Badlands Media

Epizode

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  The Daily Herold: 9/22/26 - Trump's "I'm Not Running" UN Speech and the Superintelligence Rebrand 22.09.2026 57min

  Jon Herold digs into Trump's UN General Assembly speech, playing multiple clips including his declaration that he "gives no credence" to the midterms when it comes to Iran policy, which Jon reads as Trump deliberately putting distance between himself and a Republican Party he doesn't fully trust. He also breaks down Trump's push to rename "artificial intelligence" to "superintelligence," his comments defending fake news bans as a national security matter, and a new Pentagon Homeland Defense Board Jon connects to his ongoing theory about the military eventually countering a weaponized intelligence community domestically. Other topics include over 200 arrests in a DOJ and DHS voter fraud crackdown, a new US Denmark Greenland military basing agreement, and an unconfirmed Zelensky and CIA Director Ratcliffe airport meeting in Ireland. Sponsor reads and a lively chat session round out a dense, clip heavy Tuesday show.  
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  Badlands Daily: 9/22/26 - 200 Election Fraud Arrests, Michigan Voter Rolls & Trump's Media Ban 22.09.2026 1h 45min

  CannCon and Zak Paine are back from Gart in Vegas and open with a major update on the election fraud crackdown, where more than two hundred arrests and indictments have now been secured and officials say that number could double before the midterms. They dig into Michigan, playing clips from the Macomb County clerk and Sheriff Leaf on why local clerks cannot verify citizenship and what his referral to federal investigators could mean. From there they cover an appeals court siding with the Trump backed Missouri map, Fox contributors pushing back on the President banning several outlets, and newly released photos of the documents kept at Biden's home. The back half touches on Democrats panicking over GOP spending, a surprising Trump comment about New York's mayor, a Haitian assassination money laundering sentence, and Trump pressing Zelensky at the UN.  
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  Baseless Conspiracies Ep. 203: Tall White Aliens and the CIA's Hunt for Hybrid DNA 22.09.2026 1h 22min

  Jon Herold and Zak Paine catch up on some weekend man on the street chaos before easing into a genuinely unnerving story about "tall whites," a supposed group of ethereal, blonde, Scandinavian looking beings who show up unannounced on private property, communicate without moving their mouths, and vanish just as fast. It's the kind of firsthand account that even Jon and Zak, self described skeptics, admit gets under your skin a little. From there the show ties it all together with a wilder claim making the rounds again, that the CIA has quietly been using consumer DNA sites like 23andMe and Ancestry to hunt for markers of alien or hybrid heritage in ordinary people. Expect talk of Stargate era remote viewing programs, some very ethereal looking runway models, and Jon's usual habit of stitching together disjointed stories into one loosely connected narrative. Buckle up for a genuinely strange Monday night.
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  The Daily Herold: 9/21/26 - Vegas Recap, Press Pool Banned, and the White House Media Standoff 21.09.2026 1h 2min

  Jon Herold, fresh off the Badlands Vegas conference, shares highlights from the "man on the street" interviews before diving into the escalating fight between the Trump White House and mainstream media over CNN, MSNBC, and Politico being banned from the press pool. He digs into the resulting lawsuits and Fox News' own internal debate about whether it deserves press access, argues the entire press pool system is compromised regardless of outlet, and replays an old personal video where he publicly requested a one on one interview with Trump. Other topics include a cryptic "something's coming" teaser video from the White House that Jon is skeptical will amount to much given the pattern of past teasers, a Truth Social post from Trump defending AI development against Democrat opposition, and some fun personal stories from the trip. Sponsor reads, upcoming St. Pete Florida conference details, and a lively chat session round out a catch up heavy Monday show.  
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  The No Treason Podcast Ep. 47: Usury Laws and the Surveillance State 21.09.2026 1h 38min

  Jonathan Drake takes listeners on a wild nine phase journey tracing how 1840s usury laws quietly evolved into the modern financial surveillance apparatus, arguing we are already living in something eerily close to a social credit system, just built slower and dressed up as consumer protection. From the Russell Sage Foundation's suspiciously self interested crusade against loan sharks, to the Federal Reserve, income tax, Social Security, and the Patriot Act, Jon connects a two century dot to dot showing how each reform designed to help the working man actually deepened centralized control. Along the way expect a sharp read of Spooner's no treason essay on consent and inherited obligation, a Lord of the Rings tease for next week's episode, and some genuinely funny AI generated beard shaving chaos courtesy of Green Star. Heavy material, but delivered with Jon's usual mix of conviction and dry humor.  
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  Devolution Power Hour Ep. 494: LIVE from GART 13 in Las Vegas 20.09.2026 1h 44min

  A rare crossover: Jon Herold, Chris Paul, and Burning Bright are all together live at Gart for this one, and the energy shows. They kick off with Trump's latest true social posts about a potential third term before getting into a genuinely strange story about AI supposedly nudging the country toward conflict with China, and the very convenient timing of the outlet that broke it getting banned from the White House the same day. The hosts pick apart just how many layers of fakeness might be stacked on top of each other here, joking about "fake intelligence" reporting on itself. Being together in person adds some extra banter and inside jokes to the usual mix, plus a personal clip revisit near the end. It's a lighter, more freewheeling episode than the usual remote setup, but the news still gets covered.
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  Badlands Story Hour Ep. 185: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 18.09.2026 1h 28min

  Chris Paul and Burning Bright revisit this Terry Gilliam adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo classic, and it turns out this one is a genuine dividing line between the two hosts. Expect an honest reckoning with a movie that's aged into something stranger and more uncomfortable than either remembered, plus real talk about psychedelics, why fear is often what actually sends a trip sideways, and a thoughtful detour into whether humans are naturally ordered or chaotic beings. The conversation gets surprisingly reflective on drug culture, personal experience, and where the line sits between genuine insight and just disordering your own mind for the sake of it. There's also some practical Vegas trip chatter woven in given the timing. Stick around for the wrap up and next week's pick, a Shia LaBeouf surveillance state thriller that feels more relevant now than when it came out.  
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  Quite Frankly Ep. 67: Cryptids, Haunted Places & the Dover Demon with Jeff Belanger 17.09.2026 1h 58min

  Frankie Val leans into the damp, mosquito bitten edge of the season with a full cryptid and haunted places special. Before the guest, he wades through the week's grimmer headlines and his running theory that the Internet now incubates characters and legends that start manifesting in real life, from the postpartum murder mom to that Cat in the Hat figure the show keeps tracking. Then the main event: New England Legends host and Ghost Adventures contributor Jeff Belanger, author of "The World's Most Haunted Places." They tour spots from Pennhurst State School to the RMS Queen Mary, the Paris catacombs, and a supposedly haunted Mount Fuji, and dig into why New England works as America's creepy attic. The Dover Demon, complete with pale skin and glowing orange eyes, opens the door. Expect talk of ghost towns, theories on what ghosts actually are, and audience submitted local lore no outsider would know. Raffle night as always.
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  Badlands Media Special Coverage: 9/17/26 - Trump Signs Executive Orders for Hunters and Anglers 17.09.2026 21min

  Trump welcomes hunters, fishers, and outdoorsmen to the newly renovated Rose Garden to sign two executive orders that sound almost too niche to matter, until you hear the numbers. One opens up millions more acres of federal land for hunting and fishing on top of 92 million acres already unlocked, while protecting traditional lead ammunition. The other tosses out a widely mocked 10 mile per hour boating speed limit and kills a push to mandate electric only boats, complete with a genuinely wild tangent about electrocution versus sharks. Bass Pro Shops' Johnny Morris, NRA's Doug Hamlin, NASCAR legend Richard Childress, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum all get their moment, alongside talk of restored statues, duck hunters, red snapper season, and a possible Great American Outdoors Act 2.0 on the horizon. Lighthearted, a little chaotic, and clearly a favorite crowd for Trump to work.  
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  Badlands Book Club: The Creature From Jekyll Island - Chapter 14 Part 2 17.09.2026 46min

  CannCon and Ashe in America finish out Chapter 14 of The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin, picking up with what the book calls the Transfusion Mechanism. This week covers how American taxpayers ended up quietly subsidizing Soviet Russia and its satellites long after Lend Lease officially ended, through below market trade deals, guaranteed loans, and bailouts routed through agencies like the IMF and World Bank. The hosts trace how that same pattern continued into the 1990s, with a long list of major American corporations and their CFR connected executives rushing into former Soviet territory once Yeltsin opened the door. Expect a frustrating but eye opening look at how consistent this playbook has been across decades, plus a quick preview of Chapter 15 coming next week.  
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  Badlands Media Special Coverage: 9/16/26 - Trump Rallies North Carolina for Michael Whatley 17.09.2026 1h 2min

  Trump lands in North Carolina to make one very clear pitch: pretend I'm on the ballot, because Michael Whatley basically is. The rally leans hard into crime, walking through the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zaretska and Governor Roy Cooper's early release of 3,500 inmates, before comparing it to the infamous Willie Horton ad that sank Dukakis decades ago. From there it's a full sweep of economic bragging rights, record stock market highs, a proposed $5,000 "Trump dividend," no tax on tips and Social Security, plus a candid Iran update covering their sunken navy and a Strait of Hormuz blockade. Congressional candidates Laurie Buck and Jennifer Balcomb get their moment too, alongside plenty of Hurricane Helene recovery talk and some classic crowd banter, including a "front row Joes" shoutout. Heavy on crime and border messaging, with the signature mix of policy wins and unscripted riffing throughout.
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  Devolution Power Hour Ep. 493: The Real AI Race, Elon as Weapon 17.09.2026 1h 26min

  Jon Herold and Burning Bright pre record from the road this week and dive straight into a wild theory: that the AI safety story dominating headlines right now is timed suspiciously close to the midterms and might be less about safety and more about election interference. They play a clip of Todd Blanche calling the AI panic a hoax and posts from Trump comparing it to treason. Burning Bright lays out a longer running theory about Elon Musk functioning as a character or weapon in a broader disclosure operation, tracing it back to a 2022 Kash Patel clip about DOD contracts that first got him thinking differently about Musk's companies. There's talk of open source Chinese AI models undercutting the big players, a supposed real AI race happening outside public view, and plenty of Nikola Tesla adjacent theorizing along the way. Dense, speculative, and unmistakably devolution flavored.
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  Space Revolution Ep. 36: Forming a More Perfect Union 17.09.2026 1h 12min

  Kwast and Chris Ponder mark Constitution Day with a deep dive into America's founding document, tracing its full timeline and showing how it stacks up against basically every other legal document in human history, including, in a genuinely fun aside, Claude's own 82 page constitution compared to America's tidy four pages. Chris breaks down his method for structuring any document, the Constitution, the Bible, the Magna Carta, into articles, clauses, sentences, and words, treating language itself like a natural law system that can be anchored and protected from distortion. The conversation moves through eight categories of inquiry designed to help people think critically, touches on privacy as an unresolved third rail issue, and closes with a genuinely moving reflection on duty, freedom, and what it means to be American. Constitutional nerds and truth seekers alike will find plenty here.
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  Badlands Daily: 9/16/26 - Kash Patel's Senate Grilling, Alito's Blistering Dissent & FBI Hiring Flap 16.09.2026 1h 17min

  CannCon and Ashe record a special late night edition ahead of travel to Nevada, opening with the Supreme Court's mail in ballot decision and the blistering Alito and Thomas dissent that raises real questions about who actually gets to set election rules. Ashe is still fired up from a Why We Vote episode recorded moments earlier. The bulk of the show works through a series of Kash Patel clips from his Senate appearance, where he pushes back hard on senators feeding media narratives, defends his record on weaponization, and fields a line of questioning about FBI hiring standards that leaves both hosts genuinely speechless. They also revisit lingering questions about the Thomas Crooks rooftop and what the Bureau still has not explained. Expect candid opinions and a looser late night feel throughout.  
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  DEFCON ZERQ Ep. 061: The AI Doom Psyop and Who Is Behind It 16.09.2026 1h 23min

  Josh Reid flies solo again this week and does not waste any time, diving straight into what he calls a coordinated AI doom narrative playing out across media, tech, and celebrity circles all at once. He walks through a supposed AI hack that may not be what it seemed, explains the concept of regulatory capture and why it matters for the future of open source AI, and connects a handful of recent headlines to a British NGO angle that most people have not been tracking. Expect plenty of pattern recognition, some pointed commentary on who benefits from slowing down American AI development, and a few solo host quirks since the usual co host setup is not quite in place. As always there is community banter, sponsor shoutouts, and Josh doing his best to hold down the fort on his own.  
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  Why We Vote Ep. 188: David Becker's Town Hall & Alito's Mail-In Ballot Dissent 16.09.2026 1h 35min

  No in-studio guest tonight, just CannCon and Ashe in America playing prosecutor as they roll the tape on David Becker's members-only town hall, the one Ashe tried to record and got 49 minutes of silence for her trouble, now recovered from the group's own YouTube. They pick apart his victory-lap framing that the DOJ is a perfect zero for 23 in voter-data cases, his turnout sleight of hand, and a candid admission that even the government's own analysis shows non-citizen voting almost never happens. Along the way they hit the ERIC-to-CEIR data handoff, the identity-theft "holy trinity," and why NGOs and China get the rolls but the administration cannot. Then it's part two: the Supreme Court's mail-in ballot order and a close read of Justice Alito's dissent, including a wrinkle that surprised even them. Plus a 9/11 Pentagon debate, meatball sliders, and guard week chaos.
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  The Shipwreck Show Ep. 72: Voting Apathy, Sydney Sweeney Backlash, and Soulless People 16.09.2026 1h 7min

  Shipwreck is fully checked out on voting this year, and she lays out exactly why, from gas prices to the same recycled promises no matter who wins. She digs into the online energy vampire theory, reacts to the Sydney Sweeney sports betting ad backlash and the double standard she sees in who gets outraged about what, and works through a wild Matrix inspired take on why everyone suddenly needs more data centers. There is a genuinely fascinating detour into a theory that we are living in Satan's little season rather than waiting on end times, plus billionaire bunker skepticism and her ongoing belief that some people simply do not have souls. She closes out on burnout culture, the rise of AI influencers flooding every platform, and her frustration with shrinking reach on X. Chaotic, funny, and unmistakably her.  
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  The Daily Herold: 9/15/26 - Anthropic Founders' Anti-Trump History and the USPS Ballot Ruling Fallout 15.09.2026 1h 7min

  Jon Herold digs into the Supreme Court's decision leaving a lower court block on the USPS mail ballot integrity rule in place for the midterms, reading through Alito's sharp dissent and Kavanaugh's concurrence to argue election officials and courts, not Trump, caused the timing crunch that killed it. He builds a theory connecting the AI industry's sudden safety slowdown push to the midterms, digging up years of anti Trump statements and donations from Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei to question the motives behind the timing. There's also a detailed update on the Joe DiGenova resignation saga, including new court filings suggesting friction with Todd Blanche's DOJ leadership over a John Brennan grand jury subpoena, plus a Trump Truth Social post reacting to the SCOTUS ruling. Sponsor reads, Vegas conference logistics, and a lively chat session round out a dense, pre Gart travel Tuesday show.  
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  Badlands Daily: 9/15/26 - SCOTUS Kills Mail Ballot Order, Brennan Subpoenaed & Flock Stalking Case 15.09.2026 1h 12min

  CannCon and Zak Paine christen the new Tuesday slot with the Supreme Court finally ending the Schrodinger executive order saga, declining to revive the President's mail in ballot requirements with ballots already going out. From there they cover John Brennan getting subpoenaed to testify in a federal conspiracy case, complete with a six year Q delta that lands the same morning, plus James Comer demanding the release of immigration evidence tied to a sitting congresswoman. Jim Jordan stepping back from the Judiciary Committee prompts an honest conversation about accountability that has not materialized. They close with a genuinely chilling Texas case where a police officer used the Flock camera database to track a woman 78 times, and the one admission buried in the reporting that CannCon says everyone should notice. Scheduling updates for Gart week are included up front.
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  Culture of Change Ep. 163: 9/11 Remembered with Jonathan & Deborah Flora 15.09.2026 1h 22min

  Ashe in America brings back Deborah Flora, joined this time by her husband Jonathan Flora, to talk about their newly released 9/11 remembrance film. Deborah serves as executive producer, and Jonathan wrote and directed the project, which Ashe caught at a private screening the night before recording. Rather than retreading conspiracy angles, the film focuses on something Ashe felt strongly about, the humanity, unity, and heroism that emerged in the aftermath of that day, capturing what she calls the "spirit of 9/12." Expect stories about the making of the film, the sheer scale of the interviews and footage behind it, hopes of eventually bringing it into classrooms, and reflections on why remembering the day matters just as much as remembering the tragedy itself. Ashe also shares a personal, emotional memory of her own tied to that morning. A moving, reflective episode ahead of the anniversary.