Behind the Bastards

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It Could Happen Here Weekly 218

Feb 7, 2026

Guest

James Stout

Guest

Andrew Sage

James Stout, on-the-ground Panama observer and historian; Andrew Sage, podcaster and Latin America historian. They trace U.S. intervention in Panama from canal politics to the 1989 invasion. Short, punchy segments also cover dogwhistle politics, the rise of authoritarian aesthetics, union resistance to ICE, civil defense tactics, and contemporary threats to democratic institutions.

03:21:11

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ADVICE

Plan General Strikes With Infrastructure

Organize a general strike with union backing and logistics to pressure the regime effectively.
Build infrastructure for food, utilities, and legal risk because a real strike demands planning.

insights

INSIGHT

Every Little Accommodation Enables Authoritarians

Milton Mayer's study shows small acts of accommodation by ordinary people enable authoritarianism.
Robert Evans warns that educated, well-meaning individuals can rationalize choices that ultimately empower regimes.

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ADVICE

Get Your Affairs In Order Before Risky Actions

Prepare personally and legally: make wills and get affairs in order before direct confrontation.
Robert Evans echoes clergy advice to be ready to physically stand between state power and the vulnerable.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Dogwhistle Overreach and Nazi Code Hunting

02:51 • 2min

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The Paranoid Style and QAnon’s Influence

05:03 • 2min

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Why Counting Words Misses the Point

06:51 • 2min

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When Aesthetics Replace Politics

OK Symbol, Streisand Effect, and Signaling Risks

13:58 • 4min

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ICE, Deportations, and Aesthetic Backlash

From Aesthetics to Direct Action

30:26 • 2min

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Capitalist Realism and Spectacle

32:55 • 4min

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Union Resistance to Deportations

37:00 • 5min

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When Code Hunting Becomes Counterproductive

Panama 1989—Intro and Context

46:07 • 2min

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Panama Geography, Darien Gap, and Early U.S. Interest

48:32 • 5min

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U.S. Interventions Before Independence

53:10 • 11min

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Building the Canal and Racial Labor Systems

01:03:59 • 7min

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Panama as Imperial Laboratory

1968 Coup and Torrijos’ Reforms

01:27:33 • 5min

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Torrijos-Carter Treaties and Canal Return

01:32:21 • 1min

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Rise of Noriega and U.S. Complicity

01:33:43 • 10min

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1989 Invasion and Its Devastation

01:43:21 • 6min

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Parallels Between Panama and Venezuela

Robert Evans Keynote: Authoritarianism Primer

02:02:08 • 3min

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Personal Risks, Tear Gas, and Civil Defense

02:05:00 • 4min

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Neighborhood Defense and Ice Watch

02:09:29 • 6min

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How Democracies Become Vulnerable

02:15:06 • 1min

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The General Strike as Leverage

02:16:30 • 2min

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Moral Choices and Milton Mayer's Lessons

02:18:42 • 7min

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Q&A: Risks, Strategy, and Accountability

Executive Disorder: Weekly News Roundup

02:43:45 • 4min

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Portland ICE Protests and Tear Gas Harms

02:48:00 • 8min

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U.S. Troops, TPS, and Nigeria Operations

02:55:34 • 4min

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Clintons to Testify on Epstein Documents

02:59:38 • 5min

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ICE Body Cameras and Oversight Limits

03:05:01 • 9min

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Internal ICE Tensions and Leadership

03:14:19 • 1min

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Fulton County FBI Raid and Election Fears

03:15:42 • 9min

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Visa Revocation: Rumeysa Ozturk Case

03:24:52 • 5min

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Syria/Rojava Update and Settlement

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

Emperors in the Jungle

The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama

John Lindsay-Poland

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#1250

• Mentioned in 32 episodes

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of seven generations of the Buendía family, founders of the fictional town of Macondo. The novel spans a hundred years of turbulent Latin American history, from the postcolonial 1820s to the 1920s. It is a tale of love, loss, and the cyclical nature of history, filled with magical realism that blends the supernatural with the ordinary. The story follows the family's experiences, including civil war, marriages, births, and deaths, and explores themes such as solitude, fate, and the inevitability of repetition in history. The novel is renowned for its narrative style and its influence on the literary movement known as the Latin American Boom.

#4979

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

They Thought They Were Free

The Germans, 1933-45

Milton Sanford Mayer

In 'They Thought They Were Free,' Milton Sanford Mayer explores the lives of ten ordinary Germans during the Nazi regime, revealing how decent people became complicit in atrocities. The book examines the mechanisms of persuasion, conformity, and denial that allowed fascism to entwine itself with the German populace, serving as a timeless warning about the fragility of freedom and the dangers of complacency.

#11072

• Mentioned in 5 episodes

A (brief) history of vice

Robert Evans

This book delves into the role of vices such as alcohol, sex, and drugs in shaping human history. Evans combines historical research with personal experiments to illustrate how these behaviors have contributed to societal development. The book offers a unique blend of history and practical guides, allowing readers to recreate ancient vices.

#3757

• Mentioned in 13 episodes

Morning after the Revolution

Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History

Nellie Bowles

#777

• Mentioned in 44 episodes

Capitalist Realism

Is There No Alternative?

Mark Fisher

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.

- CZM Rewind: Dogwhistle Politics and Nazi Code Hunting

- Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us feat. Andrew

- Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us, Pt. 2

- What Must Be Done? The Battle Against Fascism

- Executive Disorder: ICE Body Cams, Fulton Election Raid, Portland Protest

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone

Sources/Links:

CZM Rewind: Dogwhistle Politics and Nazi Code Hunting

https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/

https://files.libcom.org/files/[Mark_Fisher]_Capitalist_Realism_Is_There_no_Alte(BookZZ.org).pdf

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trumps-immigration-record-far-high-arrests-low-deportations-rcna217752

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/04/09/ice-director-envisions-amazon-like-mass-deportation-system-prime-but-with-human-beings/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20p36e62gyo

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-refuses-us-military-flight-deporting-migrants-sources-say-2025-01-25/

https://bsky.app/profile/bishonentype.bsky.social/post/3luq3qktltc2n

Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us feat. Andrew

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-interior-minister-says-100-people-died-us-attack-2026-01-08/