Inside the Far-right Podcast Ecosystem, Part 1: Building a Network of Hate
In August 2014, a band of four then-pseudonymous contributors to the white nationalist blog The Right Stuff (TRS) gathered for what the siteâs founder would deem an âexperimentâ: The onetime racist blog founded by Mike âEnochâ Peinovich had decided to pivot to audio. Over the course of the next hour, the four men lambasted immigrants, libertarian women, and ethnic and racial minorities.
TRS dubbed this hour-or-so roundtable, which featured racist banter and commentary on the news, âThe Daily Shoah.â The name was an antisemitic riff on the popular news and comedy show âThe Daily Show,â though âThe Daily Shoahâsâ co-hosts saw themselves as following more in the footsteps of the âedgy shock comedyâ a la âThe Howard Stern Showâ or âOpie and Anthonyâ than Comedy Centralâs popular satirical news program. (Later, hosts leaned on this comparison in an effort to pass off their descriptions of, say, as detached, irony-drenched humor.) In the end, Peinovichâs self-described âexperimentâ proved to be a success, and as the listenership of âThe Daily Shoahâ grew, so did the podcast offerings on TRSâs website. The network advocated for white supremacist ideals in a way that was digestible and appealing to a generation of budding extremists who had grown up either with or alongside the internet.
Today, âThe Daily Shoahâ is just one among dozens of noteworthy podcasts produced by far-right extremists. Yet, even as the medium has expanded and become more varied within recent years among the far right, mirroring its in mainstream society, the role of podcasts in the world of far-right extremism has been largely understudied.
This four-part report examines the origin and growth of the far-right podcast ecosystem, exposing the individuals and groups that used this technology to create and expand their networks of hate. To show how far-right extremists used podcasts for networking, to build their individual brands, and to spread propaganda nationally and internationally, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą (°Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą) analyzed thousands of data points from 15 years of podcast recordings. This research reveals how such extremists as Richard B. Spencer leveraged podcasts to popularize the âalt-rightâ movement as well as how podcasts provided on-the-ground organizers a platform for planning the violence and mayhem of the deadly 2017 âUnite the Rightâ rally. Furthermore, this analysis demonstrates how extremists used podcasts to cultivate their own financially lucrative video and livestreaming landscape, which is now dominated by such sites as YouTube, Twitch and DLive.
The loudest voices in hate
Far-right extremists have relied on audio content to promote their message of hate to audiences for decades. Still, podcasts had, and have continued to have, a unique appeal. Shows cost very little to produce and distribute â a host needs only audio-editing software and a microphone. There are no stringent federal regulations on podcasts, unlike broadcast radio, making the barrier to entry much lower. Finally, dozens of platforms and mobile apps (âpodcatchersâ) distribute podcasts at no cost to listeners, including those made by Google, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Libsyn, Soundcloud and Spreaker.Ěý
Keeping track of the networks of podcast hosts and guests presents unique challenges to researchers. Participants, including both hosts and guests, often use aliases and provide little biographical information. They may frequently change their personal and content-related âbrands,â and their recordings disappear and reappear across a web of podcast syndication platforms, often because of deplatforming. (Deplatforming refers to the act of tech companies stopping a person or group, typically those who give voice to an extreme ideology, from using their websites.) Changes in the availability of an audio archive may result from infighting as well.
To document the expansion of the far-right podcast ecosystem, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą focused on 18 different podcasts between the years of 2005 and 2020. From there, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą was able to focus in on 882 cast members who appeared on 4,046 different podcast episodes. The associations between cast members of these 18 different shows reveal the interconnectivity of the movement.
The most well-connected individuals are at the center of the diagram. This space is dominated by cast members of shows on The Right Stuff network, including âThe Daily Shoah,â as well as other long running podcasts, such as âFash the Nationâ and âParanormies Present.â
The network can also be animated to demonstrate its growth over time.
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The following table lists the shows and networks in the collection, how many episodes were able to be found as of March 31, 2020, and the approximate date of the first broadcast in the collection. The shows are grouped by network (The Right Stuff, Identity Dixie, or other), then by date of first broadcast. The °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą chose six podcasts from one network (The Right Stuff), three from another network (Identity Dixie) and nine independent shows. Of the independent shows, °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą included one international show (âNordic Frontierâ), one show marketed to women (âHelicopter Momâ), one long-running show that has digital downloads but also airs on FM radio (âThe Political Cesspoolâ), one show that focuses on esoteric religion (âMysterium Fascesâ) and one show that uses a video format and is focused on debates between far-right influencers (âKillstreamâ).
Table 1, Shows and Networks
Show | Network | # Episodes in dataset | Date of first broadcast in dataset | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Daily Shoah | TRS | 600 | 2014-08-03 | Ěý |
Fash the Nation | TRS | 310 | 2015-08-19 | Ěý |
Paranormies | TRS | 180 | 2016-09-13 (ep 5) | No dates listed for episodes 1-5 |
Exodus Americanus | TRS | 166 | 2016-10-03 (ep 36) | Episodes 1-35 were not found, so could not be included in dataset |
Third Rail | TRS | 149 | 2017-03-20 | Ěý |
Strike and Mike | TRS | 105 | 2017-12-10 | Ěý |
Rebel Yell | ID | 166 | 2016-01-18 | Ěý |
Helicopter Mom | ID | 62 | 2017-02-02 | Ěý |
Good Morning Weimerica | ID | 54 | 2017-12-14 | Ěý |
The Political Cesspool | - | 1266 | 2005-03-29 | Airs on AM radio and online; episodes from October 2004 through March 29 2005 were not available online |
Mysterium Fasces | - | 53 | 2016-10-08 | Ěý |
Nordic Frontier | - | 145 | 2017-01-14 | Ěý |
White Rabbit Radio | - | 120 | 2017-08-04 (ep 16) | No airdates listed for episodes 1-5. This long-running show existed on ham radio prior to 2009, then on a self-hosted site through 2017. |
GoyTalk | - | 123 | 2018-05-02 | Discontinued Dec 2019 |
Killstream | - | 01 | 2018-08-11 | Ěý |
The Cocktail Hour | - | 61 | 2018-11-14 (ep 3) | Episode 1 and 2 were not found, so could not be included in this dataset |
McSpencer Group | - | 43 | 2019-03-17 | Ěý |
Full Haus | - | 42 | 2019-04-28 (ep 2) | Episode 1 showed an airdate of May 13, 2019. |
Of the 882 people in the data set, the vast majority appeared on only one or two different podcast shows. The °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ąâs analysis reveals a smaller subset of prominent extremists who were active on multiple shows and appeared on numerous episodes throughout the network. In order to determine which figures were the most active throughout this podcasting network, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą limited its analysis to those figures who appeared on five or more different shows in the dataset. Using this methodology, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą determined that there were 22 far-right activists at the heart of the podcasting network. Most of them are hosts or co-hosts of their own podcasts, including shows that do not appear in this dataset. However, all have been crucial figures in the flurry of far-right extremist activity throughout the Trump years, whether as propagandists or organizers.
In fact, the only frequent guests who never hosted their own podcasts were Jason Kessler and Elliot Kline (as âEli Mosleyâ). Kessler and Kline were among the organizers of the deadly âUnite the Rightâ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Kessler was also a former member of the Proud Boys, and Kline was the onetime leader of Identity Evropa (which later rebranded itself as American Identity Movement after Klineâs departure), a white nationalist group known for its campus recruitment efforts. One of the episodes of âThe Daily Shoahâ featuring Kline aired on Aug. 13, the day after James Alex Fields Jr. murdered Heather Heyer, an antiracist protester, in Charlottesville. The episode was named âGVF-1111â after the license plate of Fieldsâ car. âThe Rebel Yellâ podcast featured Kessler six times, including two shows promoting the event and one show with both Kessler and Kline discussing the aftermath of the event. While Kessler and Kline served as event and group organizers rather than as propagandists, their presence in this dataset as frequent guests is a testament to the close relationship between podcasting and on-the-ground actions.
Table 2, Cast members with most appearances on different podcasts
Cast Member | Show Count | Show List |
---|---|---|
Mike Peinovich (as âMike Enochâ) | 9 | Fash the Nation, GoyTalk, Killstream, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, Strike and Mike, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
Richard Spencer | 9 | Fash the Nation, GoyTalk, Killstream, McSpencer Group, Rebel Yell, Strike and Mike, The Daily Shoah, The Political Cesspool, Third Rail |
Joseph Jordan (as âEric Strikerâ) | 9 | Fash the Nation, Full Haus, GoyTalk, Killstream, Mysterium Fasces, Nordic Frontier, Strike and Mike, The Daily Shoah, White Rabbit Radio |
James Kreider (as âJayoh de la Reyâ) | 8 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Full Haus, Good Morning Weimerica, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
John Ramondetta (as âJohnny Monoxideâ) | 8 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Full Haus, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
DarkEnlightenment | 8 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Good Morning Weimerica, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Cocktail Hour, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
Bret Lynn (as âMusonius Rufusâ) | 8 | Good Morning Weimerica, Helicopter Mom, Mysterium Fasces, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Cocktail Hour, The Daily Shoah, White Rabbit Radio |
Borzoi Boskovic | 8 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Full Haus, Helicopter Mom, Paranormies Present, The Cocktail Hour, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
Alex McNabb | 6 | Full Haus, GoyTalk, Killstream, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
Christopher Cantwell | 6 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, GoyTalk, Nordic Frontier, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah |
James Allsup | 6 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Killstream, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
Jason Kessler | 6 | Exodus Americanus, Fash the Nation, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, The Political Cesspool, White Rabbit Radio |
Augustus Sol Invictus | 6 | GoyTalk, McSpencer Group, Nordic Frontier, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, The Political Cesspool |
Elliott Kline (as âEli Mosleyâ) | 5 | Exodus Americanus, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
D'Marcus Liebowitz | 5 | Exodus Americanus, Strike and Mike, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
Robert Ray (as âAzzmadorâ) | 5 | Fash the Nation, Paranormies Present, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail, White Rabbit Radio |
Larry Ridgeway | 5 | Fash the Nation, Full Haus, Paranormies Present, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
Cathy Prince (as âCathedral Princessâ) | 5 | Fash the Nation, Helicopter Mom, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
Matthew Heimbach | 5 | Mysterium Fasces, Nordic Frontier, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah |
Eric Field (as âMenckenâs Ghostâ) | 5 | Good Morning Weimerica, Mysterium Fasces, Paranormies Present, Rebel Yell, The Daily Shoah |
Roscoe Jones | 5 | Exodus Americanus, Full Haus, Paranormies Present, The Daily Shoah, Third Rail |
Jason KĂśhne | 5 | Full Haus, Nordic Frontier, The Daily Shoah, The Political Cesspool, White Rabbit Radio |
Show descriptions
The °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą chose to examine 18 shows that are varied in presentation and style. Despite these surface-level differences, all are modeled after âhot talkâ or âshock jockâ talk shows. These feature a rotating cast of hosts and guests, as opposed to the single-speaker format typified by other right-wing media, such as conservative radio broadcaster the late Rush Limbaughâs show.
In addition, owing to the small size and insular nature of the community of far-right extremists, hosts often appear on each otherâs podcasts. Popular guests are occasionally requested to return as guests or even as temporary hosts. The podcasts also sometimes affiliated with cross-promotional ânetworksâ that promote related shows through shared discussion boards, centralized funding mechanisms and the like.
ĚýThe Right Stuff network
âThe Daily Shoahâ (TDS) began in 2014 with two hosts: former tech sector worker Mike Peinovich, who uses the alias âMike Enoch,â and , who goes by âSven,â âSeventh Sonâ and several other aliases. TDS is the main flagship show for The Right Stuff network. (You can read more about âThe Daily Shoahâ in Part 3 of this report: The Rise and Fall of âThe Daily Shoah.â)
Another one of TRSâs most well-known shows, âFash the Nation,â began in 2015 as a racist and antisemitic answer to the mainstream Sunday morning television talk shows, such as âFace the Nation.â âFash the Nationâsâ original hosts used the aliases âJazzhands McFeelsâ and âMarcus Halberstram,â but it has changed hands at times over the years, though new hosts have also tended to come in pairs. The content of the show includes commentary on current news events and guest appearances. The show is part of The Right Stuffâs network, although it also maintains its own website.
âThe Paranormies Presentâ joined TRSâs network in mid-2016. It focuses on racist conspiracies and paranormal activity. The antisemitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people control the world and that the United States is operating under a so-called (ZOG) are some of the many racist and antisemitic falsehoods advanced in the show by its host John Ramondetta, who goes by the moniker âJohnny Monoxide.â
ĚýâExodus Americanusâ likely began in early 2016, but the first episode °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą could locate for this dataset is numbered 36 and was aired in October 2016. The hosts of the show use the aliases âRoscoe Jonesâ and âWalrus Aurelius,â and there have been several co-hosts through the years. âExodus Americanusâ refers to itself as âThe Great American Houseboat.â Like âFash the Nation,â âExodus Americanusâ maintains its own website where it hosts recordings of other shows.
âThird Railâ premiered in spring of 2017 with an episode titled âFlight 1488.â The number 14 refers to the racist creed called âThe 14 Words,â and 88 is an alphanumeric reference to âHeil Hitler." Like many of the podcasts on this list, âThird Railâ has had a rotating cast over the years, but its core hosts are former journalist Norman âTreyâ Garrison as âSpectreâ and âBorzoi Boskovic.â
Finally, there is âStrike and Mike,â which features Joseph Jordan as âEric Strikerâ and Mike Peinovich. The show introduced itself as âthe biggest brained content on the alt-rightâ at its launch in December 2017. Regardless of billing, the show is blatantly racist, misogynist, and antisemitic, with episode titles such as âJazzy Jews!â, âTheory of Semitivityâ and âKaplan America, C-ville Whore,â referring to Roberta Kaplan, lead plaintiffâs attorney in the lawsuit against the alleged conspirators who planned the âUnite the Rightâ rally.
Shows on the TRS network share a common website where listeners can listen to old episodes, comment on the episodes, join a discussion forum and pay for premium content through monthly donations.
Identity Dixie
The Identity Dixie network features mostly neo-Confederate programming. It began as an offshoot of a TRS forum group called âTRS Confederates,â and is smaller and newer than TRS itself. Identity Dixieâs flagship show is âRebel Yell,â hosted by Bret Lynn (under the alias âMusonius Rufusâ). The show also features a rotating cast of co-hosts including Eric Field (under the alias âMenckenâs Ghostâ), âRyan McMahonâ and Russell Barry (under the alias âFulwar Skipwithâ). âRebel Yellâ premiered in January 2016.
âHelicopter Momâ was a short-lived podcast that ran on the Identity Dixie network in 2017 and 2018. It claimed to focus on âwomenâs issues.â Most episodes of âHelicopter Momâ were hosted by a woman using the alias âJulia Evola,â a play on the Italian fascist theorist and writer Julius Evola, along with her co-hosts âRachel,â âEvelynâ and âKelly U Gahâ (a play on the fascist interpretation of the Hindu âKaliyugaâ or âDark Ageâ). The show promoted a . Each episode included a recipe segment, a Bible segment and advice on child-rearing and homesteading. While âHelicopter Momâ is a term typically applied to overprotective mothers, here it appears to refer to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochetâs infamous death flights, in which dissenters were dropped to their deaths from helicopters. The use of the term by the far right, including groups such as the Proud Boys, has become synonymous with using violence against people who are politically liberal or left-leaning. âHelicopter Momâ was discontinued in December 2018.
âGood Morning Weimericaâ is another show that airs sporadically on the Identity Dixie network. However, its hosts Tyler Thompson and Patrick Bishop are known for taking frequent, long hiatuses. As a result, they have produced only 54 episodes since the 2017 launch.
Shows affiliated with the Identity Dixie network share a common website featuring download links and links to some social media channels, but they do not appear to share a funding mechanism or have any publicly available discussion boards.
Independent shows
The remaining shows in the data set are either independent or part of much smaller networks.
White nationalist James Edwards launched âThe Political Cesspoolâ in 2004, and it is the longest-running show in this dataset. Though Edwards is the showâs main host, it has had a large contingent of cohosts and regular guests since its inception. âThe Political Cesspoolâ is unique in that it airs on a few terrestrial radio stations in addition to being broadcast on the internet, and the hosts occasionally take live telephone calls from listeners. Still, the showâs format is like others in that it features racist and antisemitic commentary by hosts and guests as well as recurring segments.
âMysterium Fascesâ was a short-lived podcast that ran from 2016 to 2017. Billed as a âChristian Traditionalist podcast,â its pseudonymous host âFlorian Geyerâ advocated a blend of esoteric and orthodox religions with fascism. The final regular episode aired in June 2018, and one last episode was released in August 2019.
âNordic Frontierâ is the English-language outreach podcast of the Swedish neo-Nazi political party the Nordic Resistance Movement, which has produced the show since January 2017. (The Finnish government banned Nordic Resistance Movement in 2017, a few weeks after members of the groupâs branch in Sweden were sentenced to prison for three bombings in , including one targeting a refugee center. Its members have perpetrated a variety of attacks on activists and others in the countries where NRM is active.) âNordic Frontierâ is the only international podcast in this report. It has three regular hosts: Andreas Johansson, Johan Svensson and Michael Hovila, who each represent Sweden, Norway and Finland. Ěý
âWhite Rabbit Radioâ has gone through several iterations as a show. It began on , then was sporadically distributed , and finally in 2017 it took shape as a regularly occurring podcast initially called âThis Week in White Genocide.â That title was dropped after nine episodes, and the show is now called âWhite Rabbit Radio.â Tim Murdock, the showâs host who uses the alias âHorus the Avenger,â has claimed the title is a nod to Lewis Carrollâs âAliceâs Adventures in Wonderland.â Murdock has also stated that he believes the white rabbit represents peoples of European descent and their genetic perfection. There is also an associated show called âEnd-Game Exoticaâ that began in 2011 and requires a paid subscription. In February 2019, Murdock began to distribute âWhite Rabbit Radioâ as a livestreamed video series. These video episodes are archived on Bitchute, a YouTube clone that has become a haven for white supremacist content. Murdock has also streamed the show on video-streaming platforms such as DLive.
âGoyTalkâ was started as a weekly video podcast streamed on YouTube by a host using the alias âDino Spumoni,â with co-hosts âPaddocksperg,â âPeezyâ and âArnel Schwarzen***aâ (asterisks added). The show ran from May 2018 through December 2019. Many episodes featured special guests. Titles like âZOG bless America,â âHoes Mad,â and a seven-part âBlacked History Monthâ series indicate the showâs antisemitic, misogynist and racist content.
âKillstream,â hosted by and a long list of co-hosts and special guests, bills itself as a âfree speechâ comedy show. The show broadcasts up to five nights per week. The show formerly streamed on Youtube, but was banned after news media revealed that the show was by way of Youtube's âSuperChatsâ feature. The show then moved to video livestreaming service DLive, where Ralph continued to earn considerable donations from fans until he was temporarily banned following the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
âThe Cocktail Hourâ is an audio-only podcast hosted by pseudonymous âJohn Q. Publiusâ since fall 2018. The show has no co-hosts as of this writing but does feature appearances by various new and returning guests who offer commentary on episodes with titles such as âThe Delusions of Multi-Culturalismâ and âInfighting and Accelerationism.â Accelerationism refers to a strand of white supremacist ideology that promotes terrorism as a means for ushering in the collapse of modern society and replacing it with a white ethnostate. âThe Cocktail Hourâ is currently available on numerous podcast syndication services.
âMcSpencer Groupâ is a streaming video series hosted by Richard B. Spencer of the National Policy Institute. The show originally aired on YouTube beginning in March 2019, but it has since been forced off the platform. Spencer has continued to stream on lbry.tv and Entropy, two âalt-techâ streaming services. You can read more about Richard Spencer in Part 2 of this series: âRichard Spencerâs Origins in the Podcast Network.â
Finally, âFull Hausâ advertises itself as a show âfor white fathers, aspiring ones, and the whole biofam.â Its main host is Matthew Q. Gebert, using the alias âCoach Finstock,â who °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ąâs publishing arm, Hatewatch, revealed to be a U.S. State Department employee. Co-hosts include Michael McKevitt, using the alias âPotato Smasher,â and a man going by âSam.â
The importance of podcasts in the extreme right
The extreme right has depended on its own alternative media networks to promote events, propagate new ideas and network both within and across ideologies. (Indeed, as Part 4 of this series explores, the far right has a long history of using audio and visual technology to broadcast its message of hate, both in the United States and beyond.) Even though far-right extremist leaders welcomed some of the mainstream pressâ attention to their movement in the early Trump era, insofar as it drew the movement into the limelight, these networks have persisted.
âHaving a media platform that is independent of the mainstream is important,â âJazzhand McFeels,â the pseudonymous host of the TRS-hosted âFash the Nationâ podcast, said on a September 2016 episode of the white nationalist show Radio 3Fourteen, hosted by Red Ice TV.
Podcasts have been exploited by far-right extremists in three distinct ways. They represent an important vehicle for radicalization to extremism and recruitment into extremist groups. Podcasts are also a bridge from online to on-the-ground organizing, specifically in the context of the deadly 2017 âUnite the Rightâ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Finally, extremists use podcasts to build contacts abroad and introduce their movements to leaders in other countries.
Podcasts as a recruitment tool
In trying to understand the role of the internet and social media in radicalization to extremism, journalists and academics have explored the existence of a ârabbit holeâ effect â particularly in consuming video content on YouTube. Here, viewers who start out watching mainstream content are recommended increasingly extreme content. Academic Becca Lewis that its recommendation algorithm worked hand-in-glove with what she dubbed an âalternative influence network.â While members of this network may have adhered to a range of political ideologies, they nevertheless promoted each otherâs work by making guest appearances on one anotherâs shows. These appearances, Lewis explained, helped âinfluencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.â
Because the podcasters in °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ąâs report have been deeply embedded in the white power movement for years, many of their listeners have already gone down this ârabbit holeâ of radicalization. However, forum posts viewed and analyzed by the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą referencing some of the podcasts in this report within the context of usersâ own self-described radicalization narratives reveal that these shows help guide extremists as they move throughout the movement.
The °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą examined radicalization narratives from two online communities. The first, Iron March, was a staunchly neo-Nazi forum associated with terroristic white power groups such as the Atomwaffen Division that was active from 2011 to late 2017. Its moderators and members prided themselves on the rigor of their fascist beliefs. As Hatewatch reported in 2019, the rigid, fascistic worldview of Iron March, epitomized by its pseudonymous cofounder, âAlexander Slavros,â has helped spawn a series of murders and terror attacks, as well as a slew of plots and attempted attacks. The second, TRSâs 504um, now known as Bang, is an online white nationalist community populated largely by fans and paying subscribers of the TRS podcasting network.
Both communities constituted two distinct poles within the white power movement, with Iron March representing its violent, terroristic ambitions and 504um typifying its efforts to build a white ethnostate through the existing political system. For a time, some users retained membership at both sites, while members of each siteâs core leadership engaged in dialogue on their respective podcasts and occasionally republished one anotherâs work. However, after members of 8chan, a far-right image board popular with white supremacists and far-right conspiracy theorists, outed TRS leader Peinovich as married to a Jewish woman, the two communities fractured. âSlavrosâ and those groups, such as the Atomwaffen Division, that carried on the forumâs legacy of violence long after it disappeared from the web in fall 2017, expressed contempt for TRS and other factions of the alt-right. For âSlavros,â the alt-right represented âappeasementâ to the current political order, as he argued in the September 2017 text âZero Tolerance.â
On TRS, the radicalization narratives examined in this report were derived from a series of threads â previously detailed in a 2018 °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą publication â on 504um in March 2018, where 74 users explained what drew them to the white power movement. While TRS usersâ radicalization narratives hinted at two common pathways to a white nationalist worldview â either through racist and misogynistic trolling culture on such sites as 4chan, or through exposure to more highbrow, pseudo-academic racism â 63% of users named podcasters and livestreamers as their most important influences. Users also explained that podcasts, including ones in the dataset behind this report, were their mechanism of choice for recruiting and radicalizing others â a process extremists often refer to as âredpilling.â
âI have introduced some friends to [âThe Political Cesspoolâ] ⌠because it has great discussions and topics that are pro White and Pro Christian that many rightwingers can accept,â the user âhandsomejackâ wrote on 504um on March 28, 2018. Later in the same thread, a user with the handle âDinoConâ recommended Red Ice for women entering the movement, in that they offered âLOTS of content explicitly for ladies.â The two Red Ice hosts were also frequent guests on the other podcasts in this study, appearing on 19 different episodes of âThe Political Cesspool,â âWhite Rabbit Radio,â âKillstreamâ and âFash the Nation.â
For some users, TRS podcasts provided a source of entertainment that opened them up to a new worldview of hate. For others, the TRS network of podcasts was just a waystation on the path to more radical content, such as that found on Iron March. Some Iron March users claimed to have quit TRS after becoming frustrated with Peinovich and others.
âI found TRSâs arguments against so called âpurity spiralingâ to be pathetic,â user âHeliosâ wrote in an Iron March introductory post, dated Feb. 19, 2017. In it, he referenced infighting between the two communities, spurred in part by 8chanâs outing of Peinovich as married to a Jewish woman. In this context, the term âpurity spiralingâ appears to refer to the userâs frustrations with Peinovichâs critiques of Iron March, as well as TRS forum moderatorsâ efforts to weed out users on their platform who were also associated with âSlavrosââ forum. The user continued, noting: âI had also come to find the IM contributors to TRS to be the most interesting, so when they were banned, I began to drift away from TRS.â
One stepping stone from the world of more politically minded white nationalism to Iron Marchâs hardline fascist ethos, according to Iron March users, was âMysterium Fasces,â a podcast hosted by the pseudonymous âFlorian Geyer.â Throughout late 2016 and well into 2017, several users referenced âMysterium Fascesâ in their introductory posts on Iron March as a source of inspiration for their worldview. The show had its own overlap with TRS as well, in that several episodes had featured TRS affiliate âStrike and Mikeâ co-host Joseph Jordan, under the name âEric Striker.â
As early as December 2016, a few months after the first episode of âMysterium Fascesâ debuted, Iron March user âEristopoleseâ credited the show with guiding them to the forum.
âIâd like to thank Florian Geyer for his podcast Mysterium Fasces which is the reason why Iâm a full-blown fascist,â âEristopoleseâ wrote on Dec. 14, 2016.
Users described âMysterium Fascesâ as âeye-openingâ and âinstrumentalâ to their journey. They claimed the show revealed a different side of the fascist movement, exposing them to religion or more rigorous fascist beliefs. âI was red-pilled mainly through Twitter and the Alt-Right as a whole, and soon started going deeper, e.g., ⌠listening to the Mysterium Fasces podcast,â âFashySpaniardâ wrote on April 4, 2017. Another user, under the name âJohn Q. Public,â wrote on May 10, 2017, that âMysterium Fascesâ â which had long used Eastern Christian chanting as its opening theme â had inspired them to attend church.
Podcasts and on-the-ground organizing
Extremists also used the podcasts referenced in this report to build in-person communities and mobilize their base to attend events. Podcaster Robert Warren Ray, otherwise known as âAzzmador,â assisted Daily Stormer editor Andrew Anglin in launching a nationwide series of meetup groups, known as Stormer Book Clubs. (At times, as the Daily Stormerâs âman on the ground.â) The TRS network had its own version of Stormer Book Clubs, known as âpool parties,â which provided an outlet for fans of the network to meet up offline. For planning mass events, these podcast networks and the communities played a formidable role.
Nowhere is this more evident than the case of the deadly August 2017 âUnite the Rightâ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here, podcasting networks were not only crucial in terms of promoting organizing efforts, garnering support from around the movement and attracting attendees, they also provided platforms for organizers to shape the narrative around âUnite the Rightâ in a way that was favorable to the movement after the fact. Indeed, the fact that nearly half of the 22 top cast members identified by °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą (see Table 1) were at one point , a civil lawsuit against âUnite the Rightâ organizers filed in October 2017, is testament to the intimate relationship between podcasting as a medium and the event itself.
°Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ąâs analysis of podcast metadata shows that âRebel Yell,â âThe Political Cesspool,â âThe Daily Shoah,â âThe Third Railâ and âExodus Americanusâ all promoted âUnite the Rightâ or provided opportunities for organizers to spin the narrative after the conclusion of the violent event. âThe Political Cesspool,â for instance, hosted seven Charlottesville-themed shows in the months before and after âUnite the Right.â
âThe Daily Shoahâ provided similar before-and-after coverage as well, although one of its hosts, Peinovich, has been dropped from a civil lawsuit filed in late 2017 targeting organizers of the event. In an episode of the showĚýâ originally aired on Aug. 8, 2017, four days before âUnite the Rightâ â Peinovich discussed his interactions with law enforcement and encouraged listeners who were attending the rally to appear âpeaceful.â Former Identity Evropa head Elliot Kline â one of the defendants in the ongoing civil suit against âUnite the Rightâ organizers â joined the show as a guest, in order to share his own insights in the run-up to the event.
In the immediate aftermath of âUnite the Right,â Peinovich and his cohosts spoke with a variety of organizers and key attendees. Richard Spencer, another event organizer, and Kline guest-starred. Former State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert, who was known in white nationalist circles under his moniker âCoach Finstock,â joined as well, where he recalled his experience of leading the Northern Virginia âpool partyâ to âUnite the Right.â The episode focused largely on shaping the narrative after the event, with Peinovich claiming that the âshitty set upâ that brought âUnite the Rightâ attendees into contact with antifascists was intentional. He promoted a conspiracy theory that soon became popular among some âUnite the Rightâ supporters as well, which claimed that the police had acted in âcollaboration with counter protesters.â As for James Fields Jr., who was seen marching with Vanguard America during âUnite the Rightâ and who would later be convicted of murdering antifascist activist Heather Heyer in a car-ramming attack, Peinovich said, âHe should get a medal.â Ěý
Other shows sought to rework the narrative around âUnite the Rightâ in a hapless effort to relieve the movement of blame for Heyerâs death. On Aug. 13, âFash the Nationâ aired an episode that promised to get at âthe real story of what happened in Charlottesville.â Among the guests were âUnite the Rightâ lead organizer Jason Kessler, who remained unrepentant about his role in the fiasco and went on to plan a sparsely attended âUnite the Right 2â anniversary event in Washington, D.C., the following year.
One September 2017 episode of âMysterium Fascesâ â airing just one month after âUnite the Rightâ â featured three prominent propagandists and organizers speaking candidly about their participation at the event. Within the first five minutes of the episode, Traditionalist Worker Partyâs Matthew Parrott revealed to co-host Gabriel Sohier Chaput (âZeigerâ) and TRSâs Joseph Jordan (âEric Strikerâ) that the narrative put forth by organizers and participants â that the event was about defending the cityâs Confederate statues from being taken down â had crumbled long before âUnite the Rightâ took place. Instead, Parrott explained, âUnite the Rightâ was a âstreet brawl that we ended up winning.â Jordan then took Parrottâs point one step further, adding that the purpose of the event was to âdominate the public squareâ and âhold territory.â
In all these cases, the podcasts served a dual purpose. First, they provided a platform for âUnite the Rightâ organizers to address members of the white power movement directly. They used this audio platform to coordinate with their supporters, both before and after the rally. Second, in the aftermath of âUnite the Right,â hosts and guests used the freedom granted to them by these independent platforms to establish their own narrative around what happened in Charlottesville and respond to criticisms from politicians, law enforcement, the media and the broader public.
Podcasts as a means of building contacts internationally
Finally, podcasts provide a low-cost, low-risk method for exchanging information and networking internationally. Among the podcasts referenced in this report, âNordic Frontierâ is notable for its international case, including several U.S.-based guests such as Matthew Heimbach and Tony Hovater of the now defunct Traditionalist Worker Party. Recently, Jordan and Warren Balogh (âAhabâ) from The Right Stuff network and the National Justice Party have appeared on the show as well.
Other individuals who have appeared on Nordic Frontier but whose groups or shows were not featured in this data set include Jason KĂśhne of the YouTube show âNo White Guilt,â Christopher Cantwell from âRadical Agenda,â Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau, and neo-Nazi and former Proud Boy Augustus Sol Invictus.
Likewise, the hosts of âNordic Frontierâ have appeared on U.S.-based podcasts to discuss their work. For instance, one of the showâs hosts, Andreas Johansson, joined former State Department official Matthew Q. Gebertâs podcast âFull Hausâ in June to talk âwhite pride worldwide.â
Appearances on international podcasts help propagandists, event organizers and movement leaders exchange information about strategies and tactics. Thomas Ryan Rousseau, the Texas-based leader of the white nationalist group Patriot Front, appeared on âNordic Frontierâ in 2019 to discuss his groupâs approach to holding real-world events in the wake of âUnite the Rightâ in the United States. (Rousseau had attended âUnite the Rightâ with the group Vanguard America, of which he was a prominent member. Vanguard America disintegrated in the wake of the event, in part due to its association with Fields.) He and the âNordic Frontierâ host compared âUnite the Rightâ to a September 2017 Nordic Resistance Movement in Gothenburg, Sweden, and lamented how difficult it had become to hold demonstrations in the face of strong antifascist turnout.
Rousseau then introduced Patriot Frontâs strategy for holding âflashâ or unplanned, surprise demonstrations rather than events with permits. Johanssen, the âNordic Frontierâ host, complimented Rousseauâs approach: âI think itâs really nice, this international cooperation. Your organization seems very stable, youâve got good ideas, youâve got purpose. Youâve got good activism. Youâve got a lot of people that are willing to sacrifice time and energy for the cause.â
Johanssen continued, offering a pointed critique of other U.S.-based white supremacist groups, âThere was some sort of alt-right manifesto, some 25-point program, but I mean, you know, it was just loosely ⌠there was no organization, there was no activism. It was just podcasts. [laughs] Thatâs what the alt-right was. Just f***ing podcasts and a web site.â Rousseau agreed, saying, âAbsolutely.â
Another U.S.-based neo-Nazi group that earned Nordic Frontier approval was the Traditionalist Worker Party. TWP co-founder Matthew Heimbach appeared on âNordic Frontierâ less than two weeks after he helped organize âUnite the Right.â He discussed the training and weaponry TWP members and others used to go after antifascists while framing the event as an overall success for the movement.
âWe were able to push them back, push them back, push them back up the streets,â Heimbach said on the podcast. Later, he added: âWhenever they would charge us, we would literally just beat them back.â
Heimbach went on to claim that he and TWP members âfollowed the lawâ because they âknow the state is looking for any excuse to come at [them].â But, he noted, âwhen you have raving communists coming with baseball bats to try and attack you, we would just defeat them.â The âNordic Frontierâ hosts agreed, and the group discussed their negative opinions of law enforcement for the remainder of the segment.
The appeal of audio propaganda to the extreme far right is undeniable. By meticulously cataloging the available data about the audio hate ecosystem, °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ąâs research reveals a network of over 800 hosts and guests who collaborated more than 4000 times to record their hopes and plans for creating a white ethnostate, for promoting racist memes, for harassing racial, ethnic and religious minorities, and so on. The creators of these propaganda vehicles may claim to be simply producing copies of edgy âshock jockâ-style entertainment, but this research shows that the podcast network is instead crucial to individual extremistsâ radicalization narratives, their promotion of violent events and their ability to foster international cooperation between hate groups.
As technology continues to change, the podcast network is also evolving, with many of the shows already adding video-based and game-based elements to their programs. And just as far-right extremists transformed the podcast ecosystem from a low-cost way of producing propaganda and into a moneymaking enterprise, so too °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą has observed the video livestreaming landscape also quickly becoming monetized.
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A note on the methodology
The social network is visualized using the Gephi Force Atlas layout algorithm, which pulls highly-connected nodes closer to one another, and closer to the center of the diagram.
In assembling this data set, the °Ä˛ĘżŞ˝ą prioritized data collection for 18 shows that could help demonstrate variety in show demographics, thematic focus, platform availability and format (radio, podcast, streaming video).
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