Timcast IRL – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Democrat Press IS DEAD, Timcast JOINS Pentagon Press Corps Sparking OUTRAGE w/ Nate Friedman
Date: October 23, 2025
Host: Tim Pool, w/ Elad Eliyahu, Brett Dasovic, Tate Brown
Guest: Nate Friedman (Independent Journalist)

Overview

This episode dives into Timcast's recent acceptance into the Pentagon press corps, the backlash from legacy media, and the evolving landscape of American political journalism. Special guest Nate Friedman ('boots on the ground' journalist) joins the panel to discuss paid protester networks, media hypocrisy, the rise of new media, and the highly charged divisions shaping U.S. politics. The panel also explores nonprofit shell games, increasing partisan violence, and the fracturing of the Democratic Party.

Main Theme

The Transition of Press Power:

• The collapse of legacy media's exclusive access and the rise of independent and right-leaning outlets in spaces like the Pentagon press corps.
• Exposing how legacy media protects its position and the resultant industry backlash.
• Unpacking media integrity, government access, protest funding, and the weaponization of nonprofits.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Timcast Joins the Pentagon Press Corps

• Background: Timcast and other new/independent and right-leaning outlets are granted Pentagon press access after legacy press walks out over new rules.
• Tim Pool describes the memo as mundane and mostly logistical:

  "30% of the memo is telling you how to park your car." (03:16)

• The criticized rule: journalists cannot actively solicit classified information—a legal standard already in place.
  • Tim notes: “If you facilitate in any way the leaking of classified information, it's actually a crime.” (12:23)
• Outrage from mainstream press is portrayed as gatekeeping and cult-like adherence, rather than principled opposition.
• Attribution:

  “They're acting like Timcast getting a press pass…is the apocalypse.” – Tim Pool (07:00)

2. Media Walkout: Cult or Principle?

• The panel suggests the mainstream press's walkout is less about press freedom and more about maintaining cultural and political hegemony in access journalism.
  • Bullying and blacklisting for those willing to sign the new Pentagon rules noted.

  "They are angry that we will not march in lockstep with their culture." – Tim Pool (08:53)

• Independent and right-leaning outlets are seen as filling a vacuum, not because of their ideology, but because they were previously excluded.

3. How Journalism Actually Works in Government Spaces

• Discussion clarifies that most Pentagon reporting is not investigative but question-based at briefings.
• Restrictive measures (escorts, banning random wandering) likened to existing White House practices.
• Elad Eliyahu:

  “Privilege, not a right to be able to cover…the Pentagon, to be able to ask questions at these briefings.” (17:22)

• New rules largely seek to prevent leaks from disgruntled employees rather than suppress press freedom.

4. Old vs. New Media: The Collapse of the Gatekeepers

• Legacy (corporate) media's resentment is attributed to losing control and exclusivity to independent voices.
  • “We've destabilized that, and they got really mad at us.” – Tim Pool (18:55)
• Discussion of the move to platforms like YouTube and Substack:
  • Taylor Lorenz's loss of reach ($150M Free Press buyout later discussed).
  • Substack's ability to reward engaging, authentic reporting.

5. Paid Protesters and Nonprofit Shell Games

• Nate Friedman exposes the multi-layered nonprofit networks funding protests and agitation:
  • Money funneled through umbrella organizations (e.g., Soros → Tides → Progressive Unity Fund → Answer Coalition).
  • Multiple executive overlaps, interlocking 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) legal structures for obfuscation.

  “If you’re proud of what you're giving your money to, you’re not hiding it.” – Nate Friedman (29:07)

  • 'Paid protestors' – often salaried employees of nonprofits, taking “a day off” to agitate.
  • Reinforcement through 'legal observers' and media 'sympathetic photographers' at left-wing protests.
• Tim: “It's all one big shell game to... selling hopes and dreams to people.” (38:18)

6. Investigative Efforts and Challenges

• FBI’s ongoing investigation into Antifa and protest financing, focusing on tracing the funding pipelines.
• Cast members express skepticism that the DOJ will follow-through with indictments, given the political and economic interests intertwined.

7. Media Security & Political Violence

• Barry Weiss now needs a six-person security detail (post-buyout) – a symbol of rising dangers for even moderate, dissent-tolerant voices.

  “When Barry Weiss has to have security... something... it is bad out there.” – Tim Pool (73:38)

• Threats against influencers like Laura Loomer, murdered political figures, and widespread political violence are discussed as mainstreaming of extremism.

8. Democratic Party Fractures

• Progressive discord on issues: Israel, immigration/borders, and gender/trans ideology.
• Elad Eliyahu:

  “There are fractures in the Democrat Party that are irreparable...” (88:02)

9. Manipulation of Language & Narrative

• Activists controlling the narrative through terminology shifts (“illegal” becomes “not illegal”; “homeless” becomes “houseless” or more absurd inventions).
• Nick Shirley video: Protesters contradict each other about immigration – used as a microcosm for normie confusion and language manipulation.

10. Discussion on Nonprofits' Perverse Incentives

• Nonprofits rarely solve their original problem—e.g., environmental groups like Greenpeace evolving away from their original mission as their revenue grows.

  “Nonprofits are supposed to go out of business... [instead], they're gonna find something else to complain about.” – Tim Pool (60:30)

11. Right vs. Left Approaches to Organization

• The right struggles with mass grassroots organizing because of a cultural emphasis on individualism.

  “Right wingers... like, I want to be my own boss.” – Elad Eliyahu (58:31)

• In contrast, the left excels at collective action, reflected in door knocking, PAC fundraising, and coalition efforts.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the press corps outrage:

  "We applied for a press credential. Thank you and have a nice day. That's it." – Tim Pool (07:27)

• On legacy media’s decline:

  "They're just running off of those fumes." – Tate Brown (25:23)

• On paid protest structures:

  "This person has agreed to do an interview with me... just someone who is like he's brainwashed but he's not paid. He's just there to protest." – Nate Friedman (42:09)

• On dark side of anti-establishment politics:

  "They use narratives like that to try and convince people communism will work. Then you actually go and experience what it was..." – Tim Pool (44:38)

• On current state of threat and violence:

  "The right cannot do this. Prominent right wing conservatives live under 24, seven armed guard..." – Tim Pool (91:10)

• On democrat party divisions:

  “Three issues that are seriously fracturing the Democrat Party... trans stuff, immigration and open borders, and Israel.” – Elad Eliyahu (88:49)

Important Timestamps

• Pentagon Press Corps Memo & Mainstream Press Walkout: 06:12-14:30
• New Media Replacing Old Media: 18:55-24:55
• Paid Protester Networks & Nonprofit Shell Games: 29:01-38:18
• Organizing Differences: Left vs Right: 55:31-62:21
• Democratic Party Fractures: 88:02-89:17
• Political Violence as New Norm: 72:52-74:20
• Language Manipulation & Protester Confusion: 85:51-87:16
• Barry Weiss’s Security Detail: 67:02-73:38

Additional Highlights

• Explains how legal observers at protests 'assist' rather than objectively monitor (43:18).
• Explores the shell game between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) fundraising (35:16-38:18).
• Laments the inability of right-leaning organizations to match left-wing grassroots fundraising (55:32).
• Argues that for the establishment left, “Gay race communism” has become a unifying principle in lieu of policy (84:54).
• Explains how legacy newsrooms are “access journalism,” relying entirely on friendly relationships, not merit (24:28-24:56).

Tone and Spirit

• The panel maintains a conversational, irreverent tone, alternating between sarcastic jabs at legacy media and earnest, if occasionally conspiratorial, critique.
• Humor and exasperation punctuate discussions of political hypocrisy, media manipulation, and the absurdity of modern protest culture.

Conclusion

This episode offers a sweeping, often critical, look at the transformation of American journalism and protest culture. From the nuts-and-bolts of Pentagon press access to the tangled web of activist funding, Timcast and Nate Friedman lay bare both the pettiness and significance of battles playing out in media and on the streets. The resounding message: the old rules are dead, the press landscape is fragmented, and both sides are scrambling to define (and defend) the new order.

Notable Takeaway:

"Unity and community will be our strength. Not to mention, you are supporting the work we do and... you get to call in to the members only uncensored portion of the show." – Tim Pool (100:45)

Guest Highlight:
Follow Nate Friedman for on-the-ground exposures of protest funding networks at YouTube: [NateFriedman97] (122:17)

Episode ends with calls for community engagement and teases for further in-depth reporting through new Timcast initiatives.