Posting Through It

Gillian Branstetter joins to talk about MAGA's hyper-fixation on transgender people and the movement's warpath against them. We discuss right-wing media's use of trans people as scapegoats, false claims that trans people are radical and violent, and more.

https://patreon.com/PostingThroughIt

Links for Gillian:

• Sign up for her newsletter, The Autonomy

• Follow her on Bluesky and X

Transition Music: "I&...

Jared and Mike read from what may end up being the most batshit insane column of 2025–The Daily Caller’s “Enough is enough… I choose VIOLENCE” by “writer, drinker” Geoffrey Ingersoll. The guys pair Ingersoll’s words with the reporting on real life violence from ICE. They also break down Trump’s new fascination with so-called med beds, check in on the growing conspiracy theory that Erika Kirk killed her husband, and struggle to unde...

Christopher Mathias, a longtime friend of the show and a journalist who has covered far-right movements in the United States, joins to talk about the origins of the right-wing panic surrounding antifascist activism in the United States. We also talked about the Trump's executive orders targeting "antifa," a questionable study claiming that left-wing terrorism is rising in the US, and why today's antifascist panic ...

To listen to the full episode, sign up for our Patreon: https://patreon.com/PostingThroughIt

In an absolutely jam-packed premium episode, Jared and Mike lay out the biography of Dave Rubin, the ex-progressive turned reactionary internet performer and tequila salesman. The guys examine the phenomenon of this unsavory flavor of grifter, answer listener questions, and report out what we know about the alleged intimate relationship ...

Mike and Jared discuss how the Trump Administration and its allies have escalated their efforts to censor and criminalize their opponents in wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. They also talk about the ways leaders in business and media – even “anti-hate” nonprofits – have been spooked into self-censorship.

Then, Jared shares an interview he did with Kelly Jensen. She’s a former librarian and writer celebrated for her coverage...

Charlie Kirk went from a heavily mocked “lolcow” with astroturfed appeal to a hardened MAGA loyalist and bonafide celebrity known for publishing heavily edited debate-style clips to social media. On September 10, a man assassinated him, shooting him dead in front of a large crowd at Utah Valley University.

This episode examines both how Kirk died and how he lived. We talk about how Kirk created TPUSA, a key organizing arm of MAGA, h...

To get access to the RSS feed with the full episode, sign up to support our show on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/PostingThroughItMike and Jared covered the far-right's latest obsession: the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian woman in Charlotte, North Carolina. They also discussed "Chorus" and shared an excerpt of their conversation with Luke Savage about the secretive dark money dispenser paying pro-Democrat social media influenc...

Luke Savage, a writer and political analyst who has written for outlets like Jacobin and The New Statesman, joined the show to talk about none other than Matt “Matty” Yglesias, the influential, centrist pundit with a habit of getting things wrong. Matty also changes his opinions–sometimes abruptly. The “leftist hater brigade” also discussed the current state of liberal punditry and why it feels like we’re being forced back i...

To get access to the RSS feed with the full episode, sign up to support our show on Patreon: patreon.com/PostingThroughIt

We covered false rumors that Trump died, California Gov. Gavin Newsom emulating the president's social media stylings, and right-wing media outrage over a proposed change to Cracker Barrel's logo. We also examine a great work of conservative column writing: "Elon Musk, AI porn, and the new Tower of B...

Marisa Kabas, an independent journalist, joined the show to talk about the ongoing military occupation of Washington, DC, and Trump's threats to dispatch troops to other American cities like Chicago and New York City. The trio also discussed the concept of "performative cruelty" as it applies to the Trump Administration's actions surrounding federal layoffs, immigration enforcement, and more.

Links for Marisa:

• H...

Anthony Cumia was once one of radio's most prolific shock-jocks, best known for co-hosting "Opie and Anthony" from 1995 to 2014. In recent years, however, you're more likely to find Cumia mulling around the white nationalist movement.

This episode examines Cumia's life and career, exploring the significant impacts he had on comedy, entertainment, and politics during his professional peak. The program also chronicles the collapse of ...

Hannah Gais is a researcher and journalist who covers far-right extremism. She joins the show to look back on the white nationalist “alt-right” movement, eight years after the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia. While the movement today is a shadow of its former self, the ideology that drove it seems as mainstream as ever. On this episode, we explore an uncomfortable question: did the al...

Mehdi Hasan, a journalist renowned for confronting power directly and dismantling opponents in political debates, joined Posting Through It to reflect on his viral appearance on "Surrounded" — a YouTube debate show that recruited him to argue against 20 "far-right conservatives."

Over nearly two hours, his opponents took turns sitting across from him and espousing racist bigotries, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and anti-democrati...

Anna Merlan is a senior reporter at Mother Jones who covers disinformation, technology, and extremism. She joined us to discuss the Trump Administration's efforts to address the "Epstein Files" controversy and why calming supporters' anger over this issue has proven particularly challenging. We also explored how right-wing media has sought to downplay Ghislaine Maxwell's role in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.

Links for Anna:

* Read her st...

Dave Portnoy has leveraged his digital media empire — Barstool Sports — to amass so much political influence that there’s a term for it: "Barstool Conservatism." This episode retraces the story of Portnoy’s life and career to explain how he made millions combining sports entertainment, reactionary politics, and pizza reviews. It also reflects on Portnoy’s influence within the broader MAGA movement and “manosphere.”

Mike and Jared ar...

Ben Lorber is a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates. He joined the show for a discussion about the pro-Israel groups cheapening the real antisemitism affecting Jewish people by doing things like pick fights against children’s entertainers like Ms. Rachel and Elmo. How do we keep our moral compass steady against those who seek to wield it as a bludgeon to silence critics of the Israeli government?

Links for Ben:

*...

Will Sommer is a senior reporter at The Bulwark, where he authors the newsletter “False Flag.” A longtime chronicler of right-wing media, Will joins the show to discuss the fallout facing the Trump Administration as it backs off its promise to release the “Epstein Files.” After years of promising to unveil new information about one of the highest profile pedophiles in United States history, the administration has reversed course en...

Jeff Tischauser, an academic and researcher covering the “white power” movement, joins the show to talk about Patriot Front: a neofascist group known for it’s theatric flash demonstrations and plentiful propaganda. This episode walks through the early years of Patriot Front, scrutinizes its stated beliefs and objectives, sizes up what threat they actually pose, and examines why MAGA keeps alleging its members are “feds.”

The show wi...