Politics

In late 2020, I was waiting in a dentist’s office. The Today Show was on, with hosts spouting the most absolutely insane stories that could only be classified as fear porn. When I got home, I talked to an old friend asking her, “Is this what people are watching? Is this why the world has gone insane?” I have avoided traditional news media for over a decade. In 2007, I wrote about the deceptiveness of main stream media when it came to reporting on various contentious topics such as the Bush torture memos, the war on terror and the 2008 financial collapse. Since my return to America, our main stream media has only gotten worse, spreading fear and anger, both domestically and abroad.

There has been a large rise in independent media. A new era of reporters, interviewers and analysts are opening up the landscape of news and punditry. They are changing things in a big way. To those whose eyes are open; those who are paying attention: What we used to call Main Stream Media is clearly nothing more than propaganda networks funded by advertisers. Large industries have tremendous influence over both government officials and news narratives. Fact checking websites have arisen to fuel the industry that has been actively misleading us for our entire lives. We are at a crossroad where people will either embrace the orthodoxy of globalist narratives, or turn their attention to those who present more complete breakdowns of the complicated topics that are in the social consciousness of today.

Independent and alternative media can be broken in to several categories. The majority of people in alternative media are analysts. Podcasters and video creators often take main stream articles and break them down, sometimes cross-referencing them with the actual studies they claim to report on, or independent reports that contradict the established narrative. Some analysis is specialized, such as legal perspectives from lawyers or scientific reports from doctors, researchers and other experts. Alongside analysts are interviewers. A good interviewer puts pressure on experts or figureheads, and attempts to push them through difficult questions to defend their positions. There is also comedy and satire, which attempts to inform while making people laugh. Last, but arguably the most important, are on the ground reporters, and undercover investigative journalists. They are essential to filming and documenting events where they occur.

Reporting

Andy Ngo has done some absolutely incredible reporting into the rise of anarchist and antifa groups; American grown, far-left, domestic terrorists. He’s recently published a book on antifa. Protestors picketed a store in Portland simply for carrying it¹. Groups in Portland often graffiti the words “Death to Andy Ngo” on buildings². I’ve used some of his footage in my coverage of CHAZ in Seattle. Despite his critics, I find his dispatches valuable, and he takes considerable risks in order to bring his viewers footage and information from inside many of the riots that spread across America in 2020.

Project Veritas has done an absolutely incredible amount of investigative work. I questioned a lot of their early videos as they were often clipped and cut together into small segments. That type of editing has always bothered me, as it’s often used to obscure information. Veritas has started using longer uncut clips, and upon examining a lot of their reporting, I do believe in James O’Keefe’s integrity. Hidden cameras and deep cover investigative reporting has mostly disappeared from the main stream media. Project Veritas is one of the most trustworthy independent news organizations doing true investigative work.

Rebel News does a lot of on the ground reporting out of Canada and Australia. Their reporters have covered several lockdown protests, and helped viewers grasp a scale that’s not often seen on major news networks. Their bias is often clearly on the side of the protestors, and their ability to get people on the streets to many of these events is impressive.

I was first induced to Michael Yon by an old roommate who has since passed away. My old roommate was a fairly conservative guy, and reading Michael Yon’s dispatches from the front lines of war zones helped open my perspective about global events. His coverage has mostly been international, with him recently covering the protests in Hong Kong. His perspective is especially chilling in his return to the United States, to cover what’s currently taking place in his own nation. His reporting is informative and hard hitting.

Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) is an on the ground network with an obvious bias towards conservatives. Even through they lean heavily right, they do not hide their bias. Though they fully disclose their political leanings, they’re surprisingly more balanced than many of the current major networks. Their reporting was even used as evidence during the second presidential impeachment proceedings in 2021; proceedings where evidence was fabricated on the senate floor³⁴ and no one faced any consequences for doing so.

During the lead up to the 2019 general elections, One America News (OAN) picked up considerable viewership. Although they had the standard fare of pundits offering analysis, they did offer a considerable amount of on-scene reporting. Likewise, Newsmaxx reemerged from the depths of the 1990s causing many people to ask the question, “Wait? They’re still around?” Unfortunately, both networks seem to have moved back into obscurity after the elections.

There are not a lot of independent networks who can send reporters to cover live events. Travel is expensive and it’s difficult to predict what stories will grow to be impactful and which will fizzle. Much of the independent reporting we’ve seen in the past few years has relied more on citizen journalist; people recording events as they happen, and posting those videos online. This can give the world insight into volatile or dangerous situations as they’re unfolding, but it can also reduce very complex situations into short, carefully edited, out of context video clips.

Analysis

Viva Frei is by far my favorite independent legal analyst. Branding himself as a “Montreal litigator turned YouTuber,” Viva Frei covers legal cases both in the US and Canada in a series of legal video blogs or VLAWGS. In the time I’ve been following him, his videos have grown to include weekly live streams with Robert Barnes, and sidebar interviews with various guests during the week. I really enjoy how Viva reads and shows his audience, actual court filings. He is sharp and always on point with his discussions and analysis. My interest in law has grown substantially from his weekly Sunday evening live streams, and Robert Barnes always leaves us with glimpses of hope and faith in the system, despite our very turbulent world.

No Agenda Podcast is quite possibly the oldest podcast in existence⁵. Hosted by John C. Dvorak and Adam Curry (a.k.a “The Podfather”), they run shows twice a week. No Agenda fans greet each other at meetups by saying “In the Morning” (often abbreviated ITM). No Agenda runs under a “Value for value” model. Much of the show is supported by listeners, not just financially, but also with art, clips and running various forums and chat rooms. While disassembling convoluted media narratives, the hosts also have a lot of fun throwing shade at FEMA, seeing the number 33 in everything, and judging the week’s economic forecast based on the number of cars on the AmTrak that passes by Dvorak’s house. Their analysis is the only reason some people have stayed sane during COVID-19.

Tim Pool has some weird compulsion where he must mention civil war at least once per episode. He never takes his signature beanie off, even when appearing on Fox News⁶. I never knew Pool back when he did on-the-ground reporting⁷, and his notoriety has made it more dangerous for him to continue such reporting in the same way it has affected Andy Ngo. Still, I enjoy listening to Pool’s takes where he basically just reads the news to his audience, and elaborates on it a bit. I typically just watch the first few minutes, as it’s more tolerable than reading the news on its own. Still, Pool is heavily limited by being on YouTube. He’s frequently told guests that there are things he cannot talk about on-air. His IRL live streams are okay when he has a good guest on, and when Ian shuts the hell up. I’m convinced Ian is only on the show because he probably grows all their weed. Pool isn’t the most notable or prolific analyst to listen to, but it’s a tolerable centrist/far-center perspective.

James Corbett is a Canadian who has spent the past several years living and working in Japan. He has a podcast, writes articles and has done some amazing videos presenting in-depth analysis on some very complex issues. He exposes many of the deeper stories buried out of main stream narratives, spanning everything from health and terrorism, to war and media. I do not agree with many of his pro-anarchists and anti-stateism stances, as I do not think they would scale well outside very small communities. Still, his work on deconstructing media narratives is astounding. He was recently banned from YouTube and his Patreon was shut down as well.

Lotus Eaters is a podcast out of the United Kingdom, directed by Carl Benjamin (a.k.a Sargon of Akkad). It’s typically hosted by Carl and Callum, but occasionally has interviews and guest hosts. The name of the podcast comes from Homer’s Odyssey⁸, and they frequently discuss culture and politics, both within the United Kingdom and the United States. They often analyze culture and media through the lens of history. Their podcasts are often both hilarious and insightful, granting American listeners a perspective of what’s happening across the pond.

Specialized Reporting

Media Monarchy produces hour long news podcasts and DJ music streams, five days a week. Every day has a theme, with Monday focusing on geopolitics, Tuesday on tech, Wednesday on food and health, Thursday on the occult and Friday on memes and entertainment. I had the opportunity to meet the host, James Evan Pilato, several years ago when he lived in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been a member of his podcast for years and have also donated sound equipment and boxes of CDs for his DJ sets. I’ve always enjoyed his reporting style. Some of it might be the normal headlines you’d hear on other news services, but his delivery and unique take on topics is really hilarious. His satirically refers to major news sources by pet names like The Washington Compost, The Clinton News Network, The New York Crimes and many others. His show’s motto is the quote from Jello Biafra, “Don’t hate the media; become the media.”.

The HighWire with Del Bigtree is a specialized network that focuses on medicine and vaccinations. They conduct street interviews⁹, as well as pull in a lot of guests that are ignored and defamed by the main stream media¹⁰. Their broadcasts are well produced and seem well vetted, but their scope is incredibly narrow and I’m not sure what their long term viability strategy is.

In 2019, Alex Jones was interviewed on the Joe Rogan show. He was blasted by the media for claiming that babies were harvested for organs¹¹. In August of 2021, documents made available by a Freedom of Information Request to the US Department of Health and Human Services, revealed $2.7 million in federal funds were spent on University of Pittsburgh’s programs to become a “tissue hub” for human fetal tissue¹². The university was studying fetal organs and attempted to retrieve half their samples from aborted babies of minorities¹³. In May he reported one of the ingredients used in the new COVID vaccines, SM-102, was dangerous for human or veterinary use¹⁴. However, if you look at the OSHA data sheet for SM-102, the warnings are for the chemical in a mixture of chloroform¹⁵. The warnings are for the combined mixture, not for the individual chemical which is likely separated out before use. However, just because people freaked out over the misinterpretation of this data sheet, shouldn’t mean people dismiss other concerns about a barely tested vaccination.

Alex Jones is proof that if you throw a lot of spaghetti at the wall, some of it is going to stick. If you report on a lot of controversial topics no one else is covering, you’re going to eventually get some information horrifically right. I don’t actually recommend watching Alex Jones himself, but he is absolutely hilarious in interviews, such as when he’s appeared on Tim Pool¹⁶, Joe Rogan and others. Although he’s easy to ridicule, he shouldn’t be so easily dismissed. You might have to take what he says with a grain of salt, but the instances which he has been frighteningly accurate, and ahead of the curve, are growing.

Bannon’s War Room: Pandemic is podcast by Steve Bannon. As the name suggests, it was started out by covering the pandemic response. His focus has expanded since the show’s inception to include foreign policy, election transparency, and various topics relating to the US federal government. Bannon’s broad background in the military, finance and industry makes for a very unique analysis on current events. The show has gained syndication on several networks and includes perspectives and theories not covered elsewhere.

Dark Horse is incredible podcast that focuses on science, evolutionary biology and consciousness while also keeping a pulse on how beliefs affect our modern era. It’s hosted by Brent Weinstin and his wife Heather Heying, who are often remembered for the events at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington¹⁷. Brent and Heather work diligently to always present everything in the most accurate and logical light that they can, and they are not afraid to offer corrections or admit mistakes. The podcast is mostly soft-spoken, and has a feel that would draw anyone in looking for an alternative to National Public Radio (or as Media Monarchy would call it: Nationalist Public Radio).

Years ago I stepped away from watching satire news. I felt that laughing at serious complex and disturbing world issues made people complacent with some of the more destructive political actors in our world. However, in 2020, I started to watch Steven Crowder’s morning show. Crowder is most famously know for his series of Change My Mind videos. Although I don’t agree with all his views on faith, I’ve grown to respect Crowder’s hilarious and informative reporting on our current political era. I was watching Louder with Crowder during the contentious 2020 elections. In the following months, Crowder’s staff went well beyond what any other satire news site has done. He send out staff and interns to verify that addresses on voter registration rolls simply didn’t exist, leading him to being blocked on some social media sites¹⁸. I do think some of his bits fall flat. Yet overall, Crowder’s show is more than just humor. It’s a great way to glimpse the conservative religious perspective, while also laughing at a world that is increasingly going mad. He truly is a light in a dark world, and offers a great alternative to other satire news programs that have deteriorated into being pure political actors¹⁹.

Interviews

Joe Rogan has always done amazing interviews with people across all walks of life and across the political spectrum. He’s good at asking difficult questions that challenge peoples’ views. He’s been met with a lot of criticism over some of his guests and even his personal talking points, but he’s also the first to tell others not to listen to him; that he’s just an idiot and a sports commentator on the Internet. He received a good amount of backlash after moving to Spotify. I’ve personally haven’t listened to him much since the move. Even though his podcast is still free, it still requires enabling Digital Rights Management (DRM) within my web browser, which I refuse to do. I’ll occasionally listen to the streams that are controversial enough that they are ripped to mp3s and posted to other locations.

Megyn Kelly interviews all varieties of people on her podcast. I never listened to her while she was on NBC or FOX. I was unfamiliar with her controversial background, or the cancel culture that sought to destroy her career. In the months that I’ve been listening to her, she’s brought on a large number of guests, even those who come from the opposite end of the political isle. She often challenges her guests with tough questions, and isn’t afraid to voice her disagreement with them on issues.

The Fallen

There are a couple of people and organizations I use to respect that have fallen far in their ability to report objectively. Democracy Now and The Real News Network (TRNN) are both member supported independent news agencies. They are proof that being free of advertiser control doesn’t make it any less likely to fall into a one-sided media bias. I use to respect both of these networks years ago, as truly independent sources that covered topics ignored by major outlets. Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now, has promoted a far left alarmist rhetoric during the past year over both the presidency and the pandemic. She has come a long way from getting arrested while covering the 2008 Republican National Convention, and now sounds just like every other large media outlet.

Matt Bors was a political cartoonist I followed and supported for many years. I helped crowdfund the graphic novel War is Boring, which he wrote with David Axe. It’s an amazing book that covers the dangerous, yet often boring, life of an independent war corespondent. Later I also helped crowdfund his book Life Begins at Incorporation. I like the fact that his comics tried to fit a full narrative into a traditional four-panel format, instead of relying on labeling everything as traditional political cartoons do. During the past few years, his cartoons grew more and more erratic. He started creating a series of unhinged Mad Max cartoons, and his work started to defend, and even openly support, rioters and antifa. I feel Bors’s brain must have broken during the past few years, and he is unable to leverage the balanced criticism he once did during both the Bush and Obama years. He’s most well known to the masses for his We Should Improve Society Somewhat meme²⁰.

Don’t Believe Everything on the TV Screen

Years ago when I was traveling across the US, I met a woman in a bar in a small coastal town in Washington who told me, “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Once people start to examine the narratives displayed for us on the main stream media, and see the ways these organizations are manipulating the stories, it makes it difficult to trust anything that is broadcast to the masses. It is good to be skeptical, as doubt is the true foundation of science and discovery. By that same principal, people shouldn’t trust independent media just because it’s not backed by large scale advertising.

I don’t agree with all the ideas or information I get from independent sources and podcasts. I use it, combined with my own examination of what’s available, to come up with my world view. The mainstream media is literally telling us not to do our own research²¹. Big media networks openly contradict themselves, such as when the BBC reported on signals that indicate election fraud in 2016²², and yet denied those same signals were present in 2020.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” -Aristotle

Our news media is not neutral. Whoever you listen to, the view will be polarized and the biases realized. The growth of censorship by big tech attempts to snuff out the reach of independent journalist and analysts. Attempting to legislate away their hold may not be a reasonable solution, nor should it be necessary, so long as our freedom of speech remains protected. The real solution is in the hands of the individual, to turn away from the giant megaphones that instruct the masses to listen and obey. Instead, we must seek out dissenting viewpoints, in order to develop our own abilities to test and discern what is true²³. The era of Legacy Media can only come to an end if we begin to start listening to one another once again. We must think for ourselves, and come to our own conclusions on what is moral, just and true.