It Could Happen Here

Kevin Foster speaks with Mo Meltzer-Cohen, a law professor at CUNY School of Law, about Macklemore being booted from the Ed Sheeran tour and the First Amendment implications. 

Sources:

In this episode Dana El Kurd talks with Harsha Walia about the anti immigrant backlash that has emerged in the aftermath of the migrant crossing incident in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Harsha breaks down what happened, how parts of the right and left have responded, and why we need to center migrant rights in our struggle against fascism.

Sources:

Spain: Liberals Cede Ground to Far Right on Ceuta Border Crossings

Why is Spain in Africa? – Canadian Dimension

Morocco’s US-Backed Occupation of Western Sahara It Could Happen Here | iHear...

In Part Two of our series on The Wall and the Wilderness, James talks about the cultural and ecological damage done by the border wall and continues his interview with Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains.

Sources:

https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46  
https://www-jstor-org.sdmesa.idm.oclc.org/stable/3636811?seq=5 
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_employer=Atkore 
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_a11265b0-17c3-5bed...

Carlos Berríos Polanco discusses the United States’ yearlong campaign of extrajudicial killing through boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific, how the Trump Administration set the foundation for the campaign since its first day in office, and the victims of these strikes.

Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/29/us/us-caribbean-pacific-boat-strikes.html 

https://airwars.org/boat-strikes-latin-america 

https://media.defense.gov/2026/May/21/2003935694/-1/-1/1/OSS_Q2_MAR2026_FINAL_508.PDF 

https://www.southcom.mil/News/PressReleases/Article/4563958/us-southern-command-establishes-joint-task-force-western-hemisphere/ 

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/08/06/southcom-replaces-southern-spear-with-western-hemisphere-task-force-targeting-criminal-networks/ 

Margaret reads you 4 very short, dream like stories from a collection by a Greek author

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

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!

Sources/Links:

West Bank Takeover

The gang discuss Trump’s speech at the UN, the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger,
another ICE shooting in Texas, how Mark Carney’s Bill C-39 threatens Indigenous rights and labor, a new election plan in Palestine, UK lifeboat protests, and Trump banning news outlets from the White House.

Sources:

Mia looks at how recent shifts in gas prices tell the story of a series of global wars and American empire.

Sources:

James is joined by Andrew to discuss diversity and its value as a concept, not a corporate buzzword.

Sources:

       by David Harmon

       by Scott E. Page

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Garrison outlines various proposals for a regulatory “slowdown” of frontier AI models, Trump’s push against regulation, the risk of regulatory capture, legislation for public ownership of AI companies and control of this technology, and the organizing limits of AI-denialism.

Sources:

James talks about the ecological disaster that is the border wall and interviews Dr. Christina Aiello about the Peninsular Bighorn ram that was killed by razor wire in the Jacumba mountains.

Sources:

https://www.usaspending.gov/search?hash=29de9d51905bd175a701b04c24176b46
https://www-jstor-org.sdmesa.idm.oclc.org/stable/3636811?seq=5 
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_employer=Atkore 
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_a11265b0-17c3-5bed-b50a-72e5d17e1369.html 
https://www.blm.gov/visit/jacumba-wilderness 
https://www.usaspending.gov...

In this episode Dana El Kurd talks about how the settlers and the Israeli state are working hand in hand to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the West Bank, and how we should understand the relationship between the two actors.   

Sources:

https://jewishcurrents.org/it-feels-like-a-death-sentence

https://www.972mag.com/armed-settler-hikes-west-bank/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/opinion/israel-west-bank-settlers-violence.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/29/israeli-settlers-surround-palestinian-home-in-occupied-west-banks-qusra

https://www.972mag.com/bilin-israeli-land-seizure-settler-road/

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Margaret reads you a surreal story about the surreal Southwest, written by one of her favorite authors

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

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!

Sources/Links:

Sanctions, Terror, and the Internet

The gang discuss Ed Sheeran dropping Macklemore from his tour over pro Palestine comments, courts blocking new mail-in-ballot requirements, Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, a report detailing tiny metal cages at Alligator Alcatraz, a general strike in Eastern Kurdistan, debate on AI regulation, and the Republican midterm convention. 

Sources:

Mia begins a series on the history of the most recent series of uprisings by examining how history moves.

Sources:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm

https://www.endnotes.org.uk/issues/issue-4/endnotes-a-history-of-separation-preface

https://archive.org/details/blackjacobinstou0000jame

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In this episode Dana El Kurd talks about the debate in DC on what the role of the US has been in the Middle East, and what it should be. She also talks about what’s missing from these discussions. 

Sources:

https://www.cfr.org/articles/the-u-s-led-middle-east-order-is-over-the-mecca-agreement-proves-it

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/end-american-middle-east-iran-marc-lynch

http://foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/new-old-middle-east-gause

https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/12/the-re-emergence-of-the-palestine-question-in-world-politics/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/29/us-decline-world-order-replacement

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Garrison talks with Dr. Kaveh Hoda about the potential risks and benefits of doing outreach to people within the MAHA movement, the partisan makeup of MAHA, and why AOC is privately talking with MAHA influencers. 

Sources:
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/28/poll-maha-health-fractures-kennedy-00972253
https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/maha-health-concerns-resonate-broadly-but-lag-behind-health-care-costs-even-for-maha-voters/
https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-health-tracking-poll-maha-and-the-midterms/
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/09/05/inside-aocs-maha-outreach-01066409
https://www.youtube.com/live/h6fe9CaVZCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRgeXPsihXI

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James and journalist Jason Dove Mark explain the roadless rule, national forests, and the Trump administration's attempts to strip protections from tens of thousands of acres of public land.

 https://www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2025-0001-223869 
https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/roadless-rule 
https://morethanjustparks.com/threatened-public-lands-map/ 

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Margaret joins James to discuss a new round of sanctions against, among others, Autistici/Inventati and the internet infrastructure services they provided. 


Sources:
https://www.inventati.org/campaign/press

https://keepitfree.ai/announcements/a/i-shuts-down-stay-human/ 

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0616/ 

https://davidgraeber.org/articles/the-new-anarchists/ 

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To close out Black August, Margaret sits down with Bridget Todd and Hazel Acacia to finish talking about one of the most iconic Trek episodes ever made (S6E13: Far Beyond the Stars of Deep Space Nine)- and you're invited

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

What Happened with Milo Yiannopoulos?

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!

Sources/Links:

Counterrevolution in Egypt

The gang discuss new prediction market advertising campaigns, a 9/11 themed attack ad against Abdul El-Sayed, the US striking Iranian oil tankers, Trump’s illegal tariffs against Canada, and the White House’s new online arcade with a “Build the Wall” and deportation video game.

Sources:

Mia discusses the long arc of the Pax Americana, its roots in the US Navy, and how Trump’s war with Iran has blown it up.

Sources:

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Garrison talks about the former rising star of the alt-right being deported to the UK, the beef between Milo and Laura Loomer, possible issues with his green card, and how his deportation may relate to his ongoing divorce.

Sources:

In this episode Dana El Kurd talks with Hossam El-Hamalawy, a journalist and socialist from Cairo, who was among the organizers of the 2011 uprising. He has been involved in the labour movement and the fight against police brutality in Egypt for many years, and holds a PhD in political science from Free University of Berlin. Hossam is author of the new book "Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic".

Sources:

Hossam’s substack - https://barracks.substack.com/

Hossam’s book - https://www.versobooks.com/products/3225-counterrevolution-in-egypt?srsltid=AfmBOoo0NJfxdpH2uIJsXqXLfdSs10LtMgK...

James is joined by Molly to discuss how the Bureau of Land Management is quietly changing its approach to public land management and what it means for approximately 900 bison in Central Montana.

(originally run on It Could Happen Here in May 2026)

Sources:
https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/810541893_202412_990_2025073023621659.pdf 

https://gov.mt.gov/_docs/governor/AmericanPrairieProposedDecisionJanuary162026.pdf 

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-17537.pdf 

https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2026-01-21/blm-cancels-bison-grazing-permits-for-montana-nature-reserve

https://news.mt.gov/Governors-Office/Governor_Gianforte_Appeals_Judges_APR_Bison_Grazing_Decision#:~:text=Fol...

To close out Black August, Margaret sits down with Bridget Todd and Hazel Acacia to talk about one of the most iconic Trek episodes ever made (S6E13: Far Beyond the Stars of Deep Space Nine)- and you're invited

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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!

Sources/Links:

Disarming Hamas

The gang discuss the dissolution of the SDF, Lake America, MAGA influencers secretly working for the Pentagon, Trump’s oil deal in Venezuela, new US strikes in Iran, a USPS whistleblower warning about voting restrictions, and the Tupac murder case. 

Sources:

Andrew talks with James about the concept of civilization and how we can use it to understand our shared past and future. 

Sources:

Against the Grain by James C. Scott

Civilized to Death by Christopher Ryan

Wild Thought by  Claude Lévi-Strauss

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan

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Robert reads an investigative report by French author and researcher, Stephanie Lamy, about the community of race scientists who went after Jason Arday.

Source:

https://share.google/VTyoNfxD04LW1B51H

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Andrew talks with Mia about how anarchists approach fighting in wars through the lens of the anarchist debate on joining WWI.

Sources:

Matthew S. Adams, Anarchism and the First World War

George Woodcock, Peter Kropotkin: From Prince to Rebel

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-the-anarchist-international-and-war

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-manifesto-of-the-sixteen

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James follows up on last week's episode and talked to Miles Gray about what it is like to lose your home in a fire and how people can continue to help fire survivors.

Sources:

https://lacounty.gov/2026/08/04/county-of-los-angeles-fire-department-releases-the-investigative-reports-on-the-cause-of-the-eaton-fire/  
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-19/sce-decomissioned-power-line-eaton-fire-risk  
https://apnews.com/general-news-ffcad08a8ef14fa88df8bacdd9e73883  
https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/newsom-wildfire-utility-liability-package/  
https://x.com/WildfireVics1st/status/2078175502523585021  
https://clickstrategies.us/  

Donation Links:

Spokane Immigrants Rights Coalition: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sirc-community-fund 

Spectrum runni...

In this episode Dana El Kurd talks about recent news of Hamas dissolving its emergency committee in Gaza and agreeing to disarmament – sort of.

Sources:

https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2026/04/what-path-forward-the-board-of-peace-gaza-and-the-future-of-multilateralism

https://www.refugeesinternational.org/perspectives-and-commentaries/six-months-into-gaza-ceasefire-setting-the-record-straight-about-aid/

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-deal-hamas-israel-lebanon-explosions-morocco-spain-migrants

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Margaret reads Gare a story in making fun of rich people in space

Original Air Date: 12.03.2023

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

How to Rob a City: NBA Billionaire Edition 

Sophie Cunningham's Transphobic WNBA Panic 

DHS Surveillance and Infiltration of ICE Protests in Minnesota 

Executive Disorder: Mail-In Voting Restrictions, Canadian Trade War, Record High ICE Detentions 

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...

The gang discuss the death of Dolly Parton, a drought in Puerto Rico, SCOTUS allowing Trump to implement his executive order on mail-in voting, trade negotiations falling apart with Canada, how police are circumventing sanctuary policies, and the chaotic evacuation of a U.S. base in Bahrain. 

Sources:
https://pridesource.com/article/dolly-parton-tribute

https://people.com/dolly-parton-says-she-loves-and-does-not-judge-the-lgbtq-community-8386722
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/08/designation-of-autistici-inventati-as-a-specially-designated-global-terrorist/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0616/
https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/08/18/usda-acts-remove-roadless-rule-restrictions-exacerbate-rising-wildfire-risk 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roa...

Garrison outlines what we know about how DHS investigated anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis and new discovery documents revealing Homeland Security Investigations reports on financial probes of activist groups and labor unions.

Sources:

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73489661/united-states-v-sant/ 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.0_6.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.3_3.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.5_5.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.7_4.pdf
https://storage.c...

Mia talks with trans sports journalist Frankie de la Cruz and former trans college athlete Bugsmaytrix about WNBA bit player Sophie Cunningham's pivot to transphobia and the right's war on trans people.

Links:

https://www.thefrankiedlc.news/

@thefrankiedlc

+

@bugsmaytrix.bsky.social 

 https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-everything-is-wrestling-336405745/

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