tell that story in the voices of the people who lived it, when they don't know the outcome. These are memories and stories about moments when they are launching the Manhattan Project and they don't know who's going to win World War II. They don't know whether Adolf Hitler is going to get the bomb first, and they don't know whether the atomic bomb can even work at all.
Alison Gill
Yeah. And now here we are 80 years later, and we've got an administration trying to dismantle NATO. It's under threat, which we all know NATO came out of the end of that so that it wouldn't happen again. And now they're trying to dismantle it. And also, this is so important, this oral history, like these oral histories that you do is essential in the face of the efforts of this administration to rewrite history. And once you get these oral histories documented and printed, I think that that's incredibly important so that we know those lived experiences and those histories and that they can't be erased.
C
Yeah. Thank you. And I think again, looking at this particular moment that we're standing in today, you're absolutely right that nuclear weapons today are sort of more in the news than. Than they should be, and that this is probably actually a more dangerous moment for nuclear weapons on the world stage than we have seen across much of the decades since World War II. I mean, you've got conflict this year between India and Pakistan, the two largest nuclear arsenals to ever come into conflict. We've seen the US And Israeli raids on the Iranian nuclear program. The war in Ukraine is really a story about Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons after the fall of the Cold War in exchange for security guarantees from the west that we did not live up to.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
C
And just even in the last couple of days, we've seen Donald Trump rattling nuclear sabers with Russia and moving nuclear submarines into more threatening positions. And we've seen him this week randomly wandering around the roof of the White House shouting that he was building nuclear missiles at reporters, which. Who even knows what to make of that? But at this moment, I think it's particularly important to go back and hear and read and understand the stories of the people who survived those bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because I think as their generation passes, it's going to be up to us and our society as a people to carry forward their mission and life's dream that they are the last survivors of a nuclear weapon in human history. And I think it's critical that we remember why. The central organizing principle of geopolitics in the eight decades since Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been to never, ever use these weapons again.
Alison Gill
Yeah, agreed. Well, thank you so much, everybody. You can check out the new book. It's called the Devil Reach Toward the An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb. And, of course, always, always make sure that you are all caught up. And you hear the last episode of Long Shadow, this latest one, and the final episode in the series is called the Red Pill. I really appreciate your time today, my friend. And is there anything else that you'd like everybody to know? No.
C
Thanks so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to talk to you.
Alison Gill
Yeah. Always good to talk to you. We'll have you back soon, I'm sure, my friend.
C
Great.
Alison Gill
All right, everybody, stick around. We'll be right back with the good news. Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone, then.
C
Good news.
Alison Gill
Good news, good news. I love Billy West.
Dana Goldberg
Good news, everyone.
Alison Gill
Anyway, I'm. This is. I've been looking forward to this good news all day.
Dana Goldberg
Me, too.
Alison Gill
I've really needed it. So if you have any good news stories, and no matter how small you think it is it's going to make an impact on someone. And you know, you just help one other person by sending in your good news story, man, that's an amazing thing. So send your good news to us. Whether you have a shout out to a loved one or yourself or a small business or you want to show us what you're making or creating at home, send that to us. If you want to do a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, we would love to hear about that as well, including student debt forgiveness. No matter how long ago it was, we would love to hear about it. And you can send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. And to get your submission read on the air, you just have to pay your pod pet tariff, which literally means attaching a photo of pretty much anything. If you have a pet, send us your pet. If you don't have a pet, send an adoptable pet in your area. Don't have that. Send us a photo of a capybara that you got off the Internet or maybe an otter floating around on his back and doing cute little things with his hands. Send that to us. Bird watching photos, which can be an actual bird, or you and your family and friends flipping the bird to Trump and Musk or their properties. And of course, any other photo, your happy place, maybe your garden. Show us what you're growing. Signs at rallies you've been to recently that you loved or that you saw on the Internet that you really loved and wanted us to see. Maybe you've got a funny meme. Send it to us. We would love to see it. Seriously, anything at all. Send it to us DailyBeansPod.com, click on Contact and our first good news submission is our good trouble JD Bowman. If trans aren't allowed to deviate from how they're identified at birth, this motherfucker doesn't get to either. Is traveling to India. This is J.D. bowman is J.D. vance. He's traveling to Indianapolis tomorrow, August 7th, which is today. As you're listening to this to discuss with Indiana's mini Trump governor gerrymandering Indiana to get rid of the only two fucking Democratic districts that this idiotic state of my birth even has. A local organization, Mad Voters, has organized a no Cheaters in Democracy sit in on the second floor of the Indiana State House starting at 8am this morning. Since no specific meeting time has been confirmed, I'm calling on all beans in Indiana that are able, even if you can't make it as early as 8am to descend on the State House and make it known that we will not be silenced and we will not stand by as they steal democracy. We will have a mobilized link for the sit in in our show Notes and my PODBET tariff is a picture of a suffragette that joined our local Rage against the Regime rally last Saturday. And my favorite Epstein meme thus far, which literally made me laugh out loud. First of all, this suffragette is gorgeous.
Dana Goldberg
So good.
Alison Gill
I absolutely love this. I'm having Mary Poppins flashbacks. Remember her?
Dana Goldberg
Oh yeah, it's a nice mixture.
Alison Gill
Voters for women.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Alison Gill
All right, so here's the meme. Dad, how did you meet Mom? It's Baron. Stop talking about Epstein.
Dana Goldberg
Yep, apparently the first time they had sex was on Epstein's plane.
Alison Gill
So gross.
Dana Goldberg
All right, this next one's from Heather Pronouns she and her Dear Queens of the Beans I was so happy to hear a recent submission about the Resister demonstration and Cheers. Chico, California My husband and I moved here at the start of 2024 basically to start over after some of the worst years of our lives and we love it here. All of the recent protests and marches have been very well attended, orderly, peaceful, and I just heard about the Resister Vigil for people disappeared by ICE and was quite moved by it. The support of small local businesses here is amazing and there is a tangible sense of community I never felt in my hometown of Santa Barbara. I knew there had to be some Beans listeners here. My shout out is to the local cat shelter, the Chico Cat Coalition, for providing such amazing loving care to the cats there and to all the individuals who show up to make it work. My cousin has volunteered there for more than 15 years and the first thing I did when we moved to Chico was sign up. Volunteering there gave me a place to go and be helpful and connect with the others who care deeply about kitties. That means an awful lot when you're in a new place starting over from scratch. I'm now serving as the assistant shelter manager, lending support to all the other amazing volunteers who give their love and time to the shelter cats. The place is completely volunteer run and relies entirely on donations. Many of these people show up because of some terrible loss or grief in their life, and it seems that most, if not all of them were affected deeply by the camp fire which tore through the nearby town of paradise in 2018. People who lost their own pets or house or spouse or everything, they show up to give loving attention to those cats and they find refuge there It's a goddamn miracle when you think about it. Each year, there's an online auction that raises most of the shelter's operational funds for the next year. Our Moonlight Meows online auction starts October 26th, and it ends November 1st. Right now we're looking for donated items for auction, which can be anything anywhere. Doesn't have to be in Chico. So if any of the Leguminati has an object, gift certificate or experience to contribute to this cause, we will gladly accept them. Until October 1st, I'll be contributing a gift certificate for the business I started here last summer called Bubba Luv. Pet sitting tiny, introverted shout out to myself here, Bubbalove Pet. I'm also working on a series of rock paintings of various animals for auction now for my pothead tariff. Let me try that again from my pod pet tariff. I did say it right the first time. My brain just completely glitched.
Alison Gill
I do that at least four times a day. I'll say something and I'll be like, that wasn't right. And then I'll be like, oh, wait, no, that was right.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, that was right. Yeah. I've attached a photo of one of our adoptable shelter kitties. This is Taffy doing a blip. She's an older cat and is losing her eyesight, but is still quite playful and spunky and would make a wonderful couch companion. I hope people say that about me when I start. Yeah, I know.
Alison Gill
It's like, same, same.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, she's. She's still spunky. Make a great couch companion. She's been passed over for adoption more than any of our kitties. And it would make us all, all of us at CCC so happy if we could find her a good home. More info on our kitties and the auction can be found at chicocatcoalition.org, there'll be a link in the show notes. I've also included a photo of a rock painting I made this year for my sister's birthday of a trio of capybaras. There will definitely be more capybara rock paintings, as well as polar bear, an emu, an octopus, and in the Moonlight Meows auction, so don't miss it. And I just want to put this out there. If you are in a bad spot and you need some sort of connection and you have a little time to spare, consider volunteering at a local shelter. There are always more animals that need help than there are people who can care for them. And the folks who do show up, they're going to be really interesting. And you'll share love for animals with you, despite all of the other things that might otherwise set us apart. Now, at the very least, you'll meet some precious fur babies, and caring for them will make a big difference in their lives.
Alison Gill
Look at this little baby.
Dana Goldberg
So sweet. Your rock art is very good.
Alison Gill
Oh, wow. That is. That is not what I was expecting.
Dana Goldberg
That is incredible. Me either. We're like, I think there's gonna be a stick figure. And she's like, here's the Sistine Chapel.
Alison Gill
We're like, holy balls, right? Oh. Oh, my goodness.
Dana Goldberg
Heather, this is really impressive. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Alison Gill
And thank you for the Moonlight Meows online silent auction. So if you have something that you want to donate to be auctioned off, whether it's a thing or an experience or whatever, let us know. Or, you know, go to chicocatcoalition.org for more information on that. And if you are able to adopt Taffy, she is gorgeous. Thank you so much for that submission. Oh, my gosh. This dog. Okay. From Marianne. No pronouns given. Hi. I've been listening from the red state of Indiana. I want to highlight a podcast I stumbled across called who Sleft? H O, O S L E F T. It's a newspod about the goings on in Indiana from a different perspective. That's way more in line with my views and hopefully the views of other seeing people. I was watching their latest pod, and there are only two views, and I felt kind of bad for them. Anyway, I was hoping some of your listeners might be interested in tuning in. I hate feeling like I'm all alone on this red island. As a pod pet tax, I'm submitting a picture of my current rescue puppy. His breed should be obvious, but I'm going to let you guess without telling. This is a rescue dog. This looks like a show dog.
Dana Goldberg
Seriously, I'm going to go with standard poodle.
Alison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
For real.
Alison Gill
It doesn't say, but. Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, we're right. We're right this time. We're right.
Alison Gill
We're correct. I say with confidence, that is a poodle. So everybody check out the who's Left podcast. Especially if you're a Hoosier.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Alison Gill
And you're feeling a little bit, you know, blue.in a red state up there. It's called who's Left? H O O S L E F, T. Let's see if we can bump their numbers up a little bit.
Dana Goldberg
Let's do it. All right. This is from Anonymous. What's up, AG and DG? What's up. Anonymous I'm a federal worker. Nearly 15 years as a psychologist at the VA. Thank you for your work. Proudly serving despite the attack on the federal workers. January and on has been a ride.
C
Wow.
Dana Goldberg
I wanted to tell you about the Federal Unionist Network. The fun. I found my way to this group of scrappy activists and it was provided a much needed. Help me out with that word ballast. Ballast? You don't even need to edit it. I'm learning new things. What does a ballast mean?
Alison Gill
That's like that thing on the side of a boat that straightens it out.
Dana Goldberg
Oh, okay, that makes sense. Actually, that's why I did not know what that word was.
Alison Gill
Or you put like ballast in something to even it out.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, that makes sense. Provided a much needed ballast to the despair following the inauguration. And I know damn well someone listening was like, dana, thank you for doing that on air. Because they didn't know what a ballast was and they didn't have to look it up. We support other resistance organizations and also organize our own rallies and pickets. Any of your Leguminati who are part of the federal workforce should look up the fun and join our ranks. We're making big moves. Thank you for your humor and your heartfulness. Thank you for keeping us all together when you remind us we'll get through this authoritarian chapter and its daily horrors together. Thank you for including ample cuss, words, pettiness and good trouble for the epic gossip sessions with John Fugelsang. The episode where you chopped it up about first episode of the new season of south park had me roaring with laughter. Potpet tax is my baby Kitty Loki here's four months old, a ton of fun. I'm obsessed with him.
Alison Gill
Oh my goodness. He's adorable.
Dana Goldberg
He is adorable.
Alison Gill
He looks like a ham sandwich. He is a. Look at him.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Alison Gill
What a hammer hamming it up like a ham. Oh my God, he's adorable. Thank you for that. Okay, so it's the fun. Join the ranks if you're a federal worker. That sounds really cool. The Federal Unionist Network. Right on. Thanks for your service. Next up, from Carolyn Pronouns, she and her I want to give a shout out to my part time work friend, retired teacher and one of her former students who have an informative podcast called Plain Civics. It's on Apple Podcasts. Please check out Bobby Fischer and Joe Ullery's take on informing citizens about our government and extended Topics. There are 16 episodes today date with the hopes of 26 by year's end. All of these episodes are great tools for anyone who needs a civics refresher and for social studies teachers, I think your listeners may be interested in plain civics. P.S. i enjoy listening to your podcast during my daily walk. I'm sure the people I meet along the way wonder why I'm chuckling to myself. My pet tax is an old photo of my Motor Junior, AKA Mojo, who crossed the rainbow bridge many years ago. Oh. Oh, sweetie, look at that sweet orange baby under the Christmas tree plotting on how to destroy it. Yep, from the waist down, that's exactly it. Plain civics. Very cool. It's on Apple Podcasts. And I love that you enjoy the podcast. During your daily walk, we used to do this thing. Remember when we'd be like, if you listen to today's episode of the Daily Beans on your walk, you'll burn off enough calories to have two and a half glasses of wine.
Dana Goldberg
I love that.
Alison Gill
We'd always measure the length of the episode by how many glasses of wine you could have because you went on a walk while you listened.
Dana Goldberg
Fantastic. All right, this is Jen in Noco, which would be Northern Colorado pronoun. She and her. Hi, AG and dg. Some good news here. I see your tomato eating dog, Indy and raise you a cucumber stealing wiener dog. Hank, obviously not a purebred pup. His legs are entirely too long and he was a rescue. But he has a cucumber obsession. He will legit steal them right off the vine and eat at least one a day in the summer. Now, thought this might bring you ladies a smile. Also, I've heard y' all mention the name Horatio. Horatio several times. We have a Horatio as well. I'm sharing a photo of him and his friend Ted Budgie. Can you tell if I have a true crime interest as well?
Alison Gill
Yeah.
Dana Goldberg
Keep up the good work. You're bringing us unfiltered news. We've got Horatio and Teddy R. Parakees. Cucumber stealing dog.
Alison Gill
Yeah, A long legged wiener dog stealing cucumbers.
Dana Goldberg
Oh my God. Do you think he walks by all the other wiener dogs and they're like, what the fuck?
Alison Gill
Dude, can you get that down off.
Dana Goldberg
The shelf for me? Yeah. Where'd you guys get that? Would you get those?
Alison Gill
Oh. Jealous of his cucumber snatching skills?
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
Alison Gill
And then they try a cucumber and like, oh, no, thank you.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, we're good. That probably did that to your legs. We're fine.
Alison Gill
Oh, my goodness. Oh. Anyway, thank you all so much for your good news. I really, really needed it today. And please send us more. All of it all the time. Like, flood us with good. Flood the zone with good news instead of shit for a change. You can do it@dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. And if you want to become a patron, that really helps us out, it's super cheap and you get ad free episodes and you get them early and you get to come to our happy hours and stuff. It's patreon.com muellershirote do you have any thoughts for today? How's the ticket sales going on that second show?
Dana Goldberg
I was just about to say we're basically sold out on both shows, except the 9pm I think has two or three tickets left. So if you're in San Diego area and you want to come see me do my long show on August 15, there's going to be a lot of beans there, a lot of great LGBTQ people, a lot of straight allies. It's just going to be a really lovely theater. It's the diversionary theater. It's LGBTQ operated, historic. And it's just going to be a good night. We're going to have some fun. I'm going to talk some shit and you're going to be able to hear my long show. So go to danagoldberg.com and you're going to hit the appearances tab. And I believe it is the next one down where you just click on tickets. Don't hit RSVP because that's not going to help. I need to fix my website, click on tickets and snatch up the last two. They're available for San Diego, August 15th.
Alison Gill
Yeah, diversionary theater. It's been there. Just a paragon for the LGBTQ community in University Heights, which is a very, very cool neighborhood. It's right there in that group of neighborhoods around Hillcrest, which is our gay neighborhood. Yeah, our queer neighborhood. And then there's University Heights, Normal Heights. Normal street is where they have. Where we have our big pride flag and our rainbow crosswalk. North park is right there. North Park, South Park. It's just this group of, like, the cool part of town, you know what I mean? Not like the touristy downtown part, but the. But the cool part where the milk stout brings all the beards to the bar. Like that area. It's awesome. You would love it. So I hope to see you all there. And again, danagoldberg.com and make sure you to click on tickets and not on rsvp. I'm excited about it. I'm really.
Dana Goldberg
I can't wait to see you. Yeah, it's gonna be a fun night.
Alison Gill
I haven't seen your full comedy show since Martinis. Was that pre pandemic? No, that's at post pandemic.
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, but it's still been like three years, I think.
Alison Gill
Yeah, it's been a while, so I'm super excited. All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Thank you so much for listening today. Thanks to my guest Garrett Graff for coming on and talking about Long Shadow. You definitely want to listen to that. And grab a copy of his book. And again, like I said, we'll be back in yours tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health and take care of your family. Type in AG I'm a DG and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information, please Visit mswmedia.com.msw media.
The Daily Beans: Episode Summary - "Red Pill Mill (feat. Garrett Graff)"
Release Date: August 7, 2025
Hosts: Alison Gill & Dana Goldberg
Guest: Garrett Graff
Description: A deep dive into the intersection of social justice, political maneuvers, and the evolving landscape of online movements, featuring insights from Garrett Graff of the "Long Shadow" podcast.
The episode opens with Alison Gill outlining a series of pressing news items, including the removal of Sections 9 and 10 of Article 1 of the Constitution from the Library of Congress's website—a move the Trump administration attributed to a "glitch." This deletion has raised significant concerns about the administration's intent to undermine constitutional protections, specifically the right to challenge detention (habeas corpus).
Dana Goldberg highlights the administration's efforts to bolster ICE recruitment by removing age caps and offering incentives such as signing bonuses and student debt forgiveness. However, the effectiveness of these measures is questioned given the administration’s rescinded bounty per deportation offer.
The discussion shifts to the abrupt firing of Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, and her replacement by Todd Blanch, who is implicated in handling the Epstein cover-up. Alison emphasizes the ongoing legal battles Hayden faces and the administration's attempts to control the Library of Congress.
A bomb threat led to the evacuation of a Chicago hotel hosting Texas Democrats protesting redistricting. Dana Goldberg reports that the threat was thoroughly investigated with no evidence of a bomb found, ensuring all guests and staff were safely returned.
Alison and Dana express skepticism about the motives behind the threat, speculating on potential political undercurrents.
The discussion turns to the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case. Top officials, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President J.D. Vance, are convening to decide on releasing an audio recording and transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch’s conversation with Ghislaine Maxwell. This meeting underscores the administration's unified approach to managing the Epstein scandal.
The potential involvement of Joe Rogan in a high-profile interview about the case is also mentioned, highlighting the interplay between mainstream media and influential podcasters.
An attempted carjacking targeting Edward Corestine, a former Doge staffer, in D.C. has reignited Donald Trump's threats to federalize the District of Columbia. Trump’s statements suggest a readiness to impose federal control if local authorities fail to manage crime, despite a reported 26% decrease in violent crime rates compared to 2024.
Alison notes the irony that the sections of the Constitution enabling such actions were previously deleted from the Library of Congress website, emphasizing the administration’s disregard for constitutional safeguards.
A sergeant, Cornelius Radford, shot and killed five soldiers at Fort Stewart before being subdued by fellow troops. The incident raises alarms about security within military installations and highlights issues surrounding mental health support for service members.
The hosts discuss Radford’s background, his prior DUI citation, and the lack of deployment experience, suggesting potential gaps in the military’s screening and support systems.
Alison and Dana shed light on the deplorable conditions within a Florida detention center, referred to as "Alligator Alcatraz." A former worker, identified only as Lindsay, describes inadequate facilities, lack of basic amenities, and inhumane treatment of detainees. She was terminated under dubious circumstances after contracting COVID-19.
The discussion condemns Garda World, the company managing the facility, for ignoring Lindsay’s allegations and failing to address the reported abuses.
Health Secretary RFK Jr. announces the cancellation of nearly $500 million in grants and contracts related to the development of MRNA vaccines. This decision is met with backlash from the scientific community, as MRNA technology is viewed as pivotal for future pandemic responses.
Dana critiques the administration’s move, arguing that abandoning MRNA vaccines undermines public health efforts and sets back medical research.
Guest: Garrett Graff, host of "Long Shadow" podcast and author of "The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb."
Garrett discusses the final episode of "Long Shadow," titled "Red Pill," which explores the rise of the manosphere, Gamergate, and their influence on contemporary political polarization. He draws parallels between early online harassment movements and the current fractured MAGA coalition, highlighting the fragility and internal divisions within the movement.
The conversation delves into the historical impacts of Gamergate on online misogyny, the challenges of maintaining political movements without charismatic leaders like Donald Trump, and the potential for future instability within such factions.
Garrett also introduces his new book, providing an oral history perspective on the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He emphasizes the importance of preserving firsthand accounts to prevent historical revisionism and to educate future generations about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear warfare.
Alison and Dana transition to their uplifting segment, encouraging listeners to share positive stories. Highlights include:
Community Support:
Heather Pronouns shares her positive experience volunteering at the Chico Cat Coalition, emphasizing the therapeutic benefits and sense of community it provides.
Local Initiatives:
Jen from Northern Colorado promotes the "Plain Civics" podcast, which aims to educate citizens about government functions.
Personal Stories:
Listener submissions showcase adorable pets and acts of kindness, reinforcing the podcast’s commitment to highlighting good news amidst a turbulent political climate.
Promotional Highlights:
Dana announces her upcoming comedy show in San Diego, inviting listeners to attend and participate in community-building events.
The "Red Pill Mill" episode of The Daily Beans offers a comprehensive examination of current political tensions, administrative overreach, and the enduring impact of online harassment movements. Through incisive discussions and expert insights from Garrett Graff, the hosts underscore the importance of historical awareness and community resilience in navigating contemporary challenges. The episode balances its critical analyses with a heartening good news segment, fostering a sense of solidarity and hope among listeners.
Notable Quotes with Timestamps:
For More Information:
This summary aims to encapsulate the key discussions, insights, and notable moments from the episode to provide a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened.