人兽性交

Of the 882 people in the data set, the vast majority appeared on only one or two different podcast shows. The 人兽性交鈥檚 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 人兽性交 limited its analysis to those figures who appeared on five or more different shows in the dataset. Using this methodology, the 人兽性交 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 鈥淓li Mosley鈥�). Kessler and Kline were among the organizers of the deadly 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 Kline鈥檚 departure), a white nationalist group known for its campus recruitment efforts. One of the episodes of 鈥淭he Daily Shoah鈥� 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 鈥淕VF-1111鈥� after the license plate of Fields鈥� car. 鈥淭he Rebel Yell鈥� 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

Show descriptions

The 人兽性交 chose to examine 18 shows that are varied in presentation and style. Despite these surface-level differences, all are modeled after 鈥渉ot talk鈥� or 鈥渟hock jock鈥� 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 Limbaugh鈥檚 show.

In addition, owing to the small size and insular nature of the community of far-right extremists, hosts often appear on each other鈥檚 podcasts. Popular guests are occasionally requested to return as guests or even as temporary hosts. The podcasts also sometimes affiliated with cross-promotional 鈥渘etworks鈥� that promote related shows through shared discussion boards, centralized funding mechanisms and the like.

听The Right Stuff network

鈥淭he Daily Shoah鈥� (TDS) began in 2014 with two hosts: former tech sector worker Mike Peinovich, who uses the alias 鈥淢ike Enoch,鈥� and , who goes by 鈥淪ven,鈥� 鈥淪eventh Son鈥� and several other aliases. TDS is the main flagship show for The Right Stuff network. (You can read more about 鈥淭he Daily Shoah鈥� in Part 3 of this report: The Rise and Fall of 鈥淭he Daily Shoah.鈥�)

Another one of TRS鈥檚 most well-known shows, 鈥淔ash the Nation,鈥� began in 2015 as a racist and antisemitic answer to the mainstream Sunday morning television talk shows, such as 鈥淔ace the Nation.鈥� 鈥淔ash the Nation鈥檚鈥� original hosts used the aliases 鈥淛azzhands McFeels鈥� and 鈥淢arcus Halberstram,鈥� 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 Stuff鈥檚 network, although it also maintains its own website.

鈥淭he Paranormies Present鈥� joined TRS鈥檚 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 鈥淛ohnny Monoxide.鈥�

听鈥淓xodus Americanus鈥� likely began in early 2016, but the first episode 人兽性交 could locate for this dataset is numbered 36 and was aired in October 2016. The hosts of the show use the aliases 鈥淩oscoe Jones鈥� and 鈥淲alrus Aurelius,鈥� and there have been several co-hosts through the years. 鈥淓xodus Americanus鈥� refers to itself as 鈥淭he Great American Houseboat.鈥� Like 鈥淔ash the Nation,鈥� 鈥淓xodus Americanus鈥� maintains its own website where it hosts recordings of other shows.

鈥淭hird Rail鈥� premiered in spring of 2017 with an episode titled 鈥淔light 1488.鈥� The number 14 refers to the racist creed called 鈥淭he 14 Words,鈥� and 88 is an alphanumeric reference to 鈥淗eil Hitler." Like many of the podcasts on this list, 鈥淭hird Rail鈥� has had a rotating cast over the years, but its core hosts are former journalist Norman 鈥淭rey鈥� Garrison as 鈥淪pectre鈥� and 鈥淏orzoi Boskovic.鈥�

Finally, there is 鈥淪trike and Mike,鈥� which features Joseph Jordan as 鈥淓ric Striker鈥� and Mike Peinovich. The show introduced itself as 鈥渢he biggest brained content on the alt-right鈥� at its launch in December 2017. Regardless of billing, the show is blatantly racist, misogynist, and antisemitic, with episode titles such as 鈥淛azzy Jews!鈥�, 鈥淭heory of Semitivity鈥� and 鈥淜aplan America, C-ville Whore,鈥� referring to Roberta Kaplan, lead plaintiff鈥檚 attorney in the lawsuit against the alleged conspirators who planned the 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 鈥淭RS Confederates,鈥� and is smaller and newer than TRS itself. Identity Dixie鈥檚 flagship show is 鈥淩ebel Yell,鈥� hosted by Bret Lynn (under the alias 鈥淢usonius Rufus鈥�). The show also features a rotating cast of co-hosts including Eric Field (under the alias 鈥淢encken鈥檚 Ghost鈥�), 鈥淩yan McMahon鈥� and Russell Barry (under the alias 鈥淔ulwar Skipwith鈥�). 鈥淩ebel Yell鈥� premiered in January 2016.

鈥淗elicopter Mom鈥� was a short-lived podcast that ran on the Identity Dixie network in 2017 and 2018. It claimed to focus on 鈥渨omen鈥檚 issues.鈥� Most episodes of 鈥淗elicopter Mom鈥� were hosted by a woman using the alias 鈥淛ulia Evola,鈥� a play on the Italian fascist theorist and writer Julius Evola, along with her co-hosts 鈥淩achel,鈥� 鈥淓velyn鈥� and 鈥淜elly U Gah鈥� (a play on the fascist interpretation of the Hindu 鈥淜aliyuga鈥� or 鈥淒ark Age鈥�). The show promoted a . Each episode included a recipe segment, a Bible segment and advice on child-rearing and homesteading. While 鈥淗elicopter Mom鈥� is a term typically applied to overprotective mothers, here it appears to refer to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet鈥檚 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. 鈥淗elicopter Mom鈥� was discontinued in December 2018.

鈥淕ood Morning Weimerica鈥� 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 鈥淭he Political Cesspool鈥� in 2004, and it is the longest-running show in this dataset. Though Edwards is the show鈥檚 main host, it has had a large contingent of cohosts and regular guests since its inception. 鈥淭he Political Cesspool鈥� 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 show鈥檚 format is like others in that it features racist and antisemitic commentary by hosts and guests as well as recurring segments.

鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� was a short-lived podcast that ran from 2016 to 2017. Billed as a 鈥淐hristian Traditionalist podcast,鈥� its pseudonymous host 鈥淔lorian Geyer鈥� 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.

鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� 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 group鈥檚 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.) 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� 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. 听

鈥淲hite Rabbit Radio鈥� 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 鈥淭his Week in White Genocide.鈥� That title was dropped after nine episodes, and the show is now called 鈥淲hite Rabbit Radio.鈥� Tim Murdock, the show鈥檚 host who uses the alias 鈥淗orus the Avenger,鈥� has claimed the title is a nod to Lewis Carroll鈥檚 鈥淎lice鈥檚 Adventures in Wonderland.鈥� 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 鈥淓nd-Game Exotica鈥� that began in 2011 and requires a paid subscription. In February 2019, Murdock began to distribute 鈥淲hite Rabbit Radio鈥� 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.

鈥淕oyTalk鈥� was started as a weekly video podcast streamed on YouTube by a host using the alias 鈥淒ino Spumoni,鈥� with co-hosts 鈥淧addocksperg,鈥� 鈥淧eezy鈥� and 鈥淎rnel Schwarzen***a鈥� (asterisks added). The show ran from May 2018 through December 2019. Many episodes featured special guests. Titles like 鈥淶OG bless America,鈥� 鈥淗oes Mad,鈥� and a seven-part 鈥淏lacked History Month鈥� series indicate the show鈥檚 antisemitic, misogynist and racist content.

鈥淜illstream,鈥� hosted by and a long list of co-hosts and special guests, bills itself as a 鈥渇ree speech鈥� 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 鈥淪uperChats鈥� 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.

鈥淭he Cocktail Hour鈥� is an audio-only podcast hosted by pseudonymous 鈥淛ohn Q. Publius鈥� 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 鈥淭he Delusions of Multi-Culturalism鈥� and 鈥淚nfighting and Accelerationism.鈥� 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. 鈥淭he Cocktail Hour鈥� is currently available on numerous podcast syndication services.

鈥淢cSpencer Group鈥� 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 鈥渁lt-tech鈥� streaming services. You can read more about Richard Spencer in Part 2 of this series: 鈥淩ichard Spencer鈥檚 Origins in the Podcast Network.鈥�

Finally, 鈥淔ull Haus鈥� advertises itself as a show 鈥渇or white fathers, aspiring ones, and the whole biofam.鈥� Its main host is Matthew Q. Gebert, using the alias 鈥淐oach Finstock,鈥� who 人兽性交鈥檚 publishing arm, Hatewatch, revealed to be a U.S. State Department employee. Co-hosts include Michael McKevitt, using the alias 鈥淧otato Smasher,鈥� and a man going by 鈥淪am.鈥�

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 press鈥� attention to their movement in the early Trump era, insofar as it drew the movement into the limelight, these networks have persisted.

鈥淗aving a media platform that is independent of the mainstream is important,鈥� 鈥淛azzhand McFeels,鈥� the pseudonymous host of the TRS-hosted 鈥淔ash the Nation鈥� 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 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 鈥渞abbit hole鈥� effect 鈥� 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 鈥渁lternative influence network.鈥� While members of this network may have adhered to a range of political ideologies, they nevertheless promoted each other鈥檚 work by making guest appearances on one another鈥檚 shows. These appearances, Lewis explained, helped 鈥渋nfluencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.鈥�

Because the podcasters in 人兽性交鈥檚 report have been deeply embedded in the white power movement for years, many of their listeners have already gone down this 鈥渞abbit hole鈥� of radicalization. However, forum posts viewed and analyzed by the 人兽性交 referencing some of the podcasts in this report within the context of users鈥� own self-described radicalization narratives reveal that these shows help guide extremists as they move throughout the movement.

The 人兽性交 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, 鈥淎lexander Slavros,鈥� has helped spawn a series of murders and terror attacks, as well as a slew of plots and attempted attacks. The second, TRS鈥檚 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 site鈥檚 core leadership engaged in dialogue on their respective podcasts and occasionally republished one another鈥檚 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. 鈥淪lavros鈥� and those groups, such as the Atomwaffen Division, that carried on the forum鈥檚 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 鈥淪lavros,鈥� the alt-right represented 鈥渁ppeasement鈥� to the current political order, as he argued in the September 2017 text 鈥淶ero Tolerance.鈥�

On TRS, the radicalization narratives examined in this report were derived from a series of threads 鈥� previously detailed in a 2018 人兽性交 publication 鈥� on 504um in March 2018, where 74 users explained what drew them to the white power movement. While TRS users鈥� radicalization narratives hinted at two common pathways to a white nationalist worldview 鈥� either through racist and misogynistic trolling culture on such sites as 4chan, or through exposure to more highbrow, pseudo-academic racism 鈥� 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 鈥� a process extremists often refer to as 鈥渞edpilling.鈥�

鈥淚 have introduced some friends to [鈥淭he Political Cesspool鈥漖 鈥� because it has great discussions and topics that are pro White and Pro Christian that many rightwingers can accept,鈥� the user 鈥渉andsomejack鈥� wrote on 504um on March 28, 2018. Later in the same thread, a user with the handle 鈥淒inoCon鈥� recommended Red Ice for women entering the movement, in that they offered 鈥淟OTS of content explicitly for ladies.鈥� The two Red Ice hosts were also frequent guests on the other podcasts in this study, appearing on 19 different episodes of 鈥淭he Political Cesspool,鈥� 鈥淲hite Rabbit Radio,鈥� 鈥淜illstream鈥� and 鈥淔ash the Nation.鈥�

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.

鈥淚 found TRS鈥檚 arguments against so called 鈥榩urity spiraling鈥� to be pathetic,鈥� user 鈥淗elios鈥� wrote in an Iron March introductory post, dated Feb. 19, 2017. In it, he referenced infighting between the two communities, spurred in part by 8chan鈥檚 outing of Peinovich as married to a Jewish woman. In this context, the term 鈥減urity spiraling鈥� appears to refer to the user鈥檚 frustrations with Peinovich鈥檚 critiques of Iron March, as well as TRS forum moderators鈥� efforts to weed out users on their platform who were also associated with 鈥淪lavros鈥欌�� forum. The user continued, noting: 鈥淚 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.鈥�

One stepping stone from the world of more politically minded white nationalism to Iron March鈥檚 hardline fascist ethos, according to Iron March users, was 鈥淢ysterium Fasces,鈥� a podcast hosted by the pseudonymous 鈥淔lorian Geyer.鈥� Throughout late 2016 and well into 2017, several users referenced 鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� 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 鈥淪trike and Mike鈥� co-host Joseph Jordan, under the name 鈥淓ric Striker.鈥�

As early as December 2016, a few months after the first episode of 鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� debuted, Iron March user 鈥淓ristopolese鈥� credited the show with guiding them to the forum.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to thank Florian Geyer for his podcast Mysterium Fasces which is the reason why I鈥檓 a full-blown fascist,鈥� 鈥淓ristopolese鈥� wrote on Dec. 14, 2016.

Users described 鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� as 鈥渆ye-opening鈥� and 鈥渋nstrumental鈥� to their journey. They claimed the show revealed a different side of the fascist movement, exposing them to religion or more rigorous fascist beliefs. 鈥淚 was red-pilled mainly through Twitter and the Alt-Right as a whole, and soon started going deeper, e.g., 鈥� listening to the Mysterium Fasces podcast,鈥� 鈥淔ashySpaniard鈥� wrote on April 4, 2017. Another user, under the name 鈥淛ohn Q. Public,鈥� wrote on May 10, 2017, that 鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� 鈥� which had long used Eastern Christian chanting as its opening theme 鈥� 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 鈥淎zzmador,鈥� assisted Daily Stormer editor Andrew Anglin in launching a nationwide series of meetup groups, known as Stormer Book Clubs. (At times, as the Daily Stormer鈥檚 鈥渕an on the ground.鈥�) The TRS network had its own version of Stormer Book Clubs, known as 鈥減ool parties,鈥� 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 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 人兽性交 (see Table 1) were at one point , a civil lawsuit against 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� organizers filed in October 2017, is testament to the intimate relationship between podcasting as a medium and the event itself.

人兽性交鈥檚 analysis of podcast metadata shows that 鈥淩ebel Yell,鈥� 鈥淭he Political Cesspool,鈥� 鈥淭he Daily Shoah,鈥� 鈥淭he Third Rail鈥� and 鈥淓xodus Americanus鈥� all promoted 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� or provided opportunities for organizers to spin the narrative after the conclusion of the violent event. 鈥淭he Political Cesspool,鈥� for instance, hosted seven Charlottesville-themed shows in the months before and after 鈥淯nite the Right.鈥�

鈥淭he Daily Shoah鈥� 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 show听鈥� originally aired on Aug. 8, 2017, four days before 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 鈥� Peinovich discussed his interactions with law enforcement and encouraged listeners who were attending the rally to appear 鈥減eaceful.鈥� Former Identity Evropa head Elliot Kline 鈥� one of the defendants in the ongoing civil suit against 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� organizers 鈥� 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 鈥淯nite the Right,鈥� 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 鈥淐oach Finstock,鈥� joined as well, where he recalled his experience of leading the Northern Virginia 鈥減ool party鈥� to 鈥淯nite the Right.鈥� The episode focused largely on shaping the narrative after the event, with Peinovich claiming that the 鈥渟hitty set up鈥� that brought 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� attendees into contact with antifascists was intentional. He promoted a conspiracy theory that soon became popular among some 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� supporters as well, which claimed that the police had acted in 鈥渃ollaboration with counter protesters.鈥� As for James Fields Jr., who was seen marching with Vanguard America during 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� and who would later be convicted of murdering antifascist activist Heather Heyer in a car-ramming attack, Peinovich said, 鈥淗e should get a medal.鈥� 听

Other shows sought to rework the narrative around 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� in a hapless effort to relieve the movement of blame for Heyer鈥檚 death. On Aug. 13, 鈥淔ash the Nation鈥� aired an episode that promised to get at 鈥渢he real story of what happened in Charlottesville.鈥� Among the guests were 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� lead organizer Jason Kessler, who remained unrepentant about his role in the fiasco and went on to plan a sparsely attended 鈥淯nite the Right 2鈥� anniversary event in Washington, D.C., the following year.

One September 2017 episode of 鈥淢ysterium Fasces鈥� 鈥� airing just one month after 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 鈥� featured three prominent propagandists and organizers speaking candidly about their participation at the event. Within the first five minutes of the episode, Traditionalist Worker Party鈥檚 Matthew Parrott revealed to co-host Gabriel Sohier Chaput (鈥淶eiger鈥�) and TRS鈥檚 Joseph Jordan (鈥淓ric Striker鈥�) that the narrative put forth by organizers and participants 鈥� that the event was about defending the city鈥檚 Confederate statues from being taken down 鈥� had crumbled long before 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� took place. Instead, Parrott explained, 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� was a 鈥渟treet brawl that we ended up winning.鈥� Jordan then took Parrott鈥檚 point one step further, adding that the purpose of the event was to 鈥渄ominate the public square鈥� and 鈥渉old territory.鈥�

In all these cases, the podcasts served a dual purpose. First, they provided a platform for 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 鈥淯nite the Right,鈥� 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, 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� 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 (鈥淎hab鈥�) 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 K枚hne of the YouTube show 鈥淣o White Guilt,鈥� Christopher Cantwell from 鈥淩adical Agenda,鈥� Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau, and neo-Nazi and former Proud Boy Augustus Sol Invictus.

Likewise, the hosts of 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� have appeared on U.S.-based podcasts to discuss their work. For instance, one of the show鈥檚 hosts, Andreas Johansson, joined former State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert鈥檚 podcast 鈥淔ull Haus鈥� in June to talk 鈥渨hite pride worldwide.鈥�

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 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� in 2019 to discuss his group鈥檚 approach to holding real-world events in the wake of 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� in the United States. (Rousseau had attended 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� host compared 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� 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 Front鈥檚 strategy for holding 鈥渇lash鈥� or unplanned, surprise demonstrations rather than events with permits. Johanssen, the 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� host, complimented Rousseau鈥檚 approach: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really nice, this international cooperation. Your organization seems very stable, you鈥檝e got good ideas, you鈥檝e got purpose. You鈥檝e got good activism. You鈥檝e got a lot of people that are willing to sacrifice time and energy for the cause.鈥�

Johanssen continued, offering a pointed critique of other U.S.-based white supremacist groups, 鈥淭here was some sort of alt-right manifesto, some 25-point program, but I mean, you know, it was just loosely 鈥� there was no organization, there was no activism. It was just podcasts. [laughs] That鈥檚 what the alt-right was. Just f***ing podcasts and a web site.鈥� Rousseau agreed, saying, 鈥淎bsolutely.鈥�

Another U.S.-based neo-Nazi group that earned Nordic Frontier approval was the Traditionalist Worker Party. TWP co-founder Matthew Heimbach appeared on 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� less than two weeks after he helped organize 鈥淯nite the Right.鈥� 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.

鈥淲e were able to push them back, push them back, push them back up the streets,鈥� Heimbach said on the podcast. Later, he added: 鈥淲henever they would charge us, we would literally just beat them back.鈥�

Heimbach went on to claim that he and TWP members 鈥渇ollowed the law鈥� because they 鈥渒now the state is looking for any excuse to come at [them].鈥� But, he noted, 鈥渨hen you have raving communists coming with baseball bats to try and attack you, we would just defeat them.鈥� The 鈥淣ordic Frontier鈥� 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, 人兽性交鈥檚 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 鈥渟hock jock鈥�-style entertainment, but this research shows that the podcast network is instead crucial to individual extremists鈥� 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 人兽性交 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 Southern Poverty Law Center 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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