Podcast Summary: This American Life, Episode 877: "The Making Of"

Air date: December 21, 2025
Host: Ira Glass
Reporters: Zoe Chase, Suzanne Gabber
Location: Portland, Oregon

Overview of the Episode

Theme:
This episode explores the "making of" a political narrative—a real-life “behind the scenes” look at the story of Portland, Oregon, as America’s so-called war zone. The show investigates how right-wing live streamers and citizen journalists—amplified by the Trump administration and conservative media—produced and exported a vision of Portland as a city under constant violent siege from "antifa." The story on the ground, as reported by Zoe Chase and Suzanne Gabber, is far messier, smaller-scale, and more performative than the national myth.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Making Of a Narrative (00:00–10:00)

• Ira Glass introduces the idea of documentaries about movies ("making of" genres) and connects it to the "making of" Portland’s war-torn image.
• Trump’s declaration of Portland as “war-ravaged” (02:57) was triggered by Fox News, using citizen journalist footage—much of it shot by pro-Trump live streamers.
• These streamers deliver a narrative: left-wing protesters (“antifa”) are violent, local officials let them run wild, and heroic streamers risk everything to capture “the truth.” Their videos fuel both the media coverage and federal action (04:19).

“America is a big country. We all, from the President on down, rely on images and words from other people to understand what’s going on elsewhere. And a vision of Portland, a movie about Portland… is justification for all these law enforcement policies all over the country today.” — Ira Glass (09:54)

2. What’s Actually Happening in Portland? (12:00–23:00)

• The supposed “war” is limited to a single city block, outside the ICE facility, with daily protests ranging from <10 to 200 people (12:00). Daytime: art, costumes, music; nighttime: more tense, sometimes confrontational.
• Violence mostly amounts to blocking ICE vehicles, arguments, and occasional property damage (e.g. flag burning, graffiti, fireworks).
• Police have allowed some disruptions under court order; complaints from neighbors about noise and disruption are frequent.

“...the entire conflict between protesters and police, the entire war, is happening on exactly one city block outside an ICE facility.” — Ira Glass (12:06)

3. The Ecosystem of Right-Wing Streamers (13:18–18:00)

• Zoe Chase and Suzanne Gabber describe the citizen journalist crowd: right-wing live streamers, commentators, and provocateurs with large online followings.
• Many earn a living or side income from streaming—tips, subscriptions, sometimes more than their regular jobs.
• The culture is performative and echo-chamber: arguments, yelling matches, and “content” for their audiences. Streamers provoke and record, driving cycles of escalation and viral confrontation.

“We’re in a reality show right now... you have all these different angles. It’s like the Big Brother house... Except we’re actually in it. And it’s addictive after a while.” — Carlin Borisenko (14:28)

• Motivations for streaming range from activism to entertainment to community-seeking after personal trauma.

“It’s really like walking around inside social media — like we’re in the comments section in real life.” — Zoe Chase (20:25)

4. Escalation: The Feedback Loop (23:23–32:00)

• Streamers often directly instigate confrontations with protesters to get viral content—sometimes explicitly admitting it (25:42).
• Their presence increases tension; police confirm that the influx of streamers “contributed to an environment where tension and confrontation escalated” (31:24).
• Streamers and police have a conflicted relationship: streamers think Portland police are too soft; protesters think otherwise.
• National coverage, especially after streamer Nick Sorter’s arrest and subsequent DOJ investigation, puts pressure on police to crack down more—streamers see this as a “win.”

“Many of these individuals were creating content for audiences that reward intensity and conflict, which can sometimes amplify volatile situations.” — Portland Police Statement (31:24)

5. All The World’s a Stage: The Performative Protest (32:49–41:20)

• The show witnesses “Patriot Weekend”: streamers march to “Chandler’s” apartment, which is rumored to be “Antifa headquarters.” Shouting, streaming, and fake claims abound. Facts are distorted; spectacle prevails.
• Chandler, an ordinary activist, gives an impromptu oration about class struggle as streamers heckle him and record (“There is no left and right. There is only rich and poor. There is only powerful and powerless.” — Chandler, 37:34).
• The segment ends with the realization that “winning” is about amassing content and attention, more than any true political result.

6. Inside “Antifa Headquarters”: Reality vs. Online Myth (43:29–58:20)

• Zoe Chase and crew visit Chandler’s apartment, rumored by streamers as "Antifa safe house" and “headquarters.” Inside, it's a bare-bones activist’s home—books, leftover supplies, and a sign threatening cameras and guns (which are fake).
• Chandler is not an “antifa leader.” He explains: antifa is not an organization but an ideology—there is no leader, no command structure (45:16).
• His internet nemesis (streamer Velire) branded Chandler “Antifa leader” for clicks; others repeated it (48:27).
• Chandler describes the psychological toll of being targeted, and the odd intimacy of the protest scene. He was radicalized in part by his experience with the 2008 crisis (his father, a Merrill Lynch employee, lost everything).

“My dad worked at AIG Merrill Lynch... lost everything and then went crazy and became a crippling alcoholic. And then I just didn’t really see him very much ever again.” — Chandler (52:06)

“You can’t help feeling like this is so performative and absurd that even the menacing moments are just part of a drama they invented to keep whoever’s watching watching on social media entertained. It’s cartoonish, it’s over the top.” — Zoe Chase (39:59)

• Chandler sometimes fights with right-wing streamers (physically or verbally), knowing he’s feeding their content—but hopes some viewers are persuaded by his points (55:28).

7. The Broader Impact: Myth-Making and Policy (58:01–59:24)

• The constructed narrative of a city under siege by organized “antifa” serves as a justification for sweeping, new federal crackdowns—DOJ, FBI, DHS, and others targeting the left.
• In reality, the scope of the “conflict” is minuscule, interpersonal, and intensely performative—a handful of people acting out roles night after night.
• The episode closes by noting that Portland’s block has mostly quieted—the spectacle has moved on—while the national policy impact lingers.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

(With speaker attribution and timestamps)

• “It’s a complete lie. There’s lots of violence going on. I mean, these people are very dangerous and they’re unhinged.”
  — Nick Sorter, on Fox News (04:02)

• “This network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them.”
  — Kristi Noem, Head of DHS (05:18)

• "We’re in a reality show right now... It’s like the Big Brother house... Except we’re actually in it. And it’s addictive after a while."
  — Carlin Borisenko (14:28)

• “It’s really like walking around inside social media — like we’re in the comments section in real life.”
  — Zoe Chase (20:25)

• “Yeah, I grabbed a leaf blower. I moved it 50 ft down here.”
  — “Okay, so you just moved it...”
  — “Oh, I just did it to piss him off.”
  — Ryan (Streamer) and Zoe Chase (25:42)

• “That is exactly how many of the streamers... feel: that even if Trump is in office, there’s a double standard when it comes to the left and enforcement... If the protester responds with aggression, well, that’s just revealing who they are. It’s fair game.”
  — Zoe Chase (27:05)

• “Many of these individuals were creating content for audiences that reward intensity and conflict, which can sometimes amplify volatile situations.”
  — Portland Police Statement (31:24)

• “There is no left and right. There is only rich and poor. There is only powerful and powerless. You are among the powerless. We are among the powerless.”
  — Chandler (37:34)

• “My dad worked at AIG Merrill Lynch... lost everything and then went crazy and became a crippling alcoholic. And then I just didn’t really see him very much ever again. Which was fine because I never really saw him very much to begin with.”
  — Chandler (52:06)

• “You can’t help feeling like this is so performative and absurd that even the menacing moments are just part of a drama they invented...”
  — Zoe Chase (39:59)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:00–04:19: Ira Glass sets the stage (“making of” movies; myth of Portland).
• 05:18: Kristi Noem likens Antifa to foreign terrorist networks at White House event.
• 12:00–16:00: Reporters arrive at Portland protests, describe the one-block “battlefield,” introduce streamers.
• 23:23–25:46: Streamers provoke protesters; motivation for escalation.
• 31:24: Portland police describe the effect of live streamers (“reward intensity and conflict”).
• 32:49–41:10: “Patriot Weekend,” confrontation at Chandler’s apartment, speech on class.
• 43:29–53:09: Inside “Antifa safe house”; Chandler’s life, background, and the false leadership narrative.
• 55:24–58:20: Chandler explains why he confronts streamers and how it sparks additional content/fights.
• 58:01–59:24: Ira Glass, Zoe Chase, and Suzanne Gabber wrap up; the smallness of Portland’s “war” versus the vast policy impact.

Conclusion

The episode reveals the gulf between Portland’s reputation as a domestic warzone and the reality of a block-sized, performative standoff, driven by the incentives of online content creation.
On the ground, the conflicts are marked more by performance, spectacle, and repetition than by organization or consequence. Yet, amplified by national media and incentivized by federal policy, these stories take on outsize power in shaping American policy and imagination.

The myth becomes the fuel for reality—however small, absurd, or cartoonish the “making of” behind the headline may be.