Caller 5
Appearances
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 179
Man, what the hell is this? What type of shit? Man, what?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Right. Yeah. The quote from earlier when he's like arguing with people in the streets, he's like, the only path forward is silent resistance. Yeah. And by the end of the episode, he is a little a little beyond that.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, he feels very like republic transitioned into the empire like guy.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's such a fucked up syndicate. Everyone's fucked and everyone's evil and everyone's complicit. And they're all calling their own commitment to the state and what they view as justice and law and order into question. For Cyril...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
He is just committed to this idea of justice and what he sees as law and order, and the empire is the physical manifestation of law and order, so therefore the empire must be good. Right. And that's his view. Yeah. And when he realizes, maybe the empire actually doesn't really care about law and order. No, they just... It shatters him. He gets so confused.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Like, he doesn't know how to orient himself in the world. He doesn't know where a sense of morals can be derived from. No. If the state is not like the lawful good representation of, like, justice.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Like this whole situation on Gorman calls into question how he sees the Empire and therefore how he sees himself as he realizes that he's just been a pawn in the Empire's larger game. And like, in a way, Gorman's the first time that Cyril's been part of like a real community, maybe since he was like a corpo cop. Like there's no like solidarity and community like on Coruscant.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
There's not in the Bureau of Standards. Yeah. Like, Gorman's the first time he's actually kind of been a part of a community. And, like, this happens with, like, FBI double agents infiltrating radical organizations sometimes. It's very odd. So, like, when he decides to, like, join the crowd, this is, like, he's aligning with them.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
But then when he sees Cassian, all of this psychological, like, progress and questioning that he's done just gets immediately rolled back because then he sees the guy who he thinks, like, kind of, like, ruined his life, who, like, who altered the trajectory of what Cyril's life was supposed to be. And therefore he just, yeah, he turns into an animal.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
He undoes all of this psychological progress and attacks the guy that he views ruined his life. And then in his final moments is in part like confronted with the idea that like the guy that he's been obsessing over for years doesn't even remember who he is. And like Cassian's been living rent free in his head this whole time. And like he didn't need to. Like Cyril could have moved on.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Cyril didn't need to do this. And he's been obsessing over someone who doesn't even remember him.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It is a very like Greek tragedy, like moment here. Yeah. Phenomenal, phenomenal screenwriting.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This is like the entire message of Star Wars. This is like Luke and Vader in the throne room. This is like what this whole series is about. It is this moment.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yep. I do have a few other things I want to talk about in terms of the massacre. I really like that we see a return of imperial military police, not just stormtroopers. I think putting a face on the riot cops is really good for the audience because stormtroopers are backpacks and t-shirts and little fun toys and riot cops are riot cops.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I really like that Willman is sleeping with a French militant.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
uh, part of grass in a, in a, in a, like a phone call with Deirdre is talking about how like, yeah, like, you know, propaganda news media has been useful and like spreading like rumors and like, you know, like COINTELPRO that's for stuff. It's been useful, but now the only, the quote is like, now the only story is Gorman aggression. Yeah. Like, this is all that we can focus on.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
There's no more of this, like, outside agitators thing. No more of this, like, long-term, slow planning. We just have to focus on how, like, savage these Gormans are. And meanwhile, like, space Fox News is outside, stoking divisions on Gorman, talking about how there's rumors of a quote-unquote general strike. How... How how the Empire's negotiating for like a peaceful demonstration?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, even though even though even though the leaders are obviously, you know making making people agitated in this in this growing insurrection The chance got me I have heard way too many the whole world is watching chance. So as soon as they started going, we are the gore. The galaxy is watching. I started sweating. I started having a panic attack.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
No, no, no. The galaxy isn't watching. No, it's not. It's not.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
We get, like, a real proper riot set up, right? Like, the last riot in Andor was on Ferex. And, like, that was, like, a funeral riot, right? It's almost like some of the writers have seen Kettles. Like it's crazy. And like this time, like this is not like a morning ritual. Like, like it was unfair. Like this is, this is, this is a protest, right?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
There's, there's signs, there's banners, there's fireworks, there's smoke, there's space molotovs, there's state affiliated news crews. There's Thai fighters flying overhead, like police copters and police drones. It's excellent.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's like, oh, shit. And I got this thing not in my stomach. When I can tell that shit's about to go down, I get the same knot in my stomach watching this. Like, they really nailed it.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. I really liked the singing the Gorma national anthem as a way to like, stop the chanting, which is like calling towards, you know, like we're safe because the galaxy is watching us. And like the guy who starts the song realizes like that, maybe that's not true.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And instead the song like unites people in like national solidarity to prepare them for what's about to happen instead of like gesturing outwards at like this, at like, you know, those, those off planet watching this and that ensures our safety. Like, no, our safety is from like each other. And the fact that, yeah, so many of them do fire back and like it is they do not like lose their agency.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And that doesn't like make this less of a massacre.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The last thing I want to discuss in this last section is the based hotel porter who throws that bomb.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Is this base hotel porter and also that the way Cassian works as a spy is different from the way that other, like, Luthan operatives do. Like, Cassian... gets to know this guy in the previous arc of episodes when he's going to survey the Gorman Front a year ago. And he gets into a conversation with this hotel porter who was at the Tarkin Massacre and was there when those 500 people died.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Andor converses with him in his hotel room to learn about the local people and to learn about the actual history from a regular guy who experienced it. And this isn't something that Vel and Cinto really do. This isn't something that Luthen really does. Andor has a connection with Andor values making connections with just like the regular people in wherever he's operating.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And this always like turns out to help Andor in the long run, even if he doesn't really know it in like the immediate. Because when Andor comes back a year later under a different name with a different job, the hotel porter recognizes him and is like, I got you, buddy.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I know that you're up to something and I will protect you. We are in this together. I recognize you and I value you. And that is what helps Andor in this episode. And then also the grenades that he throws is cool.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I like that Sam, the guy with two M's who killed Cinta last arc, is still in the fight and is killing Imperials. Yes. He is killing them in the name of Cinta. He is showing up. He is real.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Everything good that happens to Cassian, all the people who do it are in part responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, which shows how the butterfly effect works in a really fun way.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And like a good Luthan operative, Castigan takes K2 to get reprogrammed. But this episode ends on this Gorman cry for help, this final broadcast done by Willman's French GF. And I was legitimately tearing up at this. It got to me. Andor starts tearing up. But it really got to me.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And then, like, we zoom out of Gorman, and you can see, like, how unnatural the Imperial, like, tower is above, like, the regular Palmo skyline with its, like, you know, historical architecture. And you have this, like, just hideous, like, Imperial, like, citadel, like, casting a dark shadow over the town.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And then we cut to Cyril's mom crying, watching Fox News, where they're talking about how outside rebel assistants helped the Gorman front. And they question, what's the price we'll pay for our own safety? And that's how the episode ends. What a sowed. What a sowed. All right, we'll go on a break and then come back to briefly discuss this last episode, which is also quite good. We are back.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Episode 9, Welcome to the Rebellion. Clone Wars heads are feasting, so much Senate. Very fun. So, on Coruscant, fake news spreads about what has happened on Gorman, and the Gorman senator is arrested with no warrant and no charges. Mm-hmm. Mon Mothma plans to make a final speech in the Senate and then leave Coruscant with Bail Organa to lead the rebel alliance on Yavin.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
But Senator Organa doesn't want to leave yet. He wants to stay and buy time for Yavin to get fully up and running. But he advises Mon to go through with the speech and offers an extraction team to help her get off Coruscant. While writing her speech, Mon Mothma's Senate aide Erskine finds an ISB listening device in her office.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
She goes outside to practice the speech while Erskine continues to search for more bugs. Waiting outside for Mon is Luthen, who tells her that Erskine's been secretly working for him for two years and that Bale's extraction team is somehow corrupted. Mon grows upset at Luthen's deceptions and secrets and is unsure of who to trust.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
But Luthen says that he is sending a highly trusted operative as an alternative extraction plan. Cassian, still undercover as a conflict journalist, agrees to escort Mon Mothma as his last job for the rebellion.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Other senators mourn the imperial martyrs slain by the savage Gormans before Bail Organa invokes a Senate article to hand the floor to Mon Mothma, where she gives her speech calling what's happened on Gorman a genocide and labels Emperor Palpatine a monster that, empowered by the Senate, has hijacked the truth and reality.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The ISB orders to shut down the Senate feed and detain Senator Mothma, but as Mon exits the Senate chamber, Cassian is waiting outside. As Luthen suspected, one of Bale's extraction team members is an ISB double agent and kills another one of Bale's operatives once they're found out. The undercover ISB agent tries to arrest Mon, but is killed by Erskine and Cassian.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Mon helps navigate through the Senate building as it's put into lockdown, eventually reaching her vehicle outside where Cassian kills her driver, Cloris, who is also an ISV plant. Well, was. Maybe. We'll talk about that. Yeah. Cassian takes Wilman to Yavin for medical attention while Gold Squadron finishes Mon's escort to the Rebel base.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Back on base, Bix breaks up with Cassian via Snapchat message and leaves Yavin to fight for the rebellion elsewhere and to keep Cassian on Yavin. Yeah. And later that day, rebel engineers reprogram the salvaged KX droid.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Okay, this episode has a lot of politics, a lot of politicking, a lot of Capitol Senate stuff.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's a little Orange Man bad, but hey, the Orange Man is bad.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I mean, this is what, like, the Nazis understood as well.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Well, no, no, no, no. Like her. She's known her driver. Chloris has been like ISB for like two seasons.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
She's been talking to Erskine. Oh, shit. She's been getting closer to her Senate aide. Cloris has always been a dipshit who they've kept around because he's kind of bad at his job. He's bad at being an ISB paid informant, so they keep him around, even though they know he's reporting to ISB.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I think he's like thinking about if he's going to have to like arrest or shoot her. Yeah, that was that was my read on it.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, because Cassian domes his little thumb head. Because Cassian does not take chances like that.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And also, Cassian employs great tactics in asking Mon what his name is first to engage him in conversation, to distract him enough to totally surprise him. Mm-hmm.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The person who's infiltrated Bail's team. The reason why Luthen knows that there's something wrong with Bail's team is because the agent that has infiltrated Bail's network is one of Lonnie's agents. So Lonnie was able to get word to Luthen that there could be a problem with Bail's extraction team. And that's what helps get Mon to Yavin safely.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
No, Lonnie is MVP. Like, a lot of this episode is kind of showing how much Luthen's accelerationist project has kind of succeeded, like how much he's somewhat set up Gorman, or at least fed the fire of Gorman slightly, to create this political crisis, to further his accelerationist goal of creating this big conflict.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And we see some of that start to work out, even though Luthen himself is having a much harder time, and the house of cards he's built is starting to crumble, and he's probably not going to be able to work with many people for very much longer.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It also saves her. It's a double-edged thing. It does seem distrust with Mon, but it also is what got her.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. It's just this really messy... That's what makes him a good character, is that he is both like... He understands who he is. He's, like, fucked up and morally compromised and is obviously, hashtag, problematic, but is also completely necessary within the plot that they've created. Yeah. And, like, somewhat defensible. And, like, he knows that he's, like, fucked.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Like, I'm not going to Yavin. I'm never going to see the sunrise. Like, that's not what my role is. I have to be the asshole here. Mm-hmm. And, yeah, it sucks. And we start to see, like, his fake Luthen, like, gallery persona starting to collapse here, too. Like, this whole episode, he's not in his, like, wig. He's not in his, like, fancy clothes. He is, like, insurgent Luthen.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This role that he's cultivated these past few years is no longer needed. And it does have negative consequences. Yeah, Mon is not trusting him in this moment where she kind of really has to. Yeah. Like, Mon thinks that Luthen might just be trying to, like, protect himself. That Luthen might not actually care about Mon's own safety.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Cassian is tired of always being a tool for someone else and is dealing with trauma and burnout. And Erskine's just caught in the middle of this whole shitstorm. And yeah, this is what makes it compelling. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's just good character writing. We've all been bent by secrecy, is what he says.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This interaction between her and Bale also shows like the difference between how Bale operates and Lutheran operates. Because like Mon asks Bale if he trusts his people, like if he trusts his extraction team. And he says like, of course. But he has to admit that he doesn't actually know them personally for quote unquote safety.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And this is where it shows the difference between someone like Bail, who's maybe less manipulative than Luthen, maybe a little bit less morally compromised than Luthen, but also in moments like this, in specific moments like this, comes up a little bit short compared to Luthen's semi-destructive and bridge-burning tactics, which he openly describes as bridge-burning. I think this episode...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Like, are there any bridges you haven't burned yet? Well, we're going to deal with that soon.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
she didn't order it but it was done and she knew it was happening so she's not she had to cope with it totally naive but the rebellions i i would argue not fully real to her until she sees a man shot through the brains it's funny because she like like minutes earlier has a line where she's like like hiding in the senate this whole time will have been the hardest thing we've ever done and then it's immediately faced with like the lethal consequences for her actions
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Luthen's strongest soldiers kill two undercover ISB this episode. Give them a hand, folks. Yeah. No, this is a really sleek episode. I do like that Bale's infiltrator has a real ISB look to her face. As soon as I saw that actress, I'm like, that one has got to be the undercover ISB, right?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Poor Cyril. What a little weasel. Yeah, no, he fucked up. He fucked up bad. I always love being in the Senate. She does call the Gorman Massacre a genocide. Performs the whole speech. Very, very solid acting, as usual. Genevieve O'Reilly, fantastic work as Maughan this entire season.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. She finds ways to cope and justify. Yeah. And, like, you know, Lonnie is having to find ways to cope and justify, but he's doing that through being a double agent and feeding Luthan, like, very, very important intel, as we see in this episode and the next. Let's see. I think this is most of what I had on this episode. Oh, yeah. I mean, Bix...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Bix breaks up with Cassian to force Cassian to stay in the alliance, even though he's probably not going to be working with Luthan again. I'll have more to say about Bix next week, I guess.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. But this batch specifically, I think, is some real solid. Real solid so is... Wow.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I will get way too mad if I talk about the DNC anymore in this preamble. This is It Could Happen Here, Executive Disorder, our weekly newscast covering what's happening in the White House, the crumbling world and what it means for you. I'm Garrison Davis. Today, I'm joined by James Stout, Mia Wong and Robert Evans.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This episode, we are covering the week of May 8th through May 15th. Trump gets bribed by Qatar. Stephen Miller wants to suspend habeas corpus and a Twitch streamer gets interrogated at the border. How are we doing, fellas? Uh...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I'm not talking to Border Patrol willingly. Nope. That's what I'm doing.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, but if you are happening to go to the border and you do get stopped by law enforcement, you should not talk to them. You should say that you're staying silent and will only speak with a lawyer. You have certain things that you have to say, right?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. You definitely do not need to debate your politics.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
That's their entire job. That's what they're trying to get you to do. Interrogation technique. And again, this is specifically if you are a US citizen coming to re-enter the country, there's different rules and different suggestions which you should talk with an immigration lawyer about if you are not a US citizen.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
None of this is legal advice. But yeah, you really, really do not need to get into a debate with the border guard about your politics when you're trying to enter the country. Or any other time, really. Just don't... Or really any time, frankly.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Don't do it. Maybe there's more to politics than debate. No. Speaking of more to politics, the PKK. What's going on with the PKK, fellas?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yep. Speaking of not blowing each other up, India and Pakistan.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's groovy. Everything's fine. I was talking with a friend last night about... Whenever this sort of confrontation happens, one of the nice things about a globalist world order is that if the rest of the world goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, fellas, guys, calm down.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Whenever things get really spicy between two equal powers, if one of their buddies just can go, hey, hey, dude, whoa, whoa. It kind of works, which is a little bit silly, but yeah.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Hopefully these ads, yeah. Support this podcast.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
What a beautiful moment. Ahead of Trump's planned trip to the Middle East, Qatar has offered a gift to President Trump, a $400 million Boeing 747-8 luxury jet known as a palace in the sky, which Trump does plan to accept.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I mean, it's exactly the plane you'd think it was. It's the most Trump thing you could ever imagine. Yeah, it's so funny.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The Qatari version actually is a little bit nicer.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So this plane would be used as a new Air Force One. Sure, buddy. And after his term, Trump would retain ownership through his Presidential Library Foundation. Of course. That's normal. There is so many issues with this, from national security to a very clear bribe of... On Monday, Trump told reporters, quote, I could be a stupid person and say, no, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I thought it was a great gesture, unquote. Of course. Of course. Owned.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's so bad. Trump did get into an argument with ABC anchors when they asked him if he thought this could be seen as a bribe. I'll play a short clip here.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
After that, he goes on to talk about golf for a whole minute, building an analogy based on making an easy putt on a golf course. I'm going to quote from BBC, quote, Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly investigated the legality of the deal and determined that because there are no explicit conditions attached, it would not amount to a bribe.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Conservatives and others were quick to point out that Bondi was registered as a lobbyist for Qatar prior to joining Trump's cabinet, at some point earning up to $115,000 a month for her work for the Qatari government.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Ram. We know that this is fake because Robert would never knowingly endorse a Chevy product.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This is the most, like, corrupt administration we've ever seen before. It's absurd. Like, just completely, like, flying it in your face. Even Ted Cruz said that this gift could impose, quote, significant espionage and surveillance problems, unquote. Because, yeah. Sweeping that plane is going to be so fun for the Secret Service.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's a flying bug for the entire government. They're going to listen to every Air Force One meeting.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Everyone from Ben Shapiro to Laura Loomer have opposed this de facto bribe as quote-unquote sleazy, while also pointing to Qatar as a terrorist-aligned state. Who did you think your guy was? Come on. Yeah, you elected Donald Trump, you baloons.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
They're also planning to possibly construct a new Trump Tower in Dubai.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. The people that Trump is negotiating with here just really know how to, like, get wins out of him. They're like, yeah, you can build a Trump Tower. Here's a mobile McDonald's. Here's a $400 million free jet. Like, they really have him on lock.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Speaking of foreign trade... What is that I hear? Is that the lucid melody of Tariff? Tariff Garrison.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So I heard all the tariffs are gone, basically. I heard we're back to normal. Nothing ever happens. I can go back to buying Timu all day long. I can't stop playing those Timu gambling ads. And everything's normal, right, Mia? Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I don't think these countdowns are real. And I know this is different from the way other commentators will talk about how these tariffs aren't real. I'm not saying these tariffs aren't real. I don't know if there's someone in the White House who is literally counting down each day here like this.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I'm just remembering the Canada-Mexico tariffs that Trump put on a 90-day pause and then we completely forgot about and instead did the Liberation Day tariffs, which then got another 90-day pause.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And that's a plug for our new weekend show where Mia does Jim Cramer. We're going to start doing stock portfolio suggestions. It's called Markets with Mia. Markets with Mia. Thank you, James. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I think this is a very funny joke, but no one else is laughing on the call.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
These products and services that support this podcast. Woo! Woo! All right, we are back. We're going to close this episode with me and James talking about a whole bunch of really bad immigration stuff that has happened again, which I feel like is kind of an evergreen for us. Same thing with Tariff Talk. We always have some bad immigration news. And this week is no different.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
On Friday, May 9th, Stephen Miller announced that the administration is, quote, James, do you want to give a very brief definition of what habeas corpus is?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Right. Needs to be like reason and due process for detention.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Actually, you can, but you shouldn't. You sometimes can, and this does predate the United States, and the United States itself has suspended habeas corpus a few times, usually in specific states. For instance, following the Pearl Harbor attack, habeas corpus was suspended in Hawaii to detain Japanese civilians.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
President Grant and Congress worked together to suspend habeas corpus in South Carolina during Reconstruction amidst terrorist attacks from the KKK, which is kind of crazy to think about in retrospect. And the very first time habeas corpus was suspended was in the lead up to the Civil War when President Lincoln called for its suspension in the state of Maryland.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Now, that unilateral action was later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. And now it's widely recognized that only Congress has the right to suspend habeas corpus. This is in the case of rebellion or invasion. Now, this is something that Stephen Miller is talking about. It should be incredibly worrying.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Obviously, they've kind of tried to make this happen just already without explicitly saying so, which is also what FDR tried to do during World War II, where they don't formally call for the suspension nationwide, but they start instituting policies that definitely do that.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, exactly, which is why we're seeing so many habeas petitions being filed across the state when people have been detained unlawfully. Yeah. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Wednesday in a congressional hearing that the level of border crossings under Joe Biden provides sufficient legal justification to suspend habeas corpus following Trump's declaration of invasion.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So this is something to watch out for as they start trying to basically codify all of the actions that they're currently doing, which can be construed as illegal or certainly legally questionable. They're going to try to find ways to make them more explicitly legal.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The white genocide that even Grok doesn't agree exists.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
No, let me actually quote from Grok doing a Jar Jar Binks impression. You don't have to do this, Garrison. I'm sorry, I can't do the rest. That's not even good Jar Jar, I'm sorry. How can he speak Spanish?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
are they just chucking all the racial stereotypes how did they make it more racist white farmers getting attacked too much like 214 attacks a year and political words like kill to four making it worse it's too bad i'm not getting hazard pay for exposure to this
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Especially if they're not trying to turn it into a weird missionary operation like evangelicals do.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, again, we do have to call it Worcester because that's what it's called in this country. I care a lot about accurate pronunciations of places and names, so it is Worcester.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. And again, we will actually close on some good news. So it's not all horrible stuff this entire time. But we do need to mention Project Homecoming. So this was a proclamation issued by Trump on May 9th entitled Establishing Project Homecoming, which aims to curb a quote unquote full scale invasion.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It claims to devote more federal resources to assist self-deportation via the CBP Home app, including paying for flights for those who are, quote, voluntarily and permanently departing the United States, unquote.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It says, quote, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall create a concierge service whereby any alien illegally present in the United States may arrive at an airport or With or without appropriate travel documents, book air travel to permanently relocate to a different country. So they are really strengthening these self-deportation mechanisms.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Section two promises to provide financial incentives in the form of a quote unquote exit bonus for each illegal alien who voluntarily and permanently departs the United States.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, it does mention something about trying to, like, negotiate with other countries to allow people without documentation to arrive there. But, like, will they actually do that? Probably not. Like, they've claimed to not have to need to do that before. So, like, yeah, that's not, like, a solid promise.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Now, those who choose to remain will face, quote, sweeping consequences, including removal, prosecution... incarceration, and fines as consistent with applicable law for immigration-related crimes, the garnishment of wages, and the confiscation of savings and personal property, including homes and vehicles, unquote. So they're threatening to steal all of your things.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
This proclamation follows this like propaganda video shared by Cristino and the Department of Homeland Security. This video was released a few weeks ago and it contains some similar rhetoric regarding self-deportation and fines being imposed for those who stay in the country.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The whole style of this video is very bizarre. Yeah, it's like a Marvel trailer. It's like a Marvel trailer with the aesthetics of mid-2000s dystopian sci-fi. Yeah. Again, the end of that video, she talks about being able to return legally, which is in contrast to the language in A Project Homecoming, which says that people would be leaving the United States permanently.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Finally, the proclamation directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to, within 60 days, supplement existing law enforcement and removal operations by deputizing and contracting state and local police, former feds, and quote, other individuals to increase the enforcement and removal operations force of the Department of Homeland Security by no less than 20,000 officers in order to conduct an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens, unquote.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And now, as of this morning, May 15th, the DHS has requested to mobilize over 20,000 National Guard troops from the Department of Defense to comply with Trump's order to expand its immigration crackdown. And on Wednesday, the FBI ordered agents to deprioritize white collar crime investigations for the remainder of 2025 to instead focus on immigration enforcement.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Field offices notified their agents that now one third of their time must go towards assisting Trump's immigration policies.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I'm going to quote from Reuters, quote, the orders came on the same day that Matthew Gagliotti, the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, issued new guidance to prosecutors that scales back to the scope of white collar cases historically pursued by the department and orders prosecutors to, quote, minimize the length and collateral impact of such investigations.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Again, the most corrupt administration ever, ever before seen. Yeah. And now for the good news to close the episode. The Tufts University student, Rizmay Oz Turk, who was black bagged on the streets of Massachusetts for co-authoring a pro-Palestine op-ed, has been released on bail as of May 9th after spending six weeks in ICE detention. The judge said that Ms.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Oz Turk's claims of her First Amendment and due process rights being violated are, quote unquote, very substantial. And then on Wednesday, May 14th, the Georgetown University researcher from India named Batar Khan Suri was released from immigration detention as he continues to fight two deportation cases brought against him by the Trump administration for his support of Palestine.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So this is now the third or fourth person that has been released from ICE custody following like political prosecutions based on their activism.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And that's a good thing. Now, these cases are still going to be continuing in courts. But the fact these people have been released from ICE detention is good news.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Without a GPS tagging or any like... Yeah, they're free to move throughout the country because most of them have cases in like multiple states. ICE is trying to move them around to many different locations. And I know that Surrey and Ozturk are able to go back to like their homes.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, good point. Positive developments here. As we'll see with Miller's goal of getting rid of habeas corpus and accelerating law enforcement operations with these 20,000 new National Guard troops, this is something that's still going to be a very hot issue for quite a while, and we will continue to report on it as it develops.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Eloquent, Garrison. Thank you. Thank you. Arg me hearties. Raise the Hondo Anaka flag and let's watch some Andor. This is episode three of our Star Wars Andor politics review podcast. The person grumbling in the intro is Robert Evans. I'm Garrison Davis. We are also joined by Mia Wong. Let's start with episode seven. I think this arc in general might be my favorite arc of the whole show.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Frankly, they did some some really fun stuff. Oh, yeah. And seven's mostly set up. This is episode seven titled Messenger. I'll do a quick overview and then we can discuss some of the setup to the Gorman massacre. Uh-huh. So rebel militias are forming an army on the fourth moon of Yavin. Wilman returns from the planet Gorman with a special mission for Cassian.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Luthan wants ISB agent Dedramuro assassinated to protect the Axis network. The empires fail to secure an alternative to the Gorman mineral Kalkite, and ISB command tells Daedra that an Imperial fleet will be sent to Gorman in two days and to prepare for a declaration of martial domain.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, and that's a big part of what this episode is starting to set up. Now, on Gorman, imperial presence on the planet has already increased dramatically in the past year. A new imperial headquarters towers above the capital city of Palmo. Security forces are stationed throughout the city with checkpoints and a mandatory curfew.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The past few weeks, there's been stories of insurgent attacks against the empire, most recently the bombing of a naval depot. Imperial News reports that, quote-unquote, inexplicable Gorman terrorists.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, and Luthen's still trying, I mean, like the outside agitators here is probably mostly like Luthen's guys who've been trying to build up the insurgency on Gorman simply to make some sort of political crisis.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And then, you know, also help the people who have already committed to resisting the empire, help them actually like do that beyond what the Gorman front's been like parading around and doing, you know, little protests in front of the memorial for the past few years. Yeah. Luthen was like, if these guys want to do this seriously, let's see what happens when we do it seriously.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And that's kind of what we've resulted to here. The Empire has sent a quote-unquote crisis specialist and a riot team to assist Dedra in managing any civil unrest. Cyril Karn starts questioning what the Empire wants with Gorman and what he's really been doing these past two years. Yeah. Dedra tells him to pack his things as they'll soon be leaving together for Coruscant.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Back on Yavin 4, Bix takes a skeptical Cassian to a Force healer to help with a stubborn blaster burn. Though Cassian resists, the healer can sense that Cassian is somehow important. He has main character energy. Cassian is split between Luthen and the growing organized rebellion.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
But decides to take a rebel U-Wing starfighter to Gorman and undercover as a journalist, Cassian checks into the hotel at Palmo Square and sets his sights on ISB agent Dedra.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So yeah, a lot of this episode is like showing how the rebels are actually like growing an army before they've really put together the formal rebel alliance. Like they're getting much closer to that. But at this point, it's like a whole bunch of little like militias that are operating under the same base and are starting to set up like rules and guidelines.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And like Cassian butts up against some of those rules a little bit here.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's not just rebel cells that are operating independently. Now they are trying out working together, and that has some growing pains.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Where he operates as like a cult of personality type thing with his own militia.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, because he's an asshole. Like, it's like...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, we'll talk more about Luthen's situation in episode 9. Yeah, the Luthen of it all. Because that kind of gets more into what his current place is in the Rebellion. But really, the role that he occupied is frankly no longer needed. And he's even acknowledging this. They're going beyond the sort of small-scale Intel network, arms deals, all this type of covert, you know, the Aldani raid.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
They're growing beyond what Luthen really specialized in. And now they're doing a full-on military. And Luthen's always been operating kind of like a DIY spy agency. And now they're doing a whole military. And that kind of butts up against how Luthen wants to operate and what he's frankly just capable of doing. He understands the importance of Yavin, but he's also okay with not...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The other thing this episode really focuses on is news propaganda and the idea of terrorism, outside agitators, and using those things as justifications for state crackdowns. The senator from Gorman talks with Mon Mothma about how he believes that the empire is lying about what's happening on Gorman, and these bombings must be a false flag attack.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
So you get to see a whole bunch of different people's perspectives and like validity of the actions that are happening on Gorman. Like there's questions over like who's doing this? Is the state just making these things up so that they have a justification to crack down on us? Are these things genuine?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Are they being done by people on Gorman who are like aligned with the resistance, but maybe are getting like outside help? You have all those sorts of questions. And then the news media is like manufacturing consent for an imperial crackdown, like what was discussed in like the very first episode.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Even the Gorman front itself is like debating this. Like they had this whole meeting where they discussed like tactics, like the role of the role of violence. And like, as these big arguments erupt, they start to reflect on how the Empire has actually set them up for infighting.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And the more time they spend doing this, the less time they're actually doing anything helpful on Gorman or doing anything that actually can secure their own liberation or their own combat against this oppressive force.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
There's like national identity is a big concept in these episodes, but not in like a fascistic nationalist sense.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The last thing I want to talk about in this arc before we go on break is this force healer that Cassian reluctantly visits in the Yavin 4 mess hall.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, this is like the big, like, spiritual moment in this series. Andor has kind of veered away from, like, the mystical side of Star Wars in favor of the more, like, materialist politics. The Star War. Mm-hmm. they concluded this year, I thought was really interesting and really well done. And the reason why I like it so much is that, like, throughout the Rebel Alliance...
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
They always, like, greet each other and, like, say goodbye by saying, may the Force be with you, which is a little bit odd because the Rebel Alliance isn't, like, a Jedi revivalist cult. They're not, like, a Force cult in the way that so many other groups in, you know, Star Wars TM are.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And the fact that you have people who engage with the Force in this more, like, regular manner, more similar to, like, kind of, like, hippie woo spiritualist stuff that props up in, like, radical spaces, I find really interesting. Yeah. And obviously in Star Wars, that has more of like a legitimate backing because we all recognize the force is real in Star Wars.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I don't need hokey religions or special weapons.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And he talks about how him and his mom had a bad experience with a horse healer like 10 years ago. And you're like... This is a whole scam operation as well.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
I just like what this does for the Alliance itself, and it shows that the Force is a regular part of these people's lives. And specifically the way the Force healer talks is more about the Force as this operator of fate and destiny. And it can sense that Cassian Andor is the main character in Rogue One, a Star Wars story, and is important for the story of Star Wars.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
And she can feel that this is important, and so can Bix. And Andor is also freaked out by that, like, feeling. And I do like that version of the Force a lot. I think that's a much more interesting way to do it than just, like, you know, Force cults in, like, a forever religious war with each other for thousands of years.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
100% clear that this person is even Force-sensitive? She can, like, feel through the Force, but, like, everyone can with some degree of training.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
no yeah that's why i like it like yeah it's not a jedi it's just yeah it's just someone and everyone in this universe can have a connection with the force because that's how this universe works and some people don't want to or think it's fake and other people get really into it some people get way too into it and then they do genocides in the name of the of their religious order but for a lot of people like this who aren't like a jedi or aren't like a sith or you know a whatever a guardian of the wills
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
gone. It's just a thing you can connect with, and you can feel your way through fate and destiny.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
It's so much better that she's just a random person. Yeah, and we never know. We never know. All right. Let's go to break and come back to talk about the Gorman Massacre. Yay. Okay, we are back. Andor, season two, episode eight. Who are you?
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Let's do a quick rundown. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As mining equipment lands across Gorman, troops barricade the imperial headquarters in Palmo Square as they prepare for a mass protest. The Gorman Front prepares to retake the town square, distributing weapons and rallying just regular Gorman citizens to march on the town center.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
The old leader of the front realizes too late that this protest is probably an imperial trap and is powerless to stop this unfolding spectacle. He encounters Cyril Karn on his way to the imperial HQ and confronts Cyril about misleading the Gorman resistance and why the empire is mining on Gorman.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. Cyril breaks free and makes his way through the chanting crowd that's filled the square.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
After arriving at the barricaded Imperial Tower, Cyril sneaks into Dedra's office to demand to know what the Empire wants on Gormin. He chokes Dedra as she confesses that this has all been for the Emperor's new energy program, and she promises that they will soon return to Coruscant as heroes.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah, didn't you want this promotion? Yeah, yeah. She says that, this might be the previous episode or this one, but like when Cyril like kind of like protests, Dedra's like, yeah, but you weren't complaining when you got promoted into this job. But Cyril wishes Dedra good luck and he leaves to join the crowd outside.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Cassian is stationed on the outskirts of the crowd trying to line up a shot to take out Dedra. But stormtroopers soon kettle the crowd and Imperial riot cops are sent into the square to jumpstart a flashpoint. Protesters throw rocks and bottles, but it's an Imperial sniper who is ordered to shoot their own riot cops that starts the Gorman massacre.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
They're sacrificial lambs. Now, Cyril watches the chaos unfold as the Gorman Front tries to defend against the Imperial slaughter, and KX security droids are sent into the town square. But when Cyril sees Cassian, he suddenly lunges at him, and the two get into a brutal brawl. Cyril gets the upper hand, but is shocked when Cassian does not remember who he is.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
While frozen, pointing his blaster at Cassian, Cyril gets shot dead by the old leader of the Gorman Front.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Yeah. While trying to exfiltrate, Cassian meets up with Willem, who decides to stay and help the resistance in the aftermath of the massacre. The Gorman Front broadcasts the final message about the Imperial siege, claiming there are thousands dead in the streets. Cyril's mother is in tears watching news reports coming out of Gorman that frame the Imperial troopers killed as fallen heroes. Yeah.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 182
Oh boy, what an episode. Maybe the best episode in the series. Just phenomenal.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's very interesting.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's very interesting.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake experience. gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.
Behind the Bastards
It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
#572 - Pickle Chili
Hey Theo. Um, hope you're doing well. I'm calling you today. Um, see if I can get your perspective on something. Um, my, uh, girlfriend of, uh, four years, she, uh, she passed away five and a half months ago. Um, she, uh, Thank you. Thank you.