Michael Fanone Live Q&A: Iran, the Midterms, Virginia — and Who Pays the Price

BYOB Substack Q&A with the Fanone Bros

If you missed it live, the full Q&A with my brother Peter is up now. We talked through the week’s chaos, what matters, what doesn’t, and why so many people feel like they’re getting played by the same broken system over and over. We also hit your questions in the comments — no scripts, no panels, just a real conversation. If you want more of these (and the paid-subscriber lives every Thursday), become a paid subscriber. That’s how we keep this thing independent, keep traveling to the stories, and keep building a community that actually shows up. Thank you Judith Evans [https://substack.com/profile/6218387-judith-evans], tracey farmer [https://substack.com/profile/28405580-tracey-farmer], igor isa🤘⚧️ [https://substack.com/profile/363745380-igor-isa], Lisa Unger [https://substack.com/profile/51558276-lisa-unger], Postcards From Home [https://substack.com/profile/84763394-postcards-from-home], and many others for tuning into my live video with Peter Fanone [https://substack.com/profile/232461746-peter-fanone]! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe [https://michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

REPLAY: Michael Fanone LIVE with Jordan Korgood and Ben Freedland

Sponsored by Ground News [https://michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe] This live was two conversations back-to-back, but they’re connected by the same reality: we’re living through a moment where the people with the loudest megaphones are trying to normalize corruption, intimidation, and political violence—and then act shocked when the country starts to fracture. First, Ben Freedland (The Human Intelligence Ledger) joined me to talk about the relationships between informants and authorities, how narratives get built, and how information gets weaponized. Then I brought on Jordan Korgood, who’s running for office and actually doing the work of showing up where it’s hard, talking to people who don’t already agree, and making the case for accountability candidates who don’t treat public service like a branding exercise. If you’re tired of performative politics and want to hear what real organizing sounds like, start here. Watch the full recording. And if you want more conversations like this—candidates, organizers, independent voices—subscribe and share the video. The only way we beat coordinated b******t is with coordinated attention. Honestly, part of what Jordan and I talked about is why it’s so hard for voters to make informed decisions in the first place. Because depending on where you get your news, you can see two completely different versions of the same candidate, the same race, or the same issue. Some stories get amplified. Others get buried. And by the time most people realize it, the narrative has already been written for them. That’s one reason I use Ground News. Ground News is an app and website that lets you compare how outlets across the political spectrum are covering the same story. You can compare headlines side by side, see political bias at the publication level, and use features like the Blindspot Feed to spot stories that one side of the media landscape is heavily covering while the other barely mentions. When you’re evaluating candidates and deciding who deserves your vote, that kind of context matters. If you want to see the full picture instead of just one version of it, go to groundnews.com/mfs and get 40% off the Vantage plan. Thank you 💯 PRO-DEMOCRACY STRATEGY! [https://substack.com/profile/93370333-pro-democracy-strategy], Sissyrivergirl [https://substack.com/profile/362083747-sissyrivergirl], Lori Modafferi [https://substack.com/profile/385631085-lori-modafferi], Judith Evans [https://substack.com/profile/6218387-judith-evans], Agent#99 [https://substack.com/profile/285244656-agent99], and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe [https://michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Michael Fanone on Trump pardoning & paying Jan 6 terrorists (w/ Dean Obeidallah)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelfanone.substack.com [https://michaelfanone.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] I joined Dean to talk about the latest insult to every cop who stood that line on January 6: pardons for the people who tried to kill us, and now a taxpayer-funded payout pipeline dressed up as “patriotism.” They didn’t pick “1776” by accident. That’s branding. It’s the same playbook every authoritarian movement uses: rewrite history, reward the loyal, …

Ask Mike Fanone Anything — We’re Doing This Every Thursday Now

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelfanone.substack.com [https://michaelfanone.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] A lot is happening fast — Iran, elections, the courts, federal law enforcement getting warped into political theater — and I’m tired of watching people get spun up by clips and hot takes while the actual story gets buried. So every Thursday, we’re doing an “Ask Mike Anything” live. Become a paid subscriber for full access and to join the live Q&A chat. Her…

LIVE: Chuck Park Is the Kind of Candidate Queens Actually Needs

Sponsored by Ground News [https://michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe] I went live with Chuck Park because I’m tired of watching local races get treated like they don’t matter until the damage is already done. NY-6 isn’t just another “safe seat.” It’s a test of whether Democrats are going to keep recycling the same political machine — candidates who talk tough, take corporate money, and disappear once the cameras move on — or whether voters are finally ready to back people who are actually accountable to their communities. Chuck’s story matters. He’s from Flushing. Son of Korean immigrant storeowners. Served as a U.S. diplomat under Obama. Came home and did the work the hard way — organizing, coalition-building, serving in city government, and showing up locally instead of parachuting in when it became politically convenient. Now he’s running for Congress to push back against Trump’s agenda, reject corporate PAC influence, and fight for working people who feel like the system stopped listening to them a long time ago. That’s why this conversation mattered. Not because politics is entertainment. Because politics has consequences. We talked about what it actually takes to compete in places the establishment writes off. How you reach voters who’ve stopped trusting institutions. How you build accountability in a political culture built around branding and outrage instead of results. And honestly, part of that fight is informational too. Because depending on where you get your news, you can walk away with completely different understandings of the same candidate or the same race. That’s one reason I use Ground News [https://groundnews.com/mfs]. Ground News is an app and website that lets you compare how different outlets cover the same story across the political spectrum. You can compare headlines side by side, see political bias at the publication level, and spot when important stories are getting minimized — or ignored altogether. One feature I use a lot is the Blindspot Feed, which shows you stories heavily covered on one side of the political spectrum and barely covered on the other. During an election cycle, that matters. If you want to cut through the noise and actually see the full picture, go to groundnews.com/mfs and get 40% off the Vantage plan. Here is how to help: * Support Chuck Park — volunteer, donate, share his campaign, whatever you can do. * Support this work by becoming a paid subscriber. That’s what allows us to keep doing conversations like this without answering to corporate sponsors or political operatives. * And if you want to help keep the Defend Democracy Tour moving, use the links below. I’ll keep showing up. I need you with me. Thank you Blanca [https://substack.com/profile/358828240-blanca], Skip Day [https://substack.com/profile/322465242-skip-day], JustTanNotOrange [https://substack.com/profile/182275580-justtannotorange], Charlene Bigelow [https://substack.com/profile/320560973-charlene-bigelow], Kimberly Ruiz [https://substack.com/profile/149740612-kimberly-ruiz], and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe [https://michaelfanone.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]