This weeks episode marks not only the 200th episode of PPR but also the start of my show hiatus while I work on my Epstein book. For this momentous occasion I had two good friends of the show join me. In the first hour Robbie Martin and I talked about the return of Qanon as well as the rebranded 8kun image board. We discussed the series of cryptic messages that Q has recently posted and how this has been interpreted by his followers. Robbie and I focused on the cult-like devotion that the Q followers have for their mysterious guru. We also touched on how the Q community has continued to influence the mainstream discourse. Robbie talked about the current Trump look back investigation into the origins of RussiaGate, and how this demonstrates the power of this conspiracy theory. We briefly touch on Tulsi Gabbard’s recent bump in the polls and her continued charade as an anti-war candidate.
In the second hour Ed Opperman joined me to talk about the subject that first brought us together four years ago, the Jeffrey Epstein case. Ed and I talked about the recent Project Veritas “bombshell” report, which features ABC’s Amy Robach on a hot mic talking about the outlet spiking her Epstein report. We talked about how this is not neither new news and how this adds nothing to the discussion of Epstein and his crimes. Ed also gave us an insight into the nasty world of criminal justice. We looked at the criticism of people like Lisa Bloom, as well as the good versus evil mentality that many have when it comes to this case. Ed also talked about the media’s continued campaign of misinformation on Epstein and his conspirators. We discussed the idea that the media is still actively protecting those who knew about Epstein’s crimes, including people like Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Later Ed touched on the coordinated meme-wars on social media related to Epstein. We focused on the #EpsteinCoverup and #EpsteinDidntKillHimself hash tags on Twitter and elsewhere.
This week Robbie Martin joined me for the first installment in our new monthly series which looks at the Qanon conspiracy theory and its impact on society at large. We started by discussing the fact that Q has not posted anything since August 1st (due to the 8chan’s removal). Robbie talked about how the Qanon community has handled the absence of “Q drops.” This has mainly taken the form of Q followers believing that Trump’s tweets are now coded messages from Q. We then looked at how Trump himself has become an active participant in the conspiracy theory. Robbie talked about how unprecedented it is to have a sitting president seeding a conspiracy theory, and simultaneously being viewed as the hero in the narrative. Robbie also discussed the historical roots of the Qanon theory and its connections to PizzaGate. He talked about how Qanon evolved out of PizzaGate and the possible role that people like Erik Prince and Steve Pieczenik have played in promoting it. We finished off by looking at how the Qanon theory has influenced the public’s understanding of the recent scandal involving Trump, Biden, and Ukraine.
In the second hour I open the phone lines. Jon Gold called in and gave us an update on the ongoing 9/11 lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. We talked about Barr’s decision to release the name of the high ranking Saudi official who was overseeing the two San Diego hijackers. Later, I talked about the allegations that Iran was behind the recent attack on two Saudi oil facilities. I laid out my reasons for why the US was so quick to shift blame away from the Houthis. I also explored the idea that Iran was behind the attack.
In this discussion I talked with Pearse Redmond who runs the Porkins Policy Review podcast about the wild and strange claims of QAnon and the world that those who believe in “Q” live in.
Some have gone so far to turn away from family and friends to worship Q in cult like behavior grasping on to conspiracy theories that lead to nowhere.
I linked this to similarities with something called “Operation Vampire Killer 2000” that came out around 1992 and as a document passed around in the militia movement back then. Is Q repacking this document and other theories popular in past decades? Is part of a broader cultural trend of the moment where many people believe in people like Judyth Vary Baker?
Porkins Policy Review 