News Brief: The JFK Files
I Don't Speak German
Trump released all the remaining secret JFK files! Except not really. And they're full of revelations! Except not really. (They're mainly full of people's social security numbers which, it transpires, is pretty much all the remaining redactions were hiding.) Anna Paulina Luna (R, FL) is leading a new congressional investigation! Er... no, she's inviting conspiracy theorists into Congress to confirm her ill-informed beliefs. The mystery is solved! Or deepens! Except nope nope and nope. In this impromptu News Brief, Jack and Daniel jump off...
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PREVIEW: Bonus 39 In the Line of Fire (1993)
I Don't Speak German
Our 'movies about presidents' series continues (probably for four more years) with a much better movie this time. 1993's Wolfgang Peterson joint In the Line of Fire, featuring Clint Eastwood again (are we... doing a Clint Eastwood season now?) as jaded old Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, veteran of a particular epic fail in Dallas 1963, up against the 90s serial killer shtick of rogue CIA super-assassin John Malkovich and, even more dauntingly, the merciless side-eye of fellow agent Rene Russo. A superior slice of 90s Hollywood nonsense with a nice line in gentle self-mockery and some...
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PREVIEW: Bonus Ep38 Absolute Power (1997)
I Don't Speak German
Our series on 'movies about presidents' continues with a fun discussion of this 1997 'thriller', written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman based on the debut novel of David Baldacci, starring/produced/directed by noted chair-interviewer Clint Eastwood, and boasting a splendid cast - including recently-deceased screen legend Gene Hackman - none of whom are given anything very interesting to do. Clint plays a suave cat burglar - with the unlikely name of Luther Whitney - who accidentally witnesses the president of the United States sexually assaulting a woman (far-fetched,...
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128: How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, with Craig A. Johnson
I Don't Speak German
Jack and Daniel welcome to the show Craig A. Johnson - academic, researcher, antifascist, and host of the (excellent) podcast 15 Minutes of Fascism - to chat about his (excellent) new book How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism, a primer on today's fascist and far-right, in all their styles and iterations, aimed at people worried that a young person in their lives (most especially a young man, obviously) is being sucked into the darkness. Episode Notes: . Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access...
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News Brief: The First Ten Million Years of the Second Trump Presidency
I Don't Speak German
Daniel and Jack chat about the eventful millennia that have passed since they last convened... Features Cantwell News! Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_ Jack's...
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UNLOCKED! Bonus 13: A Few Good Men (1992)
I Don't Speak German
With apologies for our latest recent hiatus, here's an old bonus episode - formerly just for patrons - in which Daniel and Jack chat about 1992's A Few Good Men, a military courtroom drama written by Aaron 'West Wing' / 'Social Network' Sorkin, and starring Kevin Pollack and some other people probably. We're still alive and the show will be back. We appreciate your patience. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. Daniel's Patreon: Jack's Patreon: IDSG Twitter: Daniel's Twitter: Jack's (Locked) Twitter: Jack's...
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PUBLIC BONUS: Estranged Parents, with George Daniel Lea
I Don't Speak German
Jack is joined by friend (and friend-of-the-show), the writer George Daniel Lea, to talk about the online phenomenon known as 'Estranged Parents' or the 'Estranged Parents Movement'. George did a deep dive and is here to tell us about what he found. It turns out to be a lot more relevant to IDSG than it might seem at first glance! George's site George on Bluesky George on Youtube In researching this episode, and compiling a suite of clips of the infamous Estranged Parent content creator Diane, Jack made extensive use of the work of Maximmino on YouTube, who has covered this...
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127: January 6th and the Second Trump Presidency
I Don't Speak German
We begin our seventh year (!) with a conversation with special guest Teddy Wilson, the journalist behind Radical Reports, on the state of the January 6th convictions, prosecutions, and investigations in the looming shadow of a second Trump presidency. Episode Notes: Teddy's previous IDSG appearances: Show Notes: Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: Jack's Patreon: IDSG Twitter: Daniel's...
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PUBLIC BONUS: Vice (Adam McKay, 2018)
I Don't Speak German
In a companion piece to the last public bonus, Daniel and Jack discuss Adam McKay's Vice from 2018, a dense metafictional dramedy biopic of Dick Cheney, unofficial president during the George W. Bush years and architect of the 'War on Terror'. An interesting movie, possibly as flawed as it is brilliant. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay ad-free and independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month plus all backer-only back-episodes. Daniel's Patreon: Jack's Patreon: IDSG Twitter: Daniel's...
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UNLOCKED! Bonus Ep37 'Dick' (1999)
I Don't Speak German
Another in our series of election year chats about movies about presidents. Originally published 18th October, exclusive for Patreon subscribers of Daniel or Jack, now released for all. By patron request, we watched and discussed 1999's delightful neo-screwball teensploitation 70s-nostalgiafest Dick, in which two teenage girls - Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams - accidentally find themselves befriending Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya) and becoming entangled in Watergate. It's terribly fun. Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. ...
info_outlineBack in the mists of yore, when America's eternal 2024 presidential election began, we started a series of bonus episodes on movies about the US President (with the word 'about' being employed very loosely).
In this first episode of that series, we look at 1997's Air Force One, in which President Harrison Ford wages a one-man, definitely not Die Hard-esque in any way campaign of extreme non-negotiation with terrorists (who seem to somehow be both Russian ultra-nationalists and Kazakh communists simultaneously) who have hijacked the presidential plane in order to oh god just shoot me already.
Please consider donating to help us make the show and stay independent. Patrons get exclusive access to at least one full extra episode a month. They got this one months ago.
Daniel's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/danielharper/posts
Jack's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true
IDSG Twitter: https://twitter.com/idsgpod
Daniel's Twitter: @danieleharper
Jack's (Locked) Twitter: @_Jack_Graham_
Jack's Bluesky: @timescarcass.bsky.social
Daniel's Bluesky: @danielharper.bsky.social
IDSG on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-dont-speak-german/id1449848509?ls=1