Talking to Venezuelans About Venezuela

Robert breaks down exactly what's happening in the gulf and how Iran may have trapped the U.S. in an unwinnable disaster.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Molly interviews Michael Edison Hayden about his new book, Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small Town. The book is an intimate portrait of what happened in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia after a white nationalist group moved into the castle on the hill.Preorder the book now or buy it anywhere books are sold when it comes out on April 7, 2026 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michael-edison-hayden/strange-people-on-the-hill/9781645030607/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James talks to Marian about how the left discourse about the US kidnapping of Maduro has silenced Venezuelan leftists and how the anti Maduro Venezuelan left is navigating the US intervention. https://www.instagram.com/e.m.arian See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Garrison investigates a series of frightening claims: that ICE can detain people for ‘looking trans,’ the creation of a transgender public registry, and that an adult gender-affirming healthcare ban is imminent. Sources: https://transitics.substack.com/p/trump-administration-opens-the-door  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/11/2026-04737/visas-enhancing-vetting-and-combatting-fraud-in-the-diversity-immigrant-visa-program  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/  https://rachelnorfolk.me/sites/default/files/2025-02/25_State_11402.pdf https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20250402-RecognizingMaleAndFemaleSexes.pdf https://iptp-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/2025.2.24_DOS_Guidance_for_Visa_Adjudicators_EO_14201_22Keeping_Men_Out_of_Wom_VhPai1S.pdf https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/administrative-processing-information.html  https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:8%20section:1182%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1182)&f=treesort&num=0&edition=prelim  https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030209.html  https://bsky.app/profile/progesteronipizza.bsky.social/post/3m5w6wnkyhc2u  https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/transgender-kansans-challenge-state-law-invalidating-their-drivers-licenses-and-allowing-them-to-be-sued-for-using-public-restrooms  https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/sb244_03_0000.pdf  https://www.tiktok.com/@transitics/video/7616520936925285662 https://bsky.app/profile/firestorm.coop/post/3mgwxdih3x222  https://www.tiktok.com/@e_c_lider/video/7616688370462231830  https://www.vera.org/news/ice-is-excluding-data-on-transgender-people-in-detention https://www.them.us/story/alice-correia-barbosa-ice-arrest-brazil-trans https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/18/trump-mexico-deportation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportations_of_U.S._citizens_in_the_second_Trump_administration# https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118180/documents/HMKP-119-JU00-20250430-SD003.pdf https://19thnews.org/2025/12/trump-administration-plans-to-end-prison-rape-protections-for-trans-and-intersex-people-memo-says/ https://theneedlenews.com/2026/03/anti-trans-hate-groups-petitioning-fda-for-registry-of-trans-women-crackdown-on-transition-newly-revealed-document-shows/ https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27871234-fda-2025-p-7321-0001-attachment-public-fda/?ref=theneedlenews.com https://bsky.app/profile/angelic.style/post/3mgv3hjepvs2p https://bsky.app/profile/tinylesbianrobot.itch.io/post/3mgvbihtidu2m https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4865109/#:~:text=Only%20346%20(18%25)%20of,Risk%20Evaluation%20and%20Mitigation%20Strategy https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/03/19/tennessee-gop-advances-bill-that-would-create-public-list-of-trans-residents/?utm_content=1773928472&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter https://trackbill.com/bill/tennessee-house-bill-754-an-act-to-amend-tennessee-code-annotated-title-1-title-4-title-33-title-56-title-63-title-68-and-title-71-relative-to-health-care/2644177/ https://x.com/popbase/status/2034737772792041622?s=46 https://transitics.substack.com/p/tennessee-republicans-advance-bill https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/movaokabwva/USA_HEALTH_TRANSGENDER_WESTVIRGINIA.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/us/rfk-jr-transgender-care-ruling.html https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/4th-circuit-rules-that-states-can https://bsky.app/profile/davidforbes.bsky.social/post/3mgv5httwss26 https://glaad.org/new-york-times-sign-on-letter-from-lgtbq-allied-leaders-and-organizations https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-readies-new-war-on-trans-people https://gnet-research.org/2025/07/18/meaning-through-its-opposite-significance-quest-theory-and-nihilistic-violent-extremism/ https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/what-are-nihilist-violent-extremists  https://x.com/ItsYourGov/status/1968802472111083949?s=20 https://oversight-project.revv.co/urge-the-fbi-to-designate-transgender-terrorism https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DOykLZJDS2h/ https://www.tiktok.com/@genericartdad/video/7554381061128473886See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Margaret reads you a story about climate refugees, ancestors, and giant spider robots that weave webs of glassSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.  - Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism - The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips - Israel’s Attack on Lebanon - Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse - Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Prairieland and Antifa Terrorism https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.367.0.pdf  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488/gov.uscourts.txnd.410488.366.0.pdf https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/antifa-cell-members-convicted-prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting https://www.nacdl.org/getattachment/f536e696-072c-4982-bc47-d2dc7f42f766/gov-uscourts-txnd-411041-89-0_1.pdf https://prairielanddefendants.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Superseding-Indictment-2.pdf https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-03/prairieland-ice-detention-center-shooting-trial-defendants-self-defense-third-party-defense-theory-judge-mark-pittman https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-3rd-federal-trial-day-7/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-6th-federal-trial-day-10/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-10-federal-trial-day-12/#kyle-shideler-prosecutions-antifa-expert-redirect https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-26-federal-trial-day-5/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/february-27th-federal-trial-day-6/ https://prairielanddefendants.com/court-notes/march-9th-federal-trial-day-11/ https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41333 https://www.keranews.org/criminal-justice/2026-03-10/dario-sanchez-prairieland-ice-shooting The Scariest Court in America feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips Jack Bass,  “John Minor Wisdom, Appeals Court Judge Who Helped to End Segregation, Dies at 93,” New York Times, May 16, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/us/john-minor-wisdom-appeals-court-judge-who-helped-to-end-segregation-dies.html Jonathan Entin, “The Surprising History of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Governing, January 23, 2024, https://www.governing.com/policy/the-surprising-history-of-the-5th-circuit-court-of-appeals. Eleanor Klibanoff,  “Again and again, U.S. Supreme Court slaps down 5th Circuit,” The Texas Tribune, July 3, 2024, https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-5th-circuit-court-rulings-texas-overturned/ Mattathias Schwartz, “This Federal Judge Is the ‘Tip of the Spear’ of Trump-Era Conservatism,” New York Times, August 9, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/judge-ho-trump-border.html Israel’s Attack on Lebanon Lebanese news source Megaphone news – https://megaphone.news Elia at +972mag - https://www.972mag.com/israels-renewed-war-on-lebanon-is-about-more-than-just-hezbollah/ Death toll and displacement numbers in Lebanon - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/22/hezbollah-attack-kills-one-in-north-israel-as-assault-on-lebanon-continues Nathan Brown on “Israel’s Forever Wars” - https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/03/dominance-degradation-and-debilitation Land for peace concept - https://archive.unescwa.org/land-peace-principle Foundation for Defense of Democracy on “Peace for Land” - https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/01/23/peace-for-land-not-land-for-peace/ The book Beware of Small States - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-hirst/beware-of-small-states/9780786744411/?lens=bold-type-books The Fire These Times podcast - https://thefirethesetimes.com/ Shadow Banking: The Once and Future Economic Apocalypse https://www.fsb.org/work-of-the-fsb/financial-innovation-and-structural-change/non-bank-financial-intermediation/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/shadow-banking-is-now-a-52-trillion-industry-and-posing-risks.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7992100/ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/06/basics.htm https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/inside-the-cdo-market-that-catalyzed-the-financial-crisis https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48512#ifn146 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26153238 https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/economists/adrian/1306adri_map.pdf https://tellerwindow.newyorkfed.org/2025/10/17/nbfis-in-focus-the-basics-of-private-credit/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/bank-lending-to-private-credit-size-characteristics-and-financial-stability-implications-20250523.html https://libcom.org/article/debt-first-5000-years-david-graeber Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations https://x.com/Holden_Culotta/status/2034419794099777620?s=20 https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war https://abcnews.com/Politics/pentagon-plans-national-guard-dc-2029-2-us/story?id=131234530 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/openai-shutting-down-sora-ai-video-app-1236546187/ https://x.com/cspan/status/2036514340896121179?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036105325326016658?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036083777164775452 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036253584090685709?s=20 https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/5799345-ice-deployment-tsa-criticism/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/tsa-data-ice-deportation-san-francisco-airport.html https://punchbowl.news/archive/32326-am/ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116275668825285445 https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2036511652275703864?s=20 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/gregory-bovino-border-patrol.html https://x.com/atrupar/status/2031414203920077123 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Fh_K2gxDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fW9E2zneDg https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/18/politics/mullin-confirmation-hearing-senate-paul-dhs https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036510924173963558?s=20 https://archive.ph/SmBos https://archive.vn/Xg3zP#selection-717.162-717.174  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/25/iran-war-us-trump.html  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/trump-iran-war-power-plants-energy-infrastructure-middle-east.html  https://time.com/article/2026/03/25/trump-peace-proposal-us-iran-war-israel-pakistan/  https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-reliance-buys-5-million-barrels-iranian-oil-after-us-waiver-sources-say-2026-03-24/  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1450zj6n48o  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrzr9ynpn1o  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/oil-prices-trump-iran-strait-of-hormuz-wti-crude-middle-east-lng-gas.html  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-gets-daily-video-montage-briefing-iran-war-rcna263912  https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-tanker-strait-hormuz-iran-6015671See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gang discuss Trump’s deployment of ICE to more than a dozen airports, OpenAI shutting down its AI generated video app, continuing negotiations with Iran to end the war, and DHS Sec Mullin’s comments during confirmation hearings. Sources: https://x.com/Holden_Culotta/status/2034419794099777620?s=20 https://www.semafor.com/article/03/18/2026/fbi-investigates-national-security-aide-who-resigned-over-war https://abcnews.com/Politics/pentagon-plans-national-guard-dc-2029-2-us/story?id=131234530 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/openai-shutting-down-sora-ai-video-app-1236546187/ https://x.com/cspan/status/2036514340896121179?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036105325326016658?s=20 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036083777164775452 https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036253584090685709?s=20 https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/5799345-ice-deployment-tsa-criticism/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/tsa-data-ice-deportation-san-francisco-airport.html https://punchbowl.news/archive/32326-am/ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116275668825285445 https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2036511652275703864?s=20 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/gregory-bovino-border-patrol.html https://x.com/atrupar/status/2031414203920077123 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Fh_K2gxDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fW9E2zneDg https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/18/politics/mullin-confirmation-hearing-senate-paul-dhs https://x.com/atrupar/status/2036510924173963558?s=20 https://archive.ph/SmBos https://archive.vn/Xg3zP#selection-717.162-717.174  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/25/iran-war-us-trump.html  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/trump-iran-war-power-plants-energy-infrastructure-middle-east.html  https://time.com/article/2026/03/25/trump-peace-proposal-us-iran-war-israel-pakistan/  https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-reliance-buys-5-million-barrels-iranian-oil-after-us-waiver-sources-say-2026-03-24/  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1450zj6n48o  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrzr9ynpn1o  https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/oil-prices-trump-iran-strait-of-hormuz-wti-crude-middle-east-lng-gas.html  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-gets-daily-video-montage-briefing-iran-war-rcna263912  https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-tanker-strait-hormuz-iran-6015671See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mia teaches Molly what shadow banking is, how it caused the 2008 financial collapse, and how they’re threatening to do it all again Sources: https://www.fsb.org/work-of-the-fsb/financial-innovation-and-structural-change/non-bank-financial-intermediation/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/shadow-banking-is-now-a-52-trillion-industry-and-posing-risks.html https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7992100/ https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/06/basics.htm https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/inside-the-cdo-market-that-catalyzed-the-financial-crisis https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48512#ifn146 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26153238 https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/economists/adrian/1306adri_map.pdf https://tellerwindow.newyorkfed.org/2025/10/17/nbfis-in-focus-the-basics-of-private-credit/ https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/bank-lending-to-private-credit-size-characteristics-and-financial-stability-implications-20250523.html https://libcom.org/article/debt-first-5000-years-david-graeberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dana El Kurd speaks to Elia Ayoub, UK-based Lebanese-Palestinian historian, anti-authoritarian writer, and host of The Fire These Times. They talk about Israel’s attacks on Lebanon in recent weeks, what this means for the Lebanese people, the impact on Hezbollah, and broader implications for the world.    Sources: Lebanese news source Megaphone news – https://megaphone.news Elia at +972mag - https://www.972mag.com/israels-renewed-war-on-lebanon-is-about-more-than-just-hezbollah/ Death toll and displacement numbers in Lebanon - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/22/hezbollah-attack-kills-one-in-north-israel-as-assault-on-lebanon-continues Nathan Brown on “Israel’s Forever Wars” - https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/03/dominance-degradation-and-debilitation Land for peace concept - https://archive.unescwa.org/land-peace-principle Foundation for Defense of Democracy on “Peace for Land” - https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/01/23/peace-for-land-not-land-for-peace/ The book Beware of Small States - https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-hirst/beware-of-small-states/9780786744411/?lens=bold-type-books The Fire These Times podcast - https://thefirethesetimes.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the Civil Rights Era, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was one of the most liberal courts in the United States. It became an ally of the Civil Rights Movement that knocked down Jim Crow laws across the Deep South. But because of a string of appointments by conservative presidents starting with Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, it has transformed into one of the country’s most reactionary judicial bodies, with rulings that banned drag shows, endangered nationwide access to the so-called “abortion pill,” and threatened to give domestic abusers access to handguns. This episode looks at how the Fifth Circuit turned into the scariest court in America -- and in particular the career of one extremist judge, James Ho, who one day might end up on the United States Supreme Court.  Sources:  Jack Bass,  “John Minor Wisdom, Appeals Court Judge Who Helped to End Segregation, Dies at 93,” New York Times, May 16, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/16/us/john-minor-wisdom-appeals-court-judge-who-helped-to-end-segregation-dies.html Jonathan Entin, “The Surprising History of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals,” Governing, January 23, 2024, https://www.governing.com/policy/the-surprising-history-of-the-5th-circuit-court-of-appeals. Eleanor Klibanoff,  “Again and again, U.S. Supreme Court slaps down 5th Circuit,” The Texas Tribune, July 3, 2024, https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/supreme-court-5th-circuit-court-rulings-texas-overturned/ Mattathias Schwartz, “This Federal Judge Is the ‘Tip of the Spear’ of Trump-Era Conservatism,” New York Times, August 9, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/judge-ho-trump-border.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.