QAnon? In The Big Year 2025? (E337)

What is QAnon today, nearly eight years after the first Q drop? In Marc-André-Argentio’s new book QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement he argues that QAnon is best understood as a “hyper-real religion.” Even years after the Q drops stopped, QAnon exists as a lived religious practice, where true believers are commissioned to redpill the normies and posting is a rite. The book demonstrates that the movement has gone through three stages of existence: proto-QAnon, canonical-QAnon, and apocryphal-QAnon. Travis and Jake chat with Marc-André about his book and how it builds on other books that cover the movement. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Marc-André Argentino https://www.maargentino.com/ QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement https://www.routledge.com/QAnon-From-Conspiracy-Theory-to-New-Religious-Movement/Argentino/p/book/9781032703534 20% Discount Code: 25AFLY2 Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. /// We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians. Binge all six episodes of Science In Transition by subscribing through this link. www.cursedmedia.net/ Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!) ////

Conflict! Drama! Betrayal! Insults! Accusations! We wade into every strata of right wing summer fights. From congresspeople all the way down to Q influencers, everyone is mad as hell. Liv Agar is back too! Maybe the cattiest and messiest episode of QAA. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media and its new show Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe, and Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

Murder, drug trafficking and the training of death squads. Just Fort Bragg Things. Journalist and author Seth Harp dropped by to chat with us about his explosive new book — The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces. We talk about Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Delta Force, and a variety of horrors beyond human comprehension. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Buy Seth Harp’s book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730414/the-fort-bragg-cartel-by-seth-harp/ Follow Seth Harp: https://x.com/sethharpesq Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

In the cold and indifferent void of space, an interstellar object the size of Manhattan rushes towards our tiny planet. This coming November, Earth may be invaded by an advanced Extraterrestrial civilization, or it might just be a passing comet named 3I/Atlas. In Brad’s belated return to the pod, he and Jake brace our listeners for the imminent attack, with only Travis as humanity's last rational hope. With urgent warnings from an unlikely cadre of blind Bulgarian prophets, Christian doomsday accounts, and esteemed Harvard astrophysicists, could there be something more than conspiracy slop to this story? Probably not… but just in case, board the QAA mothership for Jake and Brad’s Excellent Invasion. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media and its new show Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net Brad Abrahams: https://x.com/LoveAndSaucers // https://www.instagram.com/bradwtf/ Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Corey Klotz and Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

There isn’t yet a tariff on conspiracist narratives. So former Daily Wire podcaster Candace Owens imported one from France. Which is why she now finds herself the subject of a serious lawsuit filed by the French President Emmanuel Macron and the First Lady Brigitte Macron. Owens used Instagram influencer aesthetics to recycle a 2021 theory for American audiences that was originally promoted by a French spiritual medium and spread through “Yellow Vest” and antivax networks. For some reason, Owens wasn’t satisfied with the genuinely odd history of the Macrons’ relationship (they met when Brigitte was married with children and Emmanuel was just 14, despite most American sources claiming they met when he was 15.) Instead she picked up the convoluted conspiracy theory that Brigitte is really her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux who became a trans woman and proceeded to assist with turning Emmanuel into an MKULTRA-controlled “Manchurian Candidate.” In Owen’s ludicrous tale, the Macrons then killed anyone who started asking questions about Brigitte’s past, Clinton-body-count style. But since this nonsense is powered by crude bigotry rather than any investigatory impulse, the evidence is unsurprisingly weak. Owens’ method of argumentation involves ignoring the fact that Jean-Michel Trogneux is clearly alive and a separate person, looking at real photos and declaring them fake, and birthday numerology. Travis, Jake, and Julian unpack Owens’ past, the history of the conspiracy theory, how she promoted it through the 8-part series “Becoming Brigitte,” and the lawsuit that now threatens her independent media empire. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. /// We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians. Binge all six episodes of Science In Transition by subscribing through this link. www.cursedmedia.net/ Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!) ////

A very special episode where we explore Travis’ views on Jake’s takes. With Julian waylaid by the flu, Jake has cooked up a ‘tasting menu’ featuring his current doomscrolling obsessions, to serve to Travis. With no producer at the helm, Jake discusses Ghostbusters fan films, Airsoft, and tells one or two stories for the second or third time on the podcast. Travis also has views on the two hundred million dollar ‘ballroom’ planned for the White House. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media and its new show Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe, and Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

This week we are joined by Dr.  Olivier Jutel, a lecturer in the Department of Media, Film & Communication at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His scholarly focus is in communication studies and media theory, particularly around populism, digital media, political economy, and critical theory. Travis and Julian chat with Olivier about his iconoclastic take on the paradigms that have dominated U.S. technology and communications policy since 2016. Olivier argues that fear of foreign influence has been leveraged by a coalition of Silicon Valley firms, national‑security agencies and allied think‑tanks to deflect structural reform of platforms. Drawing on Cold‑War communication theory, this coalition frames all online conflict as “information warfare,” treating citizens as passive targets for behavioral manipulation while ignoring deeper political‑economic drivers of democratic decay. Jutel retraces the military origins of mass‑communication research, critiques Shoshana Zuboff’s “surveillance capitalism” thesis, and dissects the role of high‑profile disinfo professionals whose methods, he contends, don’t question the core assumptions of tech industry platforms and national‑security priorities. Olivier concludes that while this disinformation framework is past its heyday, its war‑like view of social life persists, empowering actors such as Palantir while sidelining antitrust and public‑interest remedies. The solution? A shift toward true democratic governance of digital infrastructure. Dr Olivier Jutel at University of Otago https://www.otago.ac.nz/mfco/staff/olivier-jutel Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon. Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. /// We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians. Listen to the first five episodes of Science In Transition right now and all episodes after the sixth one is released by subscribing through this link. www.cursedmedia.net/ Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!)

Not our usual dreck — this week we cover a movie with some pedigree. Ari Aster is considered one of the American auteurs of this generation. But what happens when he tries to make a movie about small town pilledness during early covid lockdowns? Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal no less? We ruthlessly investigate Eddington (2025). Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media and its new show Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe, and Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

Jake, Julian, and Travis try to make sense of Trump’s continued and ineffective attempts to make his base stop caring about Jeffrey Epstein. In some conspiracist circles, Trump’s moves on this issue are so confusing that they have resorted to “Trump clone” theories. We also discuss the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that revealed the cryptic birthday note that Trump sent to Epstein. For dessert, the Jake Street Journal (JSJ) has done an investigation of its own and secured a collection of additional birthday wishes written from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon. Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. /// We’ve launched a new podcast miniseries network: Cursed Media. The very first Cursed Media miniseries is Science in Transition. Science in Transition is an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians. Listen to the first two episodes of Science In Transition and the rest of the six episodes as they are released weekly by subscribing through this link. www.cursedmedia.net/ Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!) //// REFERENCES Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump https://archive.vn/IUWMu Judge overseeing DOJ Epstein grand jury records request asks for more information https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-overseeing-doj-epstein-grand-jury-records-request/story?id=123964265 Trump may not see the Epstein grand jury records for a while — if at all https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/18/jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-documents-case-00464189 Americans are broadly dissatisfied with how much Epstein info the government has released, CNN poll finds https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/15/politics/jeffrey-epstein-cnn-poll Auto Q https://x.com/Rep_Stansbury/status/1947702599945490780

Jake has returned from deep within the Labubu rabbit hole, and he’s brought enough furry little monsters back with him to replace Travis and Julian. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! This is a Labubu podcast now, I’m sorry to say. The real question on everyone’s mind is how many Labubus I got (a lot). Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe, and Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.