Chapo Trap House - 628 – Real Detective feat. Nick Bryant (5/16/22)

In a more serious episode, we talk to author and journalist Nick Bryant about his 2009 book “The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal.” We’ve mentioned the Franklin Credit Union scandal in passing on the show before, but it begins with the collapse of the Franklin Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska in 1988 due to rampant corruption and embezzlement of its manager, Lawrence E. King, Jr. Soon after, King was accused, along with GOP lobbyist Craig Spence, of orchestrating a massive child prostitution ring, shuttling minors between Omaha and D.C., and using their solicitation to blackmail high ranking political figures. Bryant’s work examines the evidence behind this, and we discuss the scandal, the victims, the cover up, intelligence agency connections of its perpetrators, and the crucial links between intelligence-led sexual political blackmail operations of the past with the Epstein case today. Follow Nick on Twitter here: @nick__bryant Find more info, Nick’s book and Nick’s blog on his website here: nickbryantnyc.com

Chapo Trap House - 626 – Simian Slurp feat. Ben McKenzie (5/9/22)

Author, anti-crypto advocate (and yes, film & TV star) Ben McKenzie stops by to talk Cryptocurrency. We discuss the lies & fraud at the center of Crypto, the use of celebs to boost the scheme, and his experiences traveling to the Miami Bitcoin conference and a Bitcoin mining server farm to research his forthcoming book. Keep an eye out for Ben and Jacob Silverman’s forthcoming book. You can find some of their recent writing on the topic in Slate here: https://slate.com/author/ben-mckenzie

Chapo Trap House - 622 – Hip Priest feat. Pod About List (4/25/22)

He is not appreciated... the boys are joined by Pod About List to talk Father Stu, the new movie from Hollywood Catholic powerhouses Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, and Mel Gibson's girlfriend. Donate to Marie Newman https://marienewmanforcongress.com/ Pod About List Tour Dates and tickets https://www.swagpoop.com/shows

Chapo Trap House - 620 – Beltway Phoenix at the Midterms of Madness feat. Dave Weigel (4/18/22)

We just noticed it happens to be a midterms year, so your favorite presidential podcasting duo of Chris and Matt have teamed back up to relaunch our beltway insider series. We’re joined by campaign reporter extraordinaire Dave Weigel to break down the key races to watch, track the trends to follow, and generally put drills to our temples as we attempt to once again engage in American Electoral Politics. If you want to catch us a Pickathon near Portland, OR in August, tickets here: https://pickathon.com/