Posting Through It

James Talarico, a Texas candidate for US Senate, might be the Democrat who Republicans fear most ahead of 2026 midterm elections. Talarico has gained national attention for the unusual ways he's centered faith, masculinity, and progressive politics in his campaign — often defying the right-left "culture war" paradigm. As polling shows him to be a serious threat to the GOP's control of the Senate this fall, the Right's attacks against him have taken on an increasingly bigoted tenor, with right-wing politicians, influencers, and activist groups portraying him as secretly gay, transgender, or part of a broader LGBTQ conspiracy. Jared and Mike are joined by Parker Molloy, an award-winning journalist and the author of "The Present Age," whose work is essential reading for those seeking to understand the modern conservative media ecosystem. Together, they examine MAGA's attacks against Talarico, the resurgence of anti-LGBTQ politics on the American right, and how messaging once aimed primarily at transgender people have expanded into a broader strategy of ridicule, fear, and moral panic. They also discuss this year's Pride Month controversies, the role of right-wing media in shaping political narratives, and whether Republicans have succeeded in moving anti-LGBTQ rhetoric back into the mainstream.Happy Pride! Please enjoy this episode before Stephen Miller decides it's too gay.Links for Parker:Newsletter: "The Present Age"Bluesky: @parkermolloy.comTransition Music: "The Execution of All Things" by Rilo Kiley

Maybe you've seen the president of the United States promoting what seems like obvious cryptocurrency scams. Or perhaps you've been frustrated lately with the amount of AI-generated "slop" polluting social media lately. What you may not know is that the industries behind both of those things have been working hard (sometimes together) to forcefully ingrain themselves in our nation's government -- spending hundreds of millions of dollars in political campaigns and helping to inflate Trump's personal net worth in obviously corrupt ways. That affects all of our lives, whether you're excited about these technologies or deeply skeptical of them.Jared and Mike are joined by Molly White, a researcher and writer who has spent years chronicling the sector of so-called "Web 3.0" tech and the cryptocurrency industry's growing influence on US politics. Together, they talk about Trump's bizarre cryptocurrency gambits, the regulatory favors his administration has handed out to crypto, and why so many of the same people who became notable for selling the public sleazy NFTs and meme coins are now selling us artificial intelligence.This one's for all the apes we lost along the way.Links for Molly:Tech Influence WatchWeb3 is Going Just Great"Citation Needed" newsletterBluesky: @molly.wikiTransition Music: "Prelude" by Crystal Joy