Chapo Trap House and the rise of the dirtbag left

They're going big on the odds of little changing, seems pretty safe, and if they're wrong then they'll be happy about it. They're so dedicated to this that i don't think they bothered to mention Bernie's new job? I am owning myself now by thinking that could be anything at all?

sometimes i need to remind myself that they rake in $170k a month on patreon so they aren't exactly that worried

Are they cool with Sinophobia? It seems the online left was far more concerned with making fun of liberals worrying about Russia that they missed the boat on Trump’s new cold war with China. Just last week the US and Taiwan exchanged high level diplomats, breaking precedent since the Nixon era.

Bernie’s new job is indeed rad and lord please keep the angel of death from grandpa’s door.

xposts

I’m not on Twitter so can’t really speak to the online left but it did seem like Biden got clowned pretty hard for leaning into Sinophobia back in the spring and his folks kinda dropped that thread? (for now)

Just remember, there is no left

They sounded so reenergized clowning the $2000 $1400 stimulus plan. I think Biden is going to be great for the show. They're back, baby!

Yeah it's absolutely wretched at the moment, barely ever funny at all and you can feel their "Actually, Trump was good" contrarianism master-class take coming.

Dumb people have been predicting this since March of 2016 and yet...

The "online left" has been pretty consistent in opposing ginning up global conflicts, whether that's Iran, North Korea, China or Russia.

Just last week the US and Taiwan exchanged high level diplomats, breaking precedent since the Nixon era.

― Boring United Methodist Church (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 15 January 2021 14:57 (two days ago) link

I'm not sure I understand tbh, diplomatic relations with a democracy should be seen as bad by the left because it offends a repressive authoritarian regime that puts minorities in concentration camps?

Though symbolic It’s an escalating gesture that will probably to more tense encounters in the region and hawk talk and increased military spending

why would this offend the US?

less flippantly why should anyone believe US foreign policy is motivated by the things it publicly claims to be motivated by for once in its entire history

I certainly wouldn’t, but opposing this bc don’t make China mad is an extremely bad look imo

Doing it precisely because it tweaks the Chinese is also bad, though.

As with every whine that ‘the left’ is too easy on Trump and the GOP... what is the online left supposed to do about this?

What is this podcast about, I don’t want to listen to it

dudes with beards doing coke in brooklyn i think

Oh like every podcast

I listen to 6-10 podcasts a week by women from other countries and cities but tbf afaik they are not posting video footage of themselves recording, so could be just putting on voices

tbef I do listen to one by some guys from NYC, but not from Brooklyn, and clean-shaven. also one of the guys grew up in England.

I think it's been mentioned by OL and others but started Know Your Enemy w the David Roth ep. and really enjoying it, the earnestness is a nice antidote to the stuff that's been annoying me on CTR

I can also recommend the This Is Revolution podcast, hosted by Jason Myles(also the frontman from Bitter Lake) and occasionally Pascal Robert from the Black Agenda Report. Its a great show from two funny black Gen X marxists.

Here’s a good recent ep featuring Toure F Reed and Cedric Johnson.

https://bitterlake.podbean.com/e/this-is-revolutionpodcast-ep-96-end-of-the-year-show-w-toure-reed-cedric-johnson-and-pascal-robert/

i like know yr enemy, the dig & bruenigs. but i have never got into the habit of listening to podcasts just dip in every once a while when i remember

The Dig is good. It's definitely on the headier and more serious end of things, virtually nothing like Chapo in that regard. It also takes longer than any other podcast I've ever heard to get to the actual show, and I swear it gets longer and longer over time. Near ten minutes on some eps.

So you have to "dig" before you get to the content ;)

Dumb people have been predicting this since March of 2016 and yet...

Really, go on.

Know Your Enemy eps with Roth on Trump, the 5-4 folks (also v good pod) on how differently conservatives and liberals treat the courts and how badly the liberals have shit the bed, and Dorothy Fortenberry (Handmaid’s Tale) on Dem Party fissures and future were probably my favorite listens of 2020

trillbillies are the sole podcast that remains from my podcast bender of a couple years ago

I liked them on the special about Hillbilly Elegy I should check that out,

Yeah I love them

They did a did an excellent crossover with Citations Needed on Hillbilly Elegy if CTH isn’t really your speed

I love the Trillbillies as people but I find thire show a little too unfocused for me so guest spots are ideal

i recommend the "Year Zero" episodes of Trillbillies, just Tarance and a guest and very focused. a recent one featured mike davis, essential listening

cool thanks will do! wished they had gotten to talk more on the elegy ep.

unfocused

^true. it can be charming but it would be cool if a superfan did some edits of the best bits.

but the important question is if the NYT et al will refocus their 'cletus safaris' from fox-poisoned rust-belters and small business tyrants to hillbilly commies and queer appalachia

The BJG vs. Sam Seder debate on Bad Faith, with Virgil as "moderator" was pretty ummm...

I've tried Bad Faith a few times and always noped out within 10 minutes.

QAA otoh is becoming appointment listening (except for the recent Bad Faith crossover ep lol)

that's disheartening. hadn't tried it yet but i've really enjoyed BJG when she's popped up on Josh & Dave's West Wing Thing (and maybe a couple of other places?)

but agreed on QAA. lotta laughs, lotta genuine pathos.

Yeah it's absolutely wretched at the moment, barely ever funny at all and you can feel their "Actually, Trump was good" contrarianism master-class take coming.

On the Wonder Woman 84 review (#484), when they're discussing the film's plot point that the evil villain's evil plan is to start giving everyone what they wish for, Amber describes it as the "that pie in the sky, Donald Trump / Bernie Sanders kind of policies(? muffled)" (1.02:10) and later when the host says he's not clear what the next stage of villain's plans are, why he wants to go on TV and talk to everyone in the world at once, Matt says "Because he wanted more! Because he doesn't - he just wants more, he doesn't care who he hurts, he just wants more, just like Donald Trump, and just like everyone who isn't disciplined enough by calisthenics on the lesbian isle". (1:02:50)

Other than that, it was good, they're good entertainers, they run well with each other's jokes, they're good media critics! I think it's the first one I've sat through (it turned up in my recommendations on YouTube). I can spot Amber and I think Matt, who was the host (i.e. the one keeping them broadly on track)? Was Felix the one doing the lame "speaking as a liberal"?

I could have done without Amber's thoughts on the Troubles, mind.

Like, I understand that Amber is terrible, and they're mostly just annoyed at liberal Hollywood's fixation on Trump, and since they're talking about a Hollywood creation that means that they're criticising the criticism, but there's not _nothing_ there.

Will is the one who can’t pronounce “rather” correctly to save his life

actually he's the only person in America who pronounces it correctly

had a junior high teacher who said it like that, was also from nyc

The episode they did on the movies of the Trump era was really good, but the ones where they just leap off with no plan to churn out an episode are becoming increasingly tedious and just not funny — and it is a comedy podcast.

I don't have the patience to listen to their podcast regularly,and I kinda wish I did, bc I think Felix is extremely funny. I do worry a little about Matt -- I think he takes his own bullshit a little too seriously. I feel like Felix is more grounded in a "none of this matters bc we are specifically a comedy podcast after all... plus I'd rather be playing video games anyhow" sort of way.

I also get bugged by what seems like their kneejerk contrarian-ish reactions. Like, yeah I get it, the vast majority of politicians/elected officials on any side of the spectrum are terrible, and biden/harris are no exception. But, given that most of us have had maybe a grand total of 48 hrs in the past 4+ yrs to feel positive about ANYTHING, can you maybe just stfu for one day bout how badly the aforementioned ppl suck?

Oh also, matt/felix over time have gotten lazy w their tweets to where they sometimes threaten to read like bad dennis miller parodies, mad lib style.

Mad Libs for Rad Libs Mad at the Libs (again)

Increasingly common take among my leftbook friends is that Biden is actually looking better than Obama so far and that his policy priorities reflect a leftward shift in the democratic base as well as pressure from left groups. Basically the idea being not to focus so much on what's truly in the candidate's heart and remember that political processes are more complex than that, Nixon went to China, LBJ passed the civil rights act, etc.

your friends otm

I agree but i feel like it’s gonna be hard for chapo ppl to give up on all the sunk investment in dem/biden bashing. like if biden passes the PRO act https://brandonmagner.substack.com/p/breaking-down-the-pro-act which would be the biggest pro-labor legislation since NLRA, my guess is they will just not mention it