WEBVTT 00:00:00.777 --> 00:00:03.837 Welcome back, friends. James Corbett here. CorbettReports.com, 00:00:03.917 --> 00:00:08.477 in case you couldn't tell from my T-shirt, which you can get at NewWorldNextWeek.com, by the way. 00:00:08.657 --> 00:00:11.677 And I am here to let you know about a couple of things. 00:00:11.837 --> 00:00:17.237 One is a very interesting, good conversation that I just had with Hakeem Anwar. 00:00:17.337 --> 00:00:19.017 You know him from AbovePhone.com. 00:00:19.157 --> 00:00:22.997 Hopefully, you also know him from Take Back Our Tech, which is a, 00:00:23.097 --> 00:00:26.497 I believe, a weekly series that he is now doing on Substack. 00:00:27.237 --> 00:00:33.357 Going deep dive into news and information, obviously largely surrounding technology 00:00:33.357 --> 00:00:35.937 issues, but cultural issues and other issues besides. 00:00:36.217 --> 00:00:40.017 And Hakeem is doing an excellent job of that. I do get genuinely interesting 00:00:40.017 --> 00:00:42.317 information out of that series. I hope you're following it. 00:00:42.457 --> 00:00:46.337 He just recently started the Take Back Our Tech interview series, 00:00:46.337 --> 00:00:51.897 and I was, I believe, the very first recipient of that honor of being interviewed for Take Back Our Tech. 00:00:52.057 --> 00:00:56.297 So he has kindly and graciously allowed me to share that interview with you 00:00:56.297 --> 00:00:57.777 guys, so I'm going to be posting it here. 00:00:58.357 --> 00:01:02.917 But there is an extra half hour of the conversation in which we talk about more 00:01:02.917 --> 00:01:09.017 personal matters and other things that is behind the paywall on the Take Back Our Tech sub stack. 00:01:09.217 --> 00:01:12.157 So obviously, I'll put the link in the show notes in case you want to follow 00:01:12.157 --> 00:01:17.957 that and see that and hopefully support Hakeem's work and also find out more 00:01:17.957 --> 00:01:19.717 and get more information. 00:01:20.297 --> 00:01:26.477 And the other thing I wanted to inform you about today is there's a book that I've written. 00:01:26.757 --> 00:01:31.057 I can't quite remember the name of it. I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh, that's right. 00:01:32.057 --> 00:01:37.197 Reportage. Essays on the New World Order. You may have heard me mention it once or twice, 00:01:37.237 --> 00:01:42.637 but I'd like to mention it again today because not only is Reportage still obviously 00:01:42.637 --> 00:01:49.677 available at reportagebook.com and or wherever fine books are sold, until they're not. 00:01:49.677 --> 00:01:52.637 But also you may be familiar 00:01:52.637 --> 00:01:56.397 with the book in this format the good old paperback 00:01:56.397 --> 00:01:59.317 format which of course it is still available and 00:01:59.317 --> 00:02:02.177 i would hope that you would purchase multiple copies not just for 00:02:02.177 --> 00:02:06.577 you and your family but your friends your co-workers and random strangers on 00:02:06.577 --> 00:02:11.157 the street who need to know this information these essays that i have i've written 00:02:11.157 --> 00:02:16.977 here but now there is also going to be a hardcover edition that is now as we 00:02:16.977 --> 00:02:20.337 speak available for purchase it is not exactly this edition. 00:02:20.517 --> 00:02:26.697 Unfortunately, I don't have the the print edition yet, but it is actually available for order now. 00:02:26.797 --> 00:02:30.217 This is just a test copy, so it won't be exactly like this, but you get the idea. 00:02:30.357 --> 00:02:33.137 It is a hardcover edition of Reportage. 00:02:33.297 --> 00:02:36.117 People were asking for that, so it does exist. 00:02:36.517 --> 00:02:41.497 The one caveat is it isn't signed, and unless and until you meet me in real 00:02:41.497 --> 00:02:43.717 life, you're not going to get a signed copy. 00:02:43.917 --> 00:02:47.697 There was the signed collector's edition that was for Corporate Report members 00:02:47.697 --> 00:02:50.417 that I offered to two Corporate Report members earlier this year. 00:02:51.784 --> 00:02:55.164 That's gone. So if you want a signed edition, you're going to have to come and 00:02:55.164 --> 00:02:56.584 actually physically meet me. 00:02:56.804 --> 00:03:00.744 But other than that, you can get the hardcover edition right now. 00:03:01.004 --> 00:03:04.884 At any rate, I hope you do get an edition. There is also the e-book edition 00:03:04.884 --> 00:03:06.744 that, again, is available right now. 00:03:06.764 --> 00:03:10.504 And if you buy it right now, you can download it right away and load it into 00:03:10.504 --> 00:03:12.704 your e-book reader and start reading it within seconds. 00:03:13.504 --> 00:03:18.644 And there is an audiobook edition that is coming. It has actually been recorded. 00:03:18.644 --> 00:03:21.244 It is now being edited. It will be out soon. 00:03:21.784 --> 00:03:25.564 And I'm not going to put a precise date on that, but stay tuned if you are an 00:03:25.564 --> 00:03:27.424 audiobook-only kind of person. 00:03:27.604 --> 00:03:31.484 At any rate, however you choose to read this book, I hope you will read it. 00:03:31.604 --> 00:03:36.584 And, of course, that was primarily what Hakeem was interviewing me about today. 00:03:37.264 --> 00:03:40.504 Reportage, essays on the New World Order at reportagebook.com. 00:03:40.624 --> 00:03:43.644 But now, enough of me blabbing. Let's get to the interview. 00:03:43.804 --> 00:03:47.624 This is Hakeem Anwar of Take Back Our Tech interviewing me about Reportage. 00:03:50.244 --> 00:03:53.284 Hey my friends welcome to one of 00:03:53.284 --> 00:03:56.104 our first interviews for the t-bot show if you're 00:03:56.104 --> 00:03:59.524 watching this we've just started doing this interview series and we're going 00:03:59.524 --> 00:04:04.184 to be learning from technologists researchers and important thinkers understanding 00:04:04.184 --> 00:04:08.044 their thought process and the hidden insights in the hopes that we can learn 00:04:08.044 --> 00:04:13.164 and become better people in our own right now remember our Their interviews 00:04:13.164 --> 00:04:15.224 will be more or less an hour long, 00:04:15.224 --> 00:04:18.624 and the first half, we're going to be discussing their work. 00:04:18.764 --> 00:04:21.964 The second half, we're going to get to know more about them as a person. 00:04:22.344 --> 00:04:27.584 And the second half will only be available to paid members of the T-Bot Substack. 00:04:27.704 --> 00:04:32.584 So if you haven't already, today is a great day to start, especially because 00:04:32.584 --> 00:04:37.384 today's guest is James Corbett of the Corbett Report. Welcome, James. 00:04:38.224 --> 00:04:42.164 Hello, Hakeem. Hello, all the fellow T-Botters out there. I hope everyone is 00:04:42.164 --> 00:04:45.444 having a fantastic day, wherever you are. I've been really excited for this. 00:04:45.624 --> 00:04:49.504 You probably all know James, if you don't already, because he's one of the first 00:04:49.504 --> 00:04:52.684 objective fact-based alternative media. 00:04:53.124 --> 00:04:57.364 You know his show, The Corbett Report, corbettereport.com, and he's produced 00:04:57.364 --> 00:05:02.104 thousands of articles and important documentaries, such as Who Was Bill Gates? 00:05:02.284 --> 00:05:05.024 The Secret History of Al-Qaeda, which I encourage you to check out. 00:05:05.184 --> 00:05:09.744 And now he's released his first book, Reportage, Essays on the New World Order. 00:05:09.764 --> 00:05:11.024 I've got my copy right here. 00:05:11.344 --> 00:05:15.264 And I do think this book should belong in the home of every tootspeaker. 00:05:15.524 --> 00:05:19.824 So, James, it is great to have you on. We're going to be talking about some 00:05:19.824 --> 00:05:21.124 important issues today. 00:05:21.764 --> 00:05:25.244 One, the surveillance state, as I know you've written about extensively, 00:05:25.244 --> 00:05:28.204 and also issues like immigration. 00:05:28.424 --> 00:05:32.524 James, reading reportage, I get the sense that you would like more people to 00:05:32.524 --> 00:05:35.384 become what you call conspiracy realists. 00:05:35.931 --> 00:05:40.711 Conspiracy theories are almost mainstream now, part of the social media life cycles. 00:05:40.911 --> 00:05:45.591 Some of that happens, people react to it, they go viral, and it kind of feels 00:05:45.591 --> 00:05:47.391 like it's keeping up with pop culture. 00:05:47.711 --> 00:05:51.231 So I have to ask you, what does it really take to be a conspiracy realist? 00:05:51.371 --> 00:05:55.011 You know, that's a good question, because I may have given a different answer 00:05:55.011 --> 00:05:56.711 if you would ask even a few years ago. 00:05:56.911 --> 00:06:03.311 But now, at this point, as you say, I think conspiracy realism is becoming mainstreamed. 00:06:03.431 --> 00:06:07.771 And I think in the event of, well, pretty much every major event crossing through 00:06:07.771 --> 00:06:13.611 the news wires, people are now at least prone to seeing, if not necessarily believing. 00:06:14.171 --> 00:06:17.151 All manner of theories about everything that's happening right now. 00:06:17.271 --> 00:06:19.131 Everyone has their opinion and their theory. 00:06:19.351 --> 00:06:24.851 And that, to me, is, I guess, a form of progress, because I can remember back 00:06:24.851 --> 00:06:29.711 when I was starting doing this work 18 years ago, just even people wrapping 00:06:29.711 --> 00:06:33.871 their minds around the concept of, say, false flag terrorism was difficult. 00:06:34.191 --> 00:06:39.871 Most people just had no idea, couldn't even fathom why, why would a government 00:06:39.871 --> 00:06:41.711 attack itself as they would frame it? 00:06:42.091 --> 00:06:46.911 And we have definitely made progress, I think, in informing the public about 00:06:46.911 --> 00:06:51.531 the existence of false flag terrorism and other such underhanded techniques 00:06:51.531 --> 00:06:53.611 for manipulating the public mind, et cetera. 00:06:53.931 --> 00:06:58.531 And I think people are much more skeptical today of what they are seeing and 00:06:58.531 --> 00:07:04.411 hearing, certainly from mainstream sources and hopefully also from alternative sources. 00:07:04.691 --> 00:07:09.431 And I think that might be part of the definition of conspiracy realism today, 00:07:09.431 --> 00:07:16.531 or at least the one that I think is worth trying to foster in the public is healthy skepticism, 00:07:16.731 --> 00:07:21.171 not only of mainstream sources, but also of alternative sources. 00:07:21.851 --> 00:07:24.811 Because obviously, as we know, 00:07:25.071 --> 00:07:29.031 as anyone who has put two seconds of thought into it could easily ascertain, 00:07:29.211 --> 00:07:33.251 yes, the dinosaur media is dying, but for precisely that reason, 00:07:33.311 --> 00:07:35.351 the same forces that have been 00:07:35.351 --> 00:07:39.951 manipulating public opinion for at least a century, probably centuries, 00:07:40.331 --> 00:07:42.651 is still trying to manipulate public opinion. 00:07:42.831 --> 00:07:45.911 Now, the way to do that is, of course, to. 00:07:46.590 --> 00:07:50.790 Dress up as independent media. And so obviously people need to be skeptical 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:52.950 of what they're hearing from all sources. 00:07:53.530 --> 00:07:58.950 Triangulate information to the extent that you can to keep the realism in the conspiracy realism. 00:07:59.130 --> 00:08:03.430 There's nothing wrong about conspiracy theories or being a conspiracy theorist. 00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:08.030 We all are to some extent because we don't all know all of the facts about everything 00:08:08.030 --> 00:08:09.230 that's taking place in the world. 00:08:09.390 --> 00:08:15.370 But to be a realist, I think we have to at least be able to hammer down the 00:08:15.370 --> 00:08:16.970 facts that we can hammer down. 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:21.110 And the way to do that is by triangulating information, finding it from different 00:08:21.110 --> 00:08:26.790 sources, and seeing the ways that we can hone in on what might be the truth. 00:08:26.990 --> 00:08:31.910 The other aspect to what I think is incredibly important for conspiracy realists 00:08:31.910 --> 00:08:34.670 in this day and age is also, 00:08:35.130 --> 00:08:42.150 okay, great, now you are skeptical, rightfully so, of institutional sources of authority and truth. 00:08:42.410 --> 00:08:45.530 Good. But what are you going to do with that? 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:49.130 To my mind, that might even be the more important question. Okay, 00:08:49.290 --> 00:08:50.330 great. Now you are skeptical. 00:08:50.490 --> 00:08:52.690 Now you are questioning. Now you are thinking about these things. 00:08:52.810 --> 00:08:55.030 But what are you going to do with that knowledge? 00:08:55.170 --> 00:08:59.930 And to the extent that people just simply get caught up in following the 24-7 00:08:59.930 --> 00:09:03.990 news cycle, or as I have called it recently, the 60-24 news cycle, 00:09:04.110 --> 00:09:07.430 because now it's basically every minute. There is some new breaking news. 00:09:08.010 --> 00:09:11.870 If you get caught up in that so that it is just a form of popcorn entertainment 00:09:11.870 --> 00:09:16.750 that you're just watching, conspiratainment, as it were, then it's almost as 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:19.250 bad as just simply believing whatever you see on TV. 00:09:19.890 --> 00:09:23.170 It's just another form of narcotization of the public. 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:27.830 So I would like to think that people are actively working toward building something 00:09:27.830 --> 00:09:30.710 up that they want to see in the world. 00:09:30.890 --> 00:09:34.790 Okay, great. Yes, we know about the problems with the authority structure as 00:09:34.790 --> 00:09:37.950 it exists today. So what are we doing about it? What are we creating? 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:44.070 What institutions are we hoping to bring about or community projects or what 00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:45.950 have you? What are we doing with this information? 00:09:46.130 --> 00:09:48.790 That to me is, I think. 00:09:49.966 --> 00:09:54.706 If I could foster something today rather than simply skepticism, 00:09:54.866 --> 00:09:58.546 it would also be that that that sense that we need to be working towards something. 00:09:58.686 --> 00:10:02.946 And I think you do a great job at that with your Solutions Watch show where 00:10:02.946 --> 00:10:03.586 you are bringing solutions. 00:10:04.326 --> 00:10:07.786 I mean, it seems like you're just spending as much time researching solutions 00:10:07.786 --> 00:10:11.706 as you are the problem, which is a really good first start. 00:10:11.706 --> 00:10:16.866 It seems like it's only the viral false flag events that get all the coverage, 00:10:17.046 --> 00:10:21.886 whereas good things are happening across the entire planet, just in small little 00:10:21.886 --> 00:10:23.246 pockets and you never hear about it. 00:10:24.106 --> 00:10:27.966 And on that specific note, can I just commend you for the work that you're doing 00:10:27.966 --> 00:10:31.206 at T-Bot? I talked about it on our recent IMA panel. 00:10:31.626 --> 00:10:36.466 For example, I got that news about the free phone idea from T-Bot. 00:10:36.666 --> 00:10:39.906 And hats off to you for concentrating on stories like that. 00:10:39.906 --> 00:10:43.106 That's something that i would never have even known about if it wasn't for you so thank you, 00:10:43.846 --> 00:10:46.846 you're very welcome and i thank you and other 00:10:46.846 --> 00:10:51.786 writers like you like derek brose whitney webb for even making me realize that 00:10:51.786 --> 00:10:56.546 this was a solution i think i was in my hometown when the covid lockdown started 00:10:56.546 --> 00:11:00.606 happening and i literally thought they would kick at my door and come get me 00:11:00.606 --> 00:11:04.406 and derek had released a video of him on the beach and he's like yeah i'm in 00:11:04.406 --> 00:11:05.646 mexico they're not doing this, 00:11:06.413 --> 00:11:10.373 And it opened my mind right there. So, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that. 00:11:10.793 --> 00:11:16.313 So there are a lot of burgeoning content creators coming out of the woodwork. 00:11:16.513 --> 00:11:21.233 And it's something to be celebrated, like you mentioned, because there are a lot of smart people. 00:11:21.613 --> 00:11:29.193 I know your your background is in literature and studying literature and Anglo-Irish 00:11:29.193 --> 00:11:33.073 literature specifically. but do you feel like we should have our chip on the 00:11:33.073 --> 00:11:35.953 shoulder if we didn't go to school for studying writing? 00:11:36.793 --> 00:11:41.253 And also, it's kind of a struggle to write well. Do you have any suggestions on that front? 00:11:41.593 --> 00:11:46.633 You know, good questions. And obviously, I certainly don't, I wouldn't cast 00:11:46.633 --> 00:11:49.733 aspersions on anyone for not being an Anglo-Irish literature major. 00:11:49.893 --> 00:11:52.873 Oh, you didn't go to Trinity for Anglo-Irish literature? 00:11:53.453 --> 00:11:56.353 Who's going to listen to you? No, the real question is, yeah, 00:11:56.513 --> 00:11:59.893 so what are my qualifications for talking about geopolitics, 00:11:59.893 --> 00:12:03.513 or economics or science or all of these different subjects that I'm in. 00:12:03.653 --> 00:12:07.653 And of course, I would say that the point is that I would like to think that 00:12:07.653 --> 00:12:12.173 the people who are questioning and skeptical of those institutions of authority 00:12:12.173 --> 00:12:14.493 are also equally skeptical of academia. 00:12:15.133 --> 00:12:20.473 And rightfully so, obviously, because just because you have a piece of paper, 00:12:20.753 --> 00:12:25.253 you know, a credential does not necessarily mean that you are truly knowledgeable about something. 00:12:25.373 --> 00:12:27.973 It doesn't mean you are not truly knowledgeable about something, 00:12:28.113 --> 00:12:33.113 and I think we would discredit actual expertise to our own detriment. 00:12:33.333 --> 00:12:36.253 I mean, there are people who have spent their lives studying various areas who 00:12:36.253 --> 00:12:41.873 probably do have some insight into those areas, but obviously academia can bring 00:12:41.873 --> 00:12:47.633 with it a lot of indoctrination, and so it is someone should not be credited or discredited, 00:12:47.753 --> 00:12:52.473 I would say, just because of the letters after their name. Having said that, yeah what. 00:12:53.135 --> 00:12:58.395 I have gone back and forth on this, but I am ultimately I am grateful for the 00:12:58.395 --> 00:13:02.875 the way that I arrived in this independent media space, having zero, 00:13:03.235 --> 00:13:08.415 zero training along the lines of broadcasting or anything to do with any of this. 00:13:08.415 --> 00:13:10.815 I never studied anything related to this. 00:13:11.475 --> 00:13:15.855 So everything that I've done in terms of building the website and you name it, 00:13:15.955 --> 00:13:21.475 recording and editing and coding an RSS feed and absolutely everything that 00:13:21.475 --> 00:13:23.235 I've done has been completely self-taught. 00:13:23.435 --> 00:13:27.175 Well, you know, even what does self-taught mean in the online age? 00:13:27.255 --> 00:13:30.175 It means you go and you watch tutorials or you read, you know, 00:13:30.295 --> 00:13:35.575 read someone who's got a blog or you look at help forums or things like that. 00:13:35.715 --> 00:13:37.715 So what does self-taught even mean. 00:13:37.915 --> 00:13:43.375 But at any rate, all of that has been learned on my own time, by myself. 00:13:43.515 --> 00:13:49.455 The question is, what did my qualification of Anglo-Irish literature really get me? 00:13:49.535 --> 00:13:53.655 And I think it is the ability to write, by which I mean the ability to think. 00:13:53.875 --> 00:14:04.155 And I think of my podcast and the video reports that I do essentially as video essays of a sort. 00:14:04.735 --> 00:14:07.595 And I try to structure them that way. There is a thesis statement, 00:14:07.595 --> 00:14:11.715 and I try to provide evidence for that thesis and hopefully bring it together 00:14:11.715 --> 00:14:14.555 in a way that will explain it to the audience in the end. 00:14:14.675 --> 00:14:17.595 So that's the way I see my work and what I'm doing. 00:14:17.755 --> 00:14:23.855 And I think ultimately, weirdly enough, my English training has actually paid off for that. 00:14:24.115 --> 00:14:30.295 The question of how to improve your writing or anyone else who's watching is 00:14:30.295 --> 00:14:36.435 an incredibly important one. And I would say practice is probably the most important part of it. 00:14:36.615 --> 00:14:39.475 If you are not writing on a regular basis, start it. 00:14:39.715 --> 00:14:45.015 And not necessarily, you know, writing essays or what have you, just writing. 00:14:45.255 --> 00:14:48.475 Getting into the habit and practice of doing that is probably a good thing. 00:14:48.635 --> 00:14:52.335 But secondarily, I would say that, yeah. 00:14:53.361 --> 00:14:58.241 Until you are capable of explaining something to someone else, 00:14:58.441 --> 00:15:02.801 you are not really, truly fluent in that subject. 00:15:03.001 --> 00:15:06.561 You're not really an expert in a subject until you can explain it to someone else. 00:15:06.681 --> 00:15:10.241 And that is something I wouldn't have necessarily understood from the inside 00:15:10.241 --> 00:15:11.641 out if I wasn't a podcaster. 00:15:11.821 --> 00:15:15.141 But having done this for long enough, I realized that, oh, OK, 00:15:15.281 --> 00:15:19.301 when I, you know, I may be deeply researched on a subject, but until I start 00:15:19.301 --> 00:15:23.221 articulating what it is, I believe sometimes I don't even necessarily know what 00:15:23.221 --> 00:15:26.501 it is I believe or why I believe it until I start articulating it. 00:15:26.601 --> 00:15:30.001 So it is a great exercise, even if you don't have a podcast, 00:15:30.261 --> 00:15:33.441 even if you don't have a sub stack, even if you're not writing for anyone in 00:15:33.441 --> 00:15:37.321 particular, even just writing as if you are trying to explain what you know 00:15:37.321 --> 00:15:42.061 to someone else can really and truly help you to order your thoughts on a given subject. 00:15:42.241 --> 00:15:46.861 And I would say that is, to some extent, the importance of writing. 00:15:46.861 --> 00:15:50.981 And writing, I guess, in this day and age doesn't necessarily mean actual physical writing. 00:15:51.181 --> 00:15:54.781 It could just mean, you know, it could mean recording a podcast or something 00:15:54.781 --> 00:15:58.341 along those lines. But in a way, trying to articulate what it is you know. 00:15:58.821 --> 00:16:04.361 And as I say, if you want to get better at it, practice is obviously the best way to do that. 00:16:04.361 --> 00:16:08.101 But if people are interested in really exploring that subject in more detail, 00:16:08.101 --> 00:16:13.081 I had a Solutions Watch earlier this year with an MIT student who was asking 00:16:13.081 --> 00:16:14.961 me questions along those very 00:16:14.961 --> 00:16:18.001 lines. I want to get better at writing and communicating. What can I do? 00:16:18.121 --> 00:16:22.041 I thought it was an interesting conversation. I don't have that type of conversation 00:16:22.041 --> 00:16:24.461 very often, so I was very grateful to have it. 00:16:27.102 --> 00:16:30.202 Beautiful. And I will get the name of that interview and make sure to post it 00:16:30.202 --> 00:16:32.302 in the description. Yeah, I forget it. Sorry. 00:16:33.802 --> 00:16:38.902 No, all good. And I think James is giving you permission to start bothering 00:16:38.902 --> 00:16:43.082 your closest circles of friends, maybe first, before family. 00:16:43.422 --> 00:16:48.002 And, you know, pick a subject. I really like what you said to have a thesis 00:16:48.002 --> 00:16:52.462 when you feel like you have an understanding of what you're covering and then 00:16:52.462 --> 00:16:54.822 find the simplest way to tell someone about it. 00:16:54.822 --> 00:16:59.302 And there's there's an infinite ways to convince people about subjects. 00:16:59.342 --> 00:17:01.102 That brings me to an interesting point. 00:17:01.262 --> 00:17:05.642 I wasn't an early subscriber of the Corvette Reporter Solutions Watch, 00:17:05.662 --> 00:17:09.282 but do you feel like it was harder in the beginning or did you feel like you 00:17:09.282 --> 00:17:13.682 had to find the style that you have today to be more effective? 00:17:13.962 --> 00:17:18.602 I definitely grew into the idea of being a podcaster, if that's what I am. 00:17:18.702 --> 00:17:21.222 I don't think that's the way I define myself, but that is what I do. 00:17:21.342 --> 00:17:24.642 And as I say, I had no training whatsoever in any of this. 00:17:24.822 --> 00:17:30.382 So I, I recognize that when people find out about me, there are the completionists 00:17:30.382 --> 00:17:33.902 in the crowd who will want to go back and start listening from episode one and 00:17:33.902 --> 00:17:34.782 listen all the way through. 00:17:35.022 --> 00:17:41.782 And I cringe at that idea because it was technically not a great podcast at first. 00:17:41.962 --> 00:17:45.782 And certainly I didn't know how to even begin talking in front of a microphone. 00:17:45.782 --> 00:17:48.842 It was, you know, it was a mess and I learned along the way. 00:17:48.842 --> 00:17:53.582 So I definitely grew into the role and I think I'm better at it now than I was 00:17:53.582 --> 00:17:56.462 18 years ago. out of 18 years of practice. 00:17:57.522 --> 00:18:00.682 Having said that, specifically on the idea of Solutions Watch, 00:18:00.942 --> 00:18:05.962 I think the way that that came about was interesting and hopefully instructive 00:18:05.962 --> 00:18:08.842 for other people because as people may or may not know, 00:18:09.442 --> 00:18:15.702 I, back in 2000, I wanna say 17, I saw a Kia commercial, 00:18:16.218 --> 00:18:19.478 online that was for like the driverless future. 00:18:19.698 --> 00:18:24.718 And it was about, it was this ridiculous, like three minute propaganda ad thing. 00:18:24.918 --> 00:18:27.518 And it was about Peter Pan versus Captain Hook. 00:18:27.738 --> 00:18:31.158 And ultimately, you know, Peter Pan traps Captain Hook in this driverless car 00:18:31.158 --> 00:18:32.698 that drives into the police station. 00:18:33.298 --> 00:18:37.658 It was just the most bizarre piece of propaganda I'd seen in a while. 00:18:37.658 --> 00:18:39.378 So I'm like, I got to do something about this. 00:18:39.518 --> 00:18:43.598 I got to, I got to make a video about this. And at the time I thought to myself, you know what? 00:18:43.838 --> 00:18:46.518 Maybe I could do this as a regular series. 00:18:46.818 --> 00:18:50.938 Like there's a lot of propaganda out there. I can, I can show it to people, 00:18:51.098 --> 00:18:55.098 dissect it, talk about the way that it's working and hopefully thereby disarm 00:18:55.098 --> 00:18:56.378 it in the minds of the people. 00:18:56.838 --> 00:19:02.218 And so I started a regular weekly show called Propaganda Watch. 00:19:02.398 --> 00:19:08.698 And at first I genuinely thought like, will I be able to do this every single week? 00:19:08.878 --> 00:19:13.058 Like, will I have something to talk about? And as soon as I started that series, 00:19:13.278 --> 00:19:16.538 suddenly I'm seeing propaganda absolutely everywhere. I'm like, 00:19:16.598 --> 00:19:18.698 oh, I could talk about that. Oh, I could do that. I could do that. 00:19:18.998 --> 00:19:23.298 And so it not only became easy, it became trivial to find something to talk about every week. 00:19:23.398 --> 00:19:27.058 In fact, I probably could have done that on a daily basis and still had more 00:19:27.058 --> 00:19:28.418 and more propaganda to dissect. 00:19:28.598 --> 00:19:32.778 But after a few years of that, I think three, three years or something like 00:19:32.778 --> 00:19:36.538 that into the propaganda watch, I started to realize, okay, great. 00:19:36.718 --> 00:19:40.998 This is wonderful. And I know it has helped, I think, people start to discern 00:19:40.998 --> 00:19:42.198 and understand propaganda. 00:19:42.578 --> 00:19:46.418 But at a certain point, if all you're doing is watching the propaganda and looking 00:19:46.418 --> 00:19:51.618 for propaganda to dissect, then all you're doing is subjecting yourself to more and more propaganda. 00:19:52.452 --> 00:19:56.052 At a certain point, you got to move on to the next step. And I thought to myself, 00:19:56.272 --> 00:19:58.612 okay, I did that. I kind of leapt. 00:19:58.832 --> 00:20:02.972 It was a leap of faith that I would be able to talk about propaganda every week. 00:20:03.292 --> 00:20:07.152 So why don't I orient this towards something that's more productive than that? 00:20:07.312 --> 00:20:10.892 Why don't I stop doing propaganda watch and start doing solutions watch? 00:20:11.172 --> 00:20:14.852 Can I find something to talk about every week, week in and week out, 00:20:15.012 --> 00:20:17.232 solutions oriented, solutions based things? 00:20:17.992 --> 00:20:21.092 And again, it was another leap of faith. I'm like, well, I'm just going to do it. 00:20:21.172 --> 00:20:24.472 And I'm going to see if I can start finding solutions everywhere that I look 00:20:24.472 --> 00:20:26.252 now that I'm doing this series. 00:20:26.452 --> 00:20:30.032 And now we're into the fourth year, I think, of Solutions Watch. 00:20:30.272 --> 00:20:34.932 And yep, I still have plenty to talk about. And I think that that is instructive. 00:20:35.092 --> 00:20:37.572 Because again, just like what I was saying with conspiracy realism, 00:20:37.752 --> 00:20:39.752 great, you're skeptical, you're questioning, great. 00:20:40.032 --> 00:20:44.152 But if you're not orienting that toward something, if you don't have a goal, 00:20:44.452 --> 00:20:47.652 if you're not creating something or trying to bring something into existence, 00:20:47.852 --> 00:20:50.212 then what are you doing? You're just conspiratainment. 00:20:50.352 --> 00:20:52.932 You're just sitting back as if it's a spectator sport or something. 00:20:53.152 --> 00:20:58.132 No, you have to be aimed towards something. So I'm aiming towards solutions, 00:20:58.412 --> 00:21:01.392 finding people who are bringing solutions and bringing them to the attention 00:21:01.392 --> 00:21:04.432 of my audience or looking at different solutions, analyzing them. 00:21:04.732 --> 00:21:09.312 And I think that is the way forward. And I think that's probably true in everyone's 00:21:09.312 --> 00:21:13.192 life, even just for the average person out there going about their day-to-day business. 00:21:13.192 --> 00:21:16.512 If you are thinking along the lines of things that you can do to improve the 00:21:16.512 --> 00:21:20.972 world or make your life better, then you will start to see that everywhere. 00:21:21.012 --> 00:21:24.252 If you're thinking along the lines of problems and things you're fighting against, 00:21:24.292 --> 00:21:26.132 then that's all you get caught up with. 00:21:26.877 --> 00:21:31.417 I would agree that's one of the biggest problems that freedom lovers are facing 00:21:31.417 --> 00:21:35.397 today, getting all of their loosh harvested by the news cycle. 00:21:35.637 --> 00:21:39.857 And that's literally the biggest decision of their day is figuring out who is 00:21:39.857 --> 00:21:44.117 behind the Charlie Kirk assassination, when in reality, there is not much that 00:21:44.117 --> 00:21:45.537 an individual can do about it. 00:21:45.777 --> 00:21:48.837 It was really cool to, I didn't know about Propaganda Watch, 00:21:49.117 --> 00:21:52.617 but it's really beautiful to see the evolution of your work through then. 00:21:52.617 --> 00:21:56.777 And I think it ties it back down to when we do have these solutions, 00:21:56.777 --> 00:22:00.697 how to get them out there into the world with above phone and take back our tech. 00:22:00.877 --> 00:22:04.177 Sometimes when I go up on public speaking and talking about it, 00:22:04.437 --> 00:22:08.697 there's different people at different stages of awareness and you kind of have to sell it. 00:22:08.817 --> 00:22:12.337 Right. And there's this interesting reversal where it's like, all right. 00:22:12.497 --> 00:22:16.077 Now, when we're fighting for these values of liberty, truth. 00:22:16.597 --> 00:22:21.677 Individual responsibility, you also have to have your own form of propaganda. 00:22:21.677 --> 00:22:26.377 Do you think that people in our space who are putting forward solutions would 00:22:26.377 --> 00:22:29.277 be more effective if they focused in a little bit on the messaging? 00:22:29.777 --> 00:22:34.077 Is a little bit of propaganda a good thing in the hands of good people? 00:22:34.437 --> 00:22:37.697 Yeah, well, you know, that's a good point to bring up because, 00:22:37.977 --> 00:22:45.337 of course, the original initial meaning of propaganda was not what we think of it as today. 00:22:45.337 --> 00:22:52.757 The word propaganda really got tainted, in a sense, by the ministry of propaganda, 00:22:52.757 --> 00:22:56.717 as I believe it was actually called in the British government during the First World War. 00:22:56.717 --> 00:22:58.617 And if people are interested in that, 00:22:58.737 --> 00:23:03.157 as part of my World War I conspiracy documentary, I talk about the early, 00:23:03.377 --> 00:23:08.437 the development of what we think of as propaganda in the First World War, 00:23:08.597 --> 00:23:14.477 specifically the kinds of atrocity propaganda that the Brits were putting out about those evil, 00:23:14.757 --> 00:23:18.177 dastardly Huns, you know, bayoneting babies and things like this, 00:23:18.257 --> 00:23:20.077 which, of course, was not only... 00:23:20.728 --> 00:23:27.128 Exaggerated, but largely untrue. And so we think of propaganda along those lines. 00:23:27.308 --> 00:23:31.328 It's governments saying lies about their enemies and what have you, 00:23:31.528 --> 00:23:32.788 spreading lies and misinformation. 00:23:32.888 --> 00:23:39.008 But propaganda in its real purest meaning is just trying to convince someone of something. 00:23:39.268 --> 00:23:44.328 You put it into a message that you hope will convince someone about something. 00:23:44.488 --> 00:23:47.448 And yes, that is what I'm doing. 00:23:47.588 --> 00:23:51.248 That is what anyone who is attempting to communicate is presumably doing. 00:23:51.248 --> 00:23:55.308 Unless, I guess, maybe if you're just citing just plain facts, 00:23:55.668 --> 00:23:58.368 just, you know, this happened on this date and this happened on this date. 00:23:58.508 --> 00:24:01.328 I suppose that might not be propaganda. But even then, actually, 00:24:01.408 --> 00:24:06.668 I would argue the way that you order such a list of events will itself kind 00:24:06.668 --> 00:24:10.308 of direct people in the direction of a certain narrative. So I'm not sure you 00:24:10.308 --> 00:24:11.228 can actually escape that. 00:24:11.328 --> 00:24:17.248 So yes, we should probably avoid that word because the word has obviously become 00:24:17.248 --> 00:24:21.808 so associated with that concept of just lying, misinformation, manipulation. 00:24:22.568 --> 00:24:28.328 But the idea of messaging, yes, obviously, I think people should think about their messaging. 00:24:28.628 --> 00:24:32.328 Now, here's, I kind of have two minds on this. 00:24:32.488 --> 00:24:41.768 One is that my message has always been that every single person has their own way of talking, 00:24:42.028 --> 00:24:44.528 their own way of expressing things, their own way of thinking, 00:24:44.748 --> 00:24:48.388 and their own way of articulating the information that they have. And that's good. 00:24:48.768 --> 00:24:52.828 I certainly wouldn't want to say that everyone should be like James Corbett 00:24:52.828 --> 00:24:57.388 and put it in this way or whatever, because I know, yes, my message and the 00:24:57.388 --> 00:25:01.388 way that I talk and the way I relate this information certainly does resonate with some people. 00:25:01.508 --> 00:25:04.328 And I'm glad that I've managed to find an audience of people who are willing 00:25:04.328 --> 00:25:06.468 to support me in doing the work that I do. 00:25:06.608 --> 00:25:10.188 But I know there are people who hate the way I talk and hate the way I think, 00:25:10.308 --> 00:25:13.328 who don't like the way I put the messaging. And that's fine too. 00:25:13.688 --> 00:25:17.688 There is a certain amount of personal preference in this and people coming from 00:25:17.688 --> 00:25:18.348 different perspectives. 00:25:18.608 --> 00:25:23.448 So my message has always been, everyone should be out there trying to put this 00:25:23.448 --> 00:25:27.388 information out in whatever way they can, whatever comes naturally to them. 00:25:27.508 --> 00:25:30.668 And the people who don't like the way I put it will love the way Hakeem does 00:25:30.668 --> 00:25:34.708 it. Or the people who don't love the way Hakeem does it will love the way Derek Brose does it. 00:25:34.828 --> 00:25:38.808 Or, you know, name, name the million different people who could be out there doing this. 00:25:38.948 --> 00:25:43.168 And there will be a million different or millions of people who might be interested 00:25:43.168 --> 00:25:44.788 in that particular form of the message. 00:25:44.968 --> 00:25:49.048 So that's one thing that I think everyone should just naturally articulate it 00:25:49.048 --> 00:25:52.588 in the way that comes to them. And there will be people out there who resonate with that. 00:25:53.088 --> 00:25:57.788 Having said that, I think it does pay to be mindful of the audience that you 00:25:57.788 --> 00:25:59.528 are attempting to talk to and the. 00:26:01.968 --> 00:26:03.768 Context in which you are attempting to, 00:26:04.263 --> 00:26:09.063 um, convey information. And obviously everyone knows this in their everyday 00:26:09.063 --> 00:26:12.063 life. You talk differently to your parents than you do to your siblings. 00:26:12.183 --> 00:26:14.783 You talk differently to those people than you do to your friends. 00:26:14.923 --> 00:26:17.783 You talk differently to those people than you do to acquaintances. 00:26:17.803 --> 00:26:20.283 You talk differently to those people than you do to your boss, 00:26:20.303 --> 00:26:24.163 because we all understand that everything is bedded in a social context and 00:26:24.163 --> 00:26:28.003 we have different ways of articulating things depending who we're speaking to. Right. 00:26:28.463 --> 00:26:33.503 And similarly, if you were putting out a podcast for the, you know, 00:26:33.683 --> 00:26:36.083 for the general world, I think you should be thinking about, 00:26:36.223 --> 00:26:40.663 okay, so what kind of audience am I talking to? Who do I want this to resonate with? 00:26:40.803 --> 00:26:44.783 And maybe tailoring your message that way. But as I say, there should be some 00:26:44.783 --> 00:26:49.223 element of your natural personality in it, because I think people are pretty 00:26:49.223 --> 00:26:50.823 good at detecting fakeness. 00:26:50.983 --> 00:26:56.023 If I was up here playing some sort of character, I think people would discover it eventually. 00:26:56.623 --> 00:27:01.363 After 18 years of talking and talking and talking and talking in front of a 00:27:01.363 --> 00:27:05.443 microphone, I think people have a sense of who I am and at least the way I think about the world. 00:27:05.743 --> 00:27:10.103 I think so, too. I think that, yeah, you've definitely created, 00:27:10.443 --> 00:27:14.483 not even created, it is just your brand. It's your presence as we know it on the Internet. 00:27:14.903 --> 00:27:20.603 And it's interesting to think about if the burgeoning number of content creators 00:27:20.603 --> 00:27:24.203 continues to grow, how they'll go out in the world and have their own flavors, 00:27:24.243 --> 00:27:28.483 which one of the things that I see, I don't know if you've if you've recognized this in your audience, 00:27:28.643 --> 00:27:31.563 but I see it all the time when I go out to events and even interact with 00:27:31.563 --> 00:27:38.183 people is it's an interesting question it's uh it's the general age of the people 00:27:38.183 --> 00:27:41.703 who are alternative thinkers and who spend a lot of time working with this stuff 00:27:41.703 --> 00:27:45.983 and are also working on solutions they tend to trend older i don't know if you've 00:27:45.983 --> 00:27:49.523 ever done any analysis but this is just just of my own. 00:27:50.121 --> 00:27:52.981 My own like observations from from 00:27:52.981 --> 00:27:55.861 going to many different places i think trend people trend 00:27:55.861 --> 00:27:58.841 older than 50 years old and i was at this event recently 00:27:58.841 --> 00:28:01.961 and there was kind of this self-awareness of hey where are 00:28:01.961 --> 00:28:07.501 all the kids at and uh then um yeah and then we started to go down that that 00:28:07.501 --> 00:28:12.361 path so what i hope is that um the younger people which there are there are 00:28:12.361 --> 00:28:16.101 numbers of people on tick tock who are starting to do this reporting can can 00:28:16.101 --> 00:28:20.221 bring in uh more people to the freedom movement But there's almost like this disconnect, 00:28:20.481 --> 00:28:24.741 whereas maybe there are younger free thinkers, but they simply decide to spend 00:28:24.741 --> 00:28:28.501 all their time on the phone and online instead of in the real world. 00:28:28.681 --> 00:28:32.881 I will simply just back you up on your observation. From my own experience, 00:28:33.021 --> 00:28:38.261 I would say that the median age of the people, at least to contact me and give 00:28:38.261 --> 00:28:43.621 some sort of indication of their age, is probably 70 plus years old or something. 00:28:44.121 --> 00:28:48.001 My audience is skewed, not just older, but way older. 00:28:48.561 --> 00:28:53.341 I think that might just be because I certainly don't resonate with young people. 00:28:53.581 --> 00:28:55.921 I get kids don't want to watch James Corbett. 00:28:56.461 --> 00:29:00.581 So there may be some aspect of that going on. But yeah, I think generally it 00:29:00.581 --> 00:29:03.901 is interesting that, well, there's a couple of ways of examining that. 00:29:04.081 --> 00:29:10.201 One is that I think older people, our age and up, who, well, 00:29:10.381 --> 00:29:11.981 actually, Hakim, I don't know your age. 00:29:12.101 --> 00:29:15.461 So you're probably actually significantly younger than myself. 00:29:15.461 --> 00:29:21.161 But I think of myself as perhaps the last generation that grew up without the 00:29:21.161 --> 00:29:24.261 Internet, that my childhood was spent completely offline. 00:29:24.741 --> 00:29:27.721 And I know what that experience was like. 00:29:27.841 --> 00:29:32.721 And so I know the very, very different way that children are growing up today. 00:29:32.721 --> 00:29:37.341 And I can see the negative aspects of that in ways that they can't see. 00:29:37.501 --> 00:29:40.681 They may be able to feel it. They may intuit it. They may hear stories about it. 00:29:40.761 --> 00:29:46.621 But I experienced it. So I have that dual experience that I think informs my 00:29:46.621 --> 00:29:51.201 way of looking at certain developments, which is to say, as every generation, 00:29:51.701 --> 00:29:55.241 you know, the older you get, the more it's like, I don't recognize this world 00:29:55.241 --> 00:29:59.021 anymore, you know, that kind of feeling. And that's starting to definitely hit home with me. 00:29:59.761 --> 00:30:02.981 So anyway, yeah, there is, I think there is the older audience. 00:30:03.121 --> 00:30:04.021 And I think you're right. 00:30:04.201 --> 00:30:08.601 I have thought about it myself. Like if I was James Corbett of 2007, 00:30:08.921 --> 00:30:13.901 in 2025, if I was that young podcaster just starting out today. 00:30:14.887 --> 00:30:18.467 How would I have done this? Would it look anything like what I'm doing today? 00:30:18.707 --> 00:30:22.407 What platform would I even be on? And that's not a trivial question because 00:30:22.407 --> 00:30:27.267 the YouTube of 2007 is very different than the YouTube of 2025, 00:30:27.267 --> 00:30:31.007 let alone the TikTok or whatever the kids are on these days. 00:30:31.487 --> 00:30:36.327 And certainly I don't think you could do sort of the long form explorations 00:30:36.327 --> 00:30:40.687 that I do on TikTok, obviously. People don't have the attention span for it. 00:30:41.127 --> 00:30:44.147 One. This is the thing. I don't want to be the old man yelling at clouds, 00:30:44.147 --> 00:30:49.987 but I think there is genuinely something going on with these platforms that 00:30:49.987 --> 00:30:54.547 are dumbing down the conversation in ways that I'm not sure you could articulate 00:30:54.547 --> 00:30:58.727 the type of information that I'm trying to bring, at least not in its full context. 00:30:58.727 --> 00:31:05.447 I have yet to have seen what I think to be a profound and amazing and deeply 00:31:05.447 --> 00:31:06.667 informative TikTok video. 00:31:07.087 --> 00:31:10.927 I've seen some that bring up some interesting points, usually with a hip hop 00:31:10.927 --> 00:31:16.307 beat underneath and random screenshots and things that then I have to go and sort of look up myself. 00:31:16.847 --> 00:31:21.147 So it's not without use, but I think there is a difference to what's going on 00:31:21.147 --> 00:31:27.147 today. But but then again, I get that the kids these days have to work with whatever is popular. 00:31:27.487 --> 00:31:32.307 And that's exactly what I did back in 2007, back when the older generation would 00:31:32.307 --> 00:31:36.087 have looked at YouTube and gone, you know, you get your information online. 00:31:37.447 --> 00:31:41.007 So just a quick joke. This is what I was laughing at earlier. 00:31:41.227 --> 00:31:43.707 But I was like, okay, if you wanted to gain a younger audience, 00:31:44.127 --> 00:31:47.407 James Corbett, the Corbett report for kids. And you could have like a stuffed 00:31:47.407 --> 00:31:51.047 animal on your hand. And there could be like explosions and stuff. 00:31:51.287 --> 00:31:53.887 Whatever they do in the TikTok. 00:31:54.387 --> 00:31:58.427 Have you ever seen my Johnny YouTuber persona? I have. The backwards hat. 00:31:58.567 --> 00:32:01.587 It's like, hey, kids. Yeah. No, that's great. 00:32:02.107 --> 00:32:05.607 That's me making fun of the TikTok generation. But more seriously, 00:32:05.907 --> 00:32:09.767 I do have a website called opensourceeducation.online. 00:32:09.787 --> 00:32:12.587 And that idea comes from Ernie Hancock of Freedom's Phoenix. 00:32:12.867 --> 00:32:18.767 He encouraged me to start that because he made the point, and it's an excellent point. 00:32:19.307 --> 00:32:24.407 The time, if you really want to shape the next generation, the time to start 00:32:24.407 --> 00:32:28.547 getting to that generation is probably junior high, maybe into high school. 00:32:28.547 --> 00:32:33.627 The time when, of course, young people are becoming young adults and starting 00:32:33.627 --> 00:32:36.547 to truly question and starting to really think about things. 00:32:36.727 --> 00:32:41.907 And it is, of course, at that time that the institution, the educational institution, 00:32:41.907 --> 00:32:45.807 which of course is an indoctrination institution, is trying to shape children 00:32:45.807 --> 00:32:49.387 into rebel against your parents, those old fuddy-duddies. They don't know what 00:32:49.387 --> 00:32:50.507 they're doing. Trust the state. 00:32:50.967 --> 00:32:55.387 So Ernie Hancock made the point, no, what they need is this type of corporate 00:32:55.387 --> 00:33:03.487 report information, but hopefully in a way that will convey this in an educational 00:33:03.487 --> 00:33:05.087 context that will make sense to them. 00:33:05.187 --> 00:33:11.207 So I organized a bunch of my reports in that sort of educational context in a curriculum. 00:33:11.367 --> 00:33:13.827 There's an economics course, history, literature, et cetera. 00:33:14.027 --> 00:33:20.167 As we are speaking, I am currently uploading, which might be why we're not having 00:33:20.167 --> 00:33:22.587 a great connection, currently uploading the next course. 00:33:22.587 --> 00:33:26.407 It's a psychology course, which is based on my brand new documentary, 00:33:26.627 --> 00:33:29.327 which is about to drop in a couple of hours here from when we're talking. 00:33:30.427 --> 00:33:34.407 And so I have attempted to sort of sort things out into a curriculum like that. 00:33:34.527 --> 00:33:39.987 And, you know, is it going to be the smash hit that's going to take over the world? 00:33:40.107 --> 00:33:43.387 Maybe not. But it is it is something that I think people in the independent 00:33:43.387 --> 00:33:44.587 media should be thinking about. 00:33:44.587 --> 00:33:47.827 Maybe tailoring some of this information and putting it in that educational 00:33:47.827 --> 00:33:52.327 context for young people so that those people who are curious and are starting 00:33:52.327 --> 00:33:56.287 to fall through the cracks of the system and question the institutions can start 00:33:56.287 --> 00:33:57.807 finding some real information. 00:33:58.067 --> 00:34:01.267 And that might be one way of shaping the message in a way that hopefully will 00:34:01.267 --> 00:34:02.327 reach younger audiences. 00:34:03.647 --> 00:34:07.127 I really appreciate that. And I think I've seen this once before, 00:34:07.207 --> 00:34:10.467 but it's great to review it. I will put the link in there in the description, 00:34:10.667 --> 00:34:13.467 opensourceeducation.online. 00:34:13.827 --> 00:34:18.367 I'd also like to do more of my part. We're thinking about doing devices that 00:34:18.367 --> 00:34:19.627 are more tailored towards kids. 00:34:19.747 --> 00:34:22.627 And I'm just thinking in my head, how cool would it be if some of this content 00:34:22.627 --> 00:34:25.667 was on there already as an educational resource? Yes. 00:34:25.987 --> 00:34:30.127 It's a very impressionable age going into high school. And so... 00:34:30.776 --> 00:34:33.936 Yeah, this this is all stuff we really need to learn. Amazing. 00:34:34.296 --> 00:34:37.956 So my last question on the first part of the interview, which I think is very 00:34:37.956 --> 00:34:41.456 interesting and very top of mind these days, is you covered in your book, 00:34:41.796 --> 00:34:45.796 Madison Grant, the conservationist who was also a white supremacist. 00:34:45.796 --> 00:34:48.036 And he was talking about the idea. 00:34:48.236 --> 00:34:53.896 He was really calling out white Americans saying, if you're not having children, it's white suicide. 00:34:54.236 --> 00:35:00.176 And it's kind of like history is repeating itself today as we're seeing underground 00:35:00.176 --> 00:35:06.876 groups, mostly on the Internet, that are gathering around this nationalism and making it a race issue. 00:35:07.276 --> 00:35:11.536 Because ultimately they do feel threatened from the issue of mass immigration. 00:35:11.536 --> 00:35:15.856 And you can look at the protests in England recently to see this happening. 00:35:16.036 --> 00:35:20.696 And of course, there's been events which make people feel like they are under attack. 00:35:21.176 --> 00:35:28.456 And so your family having immigrated to Canada from the UK and then again to 00:35:28.456 --> 00:35:32.656 Japan is, you know, you've experienced immigration firsthand. 00:35:32.736 --> 00:35:36.176 The good the good parts about it, kind of the bad parts about it, too. 00:35:36.596 --> 00:35:40.496 Do you how is the immigration issue like what do you personally feel about it? 00:35:40.496 --> 00:35:44.576 And do you think today's immigration issue is purposely engineered to divide and conquer? 00:35:44.796 --> 00:35:49.756 Well, there are documentable ways that people can put their finger on the idea 00:35:49.756 --> 00:35:51.536 of weaponization of immigration, 00:35:51.536 --> 00:35:56.576 the Calergi plan and things that people will point to that I think rightly do 00:35:56.576 --> 00:35:59.236 indicate that certainly mass migration, 00:35:59.236 --> 00:36:05.756 all at once of large numbers of people flooding into an area where there's clearly 00:36:05.756 --> 00:36:09.256 a difference in cultures, is going to create problems. 00:36:09.256 --> 00:36:13.696 And it is going to create frictions and tensions that can then be exacerbated 00:36:13.696 --> 00:36:19.476 and then used by political grandstanders to manipulate the public in various ways. 00:36:19.816 --> 00:36:26.176 And so I wouldn't dismiss the idea that at the very least people are rightfully 00:36:26.176 --> 00:36:27.696 concerned about immigration, etc. 00:36:27.976 --> 00:36:30.636 What I do find disturbing is the. 00:36:31.361 --> 00:36:40.181 The gradual, but I definitely see it coming, the re-legitimization of eugenics, 00:36:40.201 --> 00:36:44.581 which is something that I've been talking about for a couple of decades now. It really struck me. 00:36:44.961 --> 00:36:48.181 I remember back when I was just beginning this work, and I was just starting 00:36:48.181 --> 00:36:50.801 to find out, for example, about the history of eugenics. 00:36:50.901 --> 00:36:54.341 For people who don't know, this is the 19th century idea. 00:36:54.641 --> 00:36:58.281 The term was coined by Francis Galton, the first cousin of Charles Darwin. 00:36:58.601 --> 00:37:03.721 And people who don't know, the Darwin and Galton and Wedgwood line were inbred 00:37:03.721 --> 00:37:10.161 and interbred to the point where, for example, Charles Darwin himself was actually 00:37:10.161 --> 00:37:11.941 worried about the problems of inbreeding. 00:37:12.421 --> 00:37:18.201 And he himself was hooked up with his first cousin, et cetera. 00:37:18.441 --> 00:37:23.121 And they had a number of children, only a few of which were able to actually 00:37:23.121 --> 00:37:25.901 reproduce themselves, et cetera, et cetera. 00:37:25.901 --> 00:37:30.721 So the question of inbreeding and interbreeding was top of mind for these types 00:37:30.721 --> 00:37:35.381 of gentleman scientists of the 19th century British gentry who were interested 00:37:35.381 --> 00:37:36.521 in this question of eugenics. 00:37:36.661 --> 00:37:41.721 Because the general idea is, hey, we breed horses for certain traits. 00:37:41.721 --> 00:37:43.541 We breed dogs for certain traits. 00:37:43.641 --> 00:37:47.061 We've been doing this for thousands of years. Why don't we breed humans for certain traits? 00:37:47.221 --> 00:37:51.521 Certainly some stock is better than others. And that, of course, 00:37:51.821 --> 00:37:56.021 very quickly became the sort of pseudoscientific idea that, well, 00:37:56.121 --> 00:37:58.521 if you're poor, if you're unsuccessful, 00:37:58.921 --> 00:38:03.301 if you're not, you know, a gentleman scientist of the British gentry, 00:38:03.441 --> 00:38:05.061 that's because you're poor stock. 00:38:05.281 --> 00:38:08.081 And if you are one of these, you know, elite people. 00:38:08.640 --> 00:38:12.880 People in the British gentry, well, that's because you're a superior stock. End of story. 00:38:13.100 --> 00:38:18.180 So what we need to do is eugenics. We need to encourage these people to breed 00:38:18.180 --> 00:38:19.540 with each other and have big families. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:24.640 With that, of course, comes the dark shadow of disgenics, which is really what 00:38:24.640 --> 00:38:28.720 eugenics was really aiming at as a political idea as it caught on, 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:33.940 for example, in America in the early 20th century, which is to get rid of those 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:35.700 undesirable parts of the gene pool. 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:38.100 And we saw that taking place in many ways. 00:38:38.260 --> 00:38:42.720 Most obviously the sterilization laws, which happened in the United States, 00:38:42.720 --> 00:38:47.800 in Canada, in Japan, in many places around the world, they're in the early 20th century. 00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:51.960 Some of those laws, for example, in my home province of Alberta in Canada, 00:38:52.120 --> 00:38:57.980 up until the 1980s, they had the involuntary sterilization eugenics laws on the books. 00:38:58.260 --> 00:39:04.380 So it's this whole fascinating history that I remember when I was first starting 00:39:04.380 --> 00:39:06.980 to talk about this and think about this almost two decades ago. 00:39:07.160 --> 00:39:13.020 I remember talking to someone over here in Japan who had studied genetics at the university level. 00:39:13.200 --> 00:39:16.720 He had his, I think his master's degree in genetics. I was talking to him about 00:39:16.720 --> 00:39:20.840 this and I brought up eugenics. He had never even heard of the word. 00:39:21.120 --> 00:39:24.400 Like he didn't even know what that meant. He didn't never heard of the concept. 00:39:24.620 --> 00:39:28.600 So this has been completely occluded from people's attention, but it is coming back. 00:39:28.720 --> 00:39:34.180 And I can see how the immigration issue and other issues are starting to flip 00:39:34.180 --> 00:39:38.360 people around back to the idea that, yes, well, of course, it just makes sense. 00:39:38.540 --> 00:39:44.260 The best needs to breed with the best. And well, I guess we know what we can do with the rest, right? 00:39:44.700 --> 00:39:49.500 And the worst part of that is that, of course, everyone who is an adherent to 00:39:49.500 --> 00:39:53.180 this ideology thinks, well, of course, that means me, I'm one of the good stock, right? 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:57.940 And so my family should thrive. And it's the other people who shouldn't thrive. But guess what? 00:39:58.120 --> 00:40:01.100 To the people who are controlling the system, the billionaires and the Bill 00:40:01.100 --> 00:40:03.900 Gateses and whoever else is manipulating this at higher levels, 00:40:04.180 --> 00:40:07.500 you are the bad stock. You are the people who need to be eliminated. 00:40:08.010 --> 00:40:11.730 And that's, I think, what people don't understand. So yes, you're right. 00:40:11.890 --> 00:40:15.810 In reportage, I have a few essays that touch on this subject, 00:40:15.950 --> 00:40:18.550 but one in particular about who controls the environmental movement, 00:40:18.770 --> 00:40:23.350 talking about people like Madison Grant and other people who were very formative, 00:40:23.610 --> 00:40:27.650 important people in the conservation movement, in the early environmental movement, 00:40:27.650 --> 00:40:30.570 who also were card-carrying eugenicists. 00:40:30.730 --> 00:40:35.970 And that isn't just some sort of coincidence or, you know, what an interesting connection. 00:40:35.970 --> 00:40:42.070 I wonder why. It's because precisely the same mindset that leads people to think, 00:40:42.190 --> 00:40:43.770 well, of course, the superior, 00:40:43.990 --> 00:40:48.750 the few people with the superior genes need to conquer the world and basically 00:40:48.750 --> 00:40:53.090 spread their genes around the world, have that same mindset that nature, 00:40:53.230 --> 00:40:55.810 the natural kingdom is for us. 00:40:55.810 --> 00:41:00.090 It's our preserve, and we need to preserve it for ourselves and our family. 00:41:00.290 --> 00:41:04.850 It also, of course, leads to the conservation movement having this inherent 00:41:04.850 --> 00:41:11.330 bias towards, as Teddy Roosevelt and other eugenicists, Madison Grant and others wrote about. 00:41:11.850 --> 00:41:15.790 You know, they're concerned about the noble, the majestic elk and these other, 00:41:15.890 --> 00:41:19.570 you know, noble, the eagle and these types of majestic animals. 00:41:19.710 --> 00:41:24.010 They don't care about most of the animals, right? They don't care about rabbits or whatever. 00:41:24.010 --> 00:41:31.110 It's just the majestic sort of it's the same mindset of elitism and it's horrible 00:41:31.110 --> 00:41:34.730 to watch as more and more people are starting to adopt that elitist mindset 00:41:34.730 --> 00:41:39.350 thinking that they themselves are part of this elite that's going to go and rule this world. 00:41:40.310 --> 00:41:43.810 If you're just a regular person listening to this conversation, 00:41:43.850 --> 00:41:49.010 chances are the people who are manipulating society don't think of you as part of their club. 00:41:50.710 --> 00:41:52.190 That's a really good point Right. 00:41:52.510 --> 00:41:58.290 And I do I do agree that mass immigration, it's now it's now it's coming to 00:41:58.290 --> 00:42:00.950 a head because they're becoming a little bit more desperate. 00:42:01.030 --> 00:42:05.630 But it does seem like it's being played up a lot more than it normally is. 00:42:05.790 --> 00:42:11.370 And it's unfortunately one of those problems which we just can't go and take it all back. 00:42:11.570 --> 00:42:14.970 You know, there are there there have been people from war tour countries, 00:42:15.270 --> 00:42:16.890 not the best people, criminals. 00:42:17.270 --> 00:42:21.910 And I think there's enough evidence out there to show that they are actually doing harm to society. 00:42:22.170 --> 00:42:26.150 But now that we are in this place where the natives of one country and dealing 00:42:26.150 --> 00:42:29.270 with this outside group of people, 00:42:29.490 --> 00:42:33.870 do you think there is a way to actually repair race relations and work alongside 00:42:33.870 --> 00:42:37.310 these different populations, even though that country is not their home? 00:42:38.312 --> 00:42:42.332 Yeah. Well, let me solve this problem in the next few minutes here. No. Yeah, no. 00:42:42.792 --> 00:42:48.932 There is no easy solution to this because the problem has been brought to this spot. 00:42:49.272 --> 00:42:56.552 And yeah, undoing the problems that have already happened is difficult enough. 00:42:56.552 --> 00:43:00.072 But then how do we prevent it in the future? That might actually even be the 00:43:00.072 --> 00:43:04.692 more the easier part of this, because what I go back to with regards to this 00:43:04.692 --> 00:43:07.532 issue is fundamentally, 00:43:07.732 --> 00:43:13.532 as people who read the book will know, I am a voluntarist and I think free human 00:43:13.532 --> 00:43:17.552 beings are should be free to move across this earth as they see fit. 00:43:17.552 --> 00:43:22.312 And people will congregate in communities of like-minded people. 00:43:22.532 --> 00:43:27.892 And yes, often people will have a preference for people of their own kind in 00:43:27.892 --> 00:43:29.772 whatever way they see that or define that. 00:43:29.872 --> 00:43:32.912 And as a voluntarist, I'm fine with that. If you only want to live with, 00:43:32.912 --> 00:43:35.912 you know, other white people, great, you know, go do that. I'm not going to 00:43:35.912 --> 00:43:36.932 stop you from doing that. 00:43:37.792 --> 00:43:43.212 But equally, I don't think that having this system of nation states where there 00:43:43.212 --> 00:43:45.952 are these lines on the map where you have to provide proof. 00:43:46.112 --> 00:43:50.792 For me, for example, I have to carry around my passport, which is literally 00:43:50.792 --> 00:43:55.532 the king of England at this point, saying, you know, let this person through this imaginary line. 00:43:56.112 --> 00:44:00.972 I don't think that that is the way that we should be organizing the world in and of itself. 00:44:01.132 --> 00:44:06.112 So I think we need to dismantle the very concept of the nation state system that we live under. 00:44:06.452 --> 00:44:09.772 And that isn't some sort of one world government sort of solution, 00:44:09.952 --> 00:44:11.692 which is the way that that is generally framed. 00:44:12.032 --> 00:44:15.452 It's the precise opposite. It's no world government solution. 00:44:15.812 --> 00:44:19.552 As in, we need to get rid of the concept of centralized authority. 00:44:19.912 --> 00:44:23.732 And where does the legitimacy of that political authority come from? 00:44:23.872 --> 00:44:27.612 Some magical ritual where you put a piece of paper in a box and enough people 00:44:27.612 --> 00:44:30.832 put enough pieces of paper and suddenly this person rules over you. 00:44:31.332 --> 00:44:34.192 I think we live in extremely... 00:44:34.882 --> 00:44:38.962 I don't want to even say antiquated, I think carefully manipulated systems of 00:44:38.962 --> 00:44:41.562 control that is difficult for us to think outside of. 00:44:41.682 --> 00:44:45.742 And once we escape that, that idea, that mindset, that there are centralized 00:44:45.742 --> 00:44:50.222 positions of authority, which govern over these vast geographical areas and 00:44:50.222 --> 00:44:55.342 can tell anyone in that geographical area what to do, we have to start interrogating those concepts. 00:44:55.862 --> 00:44:59.662 And I think the cultural concepts will sort themselves out, not to say that 00:44:59.662 --> 00:45:02.822 there will be some sort of, you know, peace, harmony, and unity between all 00:45:02.822 --> 00:45:09.382 people, as long as humans are humans, I'm sure there will be enmity and problems and strife. 00:45:09.882 --> 00:45:14.902 But at the very least, it can be human beings sorting that out in a human way, 00:45:15.022 --> 00:45:19.322 rather than this inhuman system of top-down control where vast stretches of 00:45:19.322 --> 00:45:24.242 the globe are governed by a few elitists at the top who think of themselves 00:45:24.242 --> 00:45:25.562 as superior to everyone else. 00:45:25.822 --> 00:45:29.462 So I know that's not really a fundamental answer to what you're talking about. 00:45:29.602 --> 00:45:34.682 There are real obvious problems that people are dealing with right now in this world. 00:45:34.722 --> 00:45:38.662 But it's difficult to imagine how to extricate ourselves from those problems, 00:45:38.662 --> 00:45:43.582 as long as we still live in this top-down system of centralized hierarchical control. 00:45:44.582 --> 00:45:48.382 That's right. And once we start seeing past that illusion, we can at least start 00:45:48.382 --> 00:45:51.442 working with each other together to do something about it. 00:45:51.602 --> 00:45:55.682 Maybe take the resources that might have been going to prop up the forever wars, 00:45:55.862 --> 00:46:00.642 the subsidies for these harmful immigration programs, welfare states, 00:46:00.902 --> 00:46:02.442 and then putting them towards better use. 00:46:03.482 --> 00:46:07.782 Here's another interesting observation I got by reading Reportage, 00:46:07.882 --> 00:46:11.882 which, again, guys, if you haven't already went to the website and started looking 00:46:11.882 --> 00:46:15.202 for this book, it is an e-book version, which, by the way, James, 00:46:15.482 --> 00:46:18.222 I love you for doing that. Thank you for having an e-book version. 00:46:18.542 --> 00:46:22.122 Get this book. Can I also say that you have a hardcover edition. 00:46:22.582 --> 00:46:24.442 That's the collector's edition, actually. 00:46:24.942 --> 00:46:27.702 Very special edition run. Signed by the author. 00:46:28.702 --> 00:46:33.242 In fact, as we're speaking, there is now a hardcover edition available for purchase 00:46:33.242 --> 00:46:36.222 through Amazon and all the places that you buy books. 00:46:36.362 --> 00:46:39.682 Don't buy it through Amazon if you can help it, but it is there. 00:46:39.982 --> 00:46:43.982 It's distributed to all the booksellers. So you can buy a hardcover edition of it now. 00:46:44.322 --> 00:46:47.962 And the audiobook edition is coming in the not too distant future. 00:46:48.402 --> 00:46:52.122 I'm not going to give it time precisely, but let's just say if you wait a bit, 00:46:52.202 --> 00:46:53.502 there will be an audiobook as well. 00:46:53.958 --> 00:46:57.298 So many different ways to read the book, and it's wonderfully written. 00:46:57.618 --> 00:47:01.878 I love that you can kind of just flip around to any of the essays and start wherever. 00:47:02.258 --> 00:47:05.018 And it really gives you a deep understanding of one subject. 00:47:05.238 --> 00:47:07.398 So I really, I hope you guys check out the book. 00:47:07.398 --> 00:47:10.118 There's this um by reading the 00:47:10.118 --> 00:47:13.238 book you kind of get to understand that the global elite although 00:47:13.238 --> 00:47:16.318 they seem like this shadowy group it's not as big 00:47:16.318 --> 00:47:19.218 of a group as you might think it's kind of the same people 00:47:19.218 --> 00:47:23.938 that are showing up coming up over and over and it's a kind of a small club 00:47:23.938 --> 00:47:28.718 which gives you some hope in that one person could even understand this power 00:47:28.718 --> 00:47:33.258 structure so there's um i'm just paraphrasing here but they this global elite 00:47:33.258 --> 00:47:36.918 works by coordinating their power and effort and there's a lot of relationships. 00:47:37.238 --> 00:47:42.038 They know how to work together to come to an agreed upon vision and amplify 00:47:42.038 --> 00:47:43.578 their own power through each other. 00:47:43.838 --> 00:47:50.438 James, I've been thinking about how voluntarious people who believe in freedom, what do you think? 00:47:50.658 --> 00:47:54.318 Of course, we can't really force our ideas onto each other, but do you think 00:47:54.318 --> 00:47:58.458 there are more effective ways we can work with our relationships to amplify 00:47:58.458 --> 00:48:00.858 our own visions in the opposite direction than theirs? 00:48:01.638 --> 00:48:05.358 You know, Hakeem, that is such an insightful, such a good question, 00:48:05.358 --> 00:48:08.578 because I think that point goes over so many people's heads. 00:48:09.718 --> 00:48:15.358 People, I understand why people naturally tend to assume there is a monolithic 00:48:15.358 --> 00:48:17.738 conspiracy, and it's all headed by, 00:48:17.918 --> 00:48:21.558 you know, one person, or the Council of 13, or, you know, whatever it is, 00:48:21.638 --> 00:48:24.738 there's just this one group, and they're all reading from the same script, 00:48:24.838 --> 00:48:27.158 and following along, and Putin, 00:48:27.418 --> 00:48:30.998 you know, okay, oh, today I'll invade Ukraine, okay, then I better invade Ukraine. 00:48:30.998 --> 00:48:35.698 I don't believe in that cartoon level monolithic conspiracy. 00:48:36.078 --> 00:48:40.178 I think there are different people coming from different backgrounds and perspectives, 00:48:40.458 --> 00:48:45.038 maybe with their own agendas, that are all part of this group, 00:48:45.058 --> 00:48:47.858 which we can broadly identify. I don't use the term elite. 00:48:47.998 --> 00:48:52.878 I use elitist because they think of themselves as elites. But I don't I don't think they're elites. 00:48:53.338 --> 00:48:59.038 Global elitists. So the global elitists. Yes. The clique, the club that we're not in. 00:48:59.858 --> 00:49:05.798 These people, I think there is a lot of backstabbing and jockeying for power 00:49:05.798 --> 00:49:09.718 because essentially what they are attempting to do is what every dictator throughout 00:49:09.718 --> 00:49:10.978 all of human history has done. 00:49:11.138 --> 00:49:13.818 It's nothing strange to understand. 00:49:14.178 --> 00:49:19.058 They're trying to accrue as much power as possible into as few hands as possible. 00:49:19.178 --> 00:49:22.218 Me and my friends, we're going to rule the world. Essentially. What's... 00:49:22.550 --> 00:49:28.310 Every ruthless dictator in history has desired. So every person at this table 00:49:28.310 --> 00:49:30.470 is going to define me and my friends a little bit differently. 00:49:31.110 --> 00:49:35.930 But you make the excellent point. Yes, there are a disparate number of people. 00:49:37.410 --> 00:49:41.690 I cite David Rothkopf in the book, for example, who wrote the book Superclass 00:49:41.690 --> 00:49:46.770 in which he identified 6,000 people that he said are able to institute their 00:49:46.770 --> 00:49:50.290 agenda across international boundaries and what have you. 00:49:50.650 --> 00:49:55.870 So whatever, however big this club is, several thousand, even if it's tens of 00:49:55.870 --> 00:49:59.690 thousands, it's still a tiny, tiny percentage of the overall global population, right? 00:49:59.910 --> 00:50:04.710 And these people are able, with their diverse ideas and ideologies and backgrounds 00:50:04.710 --> 00:50:10.950 and ultimate goals, are able to come together and cooperate on issues that they think are important. 00:50:11.130 --> 00:50:15.390 For example, the Great Reset Agenda, which I always point out is really just 00:50:15.390 --> 00:50:19.330 the latest rebranding of a very, very longstanding agenda, which is towards 00:50:19.330 --> 00:50:22.630 that centralization of control, technocracy, et cetera. 00:50:23.150 --> 00:50:28.110 But why do all of these different players at the global elitist table, 00:50:28.230 --> 00:50:30.850 why do they get to get on board with something like the Great Reset? 00:50:30.970 --> 00:50:35.310 Why does build back better become this term that every politician suddenly starts using? 00:50:35.490 --> 00:50:39.270 Why is the idea of the 15 minute city now being introduced and implemented in 00:50:39.270 --> 00:50:41.470 various places, smart cities, those sorts of things. 00:50:42.170 --> 00:50:48.910 It's because fundamentally, I think the ultimate ideology that is driving these 00:50:48.910 --> 00:50:52.050 people is the same, towards centralization of power and control. 00:50:52.290 --> 00:50:57.750 And so everything that happens in the world, every event, whether manipulated 00:50:57.750 --> 00:51:03.150 and staged and fake or totally organic, can be used as an. 00:51:06.166 --> 00:51:09.746 Oh, my God, look at this horrible terror attack that happened on 9-11. 00:51:09.966 --> 00:51:13.106 We need to give more power and control to intelligence agencies. 00:51:13.206 --> 00:51:14.186 We need to give them more money. 00:51:14.326 --> 00:51:17.746 We need to get them, you know, more centralized in talking to each other. 00:51:17.866 --> 00:51:20.566 That's the problem. They failed, so we need to give them more power. 00:51:20.566 --> 00:51:25.106 So no matter what happens, you can always just frame it in the way that you 00:51:25.106 --> 00:51:27.006 want, given your underlying ideology. 00:51:27.666 --> 00:51:30.546 Whereas from a freedom perspective, you might look at something like, 00:51:30.866 --> 00:51:33.466 I don't know, a 9-11 and say, hey, look, I don't care. 00:51:33.666 --> 00:51:36.506 Well, I do care. But you can say, I don't care what happened, 00:51:36.626 --> 00:51:38.946 you know, whether it was the government or whatever it was. 00:51:39.526 --> 00:51:42.546 The point is, you failed us. You're supposed to keep us safe, 00:51:42.686 --> 00:51:46.806 but you didn't keep us safe. Therefore, we should give you less money. 00:51:46.966 --> 00:51:48.146 We should give you less power. 00:51:48.306 --> 00:51:52.266 We should dismantle you because you are clearly not doing what you're supposed to be doing. 00:51:52.526 --> 00:51:57.306 That is an equally, I would say, even more valid response to something like that, right? 00:51:57.466 --> 00:52:00.746 But it's never framed in that way. It's always like, oh, this was a terrible 00:52:00.746 --> 00:52:02.046 failure. Let's give them more power. 00:52:02.246 --> 00:52:05.746 Because the people who are driving this agenda have their ideology. 00:52:05.746 --> 00:52:06.966 They have their goal in mind. 00:52:07.086 --> 00:52:10.826 So absolutely everything becomes just another excuse for them to go towards their goal. 00:52:10.826 --> 00:52:13.946 Why don't why don't freedom-minded people 00:52:13.946 --> 00:52:17.206 work in that way why don't we understand yes 00:52:17.206 --> 00:52:19.986 i hakeem i might disagree with you on this or 00:52:19.986 --> 00:52:22.886 that but i know that fundamentally if we 00:52:22.886 --> 00:52:26.386 are working towards the same fundamental underlying goal we'll have lots of 00:52:26.386 --> 00:52:31.966 things and places where we can work together and we can leverage our individual 00:52:31.966 --> 00:52:36.826 actions towards that greater goal that we're seeking and everything that happens 00:52:36.826 --> 00:52:40.746 could be an excuse for more freedom you know oh this horrible terror attack, 00:52:41.006 --> 00:52:43.506 we should do freedom instead of, you know, more tyranny. 00:52:43.706 --> 00:52:48.306 And that is the way forward. I think if we are, and again, that doesn't mean 00:52:48.306 --> 00:52:51.566 we have to be wedded at the hip or we have to be on the same page, 00:52:51.766 --> 00:52:52.706 you know, reading the same script. 00:52:52.886 --> 00:52:58.486 It just means that we work together on items of interest that we agree on. 00:52:59.586 --> 00:53:03.626 I couldn't have said it better. Yeah. It makes me think that the first step, 00:53:03.726 --> 00:53:07.806 just reframing the news cycle, this thing has happened. 00:53:08.086 --> 00:53:12.666 So here's from a voluntarist perspective, you can't say, I think things should 00:53:12.666 --> 00:53:18.426 be like this, but you can't say, here's how I'm changing my own life to reflect these values better. 00:53:18.486 --> 00:53:22.026 Cause now I know that there, it's even more important to care about them and act on them. 00:53:22.186 --> 00:53:25.306 And here are the ways that I would like to engage with others, 00:53:25.846 --> 00:53:31.786 whether that is, um, watching over our own community or becoming more self-reliant on food. 00:53:31.886 --> 00:53:34.266 And I guess if, if there are enough of us, because it's like, 00:53:34.386 --> 00:53:39.566 it's not like We have the benefit of billions of dollars on our backs and companies 00:53:39.566 --> 00:53:43.006 that we can put towards these visions. 00:53:43.126 --> 00:53:47.486 But we do have our own individual choices. And if enough people speak up, 00:53:47.606 --> 00:53:48.986 it does turn into something greater. 00:53:49.226 --> 00:53:53.506 So I really like the way you put that. And I hope that more people could be 00:53:53.506 --> 00:53:56.666 more vocal about their personal pledges and how they live their life. 00:53:57.209 --> 00:54:01.249 So, James, and think about things in advance. Sorry, let me just make that point, because, 00:54:01.509 --> 00:54:07.649 again, we know in the event of, say, a nuclear incident, nuclear terrorist strike 00:54:07.649 --> 00:54:12.529 or a nuclear war or whatever, whatever they gin up, you know what the government 00:54:12.529 --> 00:54:13.969 response is going to be overnight. 00:54:13.969 --> 00:54:16.229 Night, they're going to crack down on absolutely everything. 00:54:16.409 --> 00:54:19.209 Okay, the end of any sort of free communication on the internet, 00:54:19.229 --> 00:54:22.029 we're going to take over and we're going to have boots on the ground, 00:54:22.489 --> 00:54:26.529 you know, total homeland security state, whatever, whatever we need to do to solve this problem. 00:54:27.629 --> 00:54:34.229 Whereas if we in advance consciously and vocally talk about no, no, no, no, no, 00:54:34.469 --> 00:54:38.969 the point is that to whatever extent there's this imaginary social contract 00:54:38.969 --> 00:54:43.049 and we're all, you know, beholden to your political authority because you keep us safe. 00:54:43.209 --> 00:54:47.529 No, the exact point is, no, as soon as we see that mushroom cloud going off 00:54:47.529 --> 00:54:50.049 anywhere, you have broken the social contract. 00:54:50.289 --> 00:54:53.249 We serve you no more. Nuclear war, we serve you no more. 00:54:53.409 --> 00:54:57.989 Something like that. We need some snappy slogan that we put in bed in the public 00:54:57.989 --> 00:55:00.449 consciousness in advance so that 00:55:00.449 --> 00:55:04.549 we will already be oriented in the right direction in the event of that, 00:55:04.889 --> 00:55:09.129 you know, whatever cataclysmic event they're going to try to use to rally us all under their flag. 00:55:09.289 --> 00:55:14.349 No, we should be in advance already saying, no, anything that happens like that, 00:55:14.429 --> 00:55:18.149 you've shown that you have no authority, you have no legitimacy. 00:55:18.309 --> 00:55:22.909 We totally, utterly eschew you. And if we do that in advance and commit ourselves 00:55:22.909 --> 00:55:27.889 to that, then I think we are better positioned for the next cataclysmic event, whatever it may be. 00:55:29.349 --> 00:55:33.269 Very well said. Yes. If they can plan generations in advance, 00:55:33.509 --> 00:55:36.649 I think we could plan at least five years, and we know exactly what's coming. 00:55:37.229 --> 00:55:41.589 So James, this is a question we try to ask everyone who gets interviewed on 00:55:41.589 --> 00:55:43.969 Take Back Our Tech, and it's a pretty simple one. 00:55:44.129 --> 00:55:50.009 What is your most favorite open source technology and why? Could be an app, could be a service. 00:55:50.409 --> 00:55:52.829 Yeah, okay, I'm thinking about it. You know what? 00:55:54.149 --> 00:55:57.069 Okay, I think you know what I'm going to say. I think I know. 00:55:57.429 --> 00:55:59.349 Yeah. What do you think I'm going to say? 00:56:00.855 --> 00:56:05.295 Three letters starts with an R. Yeah. That's the one that immediately occurs 00:56:05.295 --> 00:56:07.815 to me. And I don't know, do I want to be that predictable? 00:56:08.035 --> 00:56:11.455 But I will. You know what? I'm here. I might as well make the case. 00:56:12.695 --> 00:56:15.855 You know, for people who don't know about really simple syndication, 00:56:15.895 --> 00:56:20.675 and I don't know in detail. I really should, like, really look at the history of this. 00:56:20.755 --> 00:56:24.955 But I know Aaron Schwartz was part of the codification of this. 00:56:26.015 --> 00:56:32.335 Right? So rest in peace, Aaron Schwartz. I should really look into how the RSS 00:56:32.335 --> 00:56:34.075 concept came out, the protocol, right? 00:56:34.235 --> 00:56:37.775 Because it is essentially, it's a protocol. And that's the thing that's beautiful 00:56:37.775 --> 00:56:41.055 about it. It is not controlled by anyone. 00:56:41.475 --> 00:56:46.015 And depending on what feed reader you use, they'll all, you know, 00:56:46.235 --> 00:56:47.995 accept different inputs and parameters. 00:56:48.235 --> 00:56:52.955 And, you know, and you can call on different XMLNS. 00:56:53.175 --> 00:56:56.275 Is that what it is? So you can call different things in order to put different 00:56:56.275 --> 00:56:58.555 things in your feed. You can tailor it the way you want. 00:56:58.755 --> 00:57:01.815 Different people can use whatever, whatever. 00:57:02.035 --> 00:57:03.895 They could even make their own open source reader. 00:57:04.375 --> 00:57:11.875 And to me, this is absolutely, this is the way, this is the true promise of the internet. 00:57:12.095 --> 00:57:18.075 This is what the decentralization of information was all about, was no middleman. 00:57:18.415 --> 00:57:21.795 Why do we need a middleman? I guess you could argue the ISPs that we're using 00:57:21.795 --> 00:57:25.175 to connect to the internet are middlemen, but you don't even necessarily need 00:57:25.175 --> 00:57:27.315 them, depending how we, you know, get our information. 00:57:27.495 --> 00:57:32.415 But at any rate, there's no middleman between me and the person who wants to hear what I'm saying. 00:57:33.755 --> 00:57:38.295 Whereas, of course, as everyone knows, when you're following someone on YouTube, 00:57:38.595 --> 00:57:41.375 if you subscribe to, you know, if you're subscribed to someone on YouTube, 00:57:41.795 --> 00:57:46.535 YouTube is allowing you to connect to that person through their control platform, 00:57:46.535 --> 00:57:50.135 which means that, yeah, they'll know there's a connection there and they may 00:57:50.135 --> 00:57:53.175 show you some of their videos sometimes when they feel like it. 00:57:53.315 --> 00:57:58.495 Unless you click the bell and spin the hoop and whatever else they're asking you to do these days. 00:57:58.675 --> 00:58:00.855 And then they might show you a few more of those person's videos. 00:58:01.255 --> 00:58:03.635 But it's a stupid, stupid, stupid system because, 00:58:04.537 --> 00:58:09.537 And exactly as happened to me a few years ago, they just flipped the switch, your channel's gone. 00:58:09.737 --> 00:58:13.577 And those half a million people who's hit that subscribe button, 00:58:13.737 --> 00:58:16.717 suddenly, I don't know, he's gone, whatever. 00:58:17.077 --> 00:58:20.337 And for a lot of them, they probably don't even recognize that you're gone because 00:58:20.337 --> 00:58:24.377 they just don't see you in their algorithmic feed anymore. So they don't even think about you. 00:58:24.757 --> 00:58:26.937 Other people might think, yeah, I wonder what happened to that James guy. 00:58:27.097 --> 00:58:30.837 I know some people thought I retired. Some people thought I died. 00:58:31.717 --> 00:58:34.537 And now that I got my YouTube channel back, people are like, 00:58:34.597 --> 00:58:38.597 hey, you're back. No, I didn't go anywhere, guys. I've been here the whole time. 00:58:38.737 --> 00:58:41.557 It's just YouTube didn't allow you to see me. So RSS. 00:58:42.137 --> 00:58:44.957 I mean, I can't imagine there's anyone in the T-Bot audience who doesn't know 00:58:44.957 --> 00:58:47.277 about RSS. But if not, look into it. 00:58:47.637 --> 00:58:51.997 We could make them maybe go a little bit deeper. And if you don't have your 00:58:51.997 --> 00:58:56.617 categorized RSS feed of the journalists, you like to listen to the software, 00:58:56.717 --> 00:59:00.997 you'd like to keep up to date to the geopolitical events, maybe it's time to start. 00:59:02.317 --> 00:59:06.317 There is software I use called Fresh RSS, which you can host yourself, 00:59:06.457 --> 00:59:08.097 which allows you to do that. 00:59:08.237 --> 00:59:11.577 Then, like James was saying, you could take that and make another feed of it 00:59:11.577 --> 00:59:12.937 from it and choose to subscribe. 00:59:13.177 --> 00:59:16.737 That's actually what I do to stay on top of the T-Bot show. I honestly don't 00:59:16.737 --> 00:59:21.237 know how you could do that without an RSS feed. how you could have like a weekly 00:59:21.237 --> 00:59:25.937 show that RSS feed without without a feed, because there's just so much coming out there. 00:59:27.137 --> 00:59:31.117 On that note, I mean, do you have any? I'm sure you have your own RSS feeds. 00:59:31.497 --> 00:59:34.497 Do you have any tips about how to use them? And then follow up question. 00:59:34.917 --> 00:59:38.877 You restarted. You didn't restart. You got back your YouTube channel. 00:59:39.257 --> 00:59:41.197 How's that going? Does it even matter? 00:59:42.117 --> 00:59:45.517 It does not matter. And I can say that now because after the initial, 00:59:45.817 --> 00:59:48.697 there was some, I guess, excitement amongst people who are like, 00:59:48.817 --> 00:59:51.317 oh, hey, I remember you, hey, welcome back, and all that. 00:59:52.257 --> 00:59:56.577 Now it's at the point where I think I'm getting like 5K views of video or something. 00:59:56.837 --> 01:00:01.697 Like, it's just, it's ridiculous. I have 550,000 subscribers and I get like 5K views. 01:00:02.077 --> 01:00:07.137 I'm just, whatever secret sauce you have to put into whatever in order to be 01:00:07.137 --> 01:00:11.417 promoted by the algorithm, clearly not me anymore. 01:00:11.677 --> 01:00:14.777 And that, you know, whatever. James, you gotta make your thumbnail face like this. 01:00:15.682 --> 01:00:16.982 Yeah. And then and then. 01:00:19.002 --> 01:00:22.682 Yeah. Amongst other things. Right. Anyway, I don't care. 01:00:22.842 --> 01:00:27.862 I never studied the algorithm or how to manipulate it. And I'm certainly not going to start now. 01:00:28.062 --> 01:00:31.382 So whatever. It is what it is. Is it I mean, it's whatever. 01:00:31.622 --> 01:00:35.102 It's just another platform where maybe someone will stumble across me. I hope. 01:00:35.962 --> 01:00:38.802 Um sorry what was the other part of that question the other 01:00:38.802 --> 01:00:42.082 part was there so i'll expand the question to any tips 01:00:42.082 --> 01:00:44.922 for um maintaining your rss feeds like 01:00:44.922 --> 01:00:47.722 how do you like to organize your stuff and then 01:00:47.722 --> 01:00:51.082 the two-parter if you have something more is there any other decentralized 01:00:51.082 --> 01:00:53.802 content platform that you want 01:00:53.802 --> 01:00:56.662 to promote to other people but part one rss feed 01:00:56.662 --> 01:00:59.902 organization okay part one um yes rss 01:00:59.902 --> 01:01:02.942 feed organization i guess it really depends what you are doing what 01:01:02.942 --> 01:01:06.022 your purpose is as you say doing a weekly show you how 01:01:06.022 --> 01:01:09.182 can you do it without an rss feed i mean you have to have access 01:01:09.182 --> 01:01:12.242 to information and for me too absolutely if i didn't have 01:01:12.242 --> 01:01:15.362 rss i guess i could 01:01:15.362 --> 01:01:18.082 be on twitter and like using that as a 01:01:18.082 --> 01:01:21.042 way to try to keep up with the news or something but oh my 01:01:21.042 --> 01:01:24.622 god my mind boggles because there's so much garbage 01:01:24.622 --> 01:01:27.482 on twitter and once again you're letting the twitter 01:01:27.482 --> 01:01:30.802 algorithm decide what you see so it's not 01:01:30.802 --> 01:01:33.642 the way to go um rss you get to decide i like 01:01:33.642 --> 01:01:36.882 this guy i like this site i like this podcast tbot i'm 01:01:36.882 --> 01:01:39.922 subscribed not through substack itself i'm subscribed 01:01:39.922 --> 01:01:42.722 to the rss oh the substack rss so that 01:01:42.722 --> 01:01:45.822 i know when you post a new video i get to see it that way 01:01:45.822 --> 01:01:49.202 because it's in my rss feed so that's the way and so 01:01:49.202 --> 01:01:52.382 for me personally the way i do it i have i don't. 01:01:52.382 --> 01:01:55.162 Know how many dozens and dozens and dozens of feeds i'm subscribed to which 01:01:55.162 --> 01:01:59.202 means i get hundreds and hundreds of articles and videos and things every single 01:01:59.202 --> 01:02:03.202 day and every single day or at least every couple days I just go through the 01:02:03.202 --> 01:02:07.662 list I see the headlines I see which ones I am interested in I click through 01:02:07.662 --> 01:02:13.242 to them and I get rid of the other ones out of my feed and that's the way I do it and oh um. 01:02:14.863 --> 01:02:19.283 You delete them. That's what I was laughing about. I'm the guy who maybe sees 01:02:19.283 --> 01:02:20.423 it and just leaves it in there. 01:02:20.623 --> 01:02:23.603 So there's like a million red things. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 01:02:24.803 --> 01:02:30.003 Yeah. If I if I didn't, my God, no, I have to because otherwise it would be just a mess. 01:02:30.283 --> 01:02:34.823 But but here's what I do. So when I click into and actually go to like, 01:02:34.883 --> 01:02:36.823 oh, this article looks good. And I go click into it. 01:02:37.423 --> 01:02:41.303 If it is indeed good and something that I need to know, I physically save it, 01:02:41.503 --> 01:02:44.203 save as HTML file to my hard drive. 01:02:44.863 --> 01:02:48.883 That's the way that I actually keep track. And you know what I do certainly. 01:02:49.123 --> 01:02:54.143 So I have an entire directory. I showed it once in a solutions watch, 01:02:54.223 --> 01:02:58.003 I think on the highlighter is mightier than the sword or something like that. 01:02:58.143 --> 01:03:02.503 I showed how I save files in the directory that I've, I've created for, 01:03:02.503 --> 01:03:04.883 you know, categorizing different articles and things. 01:03:05.523 --> 01:03:08.743 And I do use that. So like, if I ever need to know, you know, 01:03:08.843 --> 01:03:11.063 what do I know about Nigeria or something? 01:03:11.063 --> 01:03:13.903 I can go into my directory and find all the articles I've 01:03:13.903 --> 01:03:16.823 ever saved about my shirt but um i don't 01:03:16.823 --> 01:03:19.503 do that a lot but i find that the 01:03:19.503 --> 01:03:22.643 concept just the idea of saving those articles 01:03:22.643 --> 01:03:25.683 and remembering i have that helps me to remember that 01:03:25.683 --> 01:03:28.503 that exists so that later on when i'm doing something 01:03:28.503 --> 01:03:32.423 on palantir or whatever it is i will remember oh yeah i saved an article about 01:03:32.423 --> 01:03:36.603 that predictive pre-crime thing a couple years ago and then i can go and find 01:03:36.603 --> 01:03:41.383 it so for me it's just a mnemonic thing i guess but it certainly helps me the 01:03:41.383 --> 01:03:46.643 highlighter is mightier than the sword check that out on Solutions Watch. Would that be? 01:03:47.563 --> 01:03:50.823 On Solutions Watch. Also, James, to share this with you in the audience, 01:03:51.083 --> 01:03:55.983 there's also a Wallabag, which it can integrate with some RSS software. 01:03:56.223 --> 01:04:00.303 And basically, there's just a button and it'll kind of do the manual process 01:04:00.303 --> 01:04:04.743 James is talking about and save it to another application. You can tag it, all that kind of stuff. 01:04:05.023 --> 01:04:07.343 Can you save it locally or does it have to be in the cloud? 01:04:08.543 --> 01:04:13.363 It is on software running either on your machine or in the cloud. 01:04:14.463 --> 01:04:18.303 I think it can run on your desktop, though. Just kind of cool. 01:04:19.663 --> 01:04:22.463 Wallabag for those who want to try it out. Beautiful. 01:04:22.763 --> 01:04:26.883 Well, thanks, James. I got something new out of this. I need to delete my articles. 01:04:27.143 --> 01:04:29.123 And that's probably why my hard drives are all crashing. 01:04:29.663 --> 01:04:32.663 James, I want to thank you for giving us so much insight. And I just want to 01:04:32.663 --> 01:04:38.503 say again how special it was to read your book and how insightful it was. 01:04:38.563 --> 01:04:42.663 And I hope that you guys who are watching this go and pick up a copy of it, 01:04:42.663 --> 01:04:47.143 whether it's the hard copy, which it's nice having a copy in your hands or purchasing it online. 01:04:47.383 --> 01:04:52.683 Make sure you get this. Share it with one friend who maybe hasn't come around to some of this stuff. 01:04:52.803 --> 01:04:56.143 But the way this is written, the way it's cited, the way that you can go to 01:04:56.143 --> 01:04:58.623 the end of each chapter and actually research it for yourself. 01:04:58.923 --> 01:05:02.343 This is the conspiracy realist book everyone needs to be reading. 01:05:02.603 --> 01:05:06.563 So thank you again, James. This wraps up the first half of the interview with 01:05:06.563 --> 01:05:10.523 James. Now we will go into the personal half for those of you that are paid subscribers.