3589 - Inside Bohemian Grove; DSA Hits Milestone w/ Daniel Boguslaw, Ashik Siddique, Megan Romer

Summary

The Majority Report with Sam Seder — Episode 3589 Summary

Date: February 26, 2026
Host: Emma Vigeland (in for Sam Seder)
Guests: Daniel Boguslaw (Investigative Journalist), Ashik Sadiq & Megan Romer (Co-chairs, Democratic Socialists of America)

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Overview

This episode focuses on two major themes:

1. An investigative deep-dive into Bohemian Grove—the elite, secretive, and influential men's club—with journalist Daniel Boguslaw.
2. A celebration and analysis of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) reaching a 100,000-member milestone, as discussed with co-chairs Ashik Sadiq and Megan Romer.
   Alongside these core segments, the hosts also delve into the cruelty and propaganda of the Trump administration’s recent moves against Minnesota, especially the pausing of Medicaid funding due to disputed claims of “Somali daycare fraud.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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News Recap and Monologue

Host: Emma Vigeland, with panelists Matt Bender and Brian
Timestamps: 00:08–17:38

• Rapid-fire headlines:

  • White House and Trump’s escalation toward Iran and contradictory peace talks (00:08)
  • U.S.-Cuba tension after border incident and weapons seizure (00:08)
  • The White House's ongoing “war on Minnesota”—rhetoric and crackdown on social services falsely linked to the Somali community (04:01–17:38)
  • Reports of trans Kansans being ordered to surrender licenses, and FEC filings linking Dem fundraising to Palantir lobbyists.

• Sharp critique of Trump/Vance Medicaid decision:

  • Administration halts federal Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota, claiming massive “Somali daycare fraud.”
  • Emma: “They are trying to tie in that older investigation into this more modern one as a way to justify an ethnic cleansing campaign targeted at Minnesota.” (16:08)
  • The White House is using outdated, debunked reports of fraud as a rationale for cruel policy changes, a tactic likened to racist tropes of the past (the “Welfare Queen,” etc.).

  Quote:

  “One in four Minnesotans could lose access to Medicaid — it’s incredibly cruel.” (Emma Vigeland, 07:36)

• Panel debunks ‘daycare fraud’ as racist fearmongering:

  • Original fraud claims in 2019 were minor relative to state budgets, prosecuted by previous admins.
  • Right-wing media is inflating numbers wildly (“$250 million daycare fraud,” etc.)—not backed by evidence from official investigations.
  • Matt Bender: “It’s a Jim Crow, Klan-type lie. Just like everything this administration does.” (17:02)

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Daniel Boguslaw on Bohemian Grove

Interview Segment: 21:00–46:16
Key Topics: Investigative journalism on Bohemian Grove, elite power networks, myths versus reality.

The Mainstreaming of Elite Conspiracy — Context

• The Epstein case and increased public knowledge of elite collusion have shifted perspectives on secret societies like Bohemian Grove (21:01).

• Daniel emphasizes: The Grove is not a “cabal that runs the world,” but “a window into the 1%”—noting the real story is about institutional power and social networks, not “demon worship.”

  Quote:

  “The focus gets deeper and deeper to this idea of child sacrifice and demon worship. The real bottom line ... is institutional power and social networks.” (Daniel Boguslaw, 24:17)

Bohemian Grove’s History & Influence

• Origins: Founded as a 19th-century progressive drinking club; over time, industrial barons and old-money elites coopted it (31:59).

• Ceremonies: The “Cremation of Care” is portrayed as a symbolic ritual for the powerful, misinterpreted by conspiracy outlets (Alex Jones, etc.).

• Elite Networking: Presidents, military leaders, CIA/FBI heads, and corporate giants use the Grove as an off-the-record networking hub.

  • Examples: Project Manhattan discussions; Reagan and Nixon’s affiliations; recent connections to the Heritage Foundation and defense contractors.

  Quote:

  “There’s a literal component of this: you can trace campaign donations and policy memos. These are the people making decisions—sometimes while getting pissed drunk and literally pissing on these hundred-year-old redwoods.” (Daniel Boguslaw, 34:30)

• Class & Gender Exclusivity:

  • Exclusively men; lawsuits by female employees relating to discrimination and wage theft.
  • Old money vs. new money: Trump sought entry but was rebuffed as “new money” (38:37–40:11).
  • Bohemian Grove cultivates ties across military, donor, and policy networks.
  • The network's influence persists even as political tides shift—maintaining power through deep roots and institutional reach.

Relationship to Broader Conspiracies

• Grotesque, ritualistic rumors (popularized by Alex Jones and Nixon’s own comments) distract from the real story: policy collusion and class solidarity among elites.

• The “taboo-breaking” of the elite is linked to forms of social cohesion and intra-class signaling—parallels drawn with Epstein’s circle and its normalization of illegal, unethical behavior (44:30).

  Quote:

  “The motive for that… is this idea of taboo. You are so insulated from normal laws and the social expectations of society that you can engage in this and by engaging with it, you prove your membership to that club.” (Daniel Boguslaw, 44:30)

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DSA Membership Milestone

Interview Segment: 46:17–66:58
Guests: Ashik Sadiq & Megan Romer
Key Topics: DSA's unprecedented growth, organizing strategies, and the broader socialist movement in the U.S.

100,000+ Members: What’s Driving the Surge?

• Growth factors (Push/Pull):

  • Excitement around DSA electoral wins at city and state levels (e.g., Zoran Mamdani in NYC).
  • Reaction to Trump’s reelection and his administration’s escalation (“absolute ghoul”—Megan Romer, 47:45).
  • Palestine solidarity and anti-imperialism organizing surged after October 2023 (48:47).

  Quote:

  “It’s not just members in big cities. We have over 200 chapters across the country ... It’s kind of a push factor, pull factor situation ... But also the reelection of Trump and him being just an absolute ghoul.” (Megan Romer, 47:45)

• Labor Organizing:

  • DSA supports workers and new union drives through national and local efforts (EWOK—Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee); special focus on Starbucks workers and new organizing in the South.

  Quote:

  “We’ve been able to train people to take on new organizing ... get the labor knowers to transfer their knowledge to people who would like to learn.” (Megan Romer, 50:22)

Resilience Amid Crackdowns

• DSA’s local chapters are essential in resisting federal crackdowns and ICE activities (e.g., Minneapolis and Los Angeles)—providing rapid response, legal support, and organizing “know your rights” trainings (52:47).
• Emphasis on chapter autonomy, resilience, and the crucial role of “community defense networks.”

Internationalism & Cooperative Strategy

• DSA belongs to Progressive International, sharing strategies, tactics, and organizing lessons with leftist parties abroad (54:48–56:14).
• U.S. and global right-wing movements coordinate—so, too, must the international left.

Policy Focus & Organizational Tactics

• DSA focuses on “transformative reforms” like rent control, free public transit, universal childcare, taxing the rich, and labor for arms embargoes—balancing electoral engagement and grassroots pressure (57:35 onward).

• Explains running DSA candidates through Democratic Party primaries as the most effective current vehicle for socialist policy—while building independent base power.

  Quote:

  “We want everything for everyone. We want to campaign on deeply felt needs ... beyond our own membership and identify the billionaires and their collaborators.” (Ashik Sadiq, 57:35)

• Emphasized need for base building—“power from below,” not simply electing reformers but creating a movement to protect and push them further (61:45).

DSA’s Democratic Model

• Contrasts DSA’s internal democracy and member-led culture to the top-down control of the Democratic Party (“the messiness of democracy, but also the beauty of it is very present in DSA membership”—Emma, 66:58).

Call to Action

• Listeners are encouraged to join DSA; a sense of optimism and duty pervades the segment (“There’s an incredible movement growing each day, even in the most unexpected places. We are always stronger together.” —listener message, 65:49).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Bohemian Grove as a window, not the “cabals” of conspiracy lore:

  • “No single window is going to explain everything. But pulling the curtain back gives us a view into how these relationship networks work.” (Daniel Boguslaw, 21:43)

• Elite lawlessness as club solidarity:

  • “You are so insulated from normal laws and the social expectations of society, that you can engage in this and that in engaging with it, you prove your membership to that club.” (Daniel Boguslaw, 44:30)

• DSA strategy:

  • “We want to make sure that workers are organizing in their own interests toward those things and shaping how those things happen. We’re not just activists on the outside…” (Ashik Sadiq, 57:35)

• Community power:

  • “The only thing that is effective is organizing and direct community connection and networks.” (Emma Vigeland, 51:52)

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Timestamps for Noteworthy Segments

• Trump, Medicaid & Minnesota fraud monologue: 00:08–17:38
• Debunking Somali daycare fraud propaganda: 13:24–17:38
• Interview: Daniel Boguslaw on Bohemian Grove: 21:00–46:16
• History and rituals of Bohemian Grove: 31:59–36:42
• Policy and power at Bohemian Grove: 38:04–46:16
• Interview: DSA's Ashik Sadiq & Megan Romer: 46:17–66:58
• DSA’s labor and immigration organizing: 49:45–54:34
• DSA’s international collaboration: 54:34–56:14
• Members’ testimonials and calls to join: 65:24–66:58

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Tone & Dynamics

• Language: Irreverent, humorous, occasionally biting, deeply analytical, and activist in orientation.
• Panel chemistry: Emma Vigeland leads briskly, with Matt Bender interjecting snark and context, yielding a mix of in-depth critique and conversational banter.
• Guests: Provide deep dive insights grounded in research and organizing experience—balancing academic, journalistic rigor with practical movement know-how.

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Episode Summary:

This episode unpacks how elite power operates—beyond conspiracy caricatures—through venues like Bohemian Grove, where military, industry, and political leaders network, coordinate, and sometimes plot regressive social policy. It pairs this critical investigation with a grounded, hopeful look at organizing from below, as the DSA scales new heights and helps communities fight back against reactionary policies through collective, member-driven action. The show foregrounds skepticism of mainstream narratives, the importance of building independent working class power, and the need to challenge not just the faces but the structures of American elitism and capital.

Transcript

[Emma Vigland]

It is Thursday, February 26, 2026. My name is Emma Vigland in for Sam Cedar and this is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, Daniel Boguslav will be with us to talk about his investigation into Bohemian Grove. And later in the show, Ashik Sadiq and Megan Romer, co chairs of DSA, will be joining us to talk about DSA hitting a major membership milestone. Also on the program, Trump continues to give Lindsey Graham the bluest of balls. Sorry for that image toying. I'm testing to see if you guys are paying attention. I wasn't focused pay attention you two. Because he's toying about with bombing Iran but also still trying to do peace talks in Geneva. And Lindsay's like, just give me this release please. I don't have it in a lot of other areas. Anyway, we move on. Some of Trump's advisors want Israel to strike Iran instead of the US to avoid the bad optics. But yet Israel's totally sovereign. Not our colony at all. Don't worry about it. By the way, this is predicated on the White House saying Iran's just so close to getting a nuke after claiming they obliterated said nuclear program last year. Cuba's border patrol shot at a speedboat from the US One nautical mile from its coast, killing four and saying they seized weapons from said boat. Not seeing a ton of denial from the U.S. interesting. Trump tells Zelensky that he wants a peace deal by summer, the first time they've spoken in around a month. Thune throws cold water on Trump's push to nuke the filibuster to pass the mass disenfranchisement bill. SAVE Act. A blind refugee from Burma has been found dead after Border patrol dropped him at a donut shop five miles from his home. The White House's war on Minnesota continues. Vance announces they're pausing Medicaid funding over the Somali daycare conspiracy. A top treasury official has resigned after privately raising objections to this attack on Minnesota. FEC filings reveal that House Democrats fundraising arm has taken millions from Palantir lobbyists. And lastly, trans people in Kansas are reporting receiving letters from the state demanding they surrender their driver's licenses. All this and more on today's Majority Report. Welcome to the show everybody. It's a Majority Report Thursday. Hello, Matt. Hello, Brian. Who needs coffee when I can provide you with shocking graphic imagery like that ad hominem writes in Jesus we're like 30 seconds into the show and I want to gouge out my eyes. Thanks for the mental image. You're welcome. That's what I'm here for. I'm in a good mood because we were social last night, specifically myself and Matt, although we said that and spent 90% of the time just talking to each other. Talking to each other.

[Matt Bender]

We did talk to other people, too.

[Emma Vigland]

We did talk to other people. And it was lovely. It was lovely to meet everybody last night. I was really honored to be, like the moderator for David Griscom's book Talk. Read the whole book, the Myth of Red Texas. It's great. People should check it out, pick it up or Books is publishing it with the nation. And I think that there's a live stream that our channel should have shared where if you want to watch the book talk from last night, you can. So it was really, really cool to be a part of that. Everybody, check out the Myth of Red Texas. David Griscom. And there was a full house. It was fun. It was a fun time. But let's turn to back to Minnesota here because, you know, after terrorizing the Twin Cities, killing two American citizens in Minnesota, beating and pepper spraying countless more, destroying property, kidnapping countless people, shutting down schools, causing car accidents, the White House has decided that their war on Minnesota has not been cruel enough. During the State of the Union, Trump talked about waging a war on fraud, and he's now tasking J.D. vance with it. The trope that black people and immigrants are stealing our social services is in. In conservative politics is nothing new. They just recycle it. And they'll have rotating groups that they're looking at.

[Matt Bender]

But it was Welfare queens.

[Emma Vigland]

The Welfare Queen. Yeah. This is, this is a fishing expedition based on racist tropes that go back decades and decades. The Welfare Queen one, as Matt mentions, is the most infamous. So, yeah, Vance had this press conference yesterday and he was joined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Admin. Dr. Oz Scam. Dr. And they're announcing here that they're going to pause Medicaid, federal Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota over this fraud conspiracy that we'll talk about in just a second,

[Matt Bender]

which has been prosecuted under the Biden administration, like, and they didn't find anything new to go after. So that's why they're all of a sudden doing sanctions now, because there was actually no new fraud they uncovered.

[Emma Vigland]

Right here is the vice president, J.D. vance, announcing this halt.

[J.D. Vance]

So we're announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people's tax money. Now what is this going to mean? What this means is.

[Matt Bender]

Does it mean shovel it to J.D. vance's friends in the tech sector so they can build data centers? Is that what good steward is? I'm sorry, I'll let him continue.

[J.D. Vance]

Well, it's tax money. Now what is this going to mean? What this means is that first of all, the providers on the ground in Minnesota have actually already been paid. The state has paid those providers the money. What we're doing is we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that's being perpetrated against the American tax. So we're announcing today.

[Emma Vigland]

Well actually play that part for a second. The first four seconds. So we're announcing today. I mean like he's so bitchy and unpresidential. Just this.

[J.D. Vance]

So we're announcing today that we have,

[Emma Vigland]

I mean literally it reminds me of like sorority meetings. Like so we're announcing today that we're wearing animal print at the dick party. Anyway, he's just so whiny. It's so annoying. But let's get, we're going to get to the fraud in a second here. Just. This is incredibly cruel. They've already this administration taken a hatchet to Medicaid with the one big ugly ass bill. And prior to its passage around 70 million people in this country rely on Medicaid lower income people, people with disabilities. CHIP is the one for children that is incredibly important for child, for low income families as well. So this is going to apparently impact In Minnesota nearly 1.3 million people. One in four Minnesotans, if they're able to pause these federal Medicaid reimbursements and Medicaid costs are shared by states and by the federal government. The states, Minnesota and the other states do this as well, pay the cost to administer the program. And then you have the federal government and this reimbursement system. And so this could really undercut the, like severely undercut the ability to provide health care for people as they blown up rural hospitals. Right. As they give this like vague target of until they kind of get their house in order, until Minnesota figures out what's going on. And the reality is is that there's nothing there.

[Sam Cedar]

The.

[Emma Vigland]

Let's just pull up this article here from the Minnesota Post 1. Minnesota is one of the many blue states that is a donor state, meaning its federal tax contribution exceeds the amount it receives in federal funding. The federal government collected about $119 billion in tax revenue from Minnesota residents and businesses in 2023. The state in return received about $75 billion to support health care, nutrition, Social Security and other programs. According to USA Facts, a not for profit organization that analyzes government data, that $44 billion difference between state between taxes and revenue equated to about 7,600 per Minnesotan. And among 19 donor states in 2023, Delaware was the only one where residents had a higher net costs than Minnesotans. So the this is also just like not true on its face.

[Matt Bender]

That's the thing is like, even if Minnesota was a donor state, there could still be fraud. But the whole thing about fraud is a complete Klan type lie. Just like everything this administration does. They did tariffs accusing Canada of trafficking fentanyl into our country. Those are just a complete lie that like certain people like to take seriously. And there's a type of thinking that is like, no, you can't just dismiss this Somali fraud stuff because it makes you look bad. No, actually it's people like you that shouldn't give these liars a goddamn inch because it was prosecuted under Biden. People are looking into it. The idea that we let this stuff run rampant is again, a Klan fantasy or a Klan propaganda point.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes. And so it started in 2019. There was an investigation into fraud at childcare centers. The estimate was like five to six million dollars in total. And when we're looking at the figures that we're speaking about, that is not a large amount. Charges were filed. The state tightened regulations. Then there was the prosecution under Biden. But they're reviving this in 2025 and 2026 to justify their attacks on Minnesota, their attacks on the Somali community, motivated by a far right agenda in the White House that hates Somali Americans. One, because they have incredibly high citizenship rates compared to other groups. So the fact that they're here so legally is a threat to their agenda of ethnic cleansing. And also they are black and also they are Muslim. So these are all factors into why this administration is targeting them.

[Matt Bender]

And Minnesota in large, with, you know, with exceptions, has, has been welcoming of them. And like Ilhan Omar, people act like she's member of a majority Somali district. She's not. Her district is majority white. That's what drives them crazy.

[Emma Vigland]

And I've cited this channel, we've cited it many, many times. I think I did the other day speaking about Jose's Tucker Carlson segment where it's behind I'm a patron so I've been able to access it, but I'd encourage other people, if they like these kinds of investigative video essay deep dives into political issues, to do the same if you want to see that. Tucker1 because it was really great, but this was from around a month ago, a great debunking of this Nick Shirley video that kicked all of this off these claims of Somali daycare fraud. And here is Jose's breakdown of that piece and how it's being mischaracterized, specifically in 2025 when there was those instances that we've already spoken about, but it's being distorted and they're trying to retrofit it into this 2025 daycare context.

[Jose]

The other claim of $100 million in CCAP fraud a year isn't quite so clear cut. On the most basic level, the figure seems to be inflated. Over the course of several years, prosecution of fraud amounted to somewhere between 5 and 6 million dollars, a far cry from the 100 million dollars a year that was being cited. However, the actual amount of fraud is difficult to determine, and this report declined to make an actual estimate of how much fraud is happening in the state when it comes to CCAP funding. At least one CCAP fraud investigator believed the $100 million figure could be accurate. But unlike what the Nick Shirley video alleges, it's not about daycares sitting empty all day, but rather daycares not providing adequate service like adults spending more time chatting amongst themselves or on their phones rather than watching the children. Representatives from the Department of Human Services more strongly disagreed with the $100 million figure because prior investigations didn't turn up anywhere near that amount. While there was certainly some amount of fraud that was unaccounted for, the $100 million figure seemed unrealistic when looking at the total budget of the CCAP service, it would account to more than a third of all funds allocated. In spite of the findings in this report, particularly the lack of evidence connecting fraud to funding terrorism, this talking point continued to lumber on. Here's an example from a local radio show on WZFG talking about it.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Dude, it goes back Pre Covid the daycare one was 2017. 2018. 2017, yeah, 250 million.

[Jose]

I don't know how it suddenly became $250 million, but that's the interesting thing about these fraud cases. Once they're discussed in the media, the figures start getting inflated and the type of fraud that may or may not be happening is is frequently exaggerated. In May of 2025, there was another report that looked specifically at attendance records

[Emma Vigland]

at no, this is the part I want to, I want to play. Yeah, this. It's really good. The whole thing's an hour. People should really check it out. We'll link to it.

[Jose]

In May of 2025, there was another report that looked specifically at attendance records at child care assistance providers that raised some interesting questions. A News article from MinPost covering the report said the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General sampled 1,155 child care centers and found that 11% of the payments made to those centers in 2023 had errors. But that doesn't necessarily mean there was fraud. Improper payments is an umbrella term that could include fraud. An 11% rate puts Minnesota above the permissible 10% threshold established by the federal government, Ewan said. On average nationwide, the rate is 4%. So while childcare fraud is something Minnesota has been working to reduce in recent years, these are not new issues, but they are being repackaged and they are being promoted in ways to make it seem like there is an epidemic, said Ellio, a national childcare expert, on a call with reporters this week.

[Emma Vigland]

So there you go. This is the again. Check out that Jose video on Nick Shirley. It's entitled Minnesota Nick Shirley and the Demonizing of a Community. There's more there. But that's the key point with that background, which is that they're using this term of improper payments, which includes basically a wide variety of violations. Say they're they don't have the proper health codes here or they don't have enough staffing or the staff was on their phone and and that kind of thing and not paying proper attention to the children and stuff that they're claiming that all of that stuff is fraud when a lot of it is just like violations. So they're trying to tie in that older investigation into this more modern one as a way to justify an ethnic cleansing campaign targeted at Minnesota.

[Matt Bender]

Yep, it's a Jim Crow at Klansmen lie. That's JD Vance is he's the same person who's repeating the like lie that there's 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants in this country. Complete lie. Completely like double or triple what the actual case is. And if you look at those that 10 million or so, 12 million or so, 40% are people who overstayed visas, like this is all lies. It's entirely based on lies. And there's not even, there's no halfway between this. The people that are now saying, well, I supported, you know, deportations, but not like this. They're the same suckers.

[Emma Vigland]

Exactly right. In a moment we're going to be talking to Daniel Boguslav. But first, a word from our sponsor today. Long work weeks and busy weekends can leave you feeling and looking depleted. Prolon's five day fasting mimicking diet works at a cellular level to reset and rejuvenate you from the inside out, supporting sustained fat loss, lean muscle metabolism, slower aging and even glowing skin. And I can say this as somebody who was a little nervous when Sam said that he was going to be trying fasting. I didn't know if he might be a little cranky, I didn't know if it might be a little difficult, but I noticed his energy levels were up and he just couldn't believe it. He was like, I can't believe it. It's really working for me. And that was when basically we decided Prolon was going to be a great sponsor for our show. Prolon is a plant based nutrition program featuring soups, snacks and beverages designed to nourish the body while keeping it in a fasting state, triggering cellular rejuvenation and renewal. Developed over decades with USC's Longevity Institute and backed by top US medical centers, Prolon has been shown to support biological age reduction, metabolic health, skin appearance and fat loss with muscle protection, energy and a healthier relationship with food. With Prolon, you get everything you need in pre packaged. It's all prepackaged and ready to go. Each order of Prolon's five day program comes with five boxes labeled by day so you know exactly what to eat, no prep or planning required. And when you want to reset and you want to have your body kind of get into that fasting mode, it's really helpful to have it just laid out for you, no prep needed, you don't need to plan. You got your boxes, you're set to go and you have kind of a goal and markers that you can meet as you're resetting. If you're ready for your own reset for a limited time, Prolon is offering the majority report audience 15% off site wide plus a $40 bonus gift. When you subscribe to their five day program, just visit prolonlife.com majority that's P R O L-O-N L I F E.com majority to claim your 15% discount and your bonus gift. Prolonlife.com majority link down below in the video and Episode descriptions and at Majority FM, get 15% off plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their five day program at [e-mail] Majority. Quick break. When we're back, we'll be joined by Daniel Boguslaw.

[Matt Bender]

Live.

[Emma Vigland]

We are back. And we are joined now by Daniel Boguslaw, investigative journalist covering corporate crime, government agencies and politics at Deeper states on Substack. Daniel, welcome to the show.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Thanks for having me.

[Emma Vigland]

It's great to have you. Excited to talk to you about this because as we're dealing with and, you know, just trying to understand the Epstein files and the real formality of this kind of elite network, I think it has people looking at other elite networks and secret societies like the one at Bohemian Grove with a different kind of perspective. And so I wonder if you could just speak a little bit about that. You know, how this new climate of understanding elite networks maybe even informed your reporting on Bohemian Grove.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Absolutely. Well, it was exciting to publish the list this week of the Bohemian Club and Grove's membership list with the fine folks at More Perfect Union. I sort of developed an obsession with the Grove many years ago. And when the COVID vaccines finally rolled out, I took my Covid bucks and I headed out and tried to chase down that story and a bunch of other ones. But before I did that, one of the sort of foundational American sociologists named Bill Domhoff wrote the foundational text, one of the foundational texts of American sociology called the Power Elite, and really used the Bohemian Club as his focus to show that this was not so much a singular cabal that was running the world and running America, but it was a window into the power elite. And it was a window into the people who were making a lot of the decisions. And whether it's the Bohemian Grove and the Bohemian Club or whether it is Jeffrey Epstein's network. I think it is important to realize that this is a singular window into a very large community of 1 percenters. And no single window is going to explain everything. There's a million Fortune 500 companies, there's a million CEOs, there's a million corrupt officials inside and outside of government. But these instances of pulling the curtain back give us a view into how these relationship networks work. And they serve as a moment for public debate where we can then discuss, okay, how do we use the tools at our disposal, whether it's the laws of our land, whether it's politics, to try to disrupt some of those networks and try to disrupt the stranglehold that These people and companies have on our country and on our democracy.

[Emma Vigland]

I wanted to play this part of the. This in 2000, this old clip of Alex Jones infiltrating Bohemian Grove. And I'm. Brian was laughing about this. Very formative for me as a child. I honestly was not familiar. But like, you know, with. When we're talking about Epstein, this is. That was another conspiracy that. That Alex Jones was. Was all over until, you know, you make it about just the Democrats. There's questions about whether or not Alex Jones was intercepted by like, kind of deep state forces and was participating in limited hangouts, I think.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

But, yeah, I mean, this was really what made his career, the Bohemian Grove video. And I would just point out before we play it that, I mean, the focus gets deeper and deeper to this idea of child sacrifice and demon worship. And I think it's dangerous. And you can see certain elements trying to steer the Epstein saga in that direction, too. I think it's critical to understand that, like, the real bottom line of both of these sagas is institutional power and social networks. And so I tried to offer my documentary as somewhat of a corrective to Alex Jones is to say, look, this isn't about demon worship or whatever, Cthulhu. This is about powerful people colluding to shape politics and commerce.

[Emma Vigland]

Absolutely. And that is important to emphasize too, where even the mainstream press on Epstein is focusing on, you know, the salaciousness or the horrible crimes of the pedophilia. Right. But not the, like, Israeli intelligence connections, for example, or the more critically, the

[Daniel Boguslaw]

suspicious activity reports, the bankers who are involved, not just. Not just the Jamie Dimons, but the second, third, fourth string people who are in these circles, I think just been rewatching Succession with my wife. And it's like, look at how many people touched the big scandal in that show. We have this from multiple institutions for the biggest banks in the world. J.P. morgan, Deutsche. Ron Wyden still hasn't gotten the balls to release the full SAR reports, the full records of those banking transactions. And meanwhile, we're getting more and more, as you said, salacious details coming out, more and more records about, honestly, at this point, some fringe allegations. And it's being steered away from the institutions and it's being steered away from institutional change. And that's what I hope we can kind of drag it back towards.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes, I'd like to. We'll have that systemic, substantive conversation in a second. But first, we want to laugh a little bit about this. So this is Alex Jones in 2000,

[Alex Jones]

exposing the criminal activities of the global elite, also known as the New World Order. In past films we've documented the centralization of power, the move towards world government, the attack on the nation state, self defense, the second Amendment, family values, that is the family itself, as well as private property rights. But time and time again in my research, I come, well, eye to eye with something that's even hard for me to believe. And that's that the elite again, the so called establishment kings, those that know best, the visions of the anointed ones, are obsessed with the occult. From presidents to governors to the heads of industry, we've all seen the stories of presidents and first ladies obsessed with their astrologers making national policies.

[Emma Vigland]

We're going to Skip ahead like 30 seconds. The in, that's why I was questioning. The in was 140. Right, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was from the very beginning. Two minutes in. Sorry. Yeah.

[Alex Jones]

100 acre secluded redwood grove. Leaders from around the world, prime ministers, chancellors, presidents, governors, again, the heads of industry, banking, academia, the media, Hollywood. Only a select few, a little over 2,000 people travel there to engage in bizarre ancient Canaanite, Luciferian, Babylon mystery religion ceremonies. At least that was the rumors. And so I went to the library and got on the Internet and saw many of the mainstream news articles admitting that world leaders do indeed go there.

[Emma Vigland]

Okay, pause it. Well, well, well. Okay, all right, we're sorry about this. We, we, we got, we just wanted to get this part go really quickly.

[Alex Jones]

Fused with ancient Druidic rites where you have the female side of Satan, which they first call out to in the, at Bohemian Grove and then towards the horned God with the he mixed with Masonic rites from Scotland.

[Emma Vigland]

Okay, all right, all right. So just to give people a sense of what the conspiracism was about. Now Daniel, your reporting revealed the names of the people who were at Bohemian Grove. And by the way, when you were at the intercept, they tried to kind of kill this story, which is very interesting and maybe you can talk a little bit about that. But it seems to me that his fixation on the rituals is obscuring the true conspiracy here, which is that it's like presidents, the Koch brothers, people associated with currently Project 2025, all meeting at this location and determining things like gutting Social Security, for example.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Right, yeah, that was one of the big ones that we reported on the doc. But there's a lot of Heritage foundation members who are, you know, half their board I think was kind of on our, on our snapshot list that we got also one, one part that we didn't fully explore in the documentary is the incredible number of military high ranking, 4 stars military generals, Navy admirals who are on my list, including General Hayes, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs during the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, who kind of put together the war on terror playbook. And then subsequently went on, of course, to join the boards of multiple defense contractors. So whether it's that sort of macro scale or whether it was looking at the individual encampments where they sort of have these camps within the larger camp Right. Where they summer, and showing that members of one of those camps within a camp had donated, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Neighbors for a Better San Francisco nonprofit which opposed, you know, progressive ballot measures and all these things. So, you know, literally disrupting the city that the clubhouse is based in. You know, from the micro to the macro, you can see the hard economic realities of how these people work together. Also, you know, massive donors, you know, a dozen donors to Dave McCormick, the senator from Pennsylvania, who launched his campaign month after the 2023 Grove encampment. So again, this does not show that these people run the entire world, but it shows how they work together to, you know, progressive change or to forward their economic and social interests. And, you know, I think whether it's the Epstein list, whether it's this, you know, there is an outpouring of populist outrage. And the question is, how do we channel that? You know, and I don't think that politicians in Washington, I think they're. They're. It's great that they've opened the book, but I don't think that they've done a good job channeling it. And I don't think they've done a good job pulling the right strings thus far.

[Emma Vigland]

Absolutely not. And so I guess then we can just take us back through the history of Bohemian Grove. How did it start? And even if you could talk about more recent history than its founding

[Ashik Sadiq]

at

[Emma Vigland]

its height, really the Nixonian and Reagan kind of conservative apparatus being very tied to Bohemian Grove.

[Sam Cedar]

Sure.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

So it was actually started as a sort of progressive drinking club for San Francisco's kind of OG Bohemians. Like, we're not talking about, like the Beat Generation. We're going even farther back into the 1800s, you know, and, you know, it attracted a lot of real left wing progressive forces. Jack London was, you know, is sort of one of the famous, most famous members of that era. But of course, then it started attracting the barons of industry. I think we see that all the time today. Think of something like Burning man, right? Which kind of started as just kind of freaks, like San Francisco freaks and California freaks going out into the desert. And it was slowly co opted by rich people who have no generative or creative abilities of their own, but are hungry, right, for that sort of outlaying of whatever. And then it sort of is slowly transformed decade after decade into this elite networking zone. And there's this summer enclave which is supposed to be a retreat from work, right? Their motto is Weaving spiders come not here. The big Alex Jones style ritual with this effigy that's burned in front of the owl is called the cremation of care. The idea being that you're burning the toil and concern of day to day life and your are entering into this retreat. But in the mid century it does become this really unique summit for the west coast and eventually the east coast political elite. The sort of foundational elements of the Manhattan Project are planned there during the off season. Nixon ends up going there to shore up support and meet people. Reagan is continually going there. Former FBI and CIA directors start going. And then in the early 2000s you also see this sort of Bush era national security cohort. Colin Powell, Rumsfeld are all members. And we had a former employee tell us that Colin Powell, I think played Hamlet or at least was in the production.

[Emma Vigland]

It was some Shakespearean. I listened to that whole report and that part made me laugh. Some Shakespearean play that they put on. And there was a. And Colin Powell starred in it, right? Yeah, I mean it's so childish too, which is like, like finish your point and then I'll make another point.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

No, no, so I'm just saying that it's, it's a, it's a good way to show elite collusion. And in a way we already know this, right? We know that the upper classes work together, they engage in mergers and acquisitions together. But this shows that a granular detail and I think inspires people to say, like okay, we have to think, figure out a way to reduce this level of, of power. And so there's a literal component of this, right, which is looking and actually tracing the money and looking at campaign finance donations and looking at policy memos that were sent back and forth referencing the growth. But there's also an emotional element which is just to say these people are partying, getting pissed drunk and literally pissing on these gorgeous 100-year-old redwoods. And is that really the world we want to live in, where those are the people determining our national policy?

[Emma Vigland]

And when we say People, we should also just make clear men, it's all men. It's a men's only club. Right. I mean, that has not changed to this day.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

There's been. I think there was one large lawsuit around this issue. And I think, like, eventually they let women come visit, but women are not members. And the other thing I would say, too, is that, like, despite all their power, there have been successful class action lawsuits from grove workers, from valets, from people who won settlements for accusations of wage theft and discrimination. So it's also, like, as rich and powerful as these guys are, like, they also can't help themselves but be dicks and then have to fork over millions of dollars to pay out their employees.

[Emma Vigland]

Right. And how does this differ? When I mentioned how childish it is, you know, I. How does this differ from, say, other secret societies like Skull and Bones, where we know, you know, if you went to Yale, like Bush and what was Kerry in? Skull and Bones, I'm forgetting. But, you know, a lot of that's in college, I guess it's almost like they level up out of. Outside of college. And it's like, we're gonna do the secret society, but now that we're billionaires and top politicians and we have the power to implement whatever we want.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Yeah, I mean, I think those clubs are really interesting. I've always been interested in them, but they're much smaller scale. Right. Like, those are just. Just in terms of membership. They are. You know, I think usually it's like it's only around a dozen, I think, people a year. So you're looking at, you know, maybe 40 people total or something. You know, Harvard has a bunch of them. Porcelain Club, which I think Winklevoss are in and I think is in the social network. But again, I think going back to Bill Domhoff, the sociologist I mentioned, these clubs are not essential. Right. These people already exist in this amorphous upper class. They have telephones, they have email addresses. They can pick up the phone and call each other. But these places are windows into these associations. So again, they're not essential for the collaboration of. Of this sort of 1%, but they show us, you know, reporters, researchers, they are sort of signposts for how these things work. I think the same is. Can be said with Epstein. You know, like, there's a lot of billionaires who are engaging in tax crime and fraud and hush money settlements. And what we got with this Epstein saga is a view, a small view into one corner of that world.

[Emma Vigland]

Talk a little bit about the examples of bohemian club members Coming together to determine policy. There was a story in the More Perfect Union report about a Reagan adviser being convinced to cut the capital gains tax at the Grove. Other efforts to cut Social Security planned at the Grove. The Koch brothers part of this club, I mean just, just, just open it up and talk about some of the worst examples.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Yeah, and I mean I think the Koch brothers piece is really interesting too. Right. They, they brought Clarence Thomas there to kind of wine and dine him. And you know, those examples are, you know there's, there's documentation outside of my list. Right. Like in various, in the presidential libraries, even in the FBR FBI archive, there are examples of the Lakeside talks of the FBI and CIA directors giving speeches there. But I think one of the most interesting things we uncovered in terms of policy was the fact that Donald Trump. I have two sources that basically say Donald Trump wanted to join the club. He approached the club and basically the club was like you're dirty. New money, old money. And they very much were kind of the Jeb Bush neocon faction of the Republican party. But even after Donald Trump was rejected by them, they still kind of found a way to court his advisors and to use the Heritage foundation to sort of craft his playbook and to try to still negotiate with that side. And they were able to do that because they had a deep donor network and they had deep connections. So I think that is a really interesting example where you know, we have this documentation of discussion being had of federal policy being shaped. But then we also see that even when things go wrong for them, even when things go south, they have such a powerful diffuse network that they're kind of able to sneak their tentacles back in and realign things.

[Emma Vigland]

When you mentioned the you're the new money thing, that's a fascinating part of this too because I noticed that these members are, I mean even though the Bushes are fashion themselves as Texans, the reality is they came from old money on in the Northeast and then George H.W. bush, probably working with intelligence, started an oil company in Texas and that's where they rebranded. But like when you compare it to the Epstein class, it's almost newer money and more like national security base perhaps. But, but I'm trying to draw a distinction here. It seems like very much like this Bohemian Grove formal network at the height of its power perhaps was like the 70s and 80s and this was also these kind of blue blooded conservative forces that shaped the modern Republican party, for example.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Yeah.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

And I think it's fair to say that like in the pre Internet age. Right. This type of FaceTime, this type of, you know, kind of roving event, right. I mean, it's this huge, like, it's like 70 acres or something, right, with all these different clubhouses and events and stuff. So I think during that time, it was actually a more important networking space.

[Brandon Sutton]

And.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

And that's why you kind of see even greater hyper concentration. But I think, yeah, I think the defense aspect is really interesting. I mean, there's obviously an intelligence nexus. I mean, there's a former NSA director on the list I have. But I think to me, what's more interesting is the number, the sheer number of military commanders. You know, that's really where you see that these people who, you know, are, you know, I personally of the opinion that, you know, are. We have civilian control of the military. You know, I actually think that, like, you know, I obviously think the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was a horrible mistake, but I think that, you know, the role of our military is to follow the order of the person we elected to be president. And so my biggest issue with senior officers is that then they go into private practice, right, and they cash in and they advise companies on how to take advantage of the government and how to take advantage of endless wars. And that's where it really gets dirty. Because then you have the private sector influencing policy and pushing for war and pushing for conflict. And I think that's an incredible thing is just seeing a dozen of these people cash out, right, and then go in summer in this pristine enclave. I mean, to me, that's pretty insane and sickening. And one part, I hope, gets boosted more.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes, absolutely. Lastly, can you speak a little bit about. We have an IM here, Hakeem's Nancy Davis eyes, which is very obscure. One of the co founders of the John Birch Society is the Koch brothers family father. I'm wondering if you think there's any connections with Bohemian Grove and John Birch's the John Birch Society.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

I mean, there probably is. There's a lot of people involved, right? There's, there's an interesting mix here, right, of like this were fiscal conservatives, but at the same time they're doing this freaky stuff. And like, I think there's this famous Nixon quote where, you know, he called it like this weird queer, gay, you know, thing where everyone's got their junk out and they're pissing all over each other. And I think there's a, there's, there's, there is something interesting there, right, where it's kind of like the most extreme conservatives probably would flinch at, at what goes on there. And so it's kind of this weird thing of old money.

[Emma Vigland]

But, but like the Epstein story, it's a. Elites are playing with their power in debaucherous or rapacious ways. That is, I think, difficult for us to understand as regular people why that kind of release for the powerful is both a camaraderie exercise and also another exercise of their power.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Well, yeah, I mean, and I think that that's totally true and that's an important piece that, like, I don't know, that I wish was discussed more, is that I think a lot of times this, like, stuff, whether it's like getting drunk and harassing people or whether it's this idea of basically like, you know, sanctioned accepted pedophilia, like the, the motive for that, I think in a lot of ways is this idea of taboo, right? This idea that you are so insulated from the normal laws. Yes, you know, actual laws, but also social expectations of society, that you can engage in this and that in engaging with it, you prove your membership to that club. And I think that's like, that's one of the really interesting things about Epstein was it was kind of like, you see in some of these emails of people who, like, you know, there's no evidence of them engaging in pedophilia or in sex, but they're emailing with Epstein and they're kind of like, you dog, like, you love young women. Right? Even Trump says that. And I think implicit in that is this acknowledgement of, like, we're all part of this club. We all know you are violating the law and violating our normal moral ethical code. But by acknowledging that and being part of that, like, we are all part of this club. And like, I think that's been going on for thousands of years, right? I mean, I think that's how the elite works, you know, and it's not a genetic predisposition or something. It's a form of social cohesion.

[Emma Vigland]

Well said. Daniel Boguslaw. Thanks so much for coming on. Investigative journalists covering corporate crime, government agencies and politics at deeper states. Check him out on Substack. We'll put a link to that down below, wherever people are listening to this or watching it. Daniel, thanks so much for your time today.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Thanks for having me.

[Emma Vigland]

Of course. Quick break and when we come back, we're going to be speaking to the two elected co chairs of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ashik Sadiq and Megan Romer. We are back and we are joined now by Ashik Sadiq and Megan Romer, the two elected co Chairs of Democratic Socialists of America. And here to talk about a major milestone in membership, 100,000 strong. Welcome to the show, you guys.

[Megan Romer]

Thanks so much for having us.

[Emma Vigland]

Yeah, thank you so much. Thanks so much for coming on. Megan, I'll turn to you first. Just speak a little bit about the surge in membership and how significant it is that DSA is at 100,000 members at this point.

[Megan Romer]

Yeah, DSA 100K. This is something we've been working for, towards for a long time. It's extremely exciting and just sort of seeing, you know, it's not just members in big cities. Right. We have over 200 chapters across the country, over 100 YDSA chapters. And so, yeah, the search, it's kind of a push factor, pull factor situation. Right. There's a lot of excitement about Zoran Mamdani, obviously, but also some of our other candidates. We have lots of folks who've won office in municipal races and in state houses across the country, and those have, have really driven membership. But then of course, there's the push factor also, which is the reelection of Trump and him being just an absolute ghoul for the last, last stretch of time for Trump too.

[Emma Vigland]

And Ashik, how about the genocide in Gaza? Do you find that when you speak to members that have joined since October 2023 that that was a motivating factor as well?

[Ashik Sadiq]

Yeah, absolutely. And even before that, Palestine organizing has been a critical factor that's brought people in just anti imperialism. I myself was really activated to pay attention more to politics through the Iraq war and just the global war on terror expanding. So I think a lot of us have been coming to a left, you know, a socialist analysis, anti imperialist analysis of, you know, what the United States has been doing all over the world. So since October 2023, it's been extremely activating. The anti war movement has grown a lot and DSA has been a core part of that. So we're really proud to be helping deepen the struggle for Palestine. It's brought a lot of people in and just in the past two months, just to see the ways that the Trump administration is expanding the Monroe Doctrine, you know, calling it the Donroe Doctrine. That's been extremely activating. And we've had a whole analysis about why this is happening, why the United States is expanding this even further. It isn't starting with Trump. Trump is just exposing what has been happening for over a century now.

[Emma Vigland]

And Meghan, when we're also looking at union membership ticking up slightly even in spite of the Trump administration kind of just grinding the National Labor Relations Board to a halt. I saw there was a piece in Jacobin about that increase kind of being a bit disproportionate in the south, which is very exciting. Like, how do you see DSA's role in fitting into and supporting union drives and workers organizing across the country and how that fits into the increase in membership?

[Megan Romer]

Yeah, so it's, you know, we touch on labor from a bunch of different. A bunch of different points. We have an organization that's a coalition of DSA and ue, the Electricians Union, United Electricians, and it's called ewok. So cute, right? We love it. It's Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. And EWOK trains people to take on sort of new organizing. So you can kind of call into EWOK and say, hey, I'm having this problem in my workplace. What can I do? And they can coach you through a variety of options. Whether, you know, if it makes sense to, to reach out to an existing union right now and unionize. Unionize your shop from the jump. Whether it makes sense to sort of think about escalating demands. And, and we're really able to train a lot of people through that program and it's been really exciting. And we're seeing chapters take on and create local Ewoks where they're able to do that just really directly with folks in their city, get the kind of. The labor knowers to transfer their knowledge to people who would like to learn. We also have coalition, you know, coalition work with, you know, unions at a national level. And one of our priority campaigns right now is supporting Starbucks workers, which is an exciting. It's a great way for chapters that are maybe smaller, maybe chapters in the south that have really low union density, that don't already have a bunch of union members in them to get out and connect with folks who are trying to unionize. Because there's a Starbucks everywhere, literally everywhere.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes, exactly right. And Ashik, can you speak a little bit about how ICE's attacks on Minnesota and other areas of the country have impacted DSA membership too? Because we're seeing how essential organizing is and kind of community connection and these networks and in it's. It's actually the only thing that is effective. Our politicians, the Democrats are neutered and to put it mildly, and even the tools at like, their disposal are insufficient with this kind of federal government crackdown. So I feel like more than ever the central kind of community message of DSA is very, very poignant and fits the moment.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Yeah, for sure. So it's, it's very clear that the capacities that DSA chapters all over the country have been building up for the better part of a decade now are really powerfully situating our chapters to respond against ice. Our Minneapolis is a great example with our Twin Cities DSA chapter. Our Los Angeles DSA chapter was there when ICE started occupying last year. Chicago chapters like North New Jersey dsa, North Texas DSA are chapters that have built up capacities with the labor unions, having workers in core unions and helping activate them to be involved in community organizing or community defense networks that have spun up in chapters like this. Our socialists in office have been front and center using their platforms to advocate against collaboration with ice. So what our chapters have been able to do in places like this, especially the past two months in Minneapolis, we've had rapid response networks, ICE Watch organizing to stop local police departments from collaborating officially with ice. We're doing Know youw Rights trainings of local businesses where people can be vulnerable to, to, you know, to ICE detentions and deportations, organizing to prevent new ICE facilities and economic disruptions, working with organized labor, doing court support. All these things are possible because of the ways that DSA chapters are already organizing. And it's come together really powerfully. So to see people in Minneapolis right now, I'm on a chapter visit. It's really impressive to see the ways that DSA members have been showing up with the broader community and the really strong resilient networks that have come up that are organizing in all sorts of ways that are really activating civil society in ways that I haven't seen in my lifetime. It's a scary time, but it's a really exciting and hopeful time for a lot of people just feeling their collective power together.

[Emma Vigland]

And Megan, can you speak about how DSA works to collaborate globally with other leftist organizing and movements, particularly the Global south, for example?

[Megan Romer]

Yeah. So DSA is a member of Progressive International, which is an international right. Like the old days, it's different parties and organizations from around the world who have this sort of connective tissue and opportunities to, you know, learn from each other, to sort of use each other's on the ground analysis to kind of figure out what, what our next steps should be.

[Emma Vigland]

It's.

[Megan Romer]

It's really exciting to be able to work from and learn from, you know, folks who are fighting US Imperialism from the other side and figuring out sort of what they've, what they've done, what their analysis is, what it looks like on the ground, how even things like Nitty Gritty Things like, how do you do new member onboarding? Like, those are conversations that we have, which, you know, there's so much to learn from each other, both macro and micro. And being part of these coalitions is really powerful. And yeah, Ashik and I were able to go to Sweden also recently and we were able to visit with the Left Party there right before Zoran 1 office. So it was kind of fun to see. Like, okay, so you know, how do you govern?

[Emma Vigland]

Right.

[Megan Romer]

What does this look like? You have some executive power here. We're curious, what does that look like for you? So we, you know, we use those connections and those international, you know, there's a lot of, a lot of knowledge that has been developed around the world and no reason to reinvent wheels.

[Emma Vigland]

Well, I mean, it's essential because the global right is extremely well organized. I mean, between Steve Bannon's like summits in Italy with a bunch of wannabe fascists where they're trying to style themselves as Viktor Orban types and like just in how they borrow from one another, whether it's Trump and Malay, whether it's Trump and Orban, whether it's Trump and Netanyahu. I mean, I think that Trump enjoys like seeing how the Iranian regime is cracking down on protesters. Like they there is more organization and that is benefited by CAP or that's aided by capital. So we have to go with the people power piece. And I'm interested as Sheik, if you could talk a little bit about how like, what would you say DSA is most interested in building towards from like a policy perspective in the medium term? Like would it be pushing for a Medicare for all or universal healthcare type agenda? Is it about an arms embargo? And you know, there's sometimes critics that say that DSA shouldn't be working to elect people within the Democratic Party. I would argue it's the most efficient vehicle for that. But perhaps you could expand on the defense of that tactic.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Yeah. So from coast to coast, right now DSA chapters are organizing especially around affordability and cost of living issues. This has been a core part of why Zoran Mandani just caused so many, just activated such a powerful base in New York City. And our two largest chapters right now, New York City, DSA and DSA Los Angeles, are campaigning to tax the rich, to fund different initiatives toward the end of, you know, things that we talk about as just universal services. We really want to focus on things that we call transformative reforms or non reformist reforms that help meet working class people's needs. But also raise expectations for what what is possible and to activate people to organize in their own interests. So DSA chapters across the country are campaigning, you know, beyond electoral cycles on demands around rent control. Like Zorin talks about freezing the rent, public transit, free and public buses and subways, universal childcare and funding them by taxing the rich. Just making the case about why these things are being blocked by the very powerful interests that you talk about all the time on the show. Just, you know, all the Bohemian Grove people against that. You know, we want everything for everyone. We want to campaign on deeply felt needs across the country beyond our own membership and identify the billionaires and their collaborators. It's people who stand in the way. So you can see more about what our basic program is. It's called Workers Deserve More. If you just search platform dsausa.org that lays out all the things that we want to campaign on. And we're really highlighting chapters that are campaigning around these kinds of things. And we want to make the international connections too. Like you mentioned, labor for arms embargo. That's a core campaign priority for us right now to activate people in labor unions to organize to military aid to Israel. Because organized labor is the backbone of anything that we're campaigning for. Whether it's the climate crisis or internationalism or anything else. We want to make sure that workers are organizing in their own interests toward those things and shaping how those things happen. We're not just activists on the outside or people who elect good socialist branded people and then hope for the best. It's always about organizing everything together more powerfully. So you asked about the Democratic Party. We are trying to organize to throw out bad Democrats, but we're also building socialist power. And the point for us is to build independent power through our organization. DSA is now approaching the size of the Socialist Party over a century ago, so hopefully we'll surpass that soon. But the point for us is to just have independent, accountable power in an elected office that's accountable to a Democratic small d Democratic base to take on the establishment and the Republican and the Democratic Party. So mostly we do run people on the ballot line in primaries on the Democratic Party ballot line, but we have our independent power and the Democratic Party leadership hates that. And we think that's great.

[Emma Vigland]

Well, I mean, and when we also support here on the show, when the situation applies, running a, say, an independent, like, I mean, the Dan Osborne candidacy is an example of something that I know this is not dsa, but like, you know, it's specific to the region to the area where you're running. And in New York, the most effective vehicle to get socialist power is through the democratic primary process, as we saw with Zoran Mamdani. And I really do think, and perhaps, Meghan, you can reflect on this, that the way that he has governed here, it would not have been possible without DSA organizing because it creates this kind of base of activation and support that allows him to act with the urgency that is required of the office. And that has been so, I think, admirable in how he has tried to just continuously be on offense, take the fight to the established powers. When you reflect on that victory, how do you see how organizing emboldened the campaign?

[Megan Romer]

Yeah, I mean, I think that's true for the Zoran Ramdani campaign. I think it is equally, if not even sometimes more so true for some of our smaller municipal offices, the ones that aren't maybe as sort of big and attention getting because it's not New York City and it's not the mayorality. Mayorality, but it's, you know, we see chapters, we're able to use these municipal offices, city councilors and county, county government officials to really move like very specific agenda items, things like expanding transit, for example. And that doesn't help. You know, there are again, like, we're talking push and pull factors, right? So you've got your, your pull factor is kind of the person in office, they're the ones who are kind of like, you know, able to move the messaging in a way that, you know, they have a platform and a mic and whatever your push factor is this organized mass of people who are able to, you know, show that, yes, there are big rallies lining up for comment at city council meeting. Not like the sexiest work, but really important and important to show all those sort of people who are on the fence, the sort of milquetoast Dems, the less engaged people that like, there is this movement here, you can be part of it and it's, it's, you know, here to hold you accountable. So I think, I think you see that kind of at every level. I think, you know, for a lot of us, the Bernie campaign was the first time we kind of thought of politics like that.

[Emma Vigland]

Right.

[Megan Romer]

Like, you elect a person and then they do good.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Right.

[Megan Romer]

But that is, we sort of learned like, oh, this, this is a mass movement campaign. What does that mean? And we had to kind of rethink the way we thought about politics. And that's, that's what we're trying to do here, get people to rethink the way they think about politics.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes. I think that that last point is so key. Cuz when you contrast it with there are reformer mayors and other examples of them, you know, the, the powers of capital like Rush in and Brandon Johnson's an example. And it's just like smear campaign, immediately everything kind of falls apart. You don't necessarily have the power base of people that protects you from the worst of the attempts to sabotage. Not saying they're equivalent politicians, but I just do think it's an interesting example. Go ahead.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Just to add to that, about Zoran's power in New York City coming out of DSA and aligned organizations. It really can't be overstated for us just how much Zoron really comes out of New York City dsa. His work in the State assembly before he ran for mayor came out of the New York City DSA Socialists in Office block, which is really focused on building that kind of independent alignment of strategy to figure out with our membership, like what are the priorities in Albany at the state level of government. So DSA members organized in core labor unions and community groups. Groups like Desi's Rising up and Moving, which is a group of south, mostly South Asian immigrant workers and tenant organizers who built a really strong community base for years and were not represented in the political system. So Zoran's campaign identified pretty early on like these, these are core parts of the working class in New York City, which is a very diverse city, including politically diverse. Like when I was growing up there, I'm from South Brooklyn, it was parts of the city were pretty conservative. So this is a really meaningful working class diverse coalition that, that was organized. And New York City DSA members really helped do that. And that's how a bunch of labor unions came out early on, like public sector workers that would not have intervened if not for TSA members who are workers in those sectors. Making the case for why this, this was a viable alternative that was worth fighting for. And that's the base of him being able to do anything in office.

[Emma Vigland]

Exactly. Exactly. Right. Two quick IMs and then we'll let you go. One for each of you. Alex Andert says where did he get that rad sweatshirt?

[Ashik Sadiq]

Oh, wow. I. Yeah, this is. This is product placement. I think you can check out Dream NYC if you just Google Anti Billionaire Social Socialist club. We also have plenty of great merch in our DSA store. Yeah, go for it. Megan's rocking our hat right now.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes, the hat is rad as well. And then we have another Im this is a nice Floridians for Emma. Thank you. Sorry you're in Florida although I'm sure the weather's better than here. Got got to meet Megan about a month ago during a chapters tour. She is incredible. So happy you had her and and she gone. Everyone listening should go find their local chapter and just attend an event. There's an incredible movement growing each day even in the most unexpected places. We are always stronger together.

[Matt Bender]

I was just going to say they hitting 100,000 we got like what about 100,000 people that listen to the show on a daily basis. Let's get that up to like 5,000. Let's get 5,000 people.

[Megan Romer]

Sign up USA.org join yes.

[Ashik Sadiq]

That will help us beat the Historical Socialist Party. I think they had 112,000 or 118 maybe. So we can surpass that pretty soon if you join.

[Emma Vigland]

Let's do it.

[Megan Romer]

Membership numbers have not been dropping. You know the, the uptick. It's not quite the surge. It was like the day after Zohar got elected but. But still definitely an upward trajectory as our chapters for crew people in their communities with the work they're doing and yeah, it's exciting.

[Emma Vigland]

Well, very exciting stuff. Ashik Sadiq, Megan Romer, the co chairs elected to lead the Democratic Socialists of America. Lots of internal democracy in dsa. Quite the contrast to the Democratic Party saying, no, Biden's the nominee. You better deal with it. That's not the kind of thing you're gonna find in dsa. The messiness of democracy, but also the beauty of it is very present in DSA membership. So appreciate you guys. Thank you so, so much. And we will put a link down below for people to learn more about joining DSA in the video and episode descriptions. Yep. Thank you guys. Thanks so much. All right, folks, with that we're going to wrap up the free part of this program and head into the fun half where we will take your calls, read your IMs, do all of that fun stuff. We will be celebrating Brandon Sutton's fourth birthday of the week. Is that what we're talking about here? That's right. We can hear him.

[Matt Bender]

Wait one second. Brandon's not in yet.

[Emma Vigland]

Brandon's not yet and we can't hear him cheering on what I'm. What I'm advocating for the continued celebration of Brandon's birthday four days in.

[Brandon Sutton]

That's right.

[Ashik Sadiq]

There you go.

[Brandon Sutton]

I'm Royal Tenenbaum. Maxing tonight too.

[Emma Vigland]

What does that mean?

[Brandon Sutton]

I got my whole.

[Emma Vigland]

Slitting your wrist in a bathroom.

[Brandon Sutton]

Wow.

[Emma Vigland]

Sorry Doing light incest.

[Brandon Sutton]

Wow. I just meant wearing a tracksuit. I guess I haven't seen that movie in a long time.

[Emma Vigland]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, isn't there incest in that movie? I don't know. Between Luke Wilson and his sister. Yes. Again, it's Gwyneth Paltrow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt Bender]

Not my favorite.

[Emma Vigland]

I'm not a huge Wes Anderson person. I'm fine. But it's like, I feel like once I've seen one, you've kind of seen them all.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

What?

[Alex Jones]

I'm one.

[Brandon Sutton]

That's when you like, right? I like colors because I'm simple. And so I like his movies because they're very colorful. I think he's my favorite Anderson director amongst the Paul Ws in Wes Anderson trifecta. But Paul WS is obviously like, you know, a really good director.

[Emma Vigland]

I guess my favorite's the Grand Budapest Hotel. I like that movie. But yeah.

[Brandon Sutton]

Anyway, Resident Evil 1 with Mila Jovovich.

[Emma Vigland]

I got sidetracked.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

What.

[Emma Vigland]

What is happening on the Discourse? Brandon Birthday. Brandon.

[Brandon Sutton]

Birthday. Brandon, we have been celebrating my birthday this week, which was Monday, and obviously some people feel like that's a little bit indulgent. I disagree. And I would also point out that they hated on Jesus, too, if you'll recall from your Bible lessons, that they hated on Jesus. And so when you adopt that posture.

[Matt Bender]

They're hating on Jesus.

[Brandon Sutton]

Yeah. When you adopt that posture aimed towards me, you also are in many ways, I guess, like mirroring the people who crucified Christ for being the son of the Lord or the Lord himself. I don't know. Again, I haven't watched VeggieTales in many years, which is kind of the theme of my birthday. So what we're gonna be doing tomorrow is continuing our live watch. Well, I guess live watch, but watch through of the Candace Owens Erica Kirk documentary, which we almost got through the entire first episode today when Candace took a turn towards a more obscure type of bigotry than we were expecting. And so tomorrow we'll be continuing that for the fifth day of my birthday celebration. So if you want to figure out which group Candace is racist against this week, you'll have to either tune into the discourse or watch her show yourself, which I would not recommend because of the immense psychic damage it might do to you. So.

[Emma Vigland]

Absolutely.

[Brandon Sutton]

The discourse of Brandon.

[Emma Vigland]

Brandon, you're that meme of the guy with standing the soldier with his arms out in front of that child with all these knives going into their back. You're protecting all of the precious audience members from the psychic damage of Candace Owens. They don't have your brain capacity to take it on.

[Brandon Sutton]

I like to think of myself as that little, like, box that you can make out of, like, toilet paper tubes and, like, milk cartons that you use to look at eclipses. EclipseI eclipsoids avoid going blind. Obviously, like, our president Donald Trump did not require such a box. But I would not suggest you engaging in that behavior without me.

[Emma Vigland]

I well said that you are. You are the card, the cardboard tube box to protect people from the eclipse eclipso. Yeah, that's where we've landed.

[Sam Cedar]

Whoa.

[Emma Vigland]

And then we lost Matt Bender for a sec. Do we have him back?

[Matt Bender]

Bender might need to reconnect. His connection hasn't been stable. If you can hear us, Matt.

[Brandon Sutton]

Well, you know, I will say, allow me to say, even though Matt probably can't hear it, that for my birthday, I've been feeling extra grateful this year. And I do want to say, live in front of a studio audience, that I'm extra grateful for the majority report family, for everything you've done to enrich me, not just when I've been on the show, but for the years that I watched the show. This is obviously very applicable to Matt Bender, who's not quite here right now, so you'll have to report this to him later. But I'm really appreciative of the ways in which you've enriched me and helped me grow intellectually and emotionally in terms of community. And I don't say that enough to people crying.

[Emma Vigland]

Well, I feel the same way about. About you, Brandon. I was. I learned something new. Every time we have a conversation, I think about something differently. Every time you say something like, you know, at least once a show. So you're. We. We love you. Happy birthday. Four days later Even though I already texted you about this, but we're here to be indulgent.

[Brandon Sutton]

I love you all, too.

[Emma Vigland]

Yes, very sweet. So thanks so much. This is the kind of sincerity I'm usually the only one that engages in. So I love, I love, I love everyone's.

[Alex Jones]

This is Sam and us.

[Brandon Sutton]

I live wept on my stream on Monday. On. Not Monday. I was. I was off on Monday, but on Tuesday in appreciation of all of you in my audience. And I'm not ashamed to say it because, like, tier maxing is the new meta.

[Matt Bender]

That's how Jordan Peterson got to us.

[Brandon Sutton]

Yeah, that's Jordan Peterson's technique. It works. A lot of perverts out there, they love when you start crying.

[Sam Cedar]

Are you joking?

[Emma Vigland]

Clips of me crying? It's like they, I mean, they. People run with it. Run with it.

[Matt Bender]

Oh, she's sad about what's happening in Gaza.

[Emma Vigland]

Oh, I'm sad. Trump on the other election. Shitlib.

[Brandon Sutton]

Exactly. You know what? They can appreciate it because like when they're crying over silly things like the Cracker Barrel logo being changed or like Charlie Kirk, if that, if any such person existed, we're crying over real things like my birthday and degradation of American society.

[Emma Vigland]

Hello, Map vendor.

[Matt Bender]

Hello.

[Brandon Sutton]

I have.

[Emma Vigland]

My Internet went down at the wrong time. I missed out on a lot of

[Brandon Sutton]

what Brandon was saying and it sounds

[Emma Vigland]

like it was very emotionally charged. Well, luckily, again, luckily it's recorded so you can go back and relive it in that way. Matt Vendor, what's happening with your shows?

[Brandon Sutton]

Not much.

[Emma Vigland]

I don't even know if there's a leftist mafia tonight.

[Brandon Sutton]

I have to.

[Emma Vigland]

I'll let everybody know.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Everyone today.

[Brandon Sutton]

But there might be, there might not be, I guess.

[Emma Vigland]

YouTube.com mattbinder subscribe there and if we're live, you'll get the notification. Matt Leck, what's happening on Left Reckoning and the Jackman show?

[Matt Bender]

Yeah, Left Reckoning, we had a show on Tuesday. Go check that out. And we got a Sunday show for people on patreon.com leftreckoning Coming up for Sunday members and Jackman show tomorrow on Iran and why it would be bad if we bombed Iran.

[Emma Vigland]

Yeah.

[Matt Bender]

And I'm very glad that in the time since we recorded that earlier this week, it. We haven't bombed Iran yet. Thank God.

[Emma Vigland]

Thank God. All right, folks, we're gonna head into the fun half. As a reminder, the show relies on your support. Join themjorityreport.com you can im the show. You can become a member even if you don't feel like IMing. It helps us stay resilient as we are on third party platforms that can make determinations about us all on a whim. And without members, we would not be able to do what we do. So join themjorityreport.com all right, see you in the fun half.

[Jose]

Okay. Emma, please.

[Emma Vigland]

Well, I just, I feel that my voice is sorely lacking on the majority report.

[Brandon Sutton]

Wait, look, Sam is unpopular.

[Sam Cedar]

I do deserve a vacation at Disney World, so. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure

[Daniel Boguslaw]

to welcome Emma to.

[Emma Vigland]

I think you need to take over.

[Matt Bender]

For sale.

[Jose]

Yes.

[Ashik Sadiq]

Boys.

[Sam Cedar]

No, no, no. I'm, I'm, I'm gonna pause you right there. Wait, what? You can't encourage Emma to live like this. And I'll tell you why. Someone offered A tour. Sushi and poker with the boys. Tour, sushi and poker with the boys. Who was offered a tour? Yeah, Sushi and poker with the boys.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

What?

[Sam Cedar]

Tour, sushi and poker.

[Emma Vigland]

Tim's upset.

[Sam Cedar]

Twerk, sushi and poker with three boys. It's offered Twerk, sushi, and that's what we call biz. Twerk, sushi and poker with three boys.

[Emma Vigland]

Right.

[Sam Cedar]

Twerk, sushi and poke.

[Emma Vigland]

We're gonna get demonetized.

[Sam Cedar]

I just think that what you did to tip pool was mean.

[Emma Vigland]

Free speech.

[Sam Cedar]

That's not what we're about here. Look at how sad he's become now. You shouldn't even talk about him. I think you're responsible.

[Emma Vigland]

I probably. Probably am in a certain way. But let's get to the meltdown here.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi and poker with the boys.

[Alex Jones]

Oh, my God.

[Jose]

Wow.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi. I'm sorry. I'm losing my mind. Someone's offered a tour. Yeah. Sushi and poker with boys. Logic. Sushi and poker with boys. I think I'm like a little kid. I think I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a kid.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

I think I'm like a little kid. I think I'm like a little kid. Add this debate 7,000 times. A little kid. Think I'm like a little kid. Little kid. Think I'm like a dick. I'm losing my mind.

[Emma Vigland]

Some people just don't understand.

[Sam Cedar]

So I'm not trying to be a dick right now, but, like, I absolutely think the US should be providing me with a wife and kids.

[Emma Vigland]

That's not what we're talking about here.

[Sam Cedar]

It's not a fun job.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

Twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

That's a real thing. That's real. Real thing. Willie Walker.

[Emma Vigland]

Twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

That's a real thing. That's that offered. That's a real thing. That's real thing. That's a real thing that's offered. Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Rogan has done it again. Offer. That's a real thing. That's got.

[Brandon Sutton]

I think he might be blowing it out of proportion.

[Sam Cedar]

Real thing. That's poker with the boys. Offered.

[Emma Vigland]

Twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

That's a real thing. That's poker. Let's go, Joey. Twerk. Sushi and poker with the boy. Take an easy detour. Sushi and poker. Things have really gotten out of hand. Sushi and poker. Boys. Sushi. You don't have a clue as to what's going on. Live YouTube.

[Emma Vigland]

Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sam doesn't want to do this show anymore. It was so much easier when the majority report was just you.

[Sam Cedar]

Let's change the subject. Rangers and Knicks are doing great.

[Emma Vigland]

Stop. Don't want people saying reckless things on your program. That's one of the most difficult parts about this show. This is the pro killing podcast.

[Daniel Boguslaw]

I'm thinking maybe it's time we bury

[Emma Vigland]

the hatchet Left his best trump Violet twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

Don't be foolish and don't tweet at me.

[Alex Jones]

And don't the way Emma has cucked

[Sam Cedar]

all of these people. Love it.

[Emma Vigland]

That's where my heart is. So I wrote my honors thesis about it.

[Alex Jones]

She wrote a lot of the is.

[Ashik Sadiq]

I guess I should hand the main

[Brandon Sutton]

mic to you now.

[Sam Cedar]

You are to the right of me on foreign policy.

[Emma Vigland]

We already formed Israel, dude. Are you against that?

[Sam Cedar]

That's a tougher question I haven't answered to.

[Emma Vigland]

Incredible theme song. Hi bumbler.

[Sam Cedar]

Emma Viland.

[Emma Vigland]

Absolutely one of my favorite people actually. Not just in the game like period.