Listen Now: Dan Taberski’s Manifesto

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: We Came to the Forest
Host: Wondery | Campside Media
Episode: Listen Now: Dan Taberski’s Manifesto
Date: July 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

This special episode features Dan Taberski introducing his new project, "Manifesto." The episode explores the multifaceted power of manifestos—how they channel rage, catalyze change, and teeter on the edge of inspiration and danger. Taberski aims to reclaim the concept of the manifesto from its associations with violence and return it to its roots among artists, activists, and anyone brave enough to speak out passionately for change. Through storytelling, real-world examples, and personal reflection, the episode sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of why manifestos matter—and whether they can still inspire without destructive consequences.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Reclaiming the Manifesto

• Dan Taberski's Mission:
  Taberski expresses his desire to "take the Manifesto back for mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the artists and the warriors, the visionaries, the regular folks with just the right amount of crazy who've got something to say and the guts to say it."
  (00:18)

• Exploring Manifestos Across Perspectives:
  He plans to talk to "radicals, secessionists and Internet trolls out for a laugh and punk singers screaming their guts out," all of whom use manifestos to "turn their anger into the world that they want to see."
  (00:37)

• Central Question Posed:
  Taberski asks: "Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own?"
  (00:54)

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2. The Violent Side of Manifestos: The Christopher Dorner Case

• Setting the Scene:
  Taberski flashes back to Venice, California, 2013, contrasting his idyllic life by the beach with the disturbing news of a double homicide in Orange County.
  (01:55–02:28)

• Details of the Crime:
  A young couple, Keith Lawrence and Monica Kwan, are murdered in their car. The details (jewelry untouched, 14 shots fired, no witnesses) suggest a targeted, professional attack—not a random robbery.
  (02:13–03:04)

• Introduction of the Manifesto:
  The suspect, Christopher Dorner—a former LAPD officer—leaves an 11-page manifesto on Facebook. The document is so shocking a reporter says:

  "It is stunning, Shep." (04:02)
  "It scares the hell out of me." (04:08)

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3. Personal Reflections and Everyday Rage

• Taberski's Own Anger:
  Taberski discusses the challenges of channeling anger productively in a world he describes as "on fire." He admits:

  "My patience has become strained, my temper too short, my ability to hear anyone has." (04:53)

• The Supermarket Story:
  He shares a moment of everyday rebellion against supermarket shopping cart policies—a small but significant act of resistance.

  "There was that one moment when...I said, fuck it, I'm not gonna do this anymore, and I'm not gonna stop other people from doing it as well." (06:01–06:16, via guest D)
  Taberski describes this as:
  "A moment of liberation." (06:23)

• Manifestos as Action:
  He draws a connection between individual acts of defiance and the creation of manifestos:

  "That space right there where emotion becomes action when you're inspired to just do something already. That is the stuff of manifestos." (06:32)

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4. Manifestos in Activism and the Power of Words

• Historical Example – The Black Panther Manifesto:
  Archival audio features Bobby Seale reading from the Black Panther Ten Point Program:

  "Number seven. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people." (06:51)
  "We want all black men held in counties, states, federal jails and prisons to be released because they've not had a fair trial...And that's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew." (07:06–07:23)

• Manifestos as Threat and Promise:
  Taberski observes:

  "Manifestos aren't just pretty poems. They are, in a sense, a threat. A hard packed snowball of grievance and timing and nerve and real impact..." (07:23)
  He points out their transformative potential but also their unpredictability.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reclaiming Manifestos:

  "My latest adventure, Dan Taberski's Manifesto. This project is my attempt to take the Manifesto back for mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the artists and the warriors..."
  — Dan Taberski (00:18)

• On Manifestos as Double-Edged Swords:

  "Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own?"
  — Dan Taberski (00:54)

• The Black Panthers' Demands:

  "We want all black men held in counties, states, federal jails and prisons to be released because they've not had a fair trial...That's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew."
  — Bobby Seale (07:06–07:23)

• Defining the Stakes:

  "Manifestos aren't just pretty poems...But when it happens, when a manifesto catches fire, it can change our world."
  — Dan Taberski (07:23)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:18 – Dan Taberski introduces his mission to reclaim manifestos.
• 01:55–03:04 – The Christopher Dorner murder case and introduction of his manifesto.
• 04:53–06:23 – Taberski’s personal struggle with anger; his small act of rebellion.
• 06:51–07:23 – Bobby Seale reads from the Black Panther Manifesto.
• 07:23 – The impact and risks of manifestos.

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Tone and Style

Dan Taberski delivers the episode with introspection, curiosity, and a hint of dark humor, inviting listeners to consider both the hopeful and dangerous aspects of manifestos. His voice alternates between thoughtful analysis and raw honesty, making the subject feel immediate and deeply personal.

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Summary Conclusion

This episode sets the stage for an investigation into the power, peril, and potential of manifestos in shaping society. Through historical context, personal anecdotes, and a gripping real-life case, Taberski asks urgent questions about inspiration, rage, and the fine line between righteous defiance and destructive fury—offering listeners a compelling invitation to reconsider what it means to take a stand.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, Dan Taburski here. You might know me from podcasts like Hysterical or Missing Richard Simmons. And now my latest adventure, Dan Taburski's Manifesto. This project is my attempt to take the Manifesto back for mass shooters and nihilists and return it to its rightful place with the artists and the warriors, the visionaries, the regular folks with just the right amount of crazy who've got something to say and the guts to say it. I compare notes with radicals, secessionists and Internet trolls out for a laugh and punk singers screaming their guts out, all trying to turn their anger into the world that they want to see. And along the way I write my own manifesto about manifestos. But the question that rises up pretty quickly Just how cozy can we get with our rage before it takes on a life of its own? From Audible Originals and Please and Thanks Productions, this six part series explores the power and precariousness of the Manifesto and asks can we get inspired again and can we do it without a bullet? I'm about to play a clip from Manifesto. You can listen to Manifesto wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Manifesto ad free right now. Start your Audible subscription on the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts. February 2013 Venice, California. It's my last few months in Los Angeles before I move back east. I'm in my late 30s, living by the beach, learning to surf the crumbly waves on my longboard. My skin smells like the ocean all the time. I feel amazing. I look amazing. I look amazing. But I'm not taking you back in my time machine because of how good I looked. Which was very it's because of what happened next in Southern California that cut through that dreamy scene and swapped it out with harsh reality.

[B]

Police in Irvine, California are investigating the double murder of a young couple in the parking lot of their apartment complex.

[A]

Reports of a homicide in Neighboring Orange County.

[B]

27 year old Keith Lawrence and his fiance, 28 year old Monica Kwan, were found shot to death in Lawrence's car late Sunday night.

[A]

Two young people, a couple, recently engaged. The guy was a public safety officer at USC and she was an assistant basketball coach at a local university, murdered while parked in their white Kia Optima.

[B]

Investigators do not yet have a suspect

[A]

description or motive and immediately the details of the crime begin to add up to something bigger than a one time thing, like when their bodies are found by the police. The victim's necklace is still on her neck. Her new engagement ring is still firmly on her finger. Which means this isn't a Robbery. Also, investigators find evidence of 14 shots having been fired. That's a lot of bullets for just two people cornered in their car. But the number of neighbors who actually heard those 14 shots, zero. So maybe there was a silencer on the gun, which would mean the killer probably isn't new to this, that maybe they're a professional.

[C]

Irvine detectives have been working day and night since this tragedy.

[A]

The Irvine police chief takes to the podium to tell the people of Southern California that they are going to have to buckle up for a ride today.

[C]

We have identified Christopher Dorner as a suspect in this double homicide because the

[A]

suspect, Christopher Dorner, is no ordinary suspect.

[C]

Dorner was an LAPD officer through 2009 and a reservist for the United States Navy.

[A]

Dorner is a former LAPD cop and he's still out there. And there's reason to believe that he's going to kill again, that maybe he already has. And we know this because Christopher Dorner left something behind.

[C]

A particular interest at this point in the investigation is a multi page manifesto in which the suspect has implicated himself in the slings.

[A]

And this manifesto on Facebook is 11 pages long. Trace this manifesto from this suspect who's targeting cops. It's stunning. It is stunning, Shep.

[C]

And it says he's been very well trained. You know, lapd, some of the best trained officers in the country. And I tell you, this manifesto, it

[A]

scares the hell out of me. I'm Dan Tabursky from Audible Originals and please and thanks Productions. This is Manifesto Episode 1 2America. Subject Last Resort. I am in the market for a manifesto. I have been for a while now, to be honest. The world is on fire. I'll spare you the details. We've all got our own faves and I mean, really, what fresh words could be left to describe what fresh hell we're presented with day after day? But even more concerning for me, even more surprising, has been my own reaction to it and how difficult it's been to get a handle on how angry it has all made me. I'm not an angry person. I am a relatively happy guy, but I find myself seething underneath all the time. My patience has become strained, my temper too short, my ability to hear anyone has. It happens at, of all places, a supermarket where the whole economic order is reduced down to cans on a shelf where you can buy two of crap you don't need for the price of one.

[D]

And this feeling of discontent that I've had in shopping at supermarkets, you know, for years and years before that, and being dissatisfied with the whole feeling of walking in there and having the choices that they're giving me and the way that I. It just felt like something that I don't want to do. But I kept on doing it.

[A]

He goes to grab a shopping cart. Only it's one of those setups where you got to insert a coin to get the cart, and you only get the coin back if you return the shopping cart. As if none of us can be trusted.

[D]

You know, basically, they asked me to sort of use the shopping cart, put the coin in and take the coin back and put it back to where it belongs. Then all of a sudden, there was that one moment when. When I sat, he said, fuck it, I'm not gonna do this anymore, and I'm not gonna stop other people from doing it as well.

[A]

So he takes a coin and he jams it into the slot so it won't come out. So now no one's playing the stupid shopping cart game, are they?

[D]

And it felt so good. It felt like. Like. It felt like a moment of liberation.

[B]

That.

[A]

That space right there where emotion becomes action when you're inspired to just do something already. That is the stuff of manifestos. Individuals, groups, entire swathes of society use it as the funnel to focus their erupting rage.

[E]

Number seven. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.

[A]

This is activist Bobby Seale reading the Black Panther Manifesto in 1968. They called it the Ten Point Program.

[E]

We want all black men held in counties, states, federal jails and prisons to be released because they have not had a fair trial, because they've been tried by all white juries. And that's just like being tried in Germany, being a Jew.

[A]

Manifestos aren't just pretty poems. They are, in a sense, a threat. A hard packed snowball of grievance and timing and nerve and real impact, a sparking of real, honest to God, change is the longest of long shots. But when it happens, when a manifesto catches fire, it can change our world. It can rewrite our future. But there's a hitch. Binge all episodes of Dan Taburski's manifesto ad free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts.