Ball of Thread
- Épisodes
- 67
- Parution
- hebdomadaire
- Dernier épisode
- 13 Nov 2026
À propos du podcast
Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler unwinds the true story of the attack on democracy that is bringing the United States to the brink of fascism.
Épisodes 67
Taking out the FBI
One reason it's important to revisit the aftermath of Russia's 2016 attack on the US (as laid out in Ball of Threads) is that the tactics remain the same: Exploiting Trump's narcissism and grievance was an easy …
Notes de l’épisode
One reason it's important to revisit the aftermath of Russia's 2016 attack on the US (as laid out in Ball of Threads) is that the tactics remain the same: Exploiting Trump's narcissism and grievance was an easy way to get him to absolutely destroy the FBI. Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/eWIEVry5q1k?si=lCqg8bRIT41D4W0R Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Support these videos and get more from Marcy and LOLGOP at https://patreon.com/lolgopstudiosStephen Miller Undead
Think of Stephen Miller's elevation to be Chief of Staff as a subtraction -- one less person, Susie Wiles, in the room where she can influence the doddering old man -- rather than anything new. Indeed, Trump's …
Notes de l’épisode
Think of Stephen Miller's elevation to be Chief of Staff as a subtraction -- one less person, Susie Wiles, in the room where she can influence the doddering old man -- rather than anything new. Indeed, Trump's authoritarianism is likely to get less competent.
Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/e3eRVHSo79w?si=iOcYQlrLIf2Go-wf
Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Please support these videos at https://www.patreon.com/LOLGOPStudios/
Exposing the entire 2016 Trump-Russia sellout
Trump's obeisance to Vladimir Putin is more than a man-crush. The capitulation Trump is making to Russia today is merely the continuation of what Russia pitched back in 2017, after they helped elect him. Watch …
Notes de l’épisode
Trump's obeisance to Vladimir Putin is more than a man-crush. The capitulation Trump is making to Russia today is merely the continuation of what Russia pitched back in 2017, after they helped elect him. Watch this episode here: https://youtu.be/H033dHI-IEU?si=Kwv_k0RTJRD6yNWE
Please support these episodes by backing LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/LOLGOPStudios/
Democracy Returns: Election Roundup
Yesterday's rout matters both in January, when Democrats can start exercising some oversight, but even in the lame duck, when Congress may impeach Pete Hegseth and Congress has to fund government. Watch …
Notes de l’épisode
Yesterday's rout matters both in January, when Democrats can start exercising some oversight, but even in the lame duck, when Congress may impeach Pete Hegseth and Congress has to fund government. Watch: https://youtu.be/QxhE42lI1Jk?si=V_idM-DXNoGMiMwc Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Please support these videos at https://patreon.com/lolgopstudiosTapped! The Deep State
Donald Trump's relentless attack on The Deep State arose from manufactured claims he was wiretapped in 2016. Back more videos like this by supporting LOLGOP Studios. https://www.patreon.com/LOLGOPStudios/ Watch …
Notes de l’épisode
Donald Trump's relentless attack on The Deep State arose from manufactured claims he was wiretapped in 2016.
Back more videos like this by supporting LOLGOP Studios. https://www.patreon.com/LOLGOPStudios/ Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/X0EbfdPm-dg?si=PhcuvikQzxZz6leK
The Dossier that Broke America
The polarization around the Russian investigation all arose from the Steele dossier. This episode explains how it was likely injected, full of stories designed to be inflammatory, and how Republicans …
Notes de l’épisode
The polarization around the Russian investigation all arose from the Steele dossier. This episode explains how it was likely injected, full of stories designed to be inflammatory, and how Republicans -- probably advised to do so by Russia -- used it to distract attention from the real Russian investigation.
Back more videos like this by supporting LOLGOP Studios. https://www.patreon.com/LOLGOPStudios/ Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/_se4GcNtMag?si=89tcxsAAi6b7iZ-u
How Russia grabbed Trump and his cronies by the nuts in 2016
In honor of Don Jr's oligarch-funded wedding party, we're reissuing the Ball of Thread Series from a few years back. Episode 1 covers how I understand the 2016 Russian attack to include not just several …
Notes de l’épisode
In honor of Don Jr's oligarch-funded wedding party, we're reissuing the Ball of Thread Series from a few years back.
Episode 1 covers how I understand the 2016 Russian attack to include not just several attempts to recruit Americans and stoke polarization, but also laid the groundwork for three devastating attacks on the US intelligence community.
Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/Shul5PbzBO0?si=fB3rdWnSBdf6flkL
Support this by backing LOLGOP Studios / lolgopstudios
Corruption is a Process
In a perfect phone call in July 2019 orchestrated for months by mobbed up corrupt Ukrainians -- some backed by Russia -- Trump attempted to corrupt the newly elected president of Ukraine, who had been elected …
Notes de l’épisode
In a perfect phone call in July 2019 orchestrated for months by mobbed up corrupt Ukrainians -- some backed by Russia -- Trump attempted to corrupt the newly elected president of Ukraine, who had been elected on an anti-corruption platform. That attempted failed, but the aftermath corrupted virtually the entire Republican Party.
Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios A buck a month to help save democracy is all we ask.
DOJ is invoking Trump v. US in an attempt to dodge accountability for the Broadview 6 case
Why Andrew Boutros' invocation of Trump v. US in an attempt to dodge sanctions in the Broadview 6 case is terrifying. Support these episodes by backing LOLGOP Studios on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
DOJ Invents Conspiracies Out of Some Dents in a Car
DOJ rolled out a conspiracy indictment against 15 people in Minnesota that risks criminalizing opposition to Trump more generally. Watch: https://youtu.be/tviFq9EkpvY?si=gqkgx5IUA6qrHHEG Read more …
Notes de l’épisode
DOJ rolled out a conspiracy indictment against 15 people in Minnesota that risks criminalizing opposition to Trump more generally. Watch: https://youtu.be/tviFq9EkpvY?si=gqkgx5IUA6qrHHEG
Read more: https://emptywheel.net/2026/06/26/the-stories-todd-blanche-spins-about-antifa/ Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
Donald Trump's Swamp Creature
Donald Trump has rolled out a Fraud Task Force, under JD Vance and Scott Brady (the guy who set up a way to criminally frame Joe and Hunter Biden). It itself is pretty fraudulent: an effort to shift attention …
Notes de l’épisode
Donald Trump has rolled out a Fraud Task Force, under JD Vance and Scott Brady (the guy who set up a way to criminally frame Joe and Hunter Biden). It itself is pretty fraudulent: an effort to shift attention and investigative focus away from the kind of fraud Trump commits to demonize brown people and defund Blue states.
Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
Trump's Twin Intractable Psychological Dilemmas
To find a resolution with Iran, Trump will need to budge on one or another of his most fundamental psychological rules: He can't oppose Vladimir Putin and he cannot admit that Obama was a better President than …
Notes de l’épisode
To find a resolution with Iran, Trump will need to budge on one or another of his most fundamental psychological rules: He can't oppose Vladimir Putin and he cannot admit that Obama was a better President than Trump.
Produced by LOLGOP Studios. / lolgopstudios
Think of the Iran War as Global War
You can't separate Trump's disastrous war in Iran from the opportunities it gives Russia and China to wreak havoc in Europe and elsewhere. WATCH: https://youtu.be/nqNVpudA6_A?si=1G2dbnGp3eRZyS_t Read more …
Notes de l’épisode
You can't separate Trump's disastrous war in Iran from the opportunities it gives Russia and China to wreak havoc in Europe and elsewhere. WATCH: https://youtu.be/nqNVpudA6_A?si=1G2dbnGp3eRZyS_t Read more:
Produced by https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Trump Hoards the Money He Stole
By sending an invoice for the damages Trump's tariffs did to the American consumer, JB Pritzker will make it obvious that Trump is trying to hoard the money he stole from American consumers. Produced by LOLGOP …
Notes de l’épisode
By sending an invoice for the damages Trump's tariffs did to the American consumer, JB Pritzker will make it obvious that Trump is trying to hoard the money he stole from American consumers. Produced by LOLGOP Studios. Read more: https://emptywheel.net/trumps-tantrum-tariffs/
Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/ Back these podcasts and more at LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Marco Rubio Tries to Tell Europe He's Not the Grandson of an "Illegal" Immigrant
Marco Rubio went to Europe and invited them to remain allies of the US, but only if they adhere to a vision of Western culture and history that excises the contributions of Latinos like him, to say nothing of …
Notes de l’épisode
Marco Rubio went to Europe and invited them to remain allies of the US, but only if they adhere to a vision of Western culture and history that excises the contributions of Latinos like him, to say nothing of Black Americans.
Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/
Support these podcasts and help change brains: www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Behind the Masks
Behind the masks that Stephen Miller's goons are wearing lies a truth about America that destroys his claims of white supremacy. He cannot carry out his deeply racist project without relying on the labor of …
Notes de l’épisode
Behind the masks that Stephen Miller's goons are wearing lies a truth about America that destroys his claims of white supremacy. He cannot carry out his deeply racist project without relying on the labor of brown people.
Read more: https://emptywheel.net/stephen-miller-paid-latino-thugs-to-murder-alex-pretti/
Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/
Help change brains: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Swapping VA Care for Dead VA Nurses
Republicans have made a choice: to dump billions of money that previously went into healthcare, including VA care, to pay goons who are shooting people dead in Minneapolis and elsewhere. They've literally taken …
Notes de l’épisode
Republicans have made a choice: to dump billions of money that previously went into healthcare, including VA care, to pay goons who are shooting people dead in Minneapolis and elsewhere. They've literally taken money used to fund VA care to pay goons who shot VA nurse Alex Pretti in the back.
Subscribe to emptywheel and support the cause: https://emptywheel.net/support/
Produced by LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
UPDATE: Murder on Ice and Water
Two weeks ago we argued that Stephen Miller thinks of his invasions of Venezuela and Minneapolis the same. This week, after Alex Pretti's murder, Donald Trump confirmed that. Support emptywheel …
Notes de l’épisode
Two weeks ago we argued that Stephen Miller thinks of his invasions of Venezuela and Minneapolis the same. This week, after Alex Pretti's murder, Donald Trump confirmed that.
Support emptywheel: https://emptywheel.net/support/
Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
Feed the MAGAt Conspiracism
It may be easier to separate MAGAt from Trump by stoking their conspiracism than by explaining, factually, all the problems with Trump. Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/portfolio-item/where-we-go-from-h …
Notes de l’épisode
It may be easier to separate MAGAt from Trump by stoking their conspiracism than by explaining, factually, all the problems with Trump.
Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/portfolio-item/where-we-go-from-here/
Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Join LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudios
Murder on ICE and Water
Stephen Miller's plan to murderbomb boats in the Caribbean and invade Venezuela and Greenland has direct ties to the latest invasion of Minneapolis. Watch this: https://youtu.be/dIi6tA-DV_k?si=cLWePZcwI6gSZSzR …
Notes de l’épisode
Stephen Miller's plan to murderbomb boats in the Caribbean and invade Venezuela and Greenland has direct ties to the latest invasion of Minneapolis.
Watch this: https://youtu.be/dIi6tA-DV_k?si=cLWePZcwI6gSZSzR
Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2026/01/07/stephen-miller-has-similar-plans-for-colombia-and-columbia/
Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
RE-RELEASE: The Meaning of January 6th
Donald Trump will never accept losing anything – whether an election or a bet. But that wouldn't matter if he didn't convince millions of Americans to make his grievances their own. This Ball of Thread unwinds …
Notes de l’épisode
Donald Trump will never accept losing anything – whether an election or a bet. But that wouldn't matter if he didn't convince millions of Americans to make his grievances their own.
This Ball of Thread unwinds what made the pincer attack that overran the Capitol on January 6th possible. Donald Trump's grievance narratives gave disaffected Americans meaning, and in that meaning, he convinced thousands of people to throw their lives away in his name. The thing is, it's all the same con. That con defeated the Russia investigation and weaponized the Department of Justice against his opponent. And when he lost in 2020, he unleashed it to unite fringe right-wing groups and mainstream Republicans in a shared revenge fantasy. Thus, he was able to raise a ragtag army to sack the nation's Capitol briefly, and in the process, savagely battered hundreds of police officers and ended America's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
Though the attack ultimately failed by only delaying the certification of Joe Biden's victory, the bets Trump and many of his biggest fans made on January 6, 2021 are now paying off in ways that were inconceivable on January 6, 2025.
Stephen Miller's Mayonnaise Days
Stephen Miller has had two notable failures in 2025. His initial success at deporting 200 mostly innocent men to a concentration camp has been backfiring ever since. And his demand that DHS attempt to snatch …
Notes de l’épisode
Stephen Miller has had two notable failures in 2025. His initial success at deporting 200 mostly innocent men to a concentration camp has been backfiring ever since. And his demand that DHS attempt to snatch 3,000 people a day has led to backlash without making the US safe from dangerous immigrants. These failures must become part of making Stephen Miller the villain of Trump's failures in 2026.
Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/12/27/we-dont-know-how-when-stephen-miller-fails/
Watch this: https://youtu.be/-j2JfEzuqY8?si=_nt2eC5T5fjb93ry
Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Produced by https://www.patreon.com/lolgopstudios
Young Playboys Gone Wiles
Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair she didn't really know how bad the Epstein scandal would be, and so relied on her resident conspiracy theorists -- Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, and JD Vance -- instead. But she's still …
Notes de l’épisode
Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair she didn't really know how bad the Epstein scandal would be, and so relied on her resident conspiracy theorists -- Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, and JD Vance -- instead. But she's still misjudging who cares about this.
Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Back LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudios
Stephen Miller Lectures Europe about His Incompetence
Donald Trump's second term National Security Strategy was an attack on Europe. While boasting of its own competence, it lists a bunch of ways Donald Trump has made the US less safe -- starting with the way he …
Notes de l’épisode
Donald Trump's second term National Security Strategy was an attack on Europe. While boasting of its own competence, it lists a bunch of ways Donald Trump has made the US less safe -- starting with the way he sells out American sovereignty whenever anyone offers him a pile of cryptocurrency. Watch this: https://youtu.be/n-E-BU6OOfw?si=QLLy_AYSBU19_AzK Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LOLGOPStudiosMarco Rubio in the Room
I've got bad news for you. Marco Rubio may be the main thing standing between us and the end of the Western Order and the dismemberment of Ukraine. He could be fired by noon. Or he could buy time for Congress …
Notes de l’épisode
I've got bad news for you. Marco Rubio may be the main thing standing between us and the end of the Western Order and the dismemberment of Ukraine. He could be fired by noon. Or he could buy time for Congress to stand up to Trump on this. Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/26/the-dim-philby-leaks/ Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/Back to Bondi
Pam Bondi did some reckless things in the Epstein and Comey cases a week ago Friday. They're likely to backfire. Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Support LOLGOP Studios …
Notes de l’épisode
Pam Bondi did some reckless things in the Epstein and Comey cases a week ago Friday. They're likely to backfire. Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/ Support LOLGOP Studios: https://www.patreon.com/c/LOLGOPStudiosA General Warrant for Jim Comey
Jim Comey suspects that the FBI snuck into data they had not lawfully seized to get the indictment against him. Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/17/the-11-fuck-ups-pam-bondis-doj-made-in-indicting-j …
Notes de l’épisode
Jim Comey suspects that the FBI snuck into data they had not lawfully seized to get the indictment against him. Read more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/17/the-11-fuck-ups-pam-bondis-doj-made-in-indicting-jim-comey/ Support: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/Bondi's recklessness
Pam Bondi did two totally reckless things yesterday: re-ratify the indictment Lindsey Halligan obtained against Jim Comey, and immediately agree to investigate Democrats' involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Read …
Notes de l’épisode
Pam Bondi did two totally reckless things yesterday: re-ratify the indictment Lindsey Halligan obtained against Jim Comey, and immediately agree to investigate Democrats' involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.
Read the post: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/16/might-pam-bondis-latest-prosecutorial-abuse-give-us-ponies-and-puppies/
Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Declaring Victory over Serial Tariff Losses
Just about every aspect of Trump's tariffs are falling apart. And he's trying to convince credulous people that, instead, he's delivering them a win. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjd_SkvN9c Support …
Notes de l’épisode
Just about every aspect of Trump's tariffs are falling apart. And he's trying to convince credulous people that, instead, he's delivering them a win. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjd_SkvN9c Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/Trump's Fake and True Crimes
Marsha Blackburn and a bunch of other far right Republicans are whining that DOJ discovered they had ties to Donald Trump's criminal attempt to steal the 2020 election. Meanwhile, between ICE's kidnapping and …
Notes de l’épisode
Marsha Blackburn and a bunch of other far right Republicans are whining that DOJ discovered they had ties to Donald Trump's criminal attempt to steal the 2020 election. Meanwhile, between ICE's kidnapping and hit-and-run and the Trump Administration's murder, torture, kidnapping, and bribery, we're seeing a crime wave from white nationalists. Support emptywheel: https://www.emptywheel.net/about/support/
Voici les 40 derniers épisodes sur 67. Les épisodes plus anciens se trouvent dans le flux du podcast.
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