Refried Beans | We All Saw It (feat. Dan Przygoda) | Nov 20, 2023

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Beans - Refried Beans | We All Saw It (feat. Dan Przygoda) | Nov 20, 2023

Hosts: Alison Gill & Dana Goldberg
Guest: Dan Przygoda
Release Date: November 24, 2024

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1. Introduction

Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg kick off the episode by acknowledging the significance of listening to past episodes, highlighting their growth over the years. They set the stage for a comprehensive discussion on current social justice and political news with their characteristic blend of insight and snark.

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2. Political and Legal News

a. 8th Circuit Court Ruling on the Voting Rights Act

At 04:10, Alison Gill reports on a pivotal decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals which could severely undermine the Voting Rights Act. The court ruled that only federal authorities, not private citizens or civil rights groups, can sue under Section 2 of the Act, which prohibits discriminatory voting practices based on race.

"Only the government can sue. Yeah, it's fucking unbelievable."
— Dana Goldberg [04:49]

This ruling restricts the enforcement power solely to the Attorney General, potentially diminishing the role of civil society in combating voter discrimination. Experts anticipate an appeal to the Supreme Court, which may address this significant legal shift.

b. Supreme Court Rejects Derek Chauvin's Appeal

Following the 8th Circuit ruling, the Supreme Court denied former officer Derek Chauvin's appeal regarding his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin's legal team had argued that he was denied a fair trial due to pre-trial publicity and concerns over potential violence if acquitted.

"At least they upheld that conviction."
— Alison Gill [10:14]

Dana Goldberg underscores the gravity of Chauvin's actions, reflecting on the impact of Floyd's death on global protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

c. Senator Mike Lee's Conspiracy Theory on January 6 Rioter

Republican Senator Mike Lee stirred controversy by promoting a baseless conspiracy theory that a January 6th rioter, Kevin Lyons, was an undercover FBI agent. Despite evidence showing Lyons was in federal custody for his actions, Lee continued to propagate unfounded claims.

"We have that clip of Ronna McDaniel on Meet the Press. Let's listen."
— Alison Gill [34:36]

Dana expresses frustration with Lee's tactics, emphasizing the damaging effects of such misinformation on public trust and democratic institutions.

d. Appeals Court Hearing on Trump's Gag Order

The hosts discuss the ongoing legal battles surrounding former President Donald Trump's limited gag order in the D.C. special counsel case. The appellate court's hearing did not favor Trump's lawyers, suggesting the likely reinstatement of the gag order.

"The shit he's getting away with, it's unbelievable."
— Dana Goldberg [03:46]

This development is expected to limit Trump's ability to publicly comment on the case, though the specifics remain to be clarified pending further court decisions.

e. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's Surprise Visit to Kyiv

In a surprising move, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine amidst ongoing conflicts. During his visit, Austin announced a $100 million security package, including advanced weaponry and cold weather gear, aiming to bolster Ukraine's defense capabilities.

"The message that I bring you today, Mr. President, is the United States of America is with you."
— Lloyd Austin [14:30]

Alison and Dana discuss the implications of this support, highlighting the strategic importance of Ukraine in global geopolitics and the challenges posed by dwindling U.S. aid funding.

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3. Interview with Dan Przygoda on the Media Landscape

Guest: Dan Przygoda, former Legacy Media employee turned independent journalist.

a. Production of Viral Moments During January 6th Hearings

Dan shares his experience producing significant moments during the January 6th Committee hearings, such as the viral footage of Josh Hawley interacting with insurrectionists and the impactful testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson.

"What happened here in Ukraine, that not only matters in Ukraine, but it matters to the rest of the world. It certainly matters to the United States of America."
— Lloyd Austin [14:30]

b. Critique of Media's Horse Race Coverage

Dan criticizes mainstream media for focusing excessively on the "horse race" aspect of politics—tracking who is winning or losing—rather than delving into substantive issues affecting the country. He argues that this superficial coverage neglects deeper societal concerns and perpetuates misinformation.

"There is a lack of digging into reporting about what this actually means and how the country actually feels."
— Dan Przygoda [27:01]

c. Media's Role in Elections and Misinformation

The discussion highlights how media outlets often amplify unfounded claims and conspiracy theories, contributing to public distrust and polarization. Dan advocates for media accountability, urging news organizations to fact-check in real-time and avoid platforming those who perpetuate falsehoods.

"It's a responsibility of the media to be a check on the powerful, to hold people, to not get away with lies and not to platform these lies."
— Dan Przygoda [43:43]

Alison and Dan emphasize the need for a media overhaul to prioritize truth and integrity over ratings and sensationalism, especially in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.

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4. Good News and Listener Submissions

The hosts shift to a lighter segment, showcasing heartwarming listener contributions primarily featuring pets and personal stories. They highlight submissions from listeners like Lori, Panda Chronicles, Amy, and Valerie, celebrating the community's diversity and creativity.

a. Listener Pet Stories

• Lori introduces her rescue dog Maxwell, a designer mutt nearing his 16th birthday.

  "Maxwell ... a chihuahua crust with a papillon."
  — Lori [51:38]

• Amy shares her knitting projects and her bull, Willie, a purebred American Milking Devon.

  "I'm a fairly decent knitter and I really enjoy knitting colorful things."
  — Amy [58:11]

• Valerie expresses her love for the podcast and references classic films, adding a nostalgic touch to the segment.

  "Flames, flames on the side of my face."
  — Valerie [59:43]

b. Shoutouts and Community Messages

Listeners send shoutouts to loved ones, highlight local businesses, and promote community initiatives like the Whidbey Island Organic Farm School.

"Life has been feeling pretty dark ... so the news that she actually said he would like to continue the Rent a Panda program was music to my troubled soul."
— Dana Goldberg [52:01]

The hosts conclude the segment by encouraging listeners to share their own stories and engage with the community, fostering a sense of unity and support.

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Conclusion

Alison Gill and Dana Goldberg wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of quality journalism and community engagement. They express gratitude to their guest, Dan Przygoda, for his insights and encourage listeners to stay informed and connected.

"We'll be right back after these messages."
— Alison Gill [18:38]

Key Takeaways:

• Legal Shifts: The 8th Circuit's ruling on the Voting Rights Act poses significant challenges to voter protections, likely prompting a Supreme Court review.

• Accountability in Media: There's a pressing need for media outlets to prioritize factual reporting over sensationalism to foster informed citizenry and uphold democratic values.

• Community Engagement: Listener contributions highlight the podcast's role in building a supportive and engaged community amidst turbulent political landscapes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "Only the government can sue. Yeah, it's fucking unbelievable."
  — Dana Goldberg [04:49]

• "The shit he's getting away with, it's unbelievable."
  — Dana Goldberg [03:46]

• "It's a responsibility of the media to be a check on the powerful, to hold people, to not get away with lies and not to platform these lies."
  — Dan Przygoda [43:43]

• "You have to put a seed in people's mind that there are some people among us who aren't just bad, they're dangerous and they're out to get us."
  — Maddow [40:37]

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This episode of The Daily Beans offers a critical examination of recent legal decisions affecting civil rights, the persistence of misinformation in politics, and the urgent need for media accountability. Through engaging discussions and heartfelt listener stories, Alison and Dana provide a comprehensive and insightful narrative for their audience.

Transcript

[MSW Media]

MSW Media.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, everybody, it's Ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans.

[MSW Media]

Podcast from the same week either one.

[Alison Gill]

Two or three years ago, so we.

[MSW Media]

Can see how far we've come.

[Alison Gill]

So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro.

[Dan Przgoda]

Refried beans. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're wasting time.

[Alison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, November 21, 2023. Today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals deals a devastating blow to the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court rejects former officer Derek Chauvin's appeal in the murder of George Floyd. Senator Mike Lee is promoting a debunked conspiracy theory about a Jan. 6 rioter. The appeals court hears arguments over Trump's limited gag order in the D.C. special counsel case. And Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes a surprise trip to Kyiv. I'm Alison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, Dana. Happy, happy Tuesday.

[Dana Goldberg]

Happy Tuesday to you. Listen, I just want to say, I know that we are listening to this on November 21st, but Monday, November 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance. And I just want to send a big love and just love to the trans community that supports the Daily Beans. We have had a number of losses this year alone, mostly the majority of trans women of color. And so I just want to send a shout out to my trans community to say, I see you and I am fighting beside you, and I will not stop fighting until we have full equity for our community. So I love you all and I'm thinking about you today.

[Alison Gill]

Absolutely same I see you. We are here. And just thank you so much for being you.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yes.

[Alison Gill]

That's all. All right, big show today. We're going to take a look at the current media landscape with an interview with my friend Dan Perz Goda. He's a former Legacy Media employee who has since gone independent. If you aren't familiar with that name, you probably will be soon. He was the producer behind the January 6th Committee's Cassidy Hutchinson testimony. And he was also the producer that created the moment of levity that we had during those hearings with the Josh Howley running through the halls.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, yeah. His heels didn't even touch the ground.

[Alison Gill]

They did not. Ain't nothing gonna break his stride as he was running. And we know, I think Lucas Koontz is running against him for his seat. But I'm going to be talking to Dan Purzgoda. We're going to talk about the media landscape. That's going to be later in the show. Also today we had the appellate court gag order hearing. Don't call it a gag order. The limited gag order, narrowly tailored, issued by Judge Chutkan against Donald Trump in the D.C. coup conspiracy case and his plot to overturn and block the peaceful transfer of power. Now, the arguments did not really go well for Trump's lawyers. It seems like what's going to happen is the appellate court is going to lift the stay and reinstate the gag order, though they may more narrowly, narrowly tailor it to allow Trump to attack Jack Smith, but perhaps not his family. We'll see what happens. They could remand it back to Judge Chutkan to make that decision and more narrowly tailor it herself. Or they may do it themselves. We will keep you posted. But that happened today.

[Dana Goldberg]

The shit he's getting away with, it's unbelievable.

[Alison Gill]

Any other person unbelievable.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep.

[Alison Gill]

Yep. All you got to do is run for president and you can break the law.

[Dana Goldberg]

Good Lord.

[Alison Gill]

So that's what's happening. We're going to cover that on the next episode of the Jack podcast. There is a new episode out now. You can hear it now. But this story will be in the next one. All right, we have a lot of news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes.

[MSW Media]

Hot notes.

[Alison Gill]

First up from Politico, a federal appeals court issued a ruling Monday that could gut the Voting Rights act, saying only the federal government, not private citizens or civil rights groups, is allowed to sue under a key section of the landmark civil rights law. The decision is out of the 8th Circuit and it will most certainly be appealed, and it's likely headed to the Supreme Court. Should it stand, it would mark a dramatic rollback of the enforcement of the law that led to increased minority power and representation in American politics. The appellate court ruled that there is no private right of action for Section 2 of the Voting Rights act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race.

[Dana Goldberg]

The fuck?

[Alison Gill]

Only the government can sue. Yeah, it's fucking unbelievable. That in practice would severely limit the scope of the protections of the second section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. On paper, those protections are themselves unchanged by the ruling. But for decades, private parties, including civil rights groups, individual voters and political parties, have brought Section two challenges on everything from redistricting to voter ID requirements. So like Mark Elias, if he wanted to file a maps lawsuit, he wouldn't be allowed to in certain states. After viewing the text, history and structure of the Voting Rights act, the district court concluded that private parties cannot enforce section 2. The enforcement power belongs solely to the Attorney General of the United States. That's what they said. The majority opinion from the three judge panel of a St. Louis based 8th Circuit was authored by Judge David Strass, he's an appointee of Donald Trump and joined by Judge Raymond Grunder. He's a GW appointee. Chief Judge Levenski Smith, another Bush appointee, actually dissented. The ruling has put the Voting Rights act in jeopardy and is very cavalierly tossing aside critical protections that voters have very much fought and died for. That's set. That's Sophia Lynn Lakin, that's the director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project who argued the case in front of the appellate court. The decision originates in racial gerrymandering case, particular one out of Arkansas where the state chapter of the NAACP and others alleged that the state's legislative district violated the Voting Rights act by diluting the voting power of black voters. A lower court judge, also a Trump appointee, ruled in early 2022 that he couldn't decide the case on its merits because he found there was no private right of action that effectively they had no right to bring the lawsuit. On Monday, the circuit court affirmed that finding. The 8th Circuit covers Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas. Appeals courts covering other states have proactively found a private right of action with the circuit split, making it very likely the Supreme Court will want to weigh in on this. At least two Supreme Court justices have signaled an openness to the argument that non governmental groups have no role in demanding the enforcement of the Voting Rights act. In a 2021 ruling that made it harder to win on Section 2 claims, Justice Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion that the court was explicitly not ruling on whether private rights exist. Our cases have assumed without deciding that Voting Rights act of 1965 furnishes that right. That's what he wrote. He said lower courts have treated this as an open question. Justice Clarence Thomas concurred with Gorsuch opinion. Gorsuch's opinion at the time, a decision to bar private challenges under the Voting Rights act would reverse decades of legal practice. Outside groups have repeatedly brought successful Section 2 challenges and litigate alleged violations of the law far more frequently than the federal government does. Quote, we're taking orders of magnitude of a difference in terms of enforcement of these rights. And you also have to remember it depends on who's in the White House.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right?

[Alison Gill]

Right. Merrick Garland, Attorney General of this DOJ brings all kinds of lawsuits pursuant to the Voting Rights Act. But if you get somebody else in there, a Republican in there, do you think they're going to do that?

[Dana Goldberg]

No.

[Alison Gill]

No fucking way. While the Department of Justice can and under President Biden increasingly has brought Section 2 challenges, private groups have been the main drivers of these lawsuits. It's hard to overstate how important and detrimental this decision would be if allowed to stand. That's Rick Hasan, a prominent election law expert at ucla. If minority voters are going to continue to elect representatives of their choice, they're going to need private attorneys to bring those suits. The immediate next step following Monday's ruling was not clear. Legal experts expect the case to end up in front of the Supreme Court. The SCOTUS could choose to hear and appeal directly or the entirety of the 8th Circuit could weigh in en banc. And on the first case, Lakin, the ACLU attorney, said early Monday that the challengers had not yet decided their next step, whether they're going to file en banc with the entire panel of the 8th Circuit or go directly to SCOTUS. But they said the recent circuit split makes her believe SCOTUS would be interested in taking up the case.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, A.G. thank you so much. This one's from ABC News. Back to the Supreme Court. Well, then on Monday, they rejected former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's appeal of his conviction for second degree murder in the killing of George Floyd. Some better news from what we reported yesterday on the other shooting. Now, the justices did not comment in leaving in place state court rulings affirming chauvin's conviction and 22 and a half year sentence. Chauvin's lawyers argue that their client was denied a fair trial in 2021 because of a pre trial publicity and concerns for violence in the event of an acquittal. Floyd, who as we know was black, he died on May 25 of 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed a knee in his neck. God, it's so hard for me to read this. I have such a visual in my head.

[Alison Gill]

Yeah, we also.

[Dana Goldberg]

He pressed a knee on his neck for nine and a half minutes on the street outside of convenience store where Floyd tried to Pass a counterfeit $20 bill. A bystander video captured Floyd's fading cries of I can't breathe. Floyd's death touched off protests worldwide, some of which turned violent and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism that's still playing out. Chauvin separately appealing his conviction on federal civil rights charges.

[Alison Gill]

Well, at least they upheld that conviction.

[Dana Goldberg]

I agree.

[Alison Gill]

Next up from Ryan Reilly at NBC. Republican Senator Mike Lee based Mike Lee said over the weekend he planned to question the director of the FBI on whether a Trump supporter currently serving four years in federal prison is an undercover federal agent. Mm.

[MSW Media]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay.

[Alison Gill]

Mike Lee of Utah, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, promoted on his personal Twitter account. I don't call it x a conspiracy theory that one of the January 6th videos released at the order of House Speaker Mike Johnson shows an undercover federal agent disguised as a Trump supporter. Quote, I can't wait to ask FBI Director Ray about this at our next oversight hearing. That's what he said on post on Posted on X just before midnight on Saturday evening, resharing a post that suggested a man in a MAGA hat was actually an undercover federal agent. Quote, I predict that as always, his answers will be 97% information free. In reality, the image Lee shared shows January 6th defendant Kevin Lyons, a self proclaimed idiot and Trump supporter who stole a framed photo of the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis and a staffer's wallet from then Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. The video shows that Lyons, as he's leaving the Capitol building, briefly shows his hands as a heavily armed tactical team comes inside the building to get control of the riot. Lyons is holding an item in his right hand. Conspiracy theorists claim Lyons was holding an FBI badge, but the item is a vape that Lyons was seen holding earlier that day, although the quality of the footage makes that difficult to say with 100% certainty. I'm an idiot, I realize that, lyons said to a judge during his sentencing and a hearing in July. As NBC News reported, I was stupid. I don't know what came over me. I apologize to you, the country and my family. The Federal Bureau of Prisons records show that Lyons is currently in federal custody and is scheduled for release in 2027. Video that Lyons shot, previously released in connection with another Jan. 6 case, shows him pocketing a wallet that he stole from a jacket inside Pelosi's office. As of Monday afternoon, Lee's post has not been taken down. The original post, reshared by Lee, was Posted by a 1-6-Rioter named Derek Evans, who pled guilty to a felony and was sentenced to three months in federal prison. He's now running for Congress as a Republican in his home state of West Virginia, for fuck's sake. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Republican ally of the former guy, also posted false claims about Lyons, but deleted the allegation after being called out by other social media users, quote, that's a law enforcement badge in his hand while disguised as a Trump supporter in a MAGA hat, she said on Twitter before she edited her post to remove the allegation. I've said it all along. MAGA did not do this. Okay, but are they political prisoners? Then why did you go to the I can't.

[Dana Goldberg]

I can't. I hate her so much. She's so dumb.

[Alison Gill]

Even the far right conspiracy website Gateway Pundit walked back their post about lions saying it now appears this is a vape. When NBC reached out to Mike Lee, they got his spokesman Billy Gribbin, but he dodged questions about the false claim. Quote, Senator Lee would like Director Wray to answer important questions regarding the uncuffed rioter fist bumping Capitol police inside the building, the unidentified pipe bomber and other individuals whom the FBI and fraudulent January 6th committee have shown a surprising lack of interest, he said. So he pivoted, didn't answer the question. The uncuffed rioter fist bumping Capitol police, by the way, is January 6th defendant Jared Owens, who was charged last month. Owens was one of several rioters who were released from custody on January 6th because police officers were under violent attack at the Capitol and didn't have the resources to process the enormous number of rioters. Owens, who's a Trump supporter, allegedly assaulted law enforcement officers with a barricade on January 6th and Capitol Police officer arrested him after witnessing Owens push another unidentified U.S. capitol Police officer up against a wall inside the Capitol. That's according to the FBI. A folding knife was found in Owens right front pocket. The FBI has not been able to identify, by the way, the pipe bomber at both the bombs that were placed at the RNC and the DNC headquarters on the night of January 5, but is offering a half a million dollar reward for information leading to their arrest.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, thank you AG for that. This is from CNN. U.S. secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Kiev on Monday in a surprise trip to Ukraine to reemphasize the US's support for the embattled country amid other pressing challenges abroad. And I quote, the message that I bring you today, Mr. President, is the United States of America is with you. That's what Austan told Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. He went on to say, we will remain with you for the long haul. What happened here in Ukraine, that not only matters in Ukraine, but it matters to the rest of the world. It certainly matters to the United States of America. According to a Defense Department news release, Austin traveled to Ukraine to and I Quote, reinforce the staunch support of the United States for Ukraine's fight for freedom. During Austin's visit, the Defense Department announced a new security package for Ukraine totaling $100 million. One of the smallest packages, by the way. Yet as available funding for U.S. assistance begins to run low. Now, the package, which is the 51st to be provided from DoD inventories, it includes one high mobility artillery rocket system and additional ammunition. 155 millimeter artillery rounds, Stinger anti aircraft missiles, the tube launched optically tracked wire guided missiles. These are intense shit. I'm sure you're familiar with all of these ag. It also includes. You're not really. That's good to. Well, I guess good to know in some ways.

[Alison Gill]

Had I had I made it shipboard, I would be fixing pumps in an engine room. So I don't know all this, but you know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my God. I just assume you know everything. Yeah.

[Alison Gill]

Well, thanks.

[Dana Goldberg]

You're welcome. All right, I'll continue. It also includes cold weather gear. What about that? Do you know anything? Just. Okay.

[Alison Gill]

Demolition again, Southern California. Not really.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right. Cold weather gear, Demolition munitions to clear obstacles, and more than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition. Now, as he announced the package, Austin said he sees bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. He said, I know there are things we need to continue to work through to get the supplemental request approved and we'll continue work with Congress to do that. And Congress, our congressional members have valid questions that we will answer. Again, that was from Lloyd Austin. Senior defense officials, in a briefing with traveling press, emphasized the critical nature of Austin's visit and the message it sends that us will continue to support Ukraine despite other challenges, specifically in the Middle east with Israel's fight against Hamas. While US funding for aid to Ukraine is dwindling, the official said a number of capabilities that were procured over the last year and a half will begin coming online in the next few months and throughout 2024. He said, so there will be steady supply of capabilities immediately and for some time. Again, that's from the official. He also said the anticipated Russia targeting critical infrastructure in the winter months, as they did last year, and I quote, they did it last winter. We've already seen some of those strikes actually in the last couple of days, but we are on track to provide a steady stream of artillery, ammunition, longer range fire throughout these months. So there's that. The official said and said we can do both at the same time. Upon his arrival to Kyiv, Austin met with roughly 25Americans in Ukraine as part of the Defense Department's Embassy Kyiv team. In remarks before their meeting, Austin thanked them for their work and assured them what they're doing matters. He said, when you're working hard in every day and things are going not quite like you want them to go every day, you can sometimes question whether or not what you're doing at that time is really making a difference. It is. You are enabling us to provide support to countries that's fighting for its existence. And there's probably nothing more important than that. Austin's trip comes just days before he will host the 17th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Virtually. He's going to do that virtually from the Pentagon.

[Alison Gill]

All right, thank you for that and I appreciate secretary of Defense traveling to Ukraine. That's good. We need to get those packages approved after Thanksgiving. Thank you very much for that, Dana. We'll be right back, everybody, with producer Dan Przgoda. You don't want to miss this interview. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.

[MSW Media]

We'll be right back.

[Alison Gill]

Hey, everybody.

[MSW Media]

Welcome back. I'm super honored today to be joined by an independent journalist, used to work for pretty much every major media outlet that you can think of for about 15 years, independent journalist now, and produced some of the most impactful moments in the January 6th committee hearings. Please welcome Dan Prisgoda. Hi, Dan.

[Dan Przgoda]

Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

[MSW Media]

I'm really excited to talk to you today because we're going to talk about the media and you have so much experience on both sides, whether it be legacy media, mainstream media, or the new media landscape that we're talking about. And, you know, I just wanted to give everybody kind of a, like a little bit of an insight into how you and I sort of began talking. And one of the main things was, you know, I was at the January 6 committee hearings and one of the most talked about viral moments, actually two of the most talked about viral moments in that presentation or those presentations were first of all, the Josh Howley clip of him giving the fist pump to the insurrectionists on the outside of the Capitol, and then once inside, running back and forth across a hallway. And I noticed in the hearing that you had your phone ready, queued up to sort of capture that moment and the reaction in the room on video. I was like, I wonder if he had something to do with that. And it turns out you did. You produced that moment, but also you produced the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, which of course was probably one of the most impactful moments that we had from those hearings. And so that's Sort of how you and I began talking, like, hey, what do you. Hey, did you know anything? Did you set that up? What was that? And, you know, we began talking then I interviewed you because I'm working on a book about the media, and we talked all about sort of what's going on in the media landscape right now as we gear up for 2024. And I just wanted to sort of bring that to the Daily Beans.

[Alison Gill]

So could you talk a little bit.

[MSW Media]

About those moments and a little bit of your expertise in working in the media?

[Dan Przgoda]

Sure, yeah. Well, just to back it up a little bit, one of the main topics that I was working on for many years but was especially flaring up in 2020, was looking into extremist groups. And all throughout 2020, I was covering the BLM marches, and I was also looking into these extremists who were attempting to hide among some of the BLM marchers and protesters. And so that work, I exposed a network of these boogaloo Boys, but we're also looking into the Proud Boys and the Oath keepers. And so 2020 was a very momentous and interesting year in looking at that, because these guys, what they were doing was twofold. I mean, they were taking advantage of, you know, a moment of great unrest in our. In our country. And at the same time, they were also kind of testing the boundaries of how much they could get away with. And we saw this, you know, in the state houses, like, in Michigan, of people, you know, freely entering into the state House there, armed with AR15s, fully kitted up, as they would call it, with tactical vests and masks and everything. And a lot of them were testing the fences on how much they could get away with. And there's a direct correlation between what they were doing throughout 2020 under the guise of these COVID lockdown protests, into what we saw on January 6th. So that kind of was part of what led me into working there. And, you know, like, we saw on. On January 6, just a horrifying moment of the Capitol being overrun. And, you know, there was. You know, we've seen the organized movement of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. And, you know, they're still finding. The FBI, are still finding people, and they're still charging people who were involved in that moment. So when I was called in to work with them, I was very, very proud to do this and very happy to do this, because I think that what happened quickly after January 6th of 2021 is that there was an attempt to kind of whitewash it and to make people forget about it. And one of the things that I'm very proud of with the work of the committee is that it brought it back to the forefront of the national conversation. And we could talk about what led into the insurrection, some of the failures and some of the key people that were involved in attempting to subvert the 2020 election.

[MSW Media]

Yeah. And there was a recent filing by Jack Smith in the D.C. case against Donald Trump where he said he plans to basically put the attack on the Capitol front and center in his case in chief, and that it was the culmination of all of the attempts to overthrow the election and retain power and block the peaceful transfer of power, and that they intend to prove in court that Donald Trump sent them there for that purpose. And I think that that's the first time, in fact, I know it's the first time we have gotten a clear sort of understanding of what the special counsel intends to prove at trial with regard to the attack on the Capitol. Because when the indictment came out, you know, obstructing the official proceeding with a fraudulent elector scheme, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy against rights, it didn't really hit you upside the head that the attack on the Capitol was the centerpiece of the indictment until Donald Trump wanted to remove the language about January 6th from the indictment, calling it incendiary and prejudicial. And then, of course, in response to that motion to strike that language for the indictment, that's when we get finally.

[Alison Gill]

From Jack Smith his intent to prove.

[MSW Media]

Those things in court. And I think that the work of the January 6th Committee, and in particular even the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, had a lot to do with that and, and how that day is presented. And if I were you, I'd be like, man, I wish I could help the prosecution with putting on their case in chief using the video of that day.

[Alison Gill]

But I think we'll see that.

[Dan Przgoda]

But I think that kind of leads into our discussion of what we're going to talk about today, because again, I think it's hard to think, it's hard to think back to 2021, like immediately after it happened. And the January 6th committee didn't start airing our hearings until the summer of 2022. And all throughout that time, you didn't see a lot of major news outlets replaying that footage, digging into it or anything. And my opinion is that the January 6 committee re sparked that conversation. And again, a lot of these legacy media outlets had this stuff in their archives. They were able to go out and find the people who were involved in it, ask the questions. And so the thing that I think we all have to ask ourselves is why didn't they? Why didn't they?

[MSW Media]

Yeah, and let's, let's kick off that conversation with that because I think one of the main things that you and I both talked about, at least in our interview with regard to the book, is the horse race. Media talk a little bit about that, what your experience is with that and how we're seeing it in action now.

[Dan Przgoda]

Well, I mean, I think, you know, it's the framing comes out of, you know, Washington is who's won the day and who's lost the day. And that's what they're focused on, whether it's polls, whether it's a gaffe, whether it's, you know, some kind of viral moment. And I think that there is a lack of digging into reporting about what this actually means and how the country actually feels. And I think that there is unfair framing of a lot of the issues at hand. I mean, there were reports even back in 2021 saying that, you know, Biden's build back better act was going to be horrible for the country. We've seen reports, you know, again, going back from 2021 from CNBC and Bloomberg that there's going to be a recession just around the corner. Just around the corner. And you can point to headlines that are sometimes a year to the date apart of There's 100% chance of a recession didn't happen. There's 100% chance of a recession didn't happen. And so what ends up happening is that I think that the media is not really good at digging into the whys of these issues. They are just digging into, presenting them. They're saying, for instance, high gas prices. There was a report on GMA from April complaining about high gas prices are just around the corner. And one of the things that they blame for the high gas prices is Biden announcing that he's going to refuse to drill in the Alaskan wildlife. Well, I think that that is patently ridiculous to say that. Well, that's the reason why your gas is now $0.10, $0.20 higher when there's a whole multitude of reasons for it. There is OPEC cutting off production. There is hurricane season that impacts oil refineries offshore. There is corporate greed. Corporate greed. Let's talk.

[MSW Media]

I mean, because, you know, Philip Bump, the Post just put out this great opinion piece saying you're going to have to adjust your talking points because at this point in Biden's presidency, we have exported more oil and drilled more oil than Trump did at this point in his presidency. And he is like, you're going to, if you're thinking that we're sitting on some giant reserve of untapped oil, you need to rethink your talking points. And so I'm appreciative of the Washington Post for putting that piece out. But that's not what gets the coverage, right.

[Dan Przgoda]

No. And in 2022, Biden sold from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that actually helped lower gas prices. During 2022, how many articles have we seen about that? How much TV coverage have we gotten about that? We get the morning news show program about here's the most ridiculous gas prices in the country, everyone's feeling pain at the pump. And so then it's no surprise that when they turn around and CNN presents these polls saying that while the mood of the country is, you know, a third of people don't think Biden is doing a good job for the economy, it's like, well, you know, again, I'm not saying that the media should be.

[MSW Media]

You created that, you know, you, you made that true. Like, it's why you're wagging the dog. You're like, the economy is, you know, people don't like the economy. Oh, here's a poll saying people don't like the economy. How come? You know, and it's, it's just like, okay, well, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps if you focused on the good things in the economy, like a, you know, flat inflation over the past month, you know, we would, we would see that reflected in the polling paid for by political parties and presented to the media to continue the horse race.

[Dan Przgoda]

It sometimes feels like they are reading off that Twitter account the New York Times pitch bot. But taking it seriously of saying, like, there is record jobs numbers out. How is this bad for Biden? Unemployment is the lowest ever. How is this bad for Biden? And we joke about that, but it's also, you can see how surprised a lot of the pundits were after last Tuesday's election where the Democrats regain control of the House in Virginia, where, you know, the Ohio overwhelmingly voted in favor of preserving rights for abortion. And you could see in the lead up to that too, all of these pundits and all of these news programs were just going off that poll where Biden was down by one point against Trump in key swing states. So they were expecting a disaster. They were saying, oh, you know, Biden's unpopular nationally. And then the next morning, they all have to kind of you know, try to spin it in the opposite direction. And they're, they, they show that they are not prepared for this moment.

[MSW Media]

Yeah. And there's a lot of instances of that. I know you gathered quite a few clips.

[Dan Przgoda]

Yeah. And I think one, one that I like to talk about is, you know, recently on Meet the Press, Kristen WELKER Had Ronna McDaniel on. And this was right after Trump at a rally used the term vermin to describe people on the other side. And this is as people pointed out that, you know, this is right in line with things that Hitler and Mussolini have said. And so she has horrifying message of to call your political opponents vermin. And so she has the head of the RNC on her show and basically just asked her, well, how does she feel about that? Ronna McDaniel totally dodges the question. She says that Trump supports veterans and our troops, which again, it doesn't take that much to go back and say, well, he didn't want to show up to a World War I memorial in France that he is apparently, according to his chief of staff, has disparaged veterans and dead, excuse me, service members who have been killed when he was visiting Arlington. And she just completely steamrolls Kristen Welker and says, well, the thing to point out is that at the debates there is a, you know, that you guys had co sponsored the debate with Jewish organizations and Kristen just moves on. There is no pushback. There is no, you know, this, this terminology comes right from Hitler, right from Mussolini. And the response is, well, I'm great, I'm glad that the GOP debate was co sponsored by, by a Jewish organization. And again, you were, you were doing, this is a very serious moment. This is someone who is the front runner of the GOP who is likely, you know, is going to be the nominee for them. And this is not horrifying to you. This is not something that we should treat seriously, that this is politics is normal, that this is just part of the Trump show. I mean, what, what are we doing here?

[MSW Media]

Yeah, exactly. And we have that clip of Ronna McDaniel on Meet the Press. Let's listen.

[E]

I mean, as you know, Hunter Biden is still under investigation by especially, thank.

[F]

Goodness we have the house.

[E]

Let me, let me move on though, because I know you don't want to get into messaging. But let me just ask you big picture because former President Trump did raise eyebrows yesterday with his Veterans Day message. I'm just going to read you part of it. He says, quote, in honor of our great veterans, on Veterans Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, lie, steal and cheat on elections. And we'll do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America. Are you comfortable with this language coming from the GOP front runner?

[F]

Again, I am not going to comment on candidates and their campaign messaging. I will say this. I know President Trump supports the veterans. Our whole party supports our veterans. And I do think we're at a very serious moment in our country. The one thing I wish had come out more in our debate is that the RNC and NBC for the first time ever had a Jewish co sponsor for a debate. I am really proud of that history that we created. So thank you for being part of that because this is a time where we met the moment.

[E]

Thank you so much for having us. It was an honor.

[F]

Thank you.

[E]

Co moderate that debate. We really appreciate it.

[MSW Media]

Ronna McDaniel, yeah, I mean, you're right. She just steamrolled past everything. And it seems like the habit here on Meet the Press recently, whether it's this interview or the one with Donald Trump is like, well, let's just throw it back to the studio and let them talk about it after the fact and fact check it after the fact instead of doing it in real time. Here's another clip that I wanted to ask you about. This has to do with a CNN poll on Tuesday. Read the recent election that we had that was, by the way, a huge blowout for Democrats. I mean, we cleaned the floor with Republican asses on this election. But let's listen to this clip back.

[G]

Democrats pulling off big wins in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia last night. There are still serious headwinds though, facing President Biden's reelection campaign. There is a brand new CNN national poll this morning and it shows Donald Trump beating Biden in a hypothetical rematch 49 to 45. And when it comes to favorability ratings, both candidates are underwater. 39% favorable versus unfavorable. For Biden, Trump not too far off, 38% favorable versus 56% unfavorable. Still, what this poll makes clear is that Americans see Biden's weakness as Trump's strength on whether the candidate has the stamina and the sharpness to serve effectively, only a quarter of Americans back Biden compared to 53% who say Trump has that. And on being an effective world leader, Biden comes in at 36%. Trump comes in at 48%. Meanwhile, we are seeing the same trends nationally that we saw in those swing state polls from the New York Times and Siena College. Biden losing support among key groups that helped him win in 20.

[MSW Media]

So let's talk about that clip.

[Dan Przgoda]

Well, let's talk about these polls in general. Number one, the poll that came out, it's a year out from the election. So I don't put too much stock into polls a year out from election when you haven't had Biden running a traditional campaign to begin with. He's out there being the president. And also on the media side of you're not treating Trump as the presumptive nominee in a real way. You're still flirting with these other candidates for the GOP that are coming up. And just let's think about who picks up the phone and who answers these kinds of polls. They are going to skew in a certain way. And again, if all that you're pointing out is the economy is bad and everything is bad because of Biden and we're not going to cover any of his accomplishments, how many times during the 2016 election do the cables cut to an empty podium waiting for Trump to show up? And now how many times during this upcoming election cycle are we seeing cameras waiting for Biden to stand in front of a bridge that's going to be renovated? They barely cover him when he is standing on the line with United Autoworkers, which is, again, a huge moment for a sitting president to be out there on the picket line with striking workers. So you're getting a skewed sense of what the mood of the country is. And it is kind of this echo chamber and this circular kind of conversation around it of people can talk about this. But all you're putting out is coverage that I think is not balanced and not fair and not looking into the real mood of the country. And I fully expect, you know, 2024, the what do people in diners think? Coverage to start very quickly for all the mainstream.

[MSW Media]

Yeah. And I mean, it should seem obvious. I mean, in 2012, we had this same kind of polling and coverage of Obama's race against Mitt Romney. We saw it in 2016 where it was 96% sure Hillary was going to win. And that was just sort of everybody's thing. We saw it in 2018 when, oh, the Democrats are going to fall flat on their face and there was a blue tsunami. I mean, we picked up dozens of seats. Then we saw it again, obviously, in 2020. We all tried to warn about the red mirage. And we saw that again. And then in 2022, clearly the everybody, oh, and all the pollsters, red wave, red wave, which never materialized. And then 2023, we've had this election where everyone's like, it could go either way. Oh, it's a toss up, BO blah, blah, blah. And then we blow it out. And then everyone says the Democrats are awesome, except for Biden, the leader of the party. And now we're going into this same old, same old with 2024. And before I let you go, I wanted to play a clip for you.

[Alison Gill]

I saw, I think it was Rachel.

[MSW Media]

Maddow on Seth Meyers this week and her kind of view of how this horse race media can fail us and the way that things are being covered. Let's check that out.

[H]

I feel like the thing that I have come to understand by looking at the way it operated in other time periods, not just looking at it in other countries, but looking at it in our own country, is that when people are telling you something about a minority group that says they're not just bad, they're not just things about them that you shouldn't like, but they're evil, that they are secretly powerful, that they're the reason things are bad, that sort of toxic conspiracy theory about a minority group has a purpose. It is always to make us think that we shouldn't be in a democracy because.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right.

[H]

A democracy is that we all decide things together. That's the basic idea of it. You have to put a seed in people's mind that there are some people among us who aren't just bad, they're dangerous and they're out to get us and we need to be protected from them. And therefore we can't have a democracy because we can't have those people voting to. And we need a government that's going to protect us from those dangerous people. That's the purpose of those not just stereotypes, but those dangerous conspiracy theories about favored minority groups. And that form of antisemitism is part of fascism. It's part of authoritarianism. It's part of trying to make us give up our democracy. And it's evil and it's pernicious and it keeps repeating itself and it ought to be a big red flag to all of us. It's not just about hating people. It's about getting to undo democracy and we shouldn't stand for it.

[MSW Media]

Yeah. And so Maddow's exactly right there. This is.

[Alison Gill]

These are the red flags that should be raised.

[MSW Media]

It shouldn't be, oh, there might be a process about impeachment for Joe Biden in the House of Representatives today. It's, hey, they are trying to elect an autocrat. They are trying to install fascism by breaking the government. And where's that coverage, I think, is the big question.

[Dan Przgoda]

It's so well said, and it's a sentiment that I agree with of that. This is a different moment, this is a very different moment than in any other presidential election. We can't, the media can't run by the same playbook that they have in the past. And we have to take these things very seriously. I mean, look what it led up to. Look on January 6th, again, of this unchecked rhetoric, this unchecked aggression. So I think the media has to really reinvent their playbook, and we have to hold people accountable. We have to be able to say for a fact Joe Biden won the 2020 election. And if you put people on air that can't say that fact, you should not be platforming them. You should not be giving them airtime because they are perpetuating a lie. And you wouldn't put. And again, the test that I always. And the questions that I always like to ask is, where's the line for this? Where would you not put someone on air? Because a lot of newsrooms have a lot of rules and a lot of, you know, procedures about who you should air, who you should quote, what you should take seriously. So why are they continuing to fall for this? And I think we know the reason why is that it's good ratings.

[MSW Media]

Yeah, I would like to. I don't know, I would like to talk to them and say that.

[Dana Goldberg]

There'S.

[MSW Media]

Other ways to make money, there's other ways to get ratings. I mean, covering a potential fascist party in our country, I think would meet their profit center, bottom line, sort of requirements on getting clicks and views. I mean, if you want to talk about fear and the things that sell, and if you, if you're, if your only incentive is money, you know, I don't understand how you're missing this. Do you know what I mean?

[Dan Przgoda]

Like, totally. And I, and, and I think, I think, too, that there has been, you know, this belief for going on for many years that, well, let's just get people into the tent. And that's why you see, you know, programs like Meet the Press through, you know, the current host and Chuck Todd and, you know, you know, mainstream media outlets across the spectrum, they want to platform people because they believe that, well, we'll play to the other side and we'll get them in and they'll watch our programs, they'll click on our articles and it's going to increase our viewership, it's going to increase our audience, and they'll get the real story. Then we'll, we'll, we'll be able to penetrate these groups and they'll get the real story. But that never happens.

[MSW Media]

They just keep trying to get more views and more views and more views and never actually pivot to the story that they want to share with the larger audience.

[Dan Przgoda]

Yes. And the audience that they're trying to get doesn't trust them anyway, and they're going to retreat back to, you know, their own silos and everything. So I don't understand and I don't agree with treating people who perpetuate these kinds of lies with kid gloves. I think that it's a responsibility of the media to be a check on the powerful, to hold people, to not get away with lies and not to platform these lies. That's our responsibility, is to do that. And if we're not prepared to meet that moment and we're not doing that, then again, what are we doing here?

[MSW Media]

Yeah. And I will say that there are some anchors and journalists throughout mainstream media that do focus on these things and focus on the things that need to be. I mean, we just saw Matto on Seth Meyers on a mainstream media network talking about this. So that is excellent. There just needs to be more of it. I think it needs to be more consistent. And especially if you're going to platform these people, they need to be fact checked in real time as it happens, which is, you know, I gotta be honest, it's difficult to do with Donald Trump because he'll just roll right over you. He'll just roll and roll and roll. But there are folks like Mehdi Hasan and, you know, people who will not let you off the hook until you answer this question, will not let you pivot to another point or a talking point or a spin until you answer this question. There was a great interview with Jim on CNN the other day with one of the Republican reps talking about the Hunter Biden investigation. And he's like, are you gonna vote to hold Jim and Hunter Biden in contempt if they don't show up for their subpoena? And he's like, well, of course I will.

[Alison Gill]

Absolutely.

[MSW Media]

And he's like, but you didn't vote for Bannon's contempt to the January 6 thing. And he's like, well, tell me what public office Bannon ever held. And he's like, well, tell me what public office Jim Biden or Hunter Biden ever held and he wouldn't let him off the hook. And I appreciate that he never really truly got the answer, but eventually you have to give in to time.

[Dan Przgoda]

At least he tried. And that was John Berman. And I love John Berman. And full disclosure, I used to work with John Berman.

[MSW Media]

Oh, sorry. I think I said, Jim, it was John Berman. Yeah, he's great.

[Dan Przgoda]

Media Son is great. And again, I would think that both of them would tell you that, like, it's not that hard to prepare for these interviews. Media Son is ready, you know, with the facts, with the clips. He know. You know, the thing is too, when again, when I'm talking about the certain people on the right, you kind of know what they're going to say. You kind of know what their talking points are going to be. So it's your job to prepare for these. What are you going to present to dispute that, refute it, challenge them on their own voting records or history. And yeah, I mean, I, I think that if we had moments like that all the time, you would see the ratings go up and you wouldn't have to, you would have to sell out your principles for it either.

[MSW Media]

Agreed. All right, well, thank you so much. You know, and I do, I do know we talked about several issues where you just need to keep somebody in that seat for that hour. And that's why you're not rough. You know, you don't poke back at them too hard is because if they get up and walk away, you haven't filled your hour. But, man, that, that would go viral so fast. So, yeah, we've, we've talked about that offline and I just don't understand it. I want to continue this conversation, but we are short on time. But please tell everyone where they can find and follow you.

[Dan Przgoda]

I'm mainly on Twitter. I hang on, I hang out there a lot. My username is D P R Z Y G O D A and I try to balance, balance my feed with serious topics and some light humor every now and then.

[MSW Media]

Well, thank you so much for your good work. I'd hate to think where we would be if we didn't have the produced Cassidy Hutchinson testimony on January 6th. And we certainly all wouldn't have gotten a little bit of levity without that Josh Hawley clip. So I appreciate all of the work that you're doing, the work that you've did there and the work that you've done and we'll continue to do. My friend, Dan Prisgoda, I appreciate your time.

[Dan Przgoda]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody stick around.

[MSW Media]

We'll be right back with the good news after these messages. Will be right back.

[Alison Gill]

Everybody. Welcome back. It's time for the good news everyone.

[MSW Media]

Then good news everyone.

[Alison Gill]

And if you have any good news or confessions corrections. You want to play what the ever what the animal. What the. What the hell is in that shell? Or what the shell? What do we have? Opine on the bovine? What the heck?

[Dana Goldberg]

Wine?

[Alison Gill]

What the mutt Cat me if you can't I mean anything. Seriously. We'll try to guess. It's fun. I have fun doing that. If you have a shout out to a loved one, a partner, a spouse, a family member, a friend, a small business in your community. If you can't pay Pod pet tax, perhaps you can send us an adoptable pet in your area. Anything at all would be stories, blankie stories, theses and dissertation titles, frog orgies, baby pictures, you name it. Send it to [e-mail] and click on Contact. First up from Lori Pronoun. She and her thanks Agee and Dana for all you do to promote truth, justice and the sanity of your faithful Leguminati. Perhaps the mispronunciation of the name of the March King was humorous, but I wanted to report the ou in Sausa is pronounced like you, like Suz. Okay, Sousa. Same goes for the eponymous wearable tuba. The sousaphone. Sorry to pick such a very tiny nit. No, please. I love these. My high school friends told me I was doomed to be a little bitty English teacher. Close, but I'm a little bitty bureaucrat. Oh well, hope you have a fabulous holiday season. The fabulous holiday season you deserve as Pod Pet tax. I submit my friend Maxwell, who rescued me in 2019 and will be 16 years old on December 9th. He's a designer mutt. A chihuahua crust with a papillon. Oh, look.

[Dana Goldberg]

He'S cute. Little flute.

[Alison Gill]

Here's the little kind of flags coming down off his ears. Adorable pup.

[Dana Goldberg]

So good. All right. This is from Panda Chronicles. Pronounced she and her. I knew I could count on you to convey the most important matter discuss between Biden and Xi Jinping. Nope. How do you say did I do that right?

[Alison Gill]

Xi Jinping.

[Dana Goldberg]

Look at me. All right. Xi Jinping. I got one right. We don't even need an edit. I'm just going to keep going. Yeah. I am of course referring to the repandification of the US notably Pan Diego in D.C. pandiego is my closest zoo, although the weather for pandas is far better in Seattle. Just saying. Life has been feeling pretty dark with what with the wave of fascism that TFG and GQP at large are threatening us with. So the news that she actually said he would like to continue the Rent a Panda program was music to my troubled soul. I'm well aware that China's human rights issues are vast and terrible. And not just China, but pandas are magic. Pandas are joy. And without that joy, it's hard to fight the bad stuff. Now for a shout out. With what? All the assaults on our climate which leads to assaults on our food production systems. We need to support the wave of new smaller scale farms that are practicing organic and regenerative farming. I am quite blessed to live in an area where the regenerative farming. Regenerative farming movement is growing. We have a wealth of small farms here that not only sell through farmers markets, but also through local grocery stores. What has this food mecca? The Whibley Island Organic Farm School. The Whidbey Island Organic Farm School. And we'll have a link to that. It's literally organicfarmschool.org yes, you too can learn to be a farmer. They're taking applications for next year's program. It's a small, focused, hands on, learning everything you need to know kind of program. While some of the students come from the local area, many have come across the US and go to their communities to bring better food home. I know I sound like a recruiter, but while I sometimes volunteer there for some of their food events, I have no ulterior motive for singing their praises. Other than pandas really like carrots. If any of the beans listeners were thinking that they wanted to get into farming. This is a wonderful program. Thanks again for providing some sanity news with swearing and good news to the world. Don't forget to find some joy and pandas from time to time so we can keep going and fight these fascists. For pet tax. I include a baby panda.

[Alison Gill]

B Look at the baby panda.

[Dana Goldberg]

So good. One of my favorite memes is that little baby panda sneezing and scaring the shit out of her mother. I don't know if you see it's one of the funniest. Like I will watch it on loop. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[Alison Gill]

I've seen it like I've. I've watched it a million times. It brings me so much joy. So that's awesome. Organic farm school.org everybody if you want to check that out. Thank you so much. Panda Chronicles Next up from anonymous pronouns he and him. I want to thank AG&DG for my morning newsfix with swears and thank the Leguminati who recommended the pep podcast out of Australia. It's a fun perspective from outside the US and it makes you notice that there are different accents within Australia because in the first episode I played, one host talks about Trump's bail and the other confusedly said that he didn't want to know about Trump's bowels. Obviously listen to. Obviously listen to beans, Jack and other MSW pods. But add pep if you have extra time and listen to listen. Maybe you spend a lot of time walking dogs. Perhaps my pod pet tax is picture of our dogs to prove this breed doesn't just lay around all the time like people think and to give AG and DG a chance to boost their success percentage. Thank you. These are beautiful basset hounds.

[Dana Goldberg]

They really are.

[Alison Gill]

Look at the face of the one on the left because the wrinkles. It's so cute.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for that submission as well. This next one's from Mo from Colorado pronoun she and her first I love you both. I'm so happy that you Allison gave Peachtruck and Andrew McCabe a platform so short shout out to myself. When three girls moved in with me in 2014, they only voted in presidential elections. I convinced them that all were important. Now they remind me old age now. This month we were running behind and good news. We had volunteers come to our door. Pictures of my doggies. You can guess breeds, but they are both rescues. I lost the gray one last summer. He was a purebred. Oh.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, look at these adorable little babies.

[Dana Goldberg]

They're very cute.

[Alison Gill]

What are the.

[MSW Media]

What do we think here?

[Dana Goldberg]

The second one looks like a choice Chihuahua mixed with like a lab or a. I know.

[Alison Gill]

It's so cute. Yeah, the gray one looks kind of like a Chinese crested with a terrier. Like a rat terrier or something. He's beautiful. A little baby.

[Dana Goldberg]

I know.

[MSW Media]

Let's see.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, it's the one that I can't say.

[Dana Goldberg]

What the hell is that? A Zolo. A Zolitz Kuntil.

[Alison Gill]

It's a holo Niddle. It's like a. It's a Mexican.

[Dana Goldberg]

That is not how you say that either. Can someone without like destroying our brains write in with a phonetic pronunciation of this dog? Z X O L O I T Z C U I N T L E. Holoitzknital. Knut Knittle.

[Alison Gill]

Quintal.

[Dana Goldberg]

Quintal. That's yeah, Quintal.

[Alison Gill]

It's a queen. I don't. You know what?

[Dana Goldberg]

I feel very drunk right now. Okay. But the other dog is a dachshund beagle. We didn't get either of those.

[Alison Gill]

No, I'm. I took German. I should have taken Spanish, but I did not.

[Dana Goldberg]

My God.

[Alison Gill]

And then a golden. The one is a dachshund beagle, question mark.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, so they don't know. Yeah, it's cute as hell. That's what it is.

[Alison Gill]

We can't be wrong if they don't even know exactly.

[Dana Goldberg]

Except on the pronunciation of Zol. It's quintal. Zloyt's quintal.

[Alison Gill]

I thought an X in Spanish was an H. Sound like Oaxaca.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, well, yeah. Oh, is it. Is it a Spanish word?

[Alison Gill]

I believe so. Oh, but then there's the axolotl. You know what? I don't know. Somebody tell us.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, Please.

[Alison Gill]

Next up, from Amy Pronoun. She and her Binas Diaz. To you, my queens. I always love the show. I sort of have a self brag. I'm a fairly decent knitter and I really enjoy knitting colorful things. Christmas stockings lend themselves to that. I have made the ones in the picture over the last couple of weeks. I'm hoping to sell some. And I'll fix the heel on the red snowflake one. It's all wrong. At a local festival in December next year, I might branch out into taking orders for pet tax. Please enjoy our former magnificent bull, Willie. He is an American milking Devon, a breed of cattle used for meat and milk. Their meat is delicious and the milk. Don't milk the bulls. Is high fat and makes excellent butter and cheese. Thanks for being you. Happy Thanksgiving. Look at this. American milking Devon. I'm glad we didn't have to guess that. But beautiful, beautiful aminals.

[Dana Goldberg]

Beautiful indeed.

[Alison Gill]

Oh, these stockings are gorgeous.

[Dana Goldberg]

They are. I want to put them on my feetsie instead of the fireplace. Both done?

[Alison Gill]

Totally both. All right.

[Dana Goldberg]

This is from Valerie Pronoun. She and her first and foremost, thank you both for all you do. Can't imagine starting my day without the beans. Not good news, but I just listened to the 11:20 episode and I need more information about a line from Clue in the old episodes. I started listening to the beans in 2022, so that was before my time. But if those episodes are still available to listen to, I would just for the Clue reference alone, one of the best movies ever. Flames, flames on the side of my face.

[Alison Gill]

Heaving, breathing, heaving breaths. Flames, flames on the side of my face.

[Dana Goldberg]

What?

[Alison Gill]

You also need to watch Valerie and Everybody is a movie with Steve Martin and Madeline Con called Mixed Nuts. It is a Christmas film. It is one of my favorite movies and Madeline Kahn is brilliant in it. You will not be disappointed. Liv Schreiber plays a beautiful trans woman. It's amazing. You don't want to miss it. Also what you're talking about there, the clue reference. This goes back to Mueller She Wrote. You can find here's where the old Mueller She Wrote episodes live. They live on the Jack podcast feed. So if you go to the Jack podcast and scroll all the way back to the old, you know, because we only started the Jack podcast about a year ago. So anything older than a year is going to be Mueller She Wrote. And the intro from Mueller She Wrote ends with what is her. It's Miss Scarlet. No. Communism is a red herring. I'm a capitalist, so I'm a member of the oldest profession. I'm a capitalist. That's in the intro music. So everybody, until tomorrow when we're back in your ears, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, take care of your family. Vote blue over Q.

[Dana Goldberg]

And please take everyone you know with you.

[Alison Gill]

I've been AG and I've been dg and that was the beans.

[Dan Przgoda]

Refried beans. I like refried beans.

[MSW Media]

MSW Media.