096: Strange People on the Hill (Live in DC, 4/11/26)

Jared and Mike hit Trump National Doral Miami to witness the unveiling of “Don Colossus,” a 22-foot, gold-covered Trump statue that seems to symbolize a particular affliction in MAGA’s character. (Look closer, Lenny!) They also talk about Poodle Room veteran Kash Patel’s balls-on-the-table stare-down with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the grifty Trump phone, and infighting on the antisemitic flank of the GOP between Nick Fuentes and Dan Bilzerian over who is more of a fed. Jared and Mike also talk about Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a lovely media tour blaming social media bots for Israel’s unpopularity. The interview landed alongside a major The New York Times report on abuse allegations involving Palestinian prisoners, which sent pro-Israel influencers into immediate damage-control mode. There’s never been a better time in America to flex nuts as a 22 foot golden man.Listen to the full episode on Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughit

The notorious conspiracy website Infowars made its final broadcast on April 30, 2026 and hours later, the site went dark. Jared, Mike and this week's guest, Dan Friesen, co-host of the legendary and recently retired podcast Knowledge Fight, get together to talk about the closure of Infowars and the future of its founder, Alex Jones. The guys review the final hours of Infowars' time on the air and reflect on the downfall of Jones and his media empire. How did this prolific kingmaker and agenda-setter in far-right media become an afterthought?Full warning: This is a real "upper decker" of an episode.Dan's upcoming show: Show Me State of MindTransition Music: “The Seagulls” by Big Pleasant---Support the show on Patreon and get access to weekly premium episodes

Listen to the full episode on Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughitJared and Mike dig into reports of chaos at The Daily Wire after Candace Owens — once one of its top stars — claimed the company enacted a “bloodbath” of layoffs affecting as much as 60% of its staff. (The Daily Wire confirmed the layoffs but denied they were as extensive as Owens claimed.) What followed was an unusual weekend of silence from Ben Shapiro and goat lover Matt Walsh. The guys trace the rise of the conservative media empire from its LA roots and Facebook dominance to its overextended streaming ambitions, “anti-woke” consumer products, and increasingly shaky position inside the MAGA movement. Along the way, they examine how The Daily Wire’s obsession with culture war content, Israel, and respectability politics left it out of step with the audience it helped create. Plus: Jared and Mike toast Eoin Higgins for his recent legal success against free speech warrior Matt Taibbi and say farewell to Laura Sennett of One People’s Project, who recently died. May she rest in power. Links:Eoin's book: Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the LeftOne People's Project

The coalition of activists known as “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, has emerged as a legitimate force in American politics and it’s hardly a given that they will remain aligned with President Trump and the Republican Party. Researcher and reporter Madeline Peltz returns to Posting Through It to brief us on the MAHA movement and their mission–weighing in on how his diverse group can theoretically be pulled away from the GOP. Madeline, Mike and Jared also analyze the “Netflix Monsters series-coded” life of MAHA’s figurehead, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The DMT, steroids and heroin-riddled political scion once severed off the penis of a raccoon to study it later. It’s obviously a very impressive trick, but what does it say about his capacity to release his bountiful harvest all over the health of your loved ones?Links for Madeline:Read her newsletter: Number Two PencilWatch her video for More Perfect Union: We Found The REAL Reason Gen Z Wants To Be TradwivesFollow her on Bluesky: @peltzmadeline.bsky.social

Mike and Jared review an unusually eventful White House Correspondents' Dinner, which abruptly ended after a man sprinted past a security checkpoint in hopes of finding and killing the man he saw as a "pedophile, rapist, and traitor": President Donald Trump. Then, they also check in on MAGA's defamatory claims that the Southern Poverty Law Center planned the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist gathering -- which has left the extremists who actually planned it befuddled. Listen to the full episode on Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughit

For the 100th episode of Posting Through It , Jared and Mike welcome back NYC correspondent Bobby Silverman to discuss a major investigation he co-bylined at WIRED magazine looking at how powerful individuals and companies are building their own surveillance networks — effectively creating their own private “deep states.”Bobby's story zeroes in on one such "panopticon," built around businesses tied to James Dolan, including Madison Square Garden. In one telling example, MSG allegedly tracked the movements of a trans woman whose presence they flagged as a concern. After that, the guys look at what might be next for a handful of prominent MAGA Internet personalities: Clavicular, Tim Pool, Tucker Carlson, Jack Posobiec, and Dave Portnoy.WIRED: The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden’s Surveillance MachineTransition Music: “Now It Can Be Told” by Tractor Boy

Jared and Mike sit down to review new allegations that Kash Patel is the coolest FBI director we’ve ever had. Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic after it published an article where sources said Patel barely showed up to work, spent his time thinking too hard about FBI merchandise, and liked getting white-girl-wasted at some place called “The Poodle Lounge.”But before that, the guys react to the DOJ’s indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center for alleged committing white-collar crimes while paying informants inside the white supremacist movement. They also unpack the rise of “MAGA Cock” and “Woke Pussy” discourse on the racist right-wing internet and discuss a Dechoherence Media articlethat identified the man behind a far-right troll account followed by Vice President JD Vance.Pour up a dozen pickleback shots. This is Trump’s America, and we’re ordering “Irish Car Bombs” again.To listen to the full episode, sign up for our Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughit

How many y’all like JD Vance? That’s the question some proponents of MAGA are asking as the movement grapples with the inevitable reality of Trumpism ending. Either Trump’s term will run out, or the McDonald's will take its course, or an angry mob will secure control of the White House — something has to give here. Superficially, Vance seems like the obvious choice to replace Trump... but maybe he just isn’t up to the job. That’s the take of our guest this week, Amanda Marcotte, a senior writer at Salon who has extensively chronicled the missteps of Peter Thiel’s humanoid political project and current Vice President. Jared, Mike and Amanda run through some of Vance’s low lights in this episode and determine that he doesn’t really have a constituency to fall back on. Not even fascists find him particularly compelling.So hide your “woke pussy” and look out for falling “MAGA cock.” This episode is a "hillbilly elegy" of another kind.Links for Amanda:Check out "Standing Room Only" (Salon Newsletter / YouTube)Follow her on BlueskyCommittee to Protect Journalists Petition: RELEASE JOURNALIST AHMED SHIHAB-ELDIN FROM DETENTIONTransition Music: "One Night Stand" by Mad Drunken Americans

When the MAGA phenomenon first took off in 2016, the term evoked nationalism and racism, but it cast a wide enough tent for most Republicans to feel comfortable joining in. Ten years later, the term has mutated, and so have MAGA candidates. Look no further than the hot, sweaty, iguana-riddled, environmentally atrophying state of Florida, where James Fishback and Dan Bilzerian are seeking public office. Both candidates are open bigots who talk like humanoid 4chan threads, and it’s hard to understand who all of this is for. Jared and Mike also take stock of Trump’s mental wellness in the context of his feud with the Pope, and consider how badly Viktor Orbán’s defeat looks for a movement that can’t seem to find wins. Take some shrooms and steam up in a heated bath, because Posting Through It is back.Listen to the full episode on Patreon: patreon.com/postingthroughit

Jared and Mike hosted a talk about Mike's new book "Strange People on the Hill" at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2026. Thank you to everyone who came out!This episode includes audio from the event for those who couldn't make it.