Behind the Bastards

Part One: Behind the Bastards Q&A: 2026 Edition

Happy New Year, Robert and Sophie sit down and answer listener questions. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

It Could Happen Here Weekly 214

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.  - 2025 Q&A - 2026 Predictions - Trump Kidnaps Venezuelan President Maduro - Inside Our AI Future: Report from CES - Executive Disorder: Minneapolis ICE Shooting, Maduro, Iran & Aleppo Update 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 [http://apple.co/coolerzone] Sources/Links: Executive Disorder: Minneapolis ICE Shooting, Maduro, Iran & Aleppo Update https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115850817778602689 [https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115850817778602689]  https://t.me/s/Operasyon1 [https://t.me/s/Operasyon1]  https://x.com/war_noir/status/2008927274326761631?s=20 [https://x.com/war_noir/status/2008927274326761631?s=20]  https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg [https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg]  https://hengaw.net/ [https://hengaw.net/]  Https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/our-response-israel-gaza-war [https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/our-response-israel-gaza-war] https://files.constantcontact.com/7fef1c1f901/78a97f42-d0ad-4077-94b0-1e3300697e20.pdf?rdr=true [https://files.constantcontact.com/7fef1c1f901/78a97f42-d0ad-4077-94b0-1e3300697e20.pdf?rdr=true]  https://www.defendrojava.org/news/ecr-statement-on-the-situation-in-aleppo [https://www.defendrojava.org/news/ecr-statement-on-the-situation-in-aleppo] https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/what-bombing-means-for-freedom-in-286094596/ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/what-bombing-means-for-freedom-in-286094596/]  https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/trump-kidnaps-venezuelan-president-maduro-315837818/ [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/trump-kidnaps-venezuelan-president-maduro-315837818/] https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-franklin-park-marimar-martinez-operation-midway-blitz/ [https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-franklin-park-marimar-martinez-operation-midway-blitz/] https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/us/marimar-martinez-shooting-case-what-we-know [https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/us/marimar-martinez-shooting-case-what-we-know] https://mprnews.org/story/2026/01/07/shooting-south-minneapolis-ice-agents-federal-operation [https://mprnews.org/story/2026/01/07/shooting-south-minneapolis-ice-agents-federal-operation] https://pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says [https://pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says] https://www.defendrojava.org/news/call-in-campaign-urge-congress-to-take-action-in-support-of-syrian-kurds [https://www.defendrojava.org/news/call-in-campaign-urge-congress-to-take-action-in-support-of-syrian-kurds] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

CZM Rewind: Part Two: How Cigarettes Invented Everything

Robert is joined again by James Stout to continue to discuss the Tobacco Industry. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

CZM Rewind: Part One: How Cigarettes Invented Everything

Robert is joined by James Stout to discuss the Tobacco Industry. (2 part series) 1. https://daily.jstor.org/a [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]brief [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]history [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]of [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]tobacco [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]in [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]- [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]america/ [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/] 2. https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]the [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]great [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]the [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]egyptian [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]hercules/james [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]buchanan [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]duke [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]father [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]of [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]the [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]modern [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]cigarette [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]by [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]william [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]kremer/comment [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]page [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]- [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/]1/ [https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/james-buchanan-duke-father-of-the-modern-cigarette-by-william-kremer/comment-page-1/] 3.    [https://daily.jstor.org/a-brief-history-of-tobacco-in-america/]https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/tobacco.html [https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/tobacco.html] 4. https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/duke [https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/duke-doc.html]- [https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/duke-doc.html]doc.html [https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/duke-doc.html] 5. https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]- [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]of [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]- [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]tobacco [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]- [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/]advertisement/ [https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/] https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]- [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]History [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]- [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]of [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]- [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]Tobacco [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]- [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading]Trading [https://csts.ua.edu/files/2016/09/A-History-of-Tobacco-Trading] 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5402187/ [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5402187/] 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3490543/?report=classic#bib3 [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3490543/?report=classic#bib3]  [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3490543/?report=classic#bib3]https://www.jstor.org/stable/40469740 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40469740] 8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470496/?report=classic [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470496/?report=classic] 9. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cigarette/JX6mDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Cigarette/JX6mDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover] 10. http://www.cigarettecentury.com/ [http://www.cigarettecentury.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

CZM Rewind: How The Zizians Went Full On Death Cult & The Zizian Murder Spree (or Exactly How Harry Potter Fanfic Killed A Border Patrol Agent)

Part Three: Robert tells David about Ziz's glorious plan to take to the sea and sever the right and left brains of her followers in order to make them psychopaths god that sentence was weird to write trust us the episode is weirder. Part Four: Robert concludes the story of the Zizians with a spree of horrific violent crimes and deaths, culminating in a shoot out with the Border Patrol in Vermont of all places.   Sources:  1. https://medium.com/@sefashapiro/a-community-warning-about-ziz-76c100180509 [https://medium.com/@sefashapiro/a-community-warning-about-ziz-76c100180509] 2. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https://sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https:/sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/] 3. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/infohazard [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/infohazard] 4. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https://sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https:/sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/] 5. Wayback Machine [https://archive.is/hgTdD] 6. The Zizians [https://zizians.info/] 7. Spectral Sight [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https:/sinceriously.fyi/glossary#spectral-sight] 8. True Hero Contract [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https:/sinceriously.fyi/glossary#true-hero-contract] 9. Schelling Orders – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230202013351/https:/sinceriously.fyi/schelling-orders/] 10. Glossary – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https:/sinceriously.fyi/glossary/#zentraidon] 11.  https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130330/https://sinceriously.fyi/my-journey-to-the-dark-side/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130330/https:/sinceriously.fyi/my-journey-to-the-dark-side/] 12. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https://sinceriously.fyi/glossary/#zentraidon [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https:/sinceriously.fyi/glossary/#zentraidon] 13. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130259/https://sinceriously.fyi/vampires-and-more-undeath/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130259/https:/sinceriously.fyi/vampires-and-more-undeath/] 14. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https://sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https:/sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/] 15. https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https://sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https:/sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/] 16. https://x.com/orellanin?s=21&t=F-n6cTZFsKgvr1yQ7oHXRg [https://x.com/orellanin?s=21&t=F-n6cTZFsKgvr1yQ7oHXRg] 17. https://zizians.info/ [https://zizians.info/] 18. according to The Boston Globe [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/11/metro/6-violent-deaths-tied-to-radical-vegan-cult-based-in-california/] 19. Inside the ‘Zizians’: How a cultish crew of radical vegans became linked to killings across the United States | The Independent [https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/zizian-murders-david-maland-curtis-lind-b2701101.html] 20. Silicon Valley ‘Rationalists’ Linked to 6 Deaths [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ziz-silicon-valley-rationalist-deaths-1235278765/] 21. The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians | WIRED [https://archive.is/4HAtn] 22. Good Group and Pasek’s Doom – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130336/https:/sinceriously.fyi/good-group-and-paseks-doom/] 23. Glossary – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https:/sinceriously.fyi/glossary/#zentraidon] 24. Mana – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130331/https:/sinceriously.fyi/mana/] 25. Effective Altruism’s Problems Go Beyond Sam Bankman-Fried - Bloomberg [https://archive.is/xhV0S] 26. The Zizian Facts - Google Docs [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RpAvd5TO5eMhJrdr2kz43dxT3nNm0XtuPcaW9kBIZL8/edit?tab=t.0] 27. Several free CFAR summer programs on rationality and AI safety - LessWrong 2.0 viewer [https://www.greaterwrong.com/posts/LLQYp53vop5BuyKBF/several-free-cfar-summer-programs-on-rationality-and-ai] 28. This guy thinks killing video game characters is immoral | Vox [https://www.vox.com/2014/4/23/5643418/this-guy-thinks-killing-video-game-characters-is-immoral] 29. Inadequate Equilibria: Where and How Civilizations Get Stuck [https://web.archive.org/web/20230128221733/https:/equilibriabook.com/] 30. Eliezer Yudkowsky comments on On Terminal Goals and Virtue Ethics - LessWrong 2.0 viewer [https://www.greaterwrong.com/posts/gR6H3egpRPNYnoTrA/on-terminal-goals-and-virtue-ethics/comment/mZTPvwcA3DEDCcC7w]                                                                                                    31. Effective Altruism’s Problems Go Beyond Sam Bankman-Fried - Bloomberg [https://archive.is/xhV0S] 32. SquirrelInHell: Happiness Is a Chore [https://squirrelinhell.blogspot.com/2017/12/happiness-is-chore.html#more] 33. PLUM OF DISCORD — I Became a Full-time Internet Pest and May Not... [https://web.archive.org/web/20220217023845/https:/www.plumofdiscord.com/post/675855867193769984/i-became-a-full-time-internet-pest-and-may-not] 34. Roko Harassment of PlumOfDiscord Composited – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20211009234142/https:/sinceriously.fyi/roko-harassment-of-plumofdiscord-composited/#comment-4671] 35. Intersex Brains And Conceptual Warfare – Sinceriously [https://archive.is/czxD3] 36. Infohazardous Glossary – Sinceriously [https://sinceriously.blog-mirror.com/infohazardous-glossary#debucketing] 37. SquirrelInHell-Decision-Theory-and-Suicide.pdf - Google Drive [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MFJli_QLM75fF4yUGtllNJ-z76FeHZ7x/view] 38. The Matrix is a System – Sinceriously [https://web.archive.org/web/20230202013352/https:/sinceriously.fyi/the-matrix-is-a-system/] 39. A community alert about Ziz. Police investigations, violence, and… | by SefaShapiro | Medium [https://archive.ph/h7j3v] 40. Intersex Brains And Conceptual Warfare – Sinceriously [https://archive.ph/iOmFI] 41. A community alert about Ziz. Police investigations, violence, and… | by SefaShapiro | Medium [https://medium.com/@sefashapiro/a-community-warning-about-ziz-76c100180509] 42. PLUM OF DISCORD (Posts tagged cw-abuse) [https://web.archive.org/web/20220521125057/https:/www.plumofdiscord.com/tagged/cw-abuse] 43. Timeline: Violence surrounding the Zizians leading to Border Patrol agent shooting [https://archive.ph/mHiKh] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.