The Bitchuation Room

This week: Joey D'Urso on the politics of the 2026 World Cup, and Wajahat Ali on the 103 Democrats who just voted to end $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel.

Francesca is wearing an Argentina jersey and she IS NOT apologizing! Football and politics journalist Joey D'Urso joins to discuss the historical and political fault lines running through this World Cup: why the US can't host the world's biggest tournament without its immigration enforcement making headlines, what Argentina's racial history actually looks like versus the internet's version of it, the Malvinas/Falklands question, and more. 

Then, Wajahat A...

Lindsey Graham will haunt the United States for years to come. Or come back as a ladybug. *shudders*

This week, Lance of SerfsTV joined to talk about Senate democrats fawning over the death of Lady Gray, and what it says about how seriously they take Trump’s fascism. Then, ICE claims another life in less than a week in Maine. Joan Sebastian Guerrero was 26, Colombian, had a social security number, and could legally work in the US. ICE shot him at least four times while he was in his car and accompanied by his toddler. His last wo...

Graham Platner undermined a movement with his recklessness. Centrists, Republicans are using this moment to dunk on the left, while the left itself is obsessing over "I Told you so"s. Emma Vigeland, who advocated tirelessly for Platner before the recent allegations, joins Francesca to explain why recent SA allegations against are unlike his scandals from before.

It's a tough conversation but an important one. What do we expect of progressive candidates and do we have the time to only elevate those who have been tested inside the party apparatus? Especially when the other side spawns unqualified...

Big yikes — a monster Graham Platner bombshell dropped this week. We talk about the grim news, along with the less-grim news of Mallory McMorrow dropping out of her race against hunky M4A doctor Abdul El-Sayed. Comedian and actor Janesh Rahlan joins for a roundup of the World Cup, and why the Trump Curse has struck again! Also, is Christian Pulisic doing the Trump dance, in support?  

Then, Cayden Mak — publisher of Convergence Magazine and host of Block & Build — joins to discuss what the DSA surge means for left organizing strategy, how movements operate when electoralism feels like the...

The Bill of Rights is the ultimate receipt. The Founding Fathers did not mean to create such a banger of a document that helped enshrine equality and justice for all, they really only meant for landowning white men. Then social movements, wars, and freedom happened and Americans are still trying to live up to this document. Francesca sits down with acclaimed author and Professor Robin DG Kelley, a black radical historian whose work has been instructive for thinkers, organizers and activists.

They dive into how democracy in America has never truly existed, save for a brief moment...

Three DSA candidates just won their primaries in New York — and the bipartisan meltdown has been spectacular. We break down why everyone from Sean Hannity, to Bill Maher to Jon Favreau is personally offended by the likes of Darializa Chevalier, the Afro-Latina UAW member who just became the new AOC.

Then, movement-building reporter Lex McMenamin joins to talk about the Prairieland Protestors — eight activists sentenced to between 50 and 100 years in prison for providing “material support to terrorists,” plus one man who wasn't even at the protest but was convicted for moving boxes of zines! We’ll discuss what the c...

On this episode: Anna Merlan, senior reporter for Mother Jones specializing in conspiracies and technology, who joins for a sweeping discussion about the state of our brains. This is a portion of an exclusive member-conversation with Anna Merlan. To access it, become a member on Patreon.

Did you know that 'Hanta' virus in Hebrew means 'scam'? Well it doesn't. IT DOES NOT. Chances are if you're at all on the internet you've been fooled by or even inadvertently spread some kind of conspiracy theory. Some are harmless and hilarious and others lead to RFK Jr. as our...

Francesca interviews another Francesca! Francesca Hong is running to be the next governor of Wisconsin. She's a DSA member who is fighting for working people, championing universal childcare  and paid leave for all as well as calling for a one-year moratorium on data centers. Wisconsin’s primary election is August 11th!

Featuring: Francesca Hong, candidate for Wisconsin governor  

https://francescahong.com/

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LIVE SHOWS:

Pasadena Saturday July 11th, New World Disorder at The Ice House. Get tickets here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/New-World-Disorder-07-11-26-8-pm

Minn...

Trump's $14 million reflecting pool renovation is already peeling and full of algae — but it’s “the vandals” who did it, right? We break down the reflecting pool fiasco, as well as a WSJ investigation exposes Polymarket's influencer program as a network of fake wins designed to look like real money. Iraqi-Assyrian comedian and actor Paul Elia joins for the news roundup. 

Then, Marxist economist and co-founder of Democracy at Work Professor Richard Wolff returns to break down the state of the economy under Trump — tariffs, trade wars, the CHIPS Act rollback, and what it actually means when the 1% poin...

Saba and Francesca discuss how rampant wage theft is finally being called such, and why the myth of immigrants taking jobs ignores how much the U.S. has always relied on cheap labor. Then, how did we collectively let the unregulated gig economy metastasize into full-blown automation and now AI. Not bringing down the hammer on Uber, Lyft and AirBnb have led to things like Waymo and Coco delivery robots. It’s like the elites want a revolution? 

So how can unions better-pressure politicians into making policy that centers workers’ rights? And how will the change require ALL O...

Nancy Mace is out, the DOJ is investigating Gavin Newsom for being hotter than JD Vance, and Elon Musk is now the world's first trillionaire — built largely on government contracts he's spent his career trying to take away from everyone else.

Then, political commentator and filmmaker Josh Greene joins to (ironically) celebrate Elon Musk’s totally deserved new trillionaire status, along with (unironically) enjoying how great Iran is doing on the soccer field and at the negotiating table. MoU anyone?

Then, journalist and author Peter Beinart joins to discuss the US-Iran deal, what the war on I...

Featuring: 
Emma Vigeland, the Majority Report, @TheMajorityReport 
Nathan Wilcox, sports journalist, https://substack.com/@natewilcox 

Have you ever wanted to join the Frantifa? Now’s your chance — we’re giving away a free month of Patron access, which includes our new long-form sit-down interview show, Hot Button, and our members-only AMA in June. Sign up here. Ends June 23rd. patreon.com/bitchuationroom/redeem/279DE 

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Rock the pod on your bod. Get a brand new “Abolish ICE” t-shirt and a brand new mug at: www.bitchuationroom.com.

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LIVE SHOWS:

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Rock the pod on your bod. Get a brand new “Abolish ICE” t-shirt and a brand new mug at: www.bitchuationroom.com.

***

LIVE SHOWS:

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fiorentini & Matt Lieb, co-headline Helium Comedy
https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/372818

Watch The Bitchuation Room LIVE on Tuesdays 1pm P...

Featuring:

Katie Blankenship (47:12), immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South

⁠https://www.instagram.com/sanctuaryofthesouth/⁠

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Rock the pod on your bod. Get a brand new “Abolish ICE” t-shirt and a brand new mug at: ⁠www.bitchuationroom.com⁠.

***

LIVE SHOWS:

Minneapolis August 20th: The Bitchuation Room will be LIVE! at The Parkway Theater. Get tickets here: ⁠https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/bitchuation-room⁠

Portland, OR September 7th: The Bitchuation Room LIVE! At Helium Comedy ⁠https://portland.heliumcomedy.com/shows/373712⁠

Portland, OR September 8th: Francesca Fioren...

The left has a known habit of self-sabotage. We’ve either experienced this firsthand or witnessed it from the outside, but the activists generally have a hard time beating the circular firing squad allegations. Movement organizer and strategist Yotam Marom helps us understand why in his new book For Louder Days: Beyond a Politics of Powerlessness. Yotam is a man of the movement, and very much a street soldier. You won’t see him helming a political campaign, but you might get arrested next to him at a demonstration.  

Through personal stories of his own organizing, Yotam looks...

Spencer Pratt, Steve Hilton, and…Sam Seder’s feet? We look at unusual developments in California and beyond as the June 2 primary results unfold, with help from labor and community organizer Rachel Reyes, who's been watching all of this from inside the San Fernando Valley.

Then, Sam Seder of the Majority Report joins to break down what the primary results mean for the progressive wing of the party — from the ‘prairie populist’ Josh Turek to Sam Forstag in Montana who was backed by AOC — and specifically, the win of U.S. army doctor Adam Hamawy, who went to Gaza to h...

*This is a sneak preview of an hour-long interview. To get full access become a patron www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom.*

He was a gardener who sold his business to become a journalist. Now he’s known nationwide for his groundbreaking and painstaking documentation of ICE and CBP raids in Los Angeles; the violence, the abductions, and the terror of Trump’s immigration armies. Memo Torres used to write about food. Now, each day with the help of his team at local Los Angeles outlet LA Taco, he writes about the out-of-shape police rejects with alimony payments known as I...

Recent polling has shown that Trump and his MAGA regime have been starting to lose men under 30. But don’t worry! They have a plan to win them back. Wajahat Ali of The Left Hook joined Francesca to talk about Trump is hosting a UFC fight on the White House lawn.

Surely that will get the boys on board…and if that’s not enough, what if we brought back Harambe memes? That’s right, the White House official Twitter account put out a “memorial” post commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the gorilla’s demise. We talk about why our...

The DNC autopsy is out and GUESS WHAT — it's a disaster! No sources, no mention of Gaza, and running counter to what the directors of both the Harris and Biden campaigns have actually said. 

Meanwhile AIPAC is spending $14 million to prevent Cori Bush from retaking her seat in Missouri, with a deeply disappointing take from Rep. Jasmine Crockett. And CBS just killed Stephen Colbert’s Late Show after 33 years … will billionaire Byron Allen be an apolitical replacement? Plus Hasan Piker is subpoenaed by the FBI over a trip to Cuba, right after he discusses Elon’s election meddling...

*This is a sneak preview of an hour-long interview that gets into everything from Francesca’s astrological chart, to the planetary parallels between current racist policies and the birth of the KKK. To get access to the full interview, please click the JOIN button and become a member on YouTube, or become a patron www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom.*

What does Trump’s astrological chart have to do with how America seems to be dying on its 250th birthday….? Hmmm…  And when planets change locations for the first time in decades, what does that say about how WE need to c...

A $1.7 billion “retribution” fund for Jan 6ers is set up while SNAP benefits get cut while Trump critics lose their elections — the cult is real and total loyalty is required. Plus: a California judge has permanently banned Kars4Kids from the airwaves…for being a pro-Israel op the whole time?! I coulda told you that.

Then, he co-founded Justice Democrats, helped elect the Squad, and served as AOC's chief of staff — now Saikat Chakrabarti is running for Congress in San Francisco's 11th district. We talk about being a class traitor, public ownership of AI, fighting fascism from inside Con...

*This is a sneak preview of an hour-long interview that gets into everything from the hijacking of BLM, the backlash to it, to how Zohran won, and whether No Kings is effective. To get access to the full interview, please click the JOIN button and become a member on YouTube, or become a patron www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom.*

And how does the movement keep going?

It has been six years since the uprising over the murder of George Floyd, and yet police are still killing Americans at a terrifying rate. Less than 3 percent of the...

Trump and a bunch of billionaires go to China to cut deals for themselves, while Chuck Schumer fumes about not being more belligerent towards Xi. Meanwhile Xi himself sneak-disses the fall of the American Empire with a reference to the Thucydides Trap. Okay, Athenian scholar!

Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report joins to talk about whether it's punching down to make fun of medically stupid MAGA supporters, and Nicholas Kristoff's latest piece for the NYTimes on systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners. Finally, a little look down the Kasparian-hole in her latest interview with Myriam François o...

Two Dutch tourists and a MAHA CDC director walk into a bar…  and we wonder why a pathogen always jumps to humans when Trump is in office. Mother nature knows. Commentator Jack Cocchiarella is live in studio to break down Hantavirus to the redistricting virus spreading across the South.  Maybe we should have finished that Reconstruction. It’s in the name! 

Plus, comedian Brandie Posey joins to talk about the Roast of Kevin Hart cutting a little too close to the bone, Trump's inflation surge, and AOC saying she won't work with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Good on her but...

*This is a sneak peak from our new patron-exclusive interview series: HOT BUTTON. To listen to the full interview where we dig into homelessness, the Olympics, and whether Kenneth can do your taxes, become a patron for as little as $5 a month at www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom.*

How can a city both be one of the most expensive in the world and broke AF? Something’s clearly not right. Los Angeles is home to 3.8 million people and 1 million taquerias. And every issue the country faces, from housing shortages to busted social services, Los Angeles has it in sp...

What timeline is this where a white nationalist darling is running circles around the NYTimes on the topic of genocide? Matt Bernstein of the A Bit Fruity Podcast joins Francesca to dissect Tucker Carlson’s latest interview with the Times, and why the broken clock isn’t something to invest in.

Then, the war on Iran is turbocharging the affordability crisis especially in the area of fossil fuel-powered transportation. And the Trumpian march towards datacenters rolls on as the people of Utah are steamrolled by Kevin O’Leary of all people. 

Then Green Party candidate Butch W...

Francesca welcomes her first billionaire guest and asks him if he should be taxed out of existence. He’s not quite sure. But he is sure about wanting to be California’s next governor and making single-payer healthcare a reality, closing a property tax loophole that could raise $20 billion a year, humanely moving unhoused people indoors, AI regulations, and taxing fossil fuel corporations. 

Californians will vote for governor on June 2nd in a wild jungle primary that features two cartoonish Republicans. In the midst of the clown show, Tom Steyer is talking a big game about structural chang...

How would a labor organizer approach passing legislation in Congress?

We spoke with Claire Valdez, New York State Assemblymember representing neighborhoods in Queens who is now running for Congress in NY's 7th District. We get into her platform, unions for all, Medicare for All, ending forever wars, and abolishing ICE, as well as building real power to organize in your workplace and neighborhood.

Claire's endorsed by Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, Sunrise Movement and more and she's called for a ceasefire in Gaza, been arrested protesting arms sales outside Chuck Schumer’s office, and even stood up...

If Mainers are any indication, status quo Democrats aren’t going to cut it with the people. Graham Platner has succeeded in fundraising and polling Governor Janet Mills out of the Democratic primary. She’s dropped out, leaving the anti-genocide Medicare-for-all veteran as the presumptive winner to go against Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Then, what if Janet Jackson had no rhythm in Rhythm Nation. Erika Kirk dons a bizarre getup and reacts to the Trump assasination plot by scolding Americans on “radical leftists” and “whiteface”. She of course, the obvious culprit: guns.

Finally, Republicans cave and vote for...

What does the third assassination attempt on Trump tell us about the state of the left — and what do we make of a would-be assassin whose manifesto reads like a frustrated shitlib? We discuss Cole Thomas Allen, the politics of political rage, and the White House's sudden call to tone down rhetoric. Plus: half the White House is pregnant…and they're all Elon's.

Then, the Strait of Hormuz is closed, Congress has twice failed to invoke the War Powers Resolution (with Democratic help), and the US-Israeli war on Iran is starting to look like our empire's Suez mome...

How does allowing the right to dominate the conversation around trans athletes put us all in danger? And how does the Olympics new "gender testing" have historical parallels to the Nazi doctors in the 1936 Olympics games? We discuss with author and historian Michael Waters.

Plus after just 100 days, Zohran is ready to tax the rich and talk democratic socialism, so of course he's got the right people triggered. We discuss Z's big moves and what's standing in his way with comedian and podcast host Franchesca Ramsey. And who is the bigger AI shill: Reese Witherspoon or Peter...

Go see Palestine 36. Before the U,S, it was Britain that helped shape Zionism into the colonial force it is. Palestine 36, a new film from Watermelon Pictures, dramatizes a pivotal moment in the country, when Palestinians rose up en masse against British partition and the loss of their land to  Zionist forces.

A hundred years later, the song remains the same. Filmmaker Annemarie Jacir joins Francesca to talk about what her moving piece of historical fiction tells us about early colonialism of Palestine, and how anti-Arab racism has always been central to the program of ethnic cleansing. 

Pete Hegseth declares V for Victory in Iran, but on what grounds? Seems like Iran has had the upper hand even on AI-produced propaganda. Then, Melania Trump addresses the nation about lies that are being spread about her relationship with Jeffery Epstein. Only problem is, we have no idea what she’s referencing unless she’s getting way ahead of an incoming bombshell.

Then, the California governor’s race is an absolute mess as two Republicans gain traction in a 61-way jungle primary HAPPENING ON JUNE 2ND.  Congressman Eric Swalwell is being accused by multiple staffers of sexual...

Donald Trump: destroyer of civilizations and learner of Spanish?

Trump praises Allah and says he's ready to bomb bridges, power plants, and civilians in Iran with reckless abandon. (Of course an hour after this recording he says there will be a two-week ceasefire. Apocalypse delayed!) Francesca discusses the nuclear ‘will they won't they’ with comedian Eddie Pepitone. Plus, Pam Bondi is the second Trump administration official to get the boot, and the second woman. This time however, a blonde! How could he?

Then we check in with the Real News Network's Michael Fox about Trump's new...

Is SCOTUS really about to let Trump overturn the constitution and let Stephen Miller decide who should be a citizen? We discuss birthright citizenship case with professional Supreme Court-hater Rhiannon Hamam. Then, we talk about the long on the long-smeared and often misrepresented Palestinian-diaspora.

Plus establishment Dems and Zionist media figures spin out about Hasan Piker and draw a line in the sand with them on the other side.

And while all AI is terrible, something about Iran AI propaganda hits a bit different as Hegseth deploys more troops to the Middle East. 

F...

Marissa Roy, who joined us for the LA live show, is BACK to talk about why being the city's lawyer is secretly one of the most important positions in city government. How has the current the LA City Attorney blocked affordable housing and possibly turned a blind eye to greedy landlords, abusive police, and bad bosses? And how will DSA-endorsed Roy change that?

https://www.marissaroy.com/

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SUNDAY APRIL 5TH 7PM, Francesca and Matt Lieb will be LIVE in Vancouver, BC co-headlining Chill X Studios. Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/vancouverFM

Spring break? Don't worry about missing your flight, 'cause Trump made sure to send thousands of alcoholics to stand around and play Candy Crush in the nation's busiest airports.

Plus, why are right-wingers freaking out about Hasan Piker’s "5 star" Cuban hotel stay? Professor Christy Thornton (14:45), fresh back from a solidarity-humanitarian mission to Cuba breaks down the misinformation and explains just how existential this current crisis is to the country. Get involved with the National Network on Cuba to join a solidarity mission yourself.  

Then, former congresswoman (and future congresswoman!) Cori Bush (52:40) joins to talk abou...

Are AI-powered cameras watching your every move? Journalist Jason Koebler from 404 Media joins to explain how a creepy company called “Flock” is partnering with ICE and police to build a nationwide database. Plus, we discuss how AI slop is destroying the internet and our economy.

Then creator and streamer Caroline Kwan joins to talk warmongers, apolitical Oscar winners, and the first (perhaps only) Trump resignation: a counterterrorism director who’s had it with the war of choice on Iran. Is he a baddie or a baddie?

Featuring: 

Caroline Kwan (14:24) https://www.youtube.com/@UCpuaFc...

Emma Vigeland of The Majority Report joined Francesca on The Bitchuation Room to talk about  the nonsense and the news.

The right wing freaks are losing their minds over Rama Duwaji, The First Lady of NYC. She had the audacity to like some Instagram posts that said the occupation of Gaza is bad! Even worse, she exposed her midriff in a picture. The horny… I mean, the horror!

While distracted by the start of the newest forever war in Iran, the DOJ released files of a credible accusation against Trump by a 14-year-old girl. Why are...

Even IF you can afford a home, have a monthly mortgage, you’re oftentimes still being gouged by insurance companies. That’s what candidate Jane Kim wants to change by becoming California’s next insurance commissioner.

Jane is a former SF Supervisor, ran for mayor, and was the California Political Director for Bernie 2020, and has served as the CA director of the Working Families Party. She’s ready for this key consumer-advocacy role that has the ability to change how we think of homeownership and “risk”.

Not two years since the worst wildfires the state has seen, wi...