Author: Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

In the raging pile of slop that is social media, every once in a while you stumble across someone doing something genuinely amazing. That’s how Prop found Amanda Nelson, the creator behind Amanda’s Mild Takes, where she delivers comprehensive breakdowns of politics and history and artfully drags the trolls in her comment section while she’s at it. We had to get to know her.

In this episode, Amanda shares why she started making videos in the first place, what motivates her to clap back at haters, and what parallels she sees between the past and the current events happening in the US. She also offers her predictions for the upcoming midterm elections, and weighs in on who might throw their hat in the ring for president in 2028.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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James is joined by Sam Hamilton to discuss how people in Social Circle, GA are organizing against an 8,000 person detention facility that ICE is planning to build in a warehouse in their community.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/12/24/ice-immigrants-detention-warehouses-deportation-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Andrew and James talk about the idea of “normalcy” and the bias towards it.

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Garrison explains why the online right are memeing about a penguin who fled its colony to march to its own death, and how this deranged penguin reflects fascism as a suicidal state.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Margaret continues to read you excerpts from a book explaining the ins and outs of mutual aid

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All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. 

- CZM Rewind: Dogwhistle Politics and Nazi Code Hunting

- Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us feat. Andrew

- Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us, Pt. 2

- What Must Be Done? The Battle Against Fascism

- Executive Disorder: ICE Body Cams, Fulton Election Raid, Portland Protest

You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

http://apple.co/coolerzone

Sources/Links:

CZM Rewind: Dogwhistle Politics and Nazi Code Hunting

https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/

https://files.libcom.org/files/[Mark_Fisher]_Capitalist_Realism_Is_There_no_Alte(BookZZ.org).pdf

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trumps-immigration-record-far-high-arrests-low-deportations-rcna217752

https://michiganadvance.com/2025/04/09/ice-director-envisions-amazon-like-mass-deportation-system-prime-but-with-human-beings/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20p36e62gyo

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-refuses-us-military-flight-deporting-migrants-sources-say-2025-01-25/

https://bsky.app/profile/bishonentype.bsky.social/post/3luq3qktltc2n

Panama 1989 to Venezuela 2026: What History Can Teach Us feat. Andrew

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-interior-minister-says-100-people-died-us-attack-2026-01-08/

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/omar-torrijos-ousts-arias-panama

Emperors In the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama by John Lindsay-Poland

Executive Disorder: ICE Body Cams, Fulton Election Raid, Portland Protest

https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-announces-the-clintons-caved-will-appear-for-depositions/

https://sortor.us/release/lemon.pdf

https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_DDIQ8jz.pdf

https://www.wtnh.com/news/politics/ap-judge-rules-us-justice-department-filed-a-lawsuit-over-georgia-voter-data-in-the-wrong-city/#:~:text=Judge%20rules%20US%20Justice%20Department%20filed%20a,government%20had%20sued%20in%20the%20wrong%20city.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/e815ed47-fce4-4797-8dc7-bcbc9efa968d.pdf

https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/2018504435769520156?s=20

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/georgia-fulton-county-fbi-election-raid

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.282460/gov.uscourts.mad.282460.315.0_1.pdf 

https://www.state.gov/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-and-guyanese-president-irfaan-ali-at-a-joint-press-availability 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/09/rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-student-resume-teaching-visa 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/court-documents-student-israel-op-ed

https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-next-for-146454395?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.283214/gov.uscourts.dcd.283214.124.0_1.pdf 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.283200/gov.uscourts.dcd.283200.52.0.pdf 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2z7eb5efGlHrb2AYBtfqMVDJSUfIu/view 

https://www.startribune.com/another-wave-of-departures-in-minnesotas-us-attorneys-office/601575569 

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/24_0307_priv_pia-ice-066a-pia-update.pdf 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/bovino-frustrated-directive-conduct-targeted-operations-chicago-rcna257069 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/31/2022-11810/advancing-effective-accountable-policing-and-criminal-justice-practices-to-enhance-public-trust-and 

https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/25/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-historic-executive-order-to-advance-effective-accountable-policing-and-strengthen-public-safety/ 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/31/2022-11810/advancing-effective-accountable-policing-and-criminal-justice-practices-to-enhance-public-trust-and

https://www.propublica.org/article/alex-pretti-shooting-cbp-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez 

https://sdf-press.com/archives/47816 

https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/2017320999629254878?s=20 

https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/2019098549640917124?s=20 

https://t.co/aMIp9uMx04 

https://wladimirvanwilgenburg.substack.com/p/kurdish-regions-will-be-organized

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The gang discuss the FBI raid of the Fulton County Election office, ICE protests in Portland, DHS bodycams, and an unsealed memo on the arrest of Rümeysa Öztürk. Plus, updates on Minneapolis and Syria.

Sources:

https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-announces-the-clintons-caved-will-appear-for-depositions/

https://sortor.us/release/lemon.pdf

https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_DDIQ8jz.pdf

https://www.wtnh.com/news/politics/ap-judge-rules-us-justice-department-filed-a-lawsuit-over-georgia-voter-data-in-the-wrong-city/#:~:text=Judge%20rules%20US%20Justice%20Department%20filed%20a,government%20had%20sued%20in%20the%20wrong%20city.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/e815ed47-fce4-4797-8dc7-bcbc9efa968d.pdf

https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/2018504435769520156?s=20

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/georgia-fulton-county-fbi-election-raid

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.282460/gov.uscourts.mad.282460.315.0_1.pdf 

https://www.state.gov/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-and-guyanese-president-irfaan-ali-at-a-joint-press-availability 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/09/rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-student-resume-teaching-visa 

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/court-documents-student-israel-op-ed

https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-next-for-146454395?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.283214/gov.uscourts.dcd.283214.124.0_1.pdf 

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.283200/gov.uscourts.dcd.283200.52.0.pdf 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2z7eb5efGlHrb2AYBtfqMVDJSUfIu/view 

https://www.startribune.com/another-wave-of-departures-in-minnesotas-us-attorneys-office/601575569 

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/24_0307_priv_pia-ice-066a-pia-update.pdf 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/bovino-frustrated-directive-conduct-targeted-operations-chicago-rcna257069 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/31/2022-11810/advancing-effective-accountable-policing-and-criminal-justice-practices-to-enhance-public-trust-and 

https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/25/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-historic-executive-order-to-advance-effective-accountable-policing-and-strengthen-public-safety/ 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/31/2022-11810/advancing-effective-accountable-policing-and-criminal-justice-practices-to-enhance-public-trust-and

https://www.propublica.org/article/alex-pretti-shooting-cbp-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez 

https://sdf-press.com/archives/47816 

https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/2017320999629254878?s=20 

https://x.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/2019098549640917124?s=20 

https://t.co/aMIp9uMx04 

https://wladimirvanwilgenburg.substack.com/p/kurdish-regions-will-be-organized 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Robert's keynote speech for the Japanese American National Museum on combatting authoritarianism in the modern world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Andrew and James continue their discussion of what happened in Panama in 1989 and why people are comparing these events to what is happening in Venezuela.

Sources:

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/omar-torrijos-ousts-arias-panama

Emperors In the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama by John Lindsay-Poland

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Andrew and James discuss what happened in Panama in 1989 and why people are comparing these events to what is happening in Venezuela.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-interior-minister-says-100-people-died-us-attack-2026-01-08/

Emperors In the Jungle: The Hidden History of the U.S. in Panama by John Lindsay-Poland

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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