Fever Dreams

Rolling Stone's Mile Klee joins The New Abnormal to talk the myth of "go woke. go broke." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erin Reed joins the New Abnormal to talk the lastest in laws targeting transgender rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The EFF's Cindy Cohn joins The New Abnormal to talk cyber security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Marcus joins The New Abnormal to discuss the dangers of AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Sommer joins The Daily Beast's The New Abnormal to talk the America first movement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Daily Beast's Kelly Weill joins The New Abnormal to talk the reputation laundering of the Allen, TX mall shooter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the final episode of Fever Dreams. After sharing some of their favorite moments from the podcast’s years-long run, the hosts tackle the right-wing obfuscation of a mass shooter’s extremist history and a viral prank on the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fever Dreams examines the recent headline-grabbing actions of right-wing media darling Steven Crowder, who was outed this week for allegedly exposing his genitals repeatedly to employees. Plus! The latest on Ammon Bundy’s latest brewing standoff attempt.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Fever Dreams, a look at the ecosystem of grifters and gadflies who made a living appearing on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show—and what comes next for them. Plus! What is pronatalism, and why are all the Silicon Valley dudes talking about it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fever Dreams hosts Kelly Weill and Will Sommer examine a classic style of right-wing outrage—which never seems to back itself up with evidence. Plus! A conversation with Aaron Kleinman of the States Project about all the wacky, extreme characters inhabiting America’s state houses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Laura Loomer has been spewing hate online for years—and now Trump apparently wants to hire her. Plus! A look at the way technology has aided the rise of the far right over the past 40 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s episode of Fever Dreams, hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill discuss how Trump’s decision to fly to New York instead of hunkering down in Mar-a-Lago to face his historic arraignment had the markings of a political scheme—one which denied stoppedDeSantis from making his own big patriotic stand against the charges. Then, national political reporter for Semafor, David Weigel, joins the podcast and weighs in on the latest Trump drama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is up to her old tricks—this time, protesting a routine ATF inspection of a Georgia gun store Monday under the guise that there apparently were too many agents from “blue states” conducting the operation. Then, investigative reporter Luke O’Brien joins the podcast to talk about the ongoing trial of Douglass Mackey, a 33-year-old ‘alt-right’ figure dubbed the “Disinformation King” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.. Despite the fact that Mackey allegedly engaged in election interference, he’s become a cause célèbre in right-wing circles—even garnering a number of segments on Tucker Carlson’s primetime Fox News show. Plus! Benny Johnson, the former Buzzfeed writer who was fired for plagiarism before becoming a right-wing media star, ditches Newsmax in order to pursue an independent career.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While prosecutors appear to be closing in on Donald Trump and preparing to file formal charges, he’s been posting up an absolute storm on Truth Social. It’s all happening amid the backdrop of a potential arrest for the former president—which some pundits predict will bolster his re-election campaign. The Fever Dreams team isn’t so sure. Plus! Daily Beast reporter Jake Lahut joins the program to talk about his recent reporting on what appears to be DeSantis’ fledgling campaign—including a number of troubling anecdotes about the Florida governor’s ability to make small talk and press the flesh at his early stops in Iowa and elsewhere.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If Tucker Carlson seems a little lost at the moment—that’s because he is. At least, that’s what Media Matters researcher Kat Abughazaleh says, and she has to watch the fire-breathing Fox News host every day for work. Then, Fever Dreams digs into the obfuscation being performed by Fox and others in the conservative media after one of the country’s worst banking collapses. Plus! In  the podcast’s Fresh Hell segment, Weill and Sommer discuss the worst dressed man in North America—Jordan Peterson—and how exactly he styles the atrocious outfits he’s recently become known for. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), long a mainstay in Republican politics, wasn’t quite the A-list event of years past.  Isaac Arnsdorf joins the podcast to talk about his own CPAC experience, along with breakout star, Kari Lake, who failed to win Arizona’s governor race last November but propelled herself to MAGA stardom with a Big Lie-style campaign at the state level. Plus, in the podcast’s Fresh Hell segment, Weill gives an update on the legal woes of Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer and alleged human trafficker currently detained in a Romanian prison—as well as the bizarre rumor that he has lung cancer.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill unpack the QAnon connections behind newly elected Michigan GOP leader Kristina Karamo, who declared Michigan as “ground zero for the globalist takeover of the United States of America.” A wave of more than 100 deaths over the past two years at Fort Bragg has rocked the U.S. military—caused in part by an increasing number of overdoses, says Rolling Stone investigative reporter Seth Harp on this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast. Plus, a look into both hosts’ personal history with the comic Dilbert—and its embattled artist, Scott Adams, who sparked a firestorm last week by going on a racist rant and calling Black people a “hate group,” among other things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s Fever Dreams, James O’Keefe gives his fans and foes a truly memorable send-off, while the Libertarian Party continues to its slide to the right. Plus, co-host Will Sommer discusses his years of reporting on QAnon—as well as his new book Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For it's 100th episode, Fever Dreams unpacks all the drama engulfing right-wing undercover video operation Project Veritas, including a number of claims about the difficult workplace culture fostered under founder James O’Keefe. Then the podcast is joined by labor reporter and author Kim Kelly, who talks about how her experience as a fan and critic of metal music helped her better understand—and report on—far-right extremists across the U.S. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if there was an atomic bomb about to detonate and kill millions of people—and the only way to defuse it was to have an Artificial Intelligence chatbot say a racial slur? Also on the podcast Weill and Sommer interview Trevor Aaronson, the host of the investigative podcast the Alphabet Boys, which tells the story of FBI informant Mickey Windecker, who almost single-handedly derailed the Black Lives Matter movement in Denver. Plus! Weill and Sommer recap a bombshell investigation into Eliza Blue, an overnight internet sensation who rose to prominence by becoming an ombudsman for victims of human trafficking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.