1029 - The F-Files feat. Derek Davison & Ben McKenzie (4/20/26)

We have a Chapo Double Feature for you this week! First, Derek Davison returns for more coverage of the wars in Lebanon and Iran, including a Wall Street Journal article showing just how checked out Trump is from the apocalyptic destruction he’s bringing about on the world. Plus: more Ka$h Chronicles, as the FBI tries to take him down for the crimes of having too much fun and sleeping through an alarm. We’re then joined by actor Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Junebug) about his new crypto documentary Everyone Is Lying to You For Money. Our 10 year anniversary merch is ready for pre-order through April 30! Order at https://chapotraphouse.store/ Find all of Derek’s foreign policy coverage at: www.foreignexchanges.news www.americanprestigepod.com And go see Everyone Is Lying to You For Money when it’s near you!

Andrew Hudson of E1 returns to cover the downfall of two great men: Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Eric Swalwell in California. Also in the news: JD Vance goes on an international losing tour from Pakistan to Hungary, Trump threatens military action against the Pope, and another dispatch from Punished Rod. Our 10 year anniversary merch is ready for pre-order through April 30! Order at https://chapotraphouse.store/ Listen to Episode 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/episode-one-868768631 And subscribe here: https://www.patreon.com/e1podcast/posts

Our sold out Ten Year Anniversary live show at the Palace Theater, Los Angeles, April 3rd 2026. Featuring Episode 1 (Charles Austin, Alex Branson, Andrew Hudson), Seeking Derangements (Ben Mora, Hesse Deni, Jacques Gonsoulin), Brace Belden & Hasan Piker. Thanks to all our guests and the fantastic audience!

We talk about the Return of Rahm, the Democrats looking for a hot candidate, and Katherine’s Disneyland memories. But mostly we let Felix explain the Rob Schneider-Andrea Dworkin-Albert Camus connection. Kind of a gas leak episode here folks. Pitch Katherine pieces for The Intercept at [email protected].

The fight in the gas station parking lot continues to escalate; luckily, Will, Felix, and Chris are all together in person to walk you through it. We talk about Israel attacking South Pars Gas Field without telling us, more planes crashing both abroad and at home, and the potential of a disastrous ground operation on Kharg Island looming. Plus: Elon Musk’s based son, Zohran and “left-wing antisemitism,” and a eulogy for Chuck Norris, The Instagram is BACK: https://www.instagram.com/chapotraphousereal/

The world is a gas station, and we’re fighting in its parking lot. This week, Will and Felix offer the definitive analysis of America’s suicidal flailing on the world stage. We also talk about JD trying to straddle the “anti-war” fence, Robert J. O’Neill as the ultimate 21st century American, and more US jets crashing. The Instagram is BACK: https://www.instagram.com/chapotraphousereal/

The Movies…. Are back. The Mindset….Continues. Bet you thought we had forgotten? Will and Hesse get in right under the gun for another Movie Mindset Oscars Special. Our two professional film critics and acclaimed indie film stars discuss this year’s finest offerings from Tinsel Town and debate which among them deserves to be immortalized with that finest of names “Oscar.” Will PTA finally have his crowning moment of glory this year or will it be One Disappointment After Another for the wunderkind director as he’s snubbed yet again… Who will win the ideological battle over fascism this year? Will it be The Secret Agent, which maintains that fascism is bad or F:1 which stands for Fascism = #1? Is having a parent evil, or is being a parent evil? And Is it better to exist or not to? Films like this year’s Frankenstein, Sentimental Value and Hamnet all delve into this tricky and universal human dilemma. The Best Actor race is among the tightest in recent memory with many industry insiders saying it’s going to come down to Michael B Jordan playing a set of twins who are divided over eating pussy and becoming a vampire and Timothee Chalamet who plays an arrogant, pushy Jewish guy who gets everything he wants and conquers the world. Will and Hesse discuss all this and more! Also Train Dreams? Place your bets NOW on which of this year’s movies will win, and which ones each of these professional film critics still haven’t seen!

We’re joined by filmmakers Harrison Fishman & Dylan Redford to discuss their new docuseries “Neighbors”. The series chronicles neighbor disputes throughout the USA, and offers a near-psychedlic glimpse into how private property induces unbearable levels of psychosis in a variety of everyday Americans. We discuss how interpersonal surveillance, social media reinforcement, conspiratorial paranoia, completely useless civil institutions, bad pet ownership, guns Guns GUNS, and good old fashioned being a jackass render the very idea of living next to someone a psychic and emotional battlefield in this country, and how Harrison and Dylan went about capturing it on camera. Neighbors airs Fridays on HBO and is streaming now on HBOmax.

Will Sommer returns to the show to talk more about the Iran War, this time through the lens of a rapidly fragmenting Republican elite. We discuss the war between the Israel skeptics like Tucker Carlson and the hawks like Mark Levine, and how this ties into a hijacked shipment of nicotine pouches and the transvestigation of Laura Loomer. We also talk about Candace Owens’ docuseries on Erika Kirk, another leaked racist groupchat, and the emerging multiracial coalition of White Supremacy. Follow Will Sommer on Twitter/X: https://x.com/willsommer And check out his newsletter False Flag: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/false-flag

We are at war with Iran. Journalist and Chapo veteran Séamus Malekafzali returns to help us break down what has happened in the past few days, the spillover into neighboring and nearby Gulf countries, and what the future of this conflict might look like. We also return to the Israeli-USian murder-suicide pact, the protests from neighboring countries versus the celebrations from the Iranian diaspora community, and whether the Fourth Reich will ever fall. Listen to Turbulence wherever you get your podcasts: https://turbulencepod.substack.com/ And follow Turbulence on X/Twitter: https://x.com/turbulence_pod