Isn't the psychological dynamic here emblematic of the left vs. right? One side (generally) views its political opposition as well-meaning but misguided, while the other views their opposition through the lens of good vs. evil (which is really just tribal enmity). The right more or less understands the left (especially given that many of us used to be on the left), while the left doesn't understand the right at all.
I listened to many of the hardcore history podcasts and really liked them; there was little indication of Carlin's political biases as far as I could tell.
Listen to his episode on slavery. It's mostly great, but he also repeats some very stupid progressive talking points and, most embarrassingly, one of the most obviously made up, and totally uncorrobarated stories about Lincoln I've ever heard. Like Facebook grandma "share and retweet" level bad. That and his deranged TDS, made me lose a lot of respect for him, both as a person and podcaster
That’s the episode that kinda threw me over the edge and I stopped listening to him. I still get the new episode updates but, I haven’t turned in to one. Have they gotten any better?
I've only listened to his ones on the vikings and they weren't bad. Like I said, he's still mostly great, it's just he has a weird tendency to randomly push obvious progressive bullshit every now and then
The right generally views the left as well-meaning but misguided? I have never gotten this vibe from the likes of Trump, Tucker, Hannity or Limbaugh. Who are some big names besides Darryl who are reflective of this ethos?
Kind of depends on how you define “left” take Tucker Carlson for example. While he certainly doesn’t look at the liberal elites and big time democrats that way it seems to me that he has an understanding for the “average” left leaning voter who cares about making sure there aren’t kids and elderly left out on the street and who yearn for the days of Clinton or even Obama. The same really is true of Trump, while he definitely attacks certain segments of the left that always seemed targeted I don’t recall him ever making a basket of deplorables type comment directed at the average Democrat voter. In fact I personally know several old blue dog Democrats that he won over because they realized that what he was selling was much closer to the beliefs they held than what Clinton or Biden were selling.
You mention Hannity. I remember a story about Keith Olberman, right around the time he got famous on MSNBC for deranged rants against Republicans. The story included a bit where Olberman and Hannity ran into each other, and Hannity was very friendly to him. (perhaps due to his sports commentary). In other words, Hannity didn't really take him seriously.
As far as pundits and politicians go in general, expect some sharp rhetoric. I was talking about ordinary people. Ordinary conservative types view progressives the way they would view their teenage kid going through a woke stage. Progressives are like the teenage kid, amazed at the evil white supremacy that their parents are complicit with.
This comment captures the soul of the Left vs Right dynamic (at least as it currently stands). There are certainly many exceptions to the rule, but as a general belief set the Left has accepted The State (and by this I mean the combined State/Media/Education complex and the approved members thereof) as the divine authority of right vs wrong, whereas the Right mostly has come to recognize the hazards of the delusion while cautiously accepting its necessity. The bottom line is that having one misguided belief shouldn't negate all others, whether that belief is in politics or any other realm (this is where the Right often overreacts).
There are several studies (I hope with reproducible results...) that show, that rightists generally understand the way leftists think, while this is not true the other way round.
So a rightist could probably emulate a leftist in a discussion but not vice versa.
If you understand someone's motives but find his methods wrong, you probably see him as a misguided individual.
If you don't understand someones's motives and dislike his methods, you probably assume that he's evil.
Unfortunately I believe that this asymmetry is only temporal - lately I'm witnessing more and more rightists seeing leftists as fundamentally evil. Or maybe they just react to being attacked constantly...
This is a very well-articulated description of the dynamic as I see it.
And yes, there are certainly many on the right who frame the left as "evil." If this is increasing, it can be blamed on the significant upsurge during the Trump era of left-leaning establishment actors taking unprecedented steps toward the subjegation and destruction of their political opposition.
But in a more general sense, I would posit that the fundamental dynamic you've outlined above is permanently fixed according to the ideological variables at hand.
People are inherently left-leaning when they are young, and inherently right-leaning when they are older.
This is because the left-right dynamic is in some fundamental sense tied to the role of government and the state. When you're young, you look at the injustices of the world (inequality) and think, "someone's got to fix this!" That can only be the state, in their view, because the state is the only institution big and powerful enough to enforce such a rectification.
Only over time, and through life experience and observation, does one gradually realize that public institutions tend quickly toward corruption due to the incentive factors involved. In short, I argue that there is an extremely far-reaching category of wisdom--that pertaining to our understanding human beings and their various arrangements--that essentially boils down to understanding incentive structures, and that for whatever reason, this understanding cannot be taught, only accrued through experience. Why this is would be an interesting question for someone to answer.
I would say that further exposure to history also skews one towards libertarianism, which most associate with the right nowadays. A knee jerk boomer hates FDR as a communist, but after you see the wider scope you realize Wilson was way worse. Without being a communist.
I'd really like you to discuss your religious views a little bit. IIRC, you've said you're a Christian, but you seem to have some atypical beliefs (?) The spiritual/religious things you have discussed have resonated a lot with me, but I've never heard you say anything explicitly about where you are and what you believe. Thanks.
I'd be interested in hearing more about this too. The episodes on Job I loved, they caused me to want to read the bible from cover to cover and note my own questions or thoughts
I just quit listening to his political podcast once he outed himself as a leftist with TDS. I’ve never stopped listening to his history podcasts because they are great. Especially the further back in history they are. But I don’t think he could do an even-handed series the way you did with Israel. I was living in the Middle East when that came out and everyone I got to listen to it, pro-Palestine Muslims and Zionist westerners, always told me it was the fairest treatment of the issue they had ever seen. If it is recent enough for his feelings to get in the way I don’t think he is equipped to tackle it. Just like any other woman (jk,jk!)
I like Carlin but came to the same conclusion. Anything contemporary from him would be way too biased. It was obvious he was/is suffering from TDS when he quit his Common sense podcast due to being so demoralized from trump winning. Maybe in the same boat as Timothy Snyder for me: good historian but all the smarts somehow go out the window, and emotion takes over when modern topics are brought up
It wasn't demoralization, it was people's reaction to his take on Ashli Babbitt's slaying. He realized calling for the execution of protestors made him seem a little...fascist. Personally that opinion disgusted me, didn't listen to HH until he walked it back...without actually apologizing.
Oh yeah I saw that video. She was kind of a nut job charging that barricade. Then again, I’m guessing Carlin didn’t feel the same way about the BLM/antifa protestors burning down cities and attacking federal buildings. Personally as a law and order guy I say shoot both sides. Probably not a popular opinion since at most it’s usually one side or the other but at least I’m consistent I guess.
I like that you had people "on the ground" tell you that Darryl gave the Israel/Palestine conflict a fair shake from both sides. I say that because I remember thinking that same thing when I listened to it.
That series was how I found Martyr Made. I actually went looking for that topic several years ago once I realized I really didn't know shit about it. "Fear and Loathing..." made me a dedicated listener. Before that, I was pretty much your typical post-9/11 American who thought that the Muslims in the conflict could do no right.
However, after listening to it, I realized that there are no angels in this conflict and generally stay away from conversations or debates on the topic because I, at least, know that I still don't know shit about it.
I remember Daryl saying at the time that both sides thought he was favoring the other side, which is also a sort of back handed compliment that he’s being as impartial as he can be on such a polarizing and contemptuous topic
I've heard you say/write that your politics are to the right of Attila the Hun's - I'm not enough of an internet autist to think that you mean this entirely seriously, but can you elaborate more? Is there an anecdote/backstory for this?
I love HCH but Dan always seemed out of his element on Common Sense or speaking on anything political. Like if Ben Shapiro started a cooking show on Daily Wire. His perspective about looking at politics like an alien would only make sense of he actually was raised outside of America or human civilization. He, and others, would be better off recognizing and owning our biases. Faux neutrality is cringe.
I went to Dan's Twitter out of curiosity and found this gem about Trump:
"Not bragging, but I’m pretty politically savvy (it been my job for several decades). Trump is the biggest political danger this nation has ever faced. Take it or leave it…I don’t care"
So his presupposition is basically "I'm infallible". A dangerous position for anyone to put themselves in, especially with something like politics.
His statement about looking at Earth like an alien would reminds me of the book called Ishmael that's about an immortal gorilla that's existed for eternity and proceeds to give the protagonist life lessons from its place of infinite wisdom. You the reader are supposed to take it all as gospel and ignore the fact that the guy writing on behalf of the gorilla is in fact a mortal human being.
I've enjoyed many hardcore history series and out of my respect for his accomplishments there, I am afraid to check on his thoughts outside of this area. Well, I see that my suspicions are confirmed. That quote is monumentally cringe. There's the obvious conclusion that he was just wrong. We had Trump. Things were, even if you rated the man as unfairly as possible, you'd have to conclude he wasn't a danger. So that really calls into question his "it's been my job for decades" argumentation. Well, he sucks at his job then. I'd prefer to like the guy, but that sentiment can only extend so far, I guess.
Nietzsche did the same thing in Thus Spake Zarathustra...pay no attention to the fact that the wisdom on high was not from a true God, but someone who felt he was (and soon became convinced as he descended into insanity). Unfortunately, humility is a rare commodity in our species. Darryl made a superb point in the Underground Spirit podcast that those in politics and the arts have a strong selection pressure for narcissism. That winds up being a disabling feature as narcissism and humility are mutually exclusive.
We've talked a few times before. I'm one of your more left leaning fans. I also hate groups and teams though (hence why I don't mind wading through the rest of your much more recent fans). I also love Dan, I think like me he always considered himself a centrist (or a Martian as he'd call it) who believed the current system was in dire need of reform. Even if it were burned down by electing someone insane. With trumps victory, Dan was left like a dog who finally caught the car. It sucked, wasn't what he wanted, and in some ways due to his influence I'm sure he felt a small bit of responsibility, which is why he stopped doing his political podcast to reevaluate his views.
I like to think I'm mature enough to expose myself to contrary views and opinions and even admit when I agree with them. If I can't look at you or to a much lesser extent the daily wire crowd and occasionally admit they have a point, I consider myself too entrenched in the "team" most of my beliefs align with. For instance your recent show on mental health was exactly what I've been saying to people since I started working downtown. Some of these people need to be institutionalized. If you gave them a house they'd rip the copper out of the walls and burn it down. I'm pretty pro trans but it gets messy when you're talking about lower age limits and prisons, women's shelters, etc and I often get into hot water expressing that.
If I have a question for you today other than checking in and saying hi, I suppose it would be: how do you feel about how your fan base has changed? Looking at the comments around me it seems I'm pretty alone here these days. Do you worry that you're fostering an environment that's not only supporting you, bit distilling your own views into something even more extreme and without the actual nuance that you bring to the table? Do you think content creators have any responsibility for the environment they create? I'm really not sure they do personally. A mob is a mob. Maybe it would help for you to push back a bit and remind people that the world isn't so black and white, neither are you, and neither should we be.
Ps. There was a girl in my middle school named porche, she was very low income and bullied relentlessly. I wanted to be the same kind of guy you wanted to be so I actually asked her to a dance, we had a great time but I eventually caved to the bullying I became exposed to and distanced myself from her. Which in a way I think made me one of the worst ones. Like giving someone hope and ripping it away. I think about that all the time. I hope she's well
Everyone was like that in junior high. I think we were all reading Daryl’s story and realizing we did that too. Not being the outright bullies, but complicit in it because we didn’t stand up for the underdog. Who does that at age 11-13? Very very few. I can’t think of any specific instances personally, but I was a shrewd kid, smaller than most and knew to keep my head down lest I become the target. I always say junior high is the closest I’ll ever get to prison life. Don’t miss it for sure.
Hey Devon, I like your comments, and would like to point out that while I cannot speak for everyone, it seems the best route away from polarization and the echo chamber syndrome is engaging deeply and honestly with topics. I think the series on Israel and Palestine is a perfect example, as are many of DC's other deep dives. I am convinced that all viewpoints have information worth knowing, but the problem at present seems to be that when the extremes in the group hijack the group, the truth incumbent within the group is overwhelmed and shouted down by the extremists. Take the trans movement, for example. I am a surgeon, and I understand the gray zone in gender. The first story I ever heard in med school was the story of the Vic the sailor who was a patient of my professors who presented with blood in his urine and occasional abdominal pain. His genitalia was always somewhat abnormal, but nothing extreme. He and his wife had been trying unsuccessfully for years to conceive. He underwent surgery, and here was what they removed...and then bam...a photo of a uterus and ovaries. The patient had a condition called C-21 hydroxylase deficiency, which leads to inability to convert testosterone to feminine hormones, which phenotypically masculinizes a genetic female. At that moment, my mind recognized that XX and XY is not the whole story. As a prior physicist, I was able to fold that idea into a humility towards reality and recognize that if this could happen, what the hell could be going on psychologically?
However, instead of taking a cautious, individualized approach, the movement is at the point now where speech is being demonized in the guise of "tolerance and understanding." That didn't work in other totalitarian regimes despite them having ample defenses for their behavior as well. And the extreme and intolerable views currently being demanded by the extreme left are overwhelming what is at the core a very important point. It is as though the extremists are turning themselves into straw men and daring others to attack them.
The reality is that I love to engage viewpoints from all areas of the spectrum. In addition to DC, Jocko, and Shawn Ryan, I am a big fan of Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, Sam Harris, etc. So while there may be truth to where the bell curve in this particular group lands on the political spectrum, I would say at least as far as I am concerned that the more people we have of disparate viewpoints who are well-read, willing to talk deeply, and intelligent, the more I will enjoy this place and the better off we all will be.
Incidentally, I would classify Bret and Heather as poster children for what I am talking about. I do not think anyone should consider them anything but liberal, but they have been attacked both metophorically and literally by those even farther left on the spectrum. And I would challenge anyone to sit with the two of them and not be astounded by their intelligence and insight.
Devon, I'm glad to hear there are lefties here as well. I don't find Darryl's work to be very political, but when he does express opinions they tend to be right wing. Good on you for coming here and benefitting from his knowledge and talent. I can see that the replies to your comment have all been respectful, which is why I am a little taken aback by your question.
When Tucker Carlson created his independent network, he released a preview video where he said the old distinctions of left/right, repub/dem, black/white, etc are not just obsolete, but were emphasized with malicious intent. He says really the distinction is people who lie and people who tell the truth. He is mostly repudiating the corporate media he was raised in, but also institutions of government, academia, and big business. I humbly agree with this assertion.
Since I really started to delve into the independent media ecosystem, I think this observation becomes evident. There are a few podcasts I listen to every time I see they are going on. Jimmy Dore, and Glenn Greenwald for instance are two left wing people who I consume every piece of content they produce. I find that there are way more things I have in common with them than disagree with, even though I consider myself to be quite right wing. The reason? They are honest and transparent. I think Darryl falls into this category as well, which is why I like his work.
I'd say, don't sweat your political views, or that of others you encounter here. I don't think people are really thinking on that axis here, or in other independent spaces. It might not seem that way with the substantial amount of Biden bashing, but I don't think this comes from a place of politics necessarily, because I've interacted with a lot of these people and some are explicitly left wing, and others are respectful to those views. It's that Biden represented the "liars" faction. The media. The government. Big business. He's their guy. As far as politics go, RFK is more left wing than Biden, but you don't see any vitriol directed at him. It's because he is on the side of the people who are telling the truth, which is the only meaningful distinction at this point.
Yes, the system has become so corrupt the hardest of left and right wing people are willing to put aside their differences in order to reform it. I doubt you will find anyone who shuns or disrespects your views here. The fact that you are here does indicate you possess some level of intellectual independence, and that is appreciated. I'm hardly the gate keeper of the comment section, but I think you'll find if you interact with the community here, it is hardly a mob, and that we probably have quite a lot of opinion overlap and shared imperatives. Anyway, thanks for being here and contributing.
I live in red area in a purple state, and for the most part it's great. The one thing I consistently disagree with the people I live around is the way North American natives and Palestinians got a raw deal. They assume their plights are being exaggerated, because that's what the left does with oppressed people. Far left ideology taints valid liberal points.
Respectfully, thats the problem with people who lean left and leftists in general. They would rather have someone in a position of authority (cooper) tell people how they should think (push back…) than just say something and let people decide for themselves. Its not his job to tell people how their political views should be. Im far to the right of cooper but as previous commenter said i like people who tell the truth. Maybe if their are more of us on the so called far right here, that says more about who likes the truth over who likes the narrative. In any case im glad you are here.
I agree and disagree with you to various extents. If you read my comment you'll notice I explicitly state that I'm not sure it is the responsibility of... influencers for lack of a better word ( I'm sure DC loves that designation) to cultivate a certain audience or keep them behaved. At the end I simply made a suggestion that I think it might help him to push back against his extremists IF he actually cares how they may reflect on him and his views. A tough call given that we're all his paying customers in a way. It takes character to push back against your own paycheck (just ask all my oilfield friends who refuse to admit there may be any negative consequences at all with what we do).
I'm the first to admit that the left has a problem ostracizing anyone who doesn't agree with 100% of what the furthest extreme end of them has decided is right that week. It's interesting watching the current populist right movement pretend they don't have exactly the same problem though. It's weird. There so much like the left, deciding what is morally correct and seeking a government that forces others to live in their preferred manor. I think we all have lines in different places though where we think the government should step in. I'd be curious to see what the various definitions of lefty and right winger even are between us and this group as a whole. The concept has become so warped that many people on the right don't even want a small government, they just want a government that agrees with them on the issues they want to enforce on others. In that way Some people would look at Bernie and trump supporters as both being leftists!
I'm glad you're here too though, thanks for the comment.
I also feel the same - there seems to be a "big sorting" going on: People put themselves into a "camp" and gradually have to change all their positions into camp-approved ones and only associate with fellow camp members.
I guess "informational bubbles" are to blame for this. When every source of information is perceived as biased (because they probably are...), people select them based on their affiliation and block out everything else.
The days of common ground and the evening news proclaiming the facts for everyone are over.
Dan Carlin referred to republicans as “the enemy” on bill maher’s show. I really thought he was a voice for the independents but went full deep state ever since they invited him to that US CENTCOM meeting
Feels like they have dirt on him... or paycheck... the total180 is wierd. I know he has bias from working right wing radio early career and not likingit, but it's like a switch was flipped
Carlin grew up socially connected in a privileged class. His mom was a Hollywood actor and his dad was a journalist. That type of sheltered upbringing leads people to take CNN at face value, even if they tell you that half your fellow countrymen are terrorists that all deserve to be lined up against the wall. He is 100% pro establishment but can’t come to terms with it which is why he doesn’t make common sense podcasts anymore
That type of upbringing leads one to buy into the system and want to reproduce it. He is a part of the “expert” class. Trump and the new right are a threat to the authority the bureaucratic “experts” hold over the country.
I didn't know about this meeting. It stinks like the Mike Johnson line about how he was against warrantless wiretaps until he got the CIA briefing. Thomas Massie was in the same meeting and said there was nothing there that they didn't already know and nothing that would really change anyone's mind.
Recently jack black has become a meme for doing a fundraiser for, "pedo peter" as his own son, hunter, refers to him as. The responses to him on twitter have been hilarious, but the basic thrust is how much did they pay you, or how bad is the blackmail?
It's hilarious that when someone gets tds, or reverses long held positions, or just supports biden in any way, the immediate assumption is that person is captured.
HH is Mt. Rushmore for podcasting but Common Sense is cringe trying to hide his bias rather than just be upfront about it. Probably good that he stopped the show in 2016 because he’s at his best focusing on history. If Dan is hate reading comments here, bro we all love you and your the GOAT so chill. You guys could have a good buddy cop movie on your hands with Daniele as the criminal mastermind.
Anyways on to the question. I was on a date last night with your typical leftist atheist 25 year old girl. Instead of trying to get laid I asked her about religion (and promptly didn’t get laid). We chatted for a long time about this and how I think the rise of secularism is a troubling. My argument hinged on there being a vacuum opened with no real clue what comes next to fill that void. Long winded way to get here, but what do you see the masses worshiping as the sublimation of religion continues?
I can't help but chime in despite your asking of Daryl - I believe what has replaced it is a public private cult called The Science. I say this as agnostic at best with no religion in my life besides my mother's badgering of me about accepting God and taking the Bible as literal truth.
I held Dan in very high regard, even the political show, but when he made the case for voting for Joe so that Donald wouldn't have the nuclear keys, I thought, wow - he just demonstrated for 4 years de-escalation if anything, and I'm not a Trump guy. Dan and I live an hour apart in Oregon and it's amazing to me how so many can perceive the world so differently despite being in same soup bowl. I never equated it to parallax but that's a great way to describe it.
Ultimately, I don't think the problem is the vacuum (which always exists in human affairs), but rather the belief that the vacuum does not exist and/or does not affect them. Meanwhile, they are vacuuming secular ideology, which is shorthand for whatever is currently being promoted by the State/Media/Education Complex (I really need a better name for this godlike phenomenon). This combo, by proclaiming there is no God but insisting that they cannot be wrong, creates a religious fanaticism that is difficult to break away from.
Your story reminds me of the whatever podcast, where the host brings on a bunch of onlyfans "models" and pits them against this guy who calls himself a Christian ethicist. Naturally, the former group gets absolutely torched, and not only can't make a convincing argument for atheism, feminism, whatever, but can't make an argument not full of inherent contradictions and fallacies. Because of fatherless homes and the simping epidemic, many of these women have probably never had their ideas contradicted by anyone. It's kind of entertaining to watch, but the novelty wears off quickly. The Christian guy actually seems like a decent debater, but really he's beating up on people with the intellectual capacity of small children. Anyway, the show is kind of a guilty pleasure, but might offer you some catharsis for the shitty dating prospects of modern life. There might be some nuggets as to the answer to your question, but it's more watching fish in a barrel get clubbed.
Wokeness and/or hedonism. On the flip side, I see a lot of temperamentally conservative people returning to church as what was previously thought to be “normal” (I.e. the gender stuff) is washed away.
Thanks for your work Darryl, it’s had a hugely positive impact on my life.
In 2016, I had just been released from prison as Trump was elected. Having been separated from society to a degree, I leaned on the media watched by my lefty family to catch me up with the world. I was instantly taught to hate Trump and believe he was a criminal and a traitor. For the first year of my freedom, I spent a good deal of time on Twitter sharing hateful anti-Trump rhetoric. And then…slowly…I started to realize there was no way everything this Trump guy said and did could be wrong and evil. I expanded my perspective, I got some new sources of information. And I also noticed that, despite what CNN was telling me, life in the USA was damn good, even for a guy living in a halfway house. It felt like the President had to have a lot to do with that. Long story short, though I’m not affiliated with a political party…I like and respect Trump now and will vote for him this year. The broadening of my perspective has led to a better informed, and honestly happier me. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Polling would suggest I’m not. I wonder if you have thoughts about this? Have you noticed this shift in a large portion of the population? I wonder if the Dan Carlin’s of the world may come down the same road eventually? Perhaps he has and this is why there’s a tentative peace between you? It’s hard to believe a man as intelligent as him wouldn’t have his viewpoint morph also. I’d love to hear your analysis of the shift I’m talking about. Isn’t this potentially a very cool thing? Maybe I’m whistling Dixie, you can let us know. Thanks again.
Dan, I am so glad to read this. I love a redemption story, but you went through two transformations at once. Returning to society after a prison sentence, and releasing your mind from a metaphorical prison. Regarding the latter, it annoys me to no end that people, without the hint of irony, and usually accompanied by palpable smugness say something dumb like, "I am a free thinker. I look at all sides. I read the wall street journal and the new york times." Great. You read more than one corporate, cia captured, establishment shilling perspective. Congratulations. Ever notice how outlets like cnn always seem to find the enemy, and that enemy is not an oligarch, or a faceless multinational corporation, or a shady, epstein compromised intel agency, but your neighbor? Ever notice how they always claim to stand up to power, but always seem to end up sucking up to it? It sounds like you're well past this, but independent media has been a Godsend for awakening large chunks of the population. I have seen a difference. As more people are freed from this mental prison, the world will heal. All the best on your journey, Dan.
Appreciate this response Sean, apologies for the delay in this reply. It’s sometimes a little embarrassing to admit I was so captured. As you say, I had been “away” and that was something of an excuse. But those sources were also what I grew up with. My Dad (my hero) watched them! How could they be so corrupt, captured, and just plain wrong? It took quite the awakening to understand the things you describe. Independent media has changed my life and is now helping my teenage sons to see and understand the world with much more clarity than I did at their age. It’s wonderful to see. I’m so grateful for and humbled by it. Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. God bless you and your family.
Hi Dan, my circles are very lefty too and I’d love to start reading something with a different viewpoint. Which independent media sources do you suggest?
Thanks for reaching out. My strategy for “getting informed” has become one in which I try to get as many sides of an issue as possible and make up my own mind. Sadly, this typically breaks down into two camps which you’ll be more than familiar with (Left vs Right, Dem vs Rep, etc…). While I’ve identified that there are a few “news sources” whose ridiculous bias is far too obvious to ever even consider (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, OAN)…finding independent sources with credibility is a touch more difficult. For daily news, I go to the Breaking Points podcast. (You may remember Darryl appeared on it once) While the hosts have their own biases both left and right - I find they at least attempt to look at issues from an ideological center and go from there. Some may disagree, but I like how they do it. When I want to read (which I do quite a bit), I head to both conservative and liberal sources. The Intercept, Jacobin, Mother Jones, The Nation…lean left. The Hill, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Wire, and The Fedarlist lean right (those last two do more than lean, they’re pretty staunchly right). As I said, it’s in collecting these various viewpoints and running them through the filter of my own set of morals, scruples, and values (most of which are centered on a Christian framework) that I find the beliefs with which I operate in daily life. Naturally, any source can mislead me. I’m sure I don’t have the full story on a lot of issues. Several friends here may say “Jeez, those aren’t the right people to listen to!” And maybe they’re right! I just try to keep an open mind, I remain a solid Independent politically, and I stay willing to listen to anyone provided they’ve demonstrated credibility. It’s an imperfect system I know. But there are good people out there, on both sides, trying to get it right. So I hope I’m getting mostly the truth. Of course, Darryl and Jocko are who I’d like to be President and VP. I find that starting every day with those guys starts me off right. Best of luck! Hope that meandering answer was helpful in some small way.
You don't owe me a response, sir, but it is appreciated. I had a chuckle from what you wrote. You expressed embarrassment from admitting your mental capture, but being in prison. I don't know your situation, nor do I assume anyone who goes to prison has something to be embarrassed about, but generally people are reluctant to talk about their run ins with the legal system, particularly the criminal justice side. I know you didn't say this explicitly, but what I took from your comment was being a corporate media consuming npc is more embarrassing than having served a prison term. A sentiment I whole heartedly agree wtih. Very glad to hear you've moved past both of those chapters of your life. I will also make the embarrassing admission that I too was a standard normie-con for the majority of my life, and while I decried the bias of the corporate media, I believed they were generally reporting facts. I also have two advanced degrees, which is a source of further embarrassment as well. I plead mercy because the military paid for both of them, but it still infers a tacit approval of the institution. God bless you, and yours, as well, friend.
You’re entirely too charitable to that guy Darryl, which really is a credit to you. I highly doubt Carlin would ever return the favor.
The fact is that Dan, like yourself, is a master storyteller but he’s also a disingenuous hypocrite of the first order. He spent years shilling for a populist outsider to bully his way to the White House but what’s he do when it happens? Gets TDS so bad that he shuts down his “outsider” political podcast except to endorse Joe fucking Biden 🤣.
He shills every single regime talking point but pretends “all those politicians are corrupt”. Well except for his own Senator Ron Wyden who is an exemplar of wisdom and virtue 🙄.
I remember in one of his podcasts he acted like cops should just wait to be murdered before using force against suspects (minorities implied) because it was “part of the job”.
He sees the exact same things you and I see happening to the country but he doesn’t care because he agrees with it. He shits on half the country, which I would wager makes up the majority of his audience, then after spitting in their faces he has the gall to tweet out:
“If I told you that the most pro-American, patriotic thing you could do for the USA was to find common ground with your countrymen over politics could you do it? How patriotic do you consider yourself to be? How deep does your love of country go?”
This tweet naturally was aimed directly at MAGAtards and not the people who spent the better part of the year burning cities and tearing down statues. Yeah, no thanks.
So when he called you a fascist all those years ago for the crime of demanding a little bit of order in the society you both share, it was simply a foreshadowing of the type of character we were going to see come to the surface later.
Any fair minded person that checks for your stuff will come away with the impression of your public persona that you’re a solid dude, even if they disagree with you. Carlin is incapable of that because of his character and personality flaws (delusional libtard for shorthand). I’d go so far as to suggest that if given the opportunity he’d jail you personally for your political beliefs. Some nice liberal.
So as far as I’m concerned MMDC > HHDC and it’s not even close.
I am laughing to myself imagining poor Daniele having to endure a half hour kvetching session about you over the phone though. 🤣
Lmfao the unspoken hero in this story is Daniele. Not trying to stir up more Dan shit but it is wild going from years of preaching to screeching about a outsider taking power.
It's really about what the populist outsider stands for. It isn't hypocritical to support a principled man over a narcissist. Populust outsider isn't an ideology.
Any actual examples, other than hyperbole? Your comment reads like CNN madlibs. I'll give you an example of Biden's principles: 14 minutes of him sniffing little girl's hair and whispering to them on the Senate floor. And before you howl Russian propaganda, that was from C-SPAN.
I listened to Fear and Loathing before you published any of your other history podcasts and I was taken aback by how amazing they were. I liked them better than any other historical podcasts or audiobooks.
I believe we are both in our early 40s, although we have lived very different lives.
I spent my teenage years in an apocalyptic cult. I did get out when I was 20, but I have family that are still in, many of whom I no longer have contact with. I spoke out against the cult and as you can imagine it didn’t go well. I created a site on the internet about it and was found out. Listening to your Jim Jones podcast made me think a lot about that part of my life.
I have different political views than you, but I respect that your views are always well thought out.
The MartyrMade history podcast is one I always l look forward to. Thank you.
Hardcore History was my gateway drug to MartyrMade ….
Carlin’s content is great, but I do not care to hear his thoughts about current events any longer, I do not trust him. He seems to look the other way when the current regime continually abuses power, which is disappointing from a guy who used to claim, “I wish America resembled it’s marketing material.”
Daryl, I do believe you would be using your platform to do the opposite. If Trump wins and begins retribution of political opponents (which I personally hope to see), I know my twitter and pod feed will have MM content checking all my natural inclinations to see Shitlibs get their deserved comeuppance.
If you’re guilty of anything, it’s making people think on current issues and there’s always more to the story than conventional media would lead us to believe.
My question for you, what do you believe is the root of Trump Derangement Syndrome?
This is personal for me, my 70 year old dad has full blown TDS. He’s an intelligent, successful retiree who’s only advice to me was to be fair. He’s politically a centrist, but the guy is giddy to see Trump and his surrogates metaphorically hang, though I don’t think he would mind an actual hanging.
It's been wild to see the boomers in the time of Trump. A few became based. My dad was a lifelong lib, but went full maga. I was not ever really close to my dad as an adult as I was in the military and stationed mostly overseas, but when he started to get behind Trump, he called me a lot, since I was the republican (I wouldn't really describe myself as such at that time) he knew best. He was trying to feel out what a right wing person thinks and believes. I got a lot of insight into this change, and I'd say it was someone who really believed a lot of the rhetoric of 60s boomer liberalism. He was for the little guy. He was for reforming the system. He was for stopping wars. When a guy came along to actually talk about things as an outsider, an intellectually honest lib, would be supportive, or at least interested. In other words, not Dan Carlin. I think a big part of adhering to this honesty, and not becoming a vessel for cognitive dissonance is the ability to accept that if the politicians, corporations, intel agencies - the institutions - are corrupt, would that not include the media? A lot of boomers who can recognize the corruption in almost every sector of society still get their news from corporate media. It is my belief if you can get even a shitlib boomer to listen to some independent media, they can be broken out of the matrix. They just don't know an alternative to corporate media, and the fact that said media constantly calls independent voices "conspiracy theorists" or worse, makes matters more difficult.
My suggestion, if you want to help your dad, is to get him to listen to even 10 minutes of a non-corporate media perspective. For leftists, I often use Glenn Greenwald as a gateway, since he is also a true card carrying leftist. The main difference between the corporate and independent media is that all this left/right, republican/democrat dichotomy that the whole corporate side is dependent upon really doesn't exist. Greenwald and Tucker Carlson are friends, for instance, because the thing that links independent media together is mutual search for truth. Carlson and Greenwald can disagree, but they'll come at a debate with a foundation that both sides agree on the facts, and if there is incongruity, they search for the answers together in real time. Rogan did this with a guest on an episode I watched today. There was no yelling. No name calling. Just two men in good faith who wanted to find the best version of events they could find, so they could continue their conversation from there. It's the polar opposite of corporate media where interviews are edited to make people look better or worse, questions are loaded and made to produce "gatcha" moments, and debates involve enforced 20 seconds spots which encourage the worst sort of rhetoric.
Watching how information is conveyed in this environment is a revelation if all you're used to is corporate trash. And sadly boomers have been stuck here for decades. I believe that if you can get one of these people to give independent voices a shot, you can change their mind. The difference is so stark, you can't help but feel lied to all along just by format and presentation alone.
Dude, it’s the money issue. An ancient Middle Eastern book has the very words “the love of money is the root of all evil” written in it as a warning to all. News, coupled with money is a disaster waiting to happen. Give it enough time - or rope. Same with politics plus money, religion plus money, you name it. Current socio-political conditions in the U.S. are the fruit of our labor. And we’re receiving the return on our investment.
Isn't the psychological dynamic here emblematic of the left vs. right? One side (generally) views its political opposition as well-meaning but misguided, while the other views their opposition through the lens of good vs. evil (which is really just tribal enmity). The right more or less understands the left (especially given that many of us used to be on the left), while the left doesn't understand the right at all.
I listened to many of the hardcore history podcasts and really liked them; there was little indication of Carlin's political biases as far as I could tell.
Listen to his episode on slavery. It's mostly great, but he also repeats some very stupid progressive talking points and, most embarrassingly, one of the most obviously made up, and totally uncorrobarated stories about Lincoln I've ever heard. Like Facebook grandma "share and retweet" level bad. That and his deranged TDS, made me lose a lot of respect for him, both as a person and podcaster
That’s the episode that kinda threw me over the edge and I stopped listening to him. I still get the new episode updates but, I haven’t turned in to one. Have they gotten any better?
I've only listened to his ones on the vikings and they weren't bad. Like I said, he's still mostly great, it's just he has a weird tendency to randomly push obvious progressive bullshit every now and then
No
The last one is about Philip of Macedon, it's damn good.
Yeah he's gotten really bad and way more libtarded
The right generally views the left as well-meaning but misguided? I have never gotten this vibe from the likes of Trump, Tucker, Hannity or Limbaugh. Who are some big names besides Darryl who are reflective of this ethos?
Kind of depends on how you define “left” take Tucker Carlson for example. While he certainly doesn’t look at the liberal elites and big time democrats that way it seems to me that he has an understanding for the “average” left leaning voter who cares about making sure there aren’t kids and elderly left out on the street and who yearn for the days of Clinton or even Obama. The same really is true of Trump, while he definitely attacks certain segments of the left that always seemed targeted I don’t recall him ever making a basket of deplorables type comment directed at the average Democrat voter. In fact I personally know several old blue dog Democrats that he won over because they realized that what he was selling was much closer to the beliefs they held than what Clinton or Biden were selling.
Let’s not forget Trump was a democrat until he ran as well.
You mention Hannity. I remember a story about Keith Olberman, right around the time he got famous on MSNBC for deranged rants against Republicans. The story included a bit where Olberman and Hannity ran into each other, and Hannity was very friendly to him. (perhaps due to his sports commentary). In other words, Hannity didn't really take him seriously.
As far as pundits and politicians go in general, expect some sharp rhetoric. I was talking about ordinary people. Ordinary conservative types view progressives the way they would view their teenage kid going through a woke stage. Progressives are like the teenage kid, amazed at the evil white supremacy that their parents are complicit with.
Go to a school board meeting and keep track of how many charitable arguments you hear from right wingers vs left wingers
Very astute and one sees this playing out in many exchanges.
This comment captures the soul of the Left vs Right dynamic (at least as it currently stands). There are certainly many exceptions to the rule, but as a general belief set the Left has accepted The State (and by this I mean the combined State/Media/Education complex and the approved members thereof) as the divine authority of right vs wrong, whereas the Right mostly has come to recognize the hazards of the delusion while cautiously accepting its necessity. The bottom line is that having one misguided belief shouldn't negate all others, whether that belief is in politics or any other realm (this is where the Right often overreacts).
I guess it's a matter of understanding.
There are several studies (I hope with reproducible results...) that show, that rightists generally understand the way leftists think, while this is not true the other way round.
So a rightist could probably emulate a leftist in a discussion but not vice versa.
If you understand someone's motives but find his methods wrong, you probably see him as a misguided individual.
If you don't understand someones's motives and dislike his methods, you probably assume that he's evil.
Unfortunately I believe that this asymmetry is only temporal - lately I'm witnessing more and more rightists seeing leftists as fundamentally evil. Or maybe they just react to being attacked constantly...
This is a very well-articulated description of the dynamic as I see it.
And yes, there are certainly many on the right who frame the left as "evil." If this is increasing, it can be blamed on the significant upsurge during the Trump era of left-leaning establishment actors taking unprecedented steps toward the subjegation and destruction of their political opposition.
But in a more general sense, I would posit that the fundamental dynamic you've outlined above is permanently fixed according to the ideological variables at hand.
People are inherently left-leaning when they are young, and inherently right-leaning when they are older.
This is because the left-right dynamic is in some fundamental sense tied to the role of government and the state. When you're young, you look at the injustices of the world (inequality) and think, "someone's got to fix this!" That can only be the state, in their view, because the state is the only institution big and powerful enough to enforce such a rectification.
Only over time, and through life experience and observation, does one gradually realize that public institutions tend quickly toward corruption due to the incentive factors involved. In short, I argue that there is an extremely far-reaching category of wisdom--that pertaining to our understanding human beings and their various arrangements--that essentially boils down to understanding incentive structures, and that for whatever reason, this understanding cannot be taught, only accrued through experience. Why this is would be an interesting question for someone to answer.
OK, that might be an explanation for the phenomenon.
Rightists understand how leftists think, because they experienced it themselves.
Leftists have not (yet) thought like a rightist and are therefore unable to understand.
I would say that further exposure to history also skews one towards libertarianism, which most associate with the right nowadays. A knee jerk boomer hates FDR as a communist, but after you see the wider scope you realize Wilson was way worse. Without being a communist.
What can you tell us about leaving San Diego? Is this a practical life change or is there a cultural/ideological side of it?
I just came here to tell you how much I loved the story about Billy Joe. You already know how much I enjoy your other work. Thank you, Darryl.
I'd really like you to discuss your religious views a little bit. IIRC, you've said you're a Christian, but you seem to have some atypical beliefs (?) The spiritual/religious things you have discussed have resonated a lot with me, but I've never heard you say anything explicitly about where you are and what you believe. Thanks.
I've always figured he's probably Eastern Rite Catholic of some sort or possibly Orthodox
I remember him commenting once he was torn between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Think the Catholic won out.
No way man he’s more of a holy roller type background. Like Pentecostal or Baptist
I'd be interested in hearing more about this too. The episodes on Job I loved, they caused me to want to read the bible from cover to cover and note my own questions or thoughts
I just quit listening to his political podcast once he outed himself as a leftist with TDS. I’ve never stopped listening to his history podcasts because they are great. Especially the further back in history they are. But I don’t think he could do an even-handed series the way you did with Israel. I was living in the Middle East when that came out and everyone I got to listen to it, pro-Palestine Muslims and Zionist westerners, always told me it was the fairest treatment of the issue they had ever seen. If it is recent enough for his feelings to get in the way I don’t think he is equipped to tackle it. Just like any other woman (jk,jk!)
I like Carlin but came to the same conclusion. Anything contemporary from him would be way too biased. It was obvious he was/is suffering from TDS when he quit his Common sense podcast due to being so demoralized from trump winning. Maybe in the same boat as Timothy Snyder for me: good historian but all the smarts somehow go out the window, and emotion takes over when modern topics are brought up
It wasn't demoralization, it was people's reaction to his take on Ashli Babbitt's slaying. He realized calling for the execution of protestors made him seem a little...fascist. Personally that opinion disgusted me, didn't listen to HH until he walked it back...without actually apologizing.
Dang I don’t follow your reference with Ashli Babbitt, what’s that all about?
The woman shot in the neck by the capitol police on naughty day. Carlin said the protestors were lucky more of them weren't killed.
Oh yeah I saw that video. She was kind of a nut job charging that barricade. Then again, I’m guessing Carlin didn’t feel the same way about the BLM/antifa protestors burning down cities and attacking federal buildings. Personally as a law and order guy I say shoot both sides. Probably not a popular opinion since at most it’s usually one side or the other but at least I’m consistent I guess.
I like that you had people "on the ground" tell you that Darryl gave the Israel/Palestine conflict a fair shake from both sides. I say that because I remember thinking that same thing when I listened to it.
That series was how I found Martyr Made. I actually went looking for that topic several years ago once I realized I really didn't know shit about it. "Fear and Loathing..." made me a dedicated listener. Before that, I was pretty much your typical post-9/11 American who thought that the Muslims in the conflict could do no right.
However, after listening to it, I realized that there are no angels in this conflict and generally stay away from conversations or debates on the topic because I, at least, know that I still don't know shit about it.
I remember Daryl saying at the time that both sides thought he was favoring the other side, which is also a sort of back handed compliment that he’s being as impartial as he can be on such a polarizing and contemptuous topic
I've heard you say/write that your politics are to the right of Attila the Hun's - I'm not enough of an internet autist to think that you mean this entirely seriously, but can you elaborate more? Is there an anecdote/backstory for this?
Yes I’d also love to hear Daryl’s extended take on this one!
That always made me wonder how conservative Attila was. He was a rebel taking on a world empire, after all.
I remember Steven Crowder saying this but not DC
Fascist, racist, nazi…I personally think you’re an antisemitic Zionist. 😂
I love HCH but Dan always seemed out of his element on Common Sense or speaking on anything political. Like if Ben Shapiro started a cooking show on Daily Wire. His perspective about looking at politics like an alien would only make sense of he actually was raised outside of America or human civilization. He, and others, would be better off recognizing and owning our biases. Faux neutrality is cringe.
Or even worse, if Ben Shapiro had a political show on Daily Wire.
I went to Dan's Twitter out of curiosity and found this gem about Trump:
"Not bragging, but I’m pretty politically savvy (it been my job for several decades). Trump is the biggest political danger this nation has ever faced. Take it or leave it…I don’t care"
So his presupposition is basically "I'm infallible". A dangerous position for anyone to put themselves in, especially with something like politics.
His statement about looking at Earth like an alien would reminds me of the book called Ishmael that's about an immortal gorilla that's existed for eternity and proceeds to give the protagonist life lessons from its place of infinite wisdom. You the reader are supposed to take it all as gospel and ignore the fact that the guy writing on behalf of the gorilla is in fact a mortal human being.
I've enjoyed many hardcore history series and out of my respect for his accomplishments there, I am afraid to check on his thoughts outside of this area. Well, I see that my suspicions are confirmed. That quote is monumentally cringe. There's the obvious conclusion that he was just wrong. We had Trump. Things were, even if you rated the man as unfairly as possible, you'd have to conclude he wasn't a danger. So that really calls into question his "it's been my job for decades" argumentation. Well, he sucks at his job then. I'd prefer to like the guy, but that sentiment can only extend so far, I guess.
Nietzsche did the same thing in Thus Spake Zarathustra...pay no attention to the fact that the wisdom on high was not from a true God, but someone who felt he was (and soon became convinced as he descended into insanity). Unfortunately, humility is a rare commodity in our species. Darryl made a superb point in the Underground Spirit podcast that those in politics and the arts have a strong selection pressure for narcissism. That winds up being a disabling feature as narcissism and humility are mutually exclusive.
Hey Darryl!
We've talked a few times before. I'm one of your more left leaning fans. I also hate groups and teams though (hence why I don't mind wading through the rest of your much more recent fans). I also love Dan, I think like me he always considered himself a centrist (or a Martian as he'd call it) who believed the current system was in dire need of reform. Even if it were burned down by electing someone insane. With trumps victory, Dan was left like a dog who finally caught the car. It sucked, wasn't what he wanted, and in some ways due to his influence I'm sure he felt a small bit of responsibility, which is why he stopped doing his political podcast to reevaluate his views.
I like to think I'm mature enough to expose myself to contrary views and opinions and even admit when I agree with them. If I can't look at you or to a much lesser extent the daily wire crowd and occasionally admit they have a point, I consider myself too entrenched in the "team" most of my beliefs align with. For instance your recent show on mental health was exactly what I've been saying to people since I started working downtown. Some of these people need to be institutionalized. If you gave them a house they'd rip the copper out of the walls and burn it down. I'm pretty pro trans but it gets messy when you're talking about lower age limits and prisons, women's shelters, etc and I often get into hot water expressing that.
If I have a question for you today other than checking in and saying hi, I suppose it would be: how do you feel about how your fan base has changed? Looking at the comments around me it seems I'm pretty alone here these days. Do you worry that you're fostering an environment that's not only supporting you, bit distilling your own views into something even more extreme and without the actual nuance that you bring to the table? Do you think content creators have any responsibility for the environment they create? I'm really not sure they do personally. A mob is a mob. Maybe it would help for you to push back a bit and remind people that the world isn't so black and white, neither are you, and neither should we be.
Ps. There was a girl in my middle school named porche, she was very low income and bullied relentlessly. I wanted to be the same kind of guy you wanted to be so I actually asked her to a dance, we had a great time but I eventually caved to the bullying I became exposed to and distanced myself from her. Which in a way I think made me one of the worst ones. Like giving someone hope and ripping it away. I think about that all the time. I hope she's well
Everyone was like that in junior high. I think we were all reading Daryl’s story and realizing we did that too. Not being the outright bullies, but complicit in it because we didn’t stand up for the underdog. Who does that at age 11-13? Very very few. I can’t think of any specific instances personally, but I was a shrewd kid, smaller than most and knew to keep my head down lest I become the target. I always say junior high is the closest I’ll ever get to prison life. Don’t miss it for sure.
Hey Devon, I like your comments, and would like to point out that while I cannot speak for everyone, it seems the best route away from polarization and the echo chamber syndrome is engaging deeply and honestly with topics. I think the series on Israel and Palestine is a perfect example, as are many of DC's other deep dives. I am convinced that all viewpoints have information worth knowing, but the problem at present seems to be that when the extremes in the group hijack the group, the truth incumbent within the group is overwhelmed and shouted down by the extremists. Take the trans movement, for example. I am a surgeon, and I understand the gray zone in gender. The first story I ever heard in med school was the story of the Vic the sailor who was a patient of my professors who presented with blood in his urine and occasional abdominal pain. His genitalia was always somewhat abnormal, but nothing extreme. He and his wife had been trying unsuccessfully for years to conceive. He underwent surgery, and here was what they removed...and then bam...a photo of a uterus and ovaries. The patient had a condition called C-21 hydroxylase deficiency, which leads to inability to convert testosterone to feminine hormones, which phenotypically masculinizes a genetic female. At that moment, my mind recognized that XX and XY is not the whole story. As a prior physicist, I was able to fold that idea into a humility towards reality and recognize that if this could happen, what the hell could be going on psychologically?
However, instead of taking a cautious, individualized approach, the movement is at the point now where speech is being demonized in the guise of "tolerance and understanding." That didn't work in other totalitarian regimes despite them having ample defenses for their behavior as well. And the extreme and intolerable views currently being demanded by the extreme left are overwhelming what is at the core a very important point. It is as though the extremists are turning themselves into straw men and daring others to attack them.
The reality is that I love to engage viewpoints from all areas of the spectrum. In addition to DC, Jocko, and Shawn Ryan, I am a big fan of Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, Sam Harris, etc. So while there may be truth to where the bell curve in this particular group lands on the political spectrum, I would say at least as far as I am concerned that the more people we have of disparate viewpoints who are well-read, willing to talk deeply, and intelligent, the more I will enjoy this place and the better off we all will be.
Incidentally, I would classify Bret and Heather as poster children for what I am talking about. I do not think anyone should consider them anything but liberal, but they have been attacked both metophorically and literally by those even farther left on the spectrum. And I would challenge anyone to sit with the two of them and not be astounded by their intelligence and insight.
Devon, I'm glad to hear there are lefties here as well. I don't find Darryl's work to be very political, but when he does express opinions they tend to be right wing. Good on you for coming here and benefitting from his knowledge and talent. I can see that the replies to your comment have all been respectful, which is why I am a little taken aback by your question.
When Tucker Carlson created his independent network, he released a preview video where he said the old distinctions of left/right, repub/dem, black/white, etc are not just obsolete, but were emphasized with malicious intent. He says really the distinction is people who lie and people who tell the truth. He is mostly repudiating the corporate media he was raised in, but also institutions of government, academia, and big business. I humbly agree with this assertion.
Since I really started to delve into the independent media ecosystem, I think this observation becomes evident. There are a few podcasts I listen to every time I see they are going on. Jimmy Dore, and Glenn Greenwald for instance are two left wing people who I consume every piece of content they produce. I find that there are way more things I have in common with them than disagree with, even though I consider myself to be quite right wing. The reason? They are honest and transparent. I think Darryl falls into this category as well, which is why I like his work.
I'd say, don't sweat your political views, or that of others you encounter here. I don't think people are really thinking on that axis here, or in other independent spaces. It might not seem that way with the substantial amount of Biden bashing, but I don't think this comes from a place of politics necessarily, because I've interacted with a lot of these people and some are explicitly left wing, and others are respectful to those views. It's that Biden represented the "liars" faction. The media. The government. Big business. He's their guy. As far as politics go, RFK is more left wing than Biden, but you don't see any vitriol directed at him. It's because he is on the side of the people who are telling the truth, which is the only meaningful distinction at this point.
Yes, the system has become so corrupt the hardest of left and right wing people are willing to put aside their differences in order to reform it. I doubt you will find anyone who shuns or disrespects your views here. The fact that you are here does indicate you possess some level of intellectual independence, and that is appreciated. I'm hardly the gate keeper of the comment section, but I think you'll find if you interact with the community here, it is hardly a mob, and that we probably have quite a lot of opinion overlap and shared imperatives. Anyway, thanks for being here and contributing.
I live in red area in a purple state, and for the most part it's great. The one thing I consistently disagree with the people I live around is the way North American natives and Palestinians got a raw deal. They assume their plights are being exaggerated, because that's what the left does with oppressed people. Far left ideology taints valid liberal points.
Respectfully, thats the problem with people who lean left and leftists in general. They would rather have someone in a position of authority (cooper) tell people how they should think (push back…) than just say something and let people decide for themselves. Its not his job to tell people how their political views should be. Im far to the right of cooper but as previous commenter said i like people who tell the truth. Maybe if their are more of us on the so called far right here, that says more about who likes the truth over who likes the narrative. In any case im glad you are here.
I agree and disagree with you to various extents. If you read my comment you'll notice I explicitly state that I'm not sure it is the responsibility of... influencers for lack of a better word ( I'm sure DC loves that designation) to cultivate a certain audience or keep them behaved. At the end I simply made a suggestion that I think it might help him to push back against his extremists IF he actually cares how they may reflect on him and his views. A tough call given that we're all his paying customers in a way. It takes character to push back against your own paycheck (just ask all my oilfield friends who refuse to admit there may be any negative consequences at all with what we do).
I'm the first to admit that the left has a problem ostracizing anyone who doesn't agree with 100% of what the furthest extreme end of them has decided is right that week. It's interesting watching the current populist right movement pretend they don't have exactly the same problem though. It's weird. There so much like the left, deciding what is morally correct and seeking a government that forces others to live in their preferred manor. I think we all have lines in different places though where we think the government should step in. I'd be curious to see what the various definitions of lefty and right winger even are between us and this group as a whole. The concept has become so warped that many people on the right don't even want a small government, they just want a government that agrees with them on the issues they want to enforce on others. In that way Some people would look at Bernie and trump supporters as both being leftists!
I'm glad you're here too though, thanks for the comment.
Concerning your second last paragraph:
I also feel the same - there seems to be a "big sorting" going on: People put themselves into a "camp" and gradually have to change all their positions into camp-approved ones and only associate with fellow camp members.
I guess "informational bubbles" are to blame for this. When every source of information is perceived as biased (because they probably are...), people select them based on their affiliation and block out everything else.
The days of common ground and the evening news proclaiming the facts for everyone are over.
Dan Carlin referred to republicans as “the enemy” on bill maher’s show. I really thought he was a voice for the independents but went full deep state ever since they invited him to that US CENTCOM meeting
Calling half the US population "the enemy", while pretending to be unbiased, while having a vast knowledge of history is a wild combination
Turns out Dan Carlin never was a serious person
Feels like they have dirt on him... or paycheck... the total180 is wierd. I know he has bias from working right wing radio early career and not likingit, but it's like a switch was flipped
Carlin grew up socially connected in a privileged class. His mom was a Hollywood actor and his dad was a journalist. That type of sheltered upbringing leads people to take CNN at face value, even if they tell you that half your fellow countrymen are terrorists that all deserve to be lined up against the wall. He is 100% pro establishment but can’t come to terms with it which is why he doesn’t make common sense podcasts anymore
That type of upbringing leads one to buy into the system and want to reproduce it. He is a part of the “expert” class. Trump and the new right are a threat to the authority the bureaucratic “experts” hold over the country.
I don't get the impression he's compromised, just way too trusting of the old media. Like most people that got their start in it.
Yup. The CENTCOM meeting changed him, it at least who he pretends to be
Oh snap... wow. The CentCom meeting was a really ego shot to Dan. Ha ha
I didn't know about this meeting. It stinks like the Mike Johnson line about how he was against warrantless wiretaps until he got the CIA briefing. Thomas Massie was in the same meeting and said there was nothing there that they didn't already know and nothing that would really change anyone's mind.
Recently jack black has become a meme for doing a fundraiser for, "pedo peter" as his own son, hunter, refers to him as. The responses to him on twitter have been hilarious, but the basic thrust is how much did they pay you, or how bad is the blackmail?
It's hilarious that when someone gets tds, or reverses long held positions, or just supports biden in any way, the immediate assumption is that person is captured.
HH is Mt. Rushmore for podcasting but Common Sense is cringe trying to hide his bias rather than just be upfront about it. Probably good that he stopped the show in 2016 because he’s at his best focusing on history. If Dan is hate reading comments here, bro we all love you and your the GOAT so chill. You guys could have a good buddy cop movie on your hands with Daniele as the criminal mastermind.
Anyways on to the question. I was on a date last night with your typical leftist atheist 25 year old girl. Instead of trying to get laid I asked her about religion (and promptly didn’t get laid). We chatted for a long time about this and how I think the rise of secularism is a troubling. My argument hinged on there being a vacuum opened with no real clue what comes next to fill that void. Long winded way to get here, but what do you see the masses worshiping as the sublimation of religion continues?
I can't help but chime in despite your asking of Daryl - I believe what has replaced it is a public private cult called The Science. I say this as agnostic at best with no religion in my life besides my mother's badgering of me about accepting God and taking the Bible as literal truth.
I held Dan in very high regard, even the political show, but when he made the case for voting for Joe so that Donald wouldn't have the nuclear keys, I thought, wow - he just demonstrated for 4 years de-escalation if anything, and I'm not a Trump guy. Dan and I live an hour apart in Oregon and it's amazing to me how so many can perceive the world so differently despite being in same soup bowl. I never equated it to parallax but that's a great way to describe it.
Ultimately, I don't think the problem is the vacuum (which always exists in human affairs), but rather the belief that the vacuum does not exist and/or does not affect them. Meanwhile, they are vacuuming secular ideology, which is shorthand for whatever is currently being promoted by the State/Media/Education Complex (I really need a better name for this godlike phenomenon). This combo, by proclaiming there is no God but insisting that they cannot be wrong, creates a religious fanaticism that is difficult to break away from.
I would say a good term might be an Egregore...
If logic dictates that we must create Moloch, then create Moloch we shall.
Yarvin calls it The Cathedral.
This captures the spirit.
Your story reminds me of the whatever podcast, where the host brings on a bunch of onlyfans "models" and pits them against this guy who calls himself a Christian ethicist. Naturally, the former group gets absolutely torched, and not only can't make a convincing argument for atheism, feminism, whatever, but can't make an argument not full of inherent contradictions and fallacies. Because of fatherless homes and the simping epidemic, many of these women have probably never had their ideas contradicted by anyone. It's kind of entertaining to watch, but the novelty wears off quickly. The Christian guy actually seems like a decent debater, but really he's beating up on people with the intellectual capacity of small children. Anyway, the show is kind of a guilty pleasure, but might offer you some catharsis for the shitty dating prospects of modern life. There might be some nuggets as to the answer to your question, but it's more watching fish in a barrel get clubbed.
Wokeness and/or hedonism. On the flip side, I see a lot of temperamentally conservative people returning to church as what was previously thought to be “normal” (I.e. the gender stuff) is washed away.
Thanks for your work Darryl, it’s had a hugely positive impact on my life.
In 2016, I had just been released from prison as Trump was elected. Having been separated from society to a degree, I leaned on the media watched by my lefty family to catch me up with the world. I was instantly taught to hate Trump and believe he was a criminal and a traitor. For the first year of my freedom, I spent a good deal of time on Twitter sharing hateful anti-Trump rhetoric. And then…slowly…I started to realize there was no way everything this Trump guy said and did could be wrong and evil. I expanded my perspective, I got some new sources of information. And I also noticed that, despite what CNN was telling me, life in the USA was damn good, even for a guy living in a halfway house. It felt like the President had to have a lot to do with that. Long story short, though I’m not affiliated with a political party…I like and respect Trump now and will vote for him this year. The broadening of my perspective has led to a better informed, and honestly happier me. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Polling would suggest I’m not. I wonder if you have thoughts about this? Have you noticed this shift in a large portion of the population? I wonder if the Dan Carlin’s of the world may come down the same road eventually? Perhaps he has and this is why there’s a tentative peace between you? It’s hard to believe a man as intelligent as him wouldn’t have his viewpoint morph also. I’d love to hear your analysis of the shift I’m talking about. Isn’t this potentially a very cool thing? Maybe I’m whistling Dixie, you can let us know. Thanks again.
Dan, I am so glad to read this. I love a redemption story, but you went through two transformations at once. Returning to society after a prison sentence, and releasing your mind from a metaphorical prison. Regarding the latter, it annoys me to no end that people, without the hint of irony, and usually accompanied by palpable smugness say something dumb like, "I am a free thinker. I look at all sides. I read the wall street journal and the new york times." Great. You read more than one corporate, cia captured, establishment shilling perspective. Congratulations. Ever notice how outlets like cnn always seem to find the enemy, and that enemy is not an oligarch, or a faceless multinational corporation, or a shady, epstein compromised intel agency, but your neighbor? Ever notice how they always claim to stand up to power, but always seem to end up sucking up to it? It sounds like you're well past this, but independent media has been a Godsend for awakening large chunks of the population. I have seen a difference. As more people are freed from this mental prison, the world will heal. All the best on your journey, Dan.
Appreciate this response Sean, apologies for the delay in this reply. It’s sometimes a little embarrassing to admit I was so captured. As you say, I had been “away” and that was something of an excuse. But those sources were also what I grew up with. My Dad (my hero) watched them! How could they be so corrupt, captured, and just plain wrong? It took quite the awakening to understand the things you describe. Independent media has changed my life and is now helping my teenage sons to see and understand the world with much more clarity than I did at their age. It’s wonderful to see. I’m so grateful for and humbled by it. Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. God bless you and your family.
Hi Dan, my circles are very lefty too and I’d love to start reading something with a different viewpoint. Which independent media sources do you suggest?
Hi Rachelle,
Thanks for reaching out. My strategy for “getting informed” has become one in which I try to get as many sides of an issue as possible and make up my own mind. Sadly, this typically breaks down into two camps which you’ll be more than familiar with (Left vs Right, Dem vs Rep, etc…). While I’ve identified that there are a few “news sources” whose ridiculous bias is far too obvious to ever even consider (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, OAN)…finding independent sources with credibility is a touch more difficult. For daily news, I go to the Breaking Points podcast. (You may remember Darryl appeared on it once) While the hosts have their own biases both left and right - I find they at least attempt to look at issues from an ideological center and go from there. Some may disagree, but I like how they do it. When I want to read (which I do quite a bit), I head to both conservative and liberal sources. The Intercept, Jacobin, Mother Jones, The Nation…lean left. The Hill, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Wire, and The Fedarlist lean right (those last two do more than lean, they’re pretty staunchly right). As I said, it’s in collecting these various viewpoints and running them through the filter of my own set of morals, scruples, and values (most of which are centered on a Christian framework) that I find the beliefs with which I operate in daily life. Naturally, any source can mislead me. I’m sure I don’t have the full story on a lot of issues. Several friends here may say “Jeez, those aren’t the right people to listen to!” And maybe they’re right! I just try to keep an open mind, I remain a solid Independent politically, and I stay willing to listen to anyone provided they’ve demonstrated credibility. It’s an imperfect system I know. But there are good people out there, on both sides, trying to get it right. So I hope I’m getting mostly the truth. Of course, Darryl and Jocko are who I’d like to be President and VP. I find that starting every day with those guys starts me off right. Best of luck! Hope that meandering answer was helpful in some small way.
You don't owe me a response, sir, but it is appreciated. I had a chuckle from what you wrote. You expressed embarrassment from admitting your mental capture, but being in prison. I don't know your situation, nor do I assume anyone who goes to prison has something to be embarrassed about, but generally people are reluctant to talk about their run ins with the legal system, particularly the criminal justice side. I know you didn't say this explicitly, but what I took from your comment was being a corporate media consuming npc is more embarrassing than having served a prison term. A sentiment I whole heartedly agree wtih. Very glad to hear you've moved past both of those chapters of your life. I will also make the embarrassing admission that I too was a standard normie-con for the majority of my life, and while I decried the bias of the corporate media, I believed they were generally reporting facts. I also have two advanced degrees, which is a source of further embarrassment as well. I plead mercy because the military paid for both of them, but it still infers a tacit approval of the institution. God bless you, and yours, as well, friend.
Regarding CIA capture of the media, I think we're finally seeing what all the redacted parts of Operation Mockingbird were about.
You’re entirely too charitable to that guy Darryl, which really is a credit to you. I highly doubt Carlin would ever return the favor.
The fact is that Dan, like yourself, is a master storyteller but he’s also a disingenuous hypocrite of the first order. He spent years shilling for a populist outsider to bully his way to the White House but what’s he do when it happens? Gets TDS so bad that he shuts down his “outsider” political podcast except to endorse Joe fucking Biden 🤣.
He shills every single regime talking point but pretends “all those politicians are corrupt”. Well except for his own Senator Ron Wyden who is an exemplar of wisdom and virtue 🙄.
I remember in one of his podcasts he acted like cops should just wait to be murdered before using force against suspects (minorities implied) because it was “part of the job”.
He sees the exact same things you and I see happening to the country but he doesn’t care because he agrees with it. He shits on half the country, which I would wager makes up the majority of his audience, then after spitting in their faces he has the gall to tweet out:
“If I told you that the most pro-American, patriotic thing you could do for the USA was to find common ground with your countrymen over politics could you do it? How patriotic do you consider yourself to be? How deep does your love of country go?”
This tweet naturally was aimed directly at MAGAtards and not the people who spent the better part of the year burning cities and tearing down statues. Yeah, no thanks.
So when he called you a fascist all those years ago for the crime of demanding a little bit of order in the society you both share, it was simply a foreshadowing of the type of character we were going to see come to the surface later.
Any fair minded person that checks for your stuff will come away with the impression of your public persona that you’re a solid dude, even if they disagree with you. Carlin is incapable of that because of his character and personality flaws (delusional libtard for shorthand). I’d go so far as to suggest that if given the opportunity he’d jail you personally for your political beliefs. Some nice liberal.
So as far as I’m concerned MMDC > HHDC and it’s not even close.
I am laughing to myself imagining poor Daniele having to endure a half hour kvetching session about you over the phone though. 🤣
Lmfao the unspoken hero in this story is Daniele. Not trying to stir up more Dan shit but it is wild going from years of preaching to screeching about a outsider taking power.
To be fair in 2016 Dan Carlin had a few common sense episodes when he actually saw the coup de etat and US provocations in Ukraine for what they were
Perhaps it just reflects where I was politically at the time, but I thought Common Sense before 2016 was excellent.
It's really about what the populist outsider stands for. It isn't hypocritical to support a principled man over a narcissist. Populust outsider isn't an ideology.
Trump might be a narcissist, but Biden is far from principled.
Far more principled than Trump.
And right now that's what matters.
Trump is the lowest integrity man in America.
Any actual examples, other than hyperbole? Your comment reads like CNN madlibs. I'll give you an example of Biden's principles: 14 minutes of him sniffing little girl's hair and whispering to them on the Senate floor. And before you howl Russian propaganda, that was from C-SPAN.
At this point no honest person doesn't know what kind of scum Trump is.
If a person still supports Trump at this point then that low moral character is their type of guy.
I'm not going to argue with anyone dishonest enough to deny it at this point.
Because you really don't have an argument. Resorting to impugning the character of the person you're debating means you lost.
Dear Darryl,
I listened to Fear and Loathing before you published any of your other history podcasts and I was taken aback by how amazing they were. I liked them better than any other historical podcasts or audiobooks.
I believe we are both in our early 40s, although we have lived very different lives.
I spent my teenage years in an apocalyptic cult. I did get out when I was 20, but I have family that are still in, many of whom I no longer have contact with. I spoke out against the cult and as you can imagine it didn’t go well. I created a site on the internet about it and was found out. Listening to your Jim Jones podcast made me think a lot about that part of my life.
I have different political views than you, but I respect that your views are always well thought out.
The MartyrMade history podcast is one I always l look forward to. Thank you.
So what are your religious views/practice?
I'm curious about his religious/spiritual views, as well
Hardcore History was my gateway drug to MartyrMade ….
Carlin’s content is great, but I do not care to hear his thoughts about current events any longer, I do not trust him. He seems to look the other way when the current regime continually abuses power, which is disappointing from a guy who used to claim, “I wish America resembled it’s marketing material.”
Daryl, I do believe you would be using your platform to do the opposite. If Trump wins and begins retribution of political opponents (which I personally hope to see), I know my twitter and pod feed will have MM content checking all my natural inclinations to see Shitlibs get their deserved comeuppance.
If you’re guilty of anything, it’s making people think on current issues and there’s always more to the story than conventional media would lead us to believe.
My question for you, what do you believe is the root of Trump Derangement Syndrome?
This is personal for me, my 70 year old dad has full blown TDS. He’s an intelligent, successful retiree who’s only advice to me was to be fair. He’s politically a centrist, but the guy is giddy to see Trump and his surrogates metaphorically hang, though I don’t think he would mind an actual hanging.
Ironically, his name is Billy Joe, too
It's been wild to see the boomers in the time of Trump. A few became based. My dad was a lifelong lib, but went full maga. I was not ever really close to my dad as an adult as I was in the military and stationed mostly overseas, but when he started to get behind Trump, he called me a lot, since I was the republican (I wouldn't really describe myself as such at that time) he knew best. He was trying to feel out what a right wing person thinks and believes. I got a lot of insight into this change, and I'd say it was someone who really believed a lot of the rhetoric of 60s boomer liberalism. He was for the little guy. He was for reforming the system. He was for stopping wars. When a guy came along to actually talk about things as an outsider, an intellectually honest lib, would be supportive, or at least interested. In other words, not Dan Carlin. I think a big part of adhering to this honesty, and not becoming a vessel for cognitive dissonance is the ability to accept that if the politicians, corporations, intel agencies - the institutions - are corrupt, would that not include the media? A lot of boomers who can recognize the corruption in almost every sector of society still get their news from corporate media. It is my belief if you can get even a shitlib boomer to listen to some independent media, they can be broken out of the matrix. They just don't know an alternative to corporate media, and the fact that said media constantly calls independent voices "conspiracy theorists" or worse, makes matters more difficult.
My suggestion, if you want to help your dad, is to get him to listen to even 10 minutes of a non-corporate media perspective. For leftists, I often use Glenn Greenwald as a gateway, since he is also a true card carrying leftist. The main difference between the corporate and independent media is that all this left/right, republican/democrat dichotomy that the whole corporate side is dependent upon really doesn't exist. Greenwald and Tucker Carlson are friends, for instance, because the thing that links independent media together is mutual search for truth. Carlson and Greenwald can disagree, but they'll come at a debate with a foundation that both sides agree on the facts, and if there is incongruity, they search for the answers together in real time. Rogan did this with a guest on an episode I watched today. There was no yelling. No name calling. Just two men in good faith who wanted to find the best version of events they could find, so they could continue their conversation from there. It's the polar opposite of corporate media where interviews are edited to make people look better or worse, questions are loaded and made to produce "gatcha" moments, and debates involve enforced 20 seconds spots which encourage the worst sort of rhetoric.
Watching how information is conveyed in this environment is a revelation if all you're used to is corporate trash. And sadly boomers have been stuck here for decades. I believe that if you can get one of these people to give independent voices a shot, you can change their mind. The difference is so stark, you can't help but feel lied to all along just by format and presentation alone.
Dude, it’s the money issue. An ancient Middle Eastern book has the very words “the love of money is the root of all evil” written in it as a warning to all. News, coupled with money is a disaster waiting to happen. Give it enough time - or rope. Same with politics plus money, religion plus money, you name it. Current socio-political conditions in the U.S. are the fruit of our labor. And we’re receiving the return on our investment.
I'd like to throw Russell Brand in there as a liberal that I respect and enjoy listening to.
Agreed. I listen to him very often as well.