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Seeking a Fren: Episode 4 - Vidya Killed the Radio Star

🕑 Added 2025-01-01 12:00:11 +0000 UTC

Comments

Chuck Skooch

Working for a state CPS, I just want to point out how fucked up it is that 60% of the people there are full on blue-no-matter-who libtards that never question the power of the state and push their morality on "clients" (aka victims). I have had to tell my boss that "I won't be the last worker to break a family up over a plant" (marijuana) in 2025. That is the kind of fucked up moralistic, statist thinking that makes me think *maybe we need to reform CPSs state by state.*

jfk truther

God I just hate these fuckers so much, make punching crowders teeth out legal asap

Sisyphus

Got-Hard 😂

Sisyphus

I was homeschooled in that cult Institute in Basic Life Priciples 😡🤣💨

William Engels

Or the Ghost Stories for the End of the World guy

Greg Dennis

Wondering the same myself ... sounds a lot like Ed Zitron

Duncan

I need to see that musical right now

Lono's Oboe

Finally caught up on this show and this is some incredible work. It's a brilliant balance of informative and interesting connections of history interspersed with the best "Felix-isms" He dropped a comment in a recent ep about getting back into writing and he really should. He is hilarious and sharp on regular Chapo, but his style benefits from the rewrites/editing/collaboration that went into this. Definitely want to hear more.

No

This is what protestants actually believe

No

NO ONE WILL EVER GET ME TO LEARN WHAT GAMER GATE IS NOT EVEN CHAPO I WILL GO TO MY GRAVE NO CARING

Hick Rhodes

Cracking up that Matt Walsh said the core of Christianity is “do what thou will” which is just proving Matt’s point that all American Christians are satanists.

Christopher Price

as illustrated by the art showing Dobson with a Pepe

Christopher Price

yeah, one of the things I've always liked about Chapo is just how much they hate W. and everyone with him. that was also the time of my political awakening, and this series does a good job of spotlighting the haunted house of ghouls that preceded and followed him. I also grew up in a conservative, homeschooling family (the homeschooling was more for constantly moving around reasons, less for ideological reasons, but still) and many of these names are uncomfortably familiar.

Christopher Price

if you're bored, you're boring

Caroline Wright

Thanks so much for this series. I was born in 1997 and had deeply conservative parents. After my political awakening, I tried to research the history of Fox News/conservative media but didn’t find anything useful. I’ve been looking for a series like this ever since (literally signed up just for it). Gave me some uncomfortable flashbacks 😭 I had Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Bill O’Reilly beamed into my head before I even knew how to think. My mom took me to a Tea Party rally, to the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado, and to see Dennis Prager speak in person. Sometimes I can’t believe I escaped the brainwashing. Still trying to understand it all, and this series really helped!

George Ruitt

I would deffo prefer an Age Of Loneliness type video edit for this, but holy fuck, they would've needed Adam Curtis and a posse of his BBC editing goons working around the clock for months to achieve that.

George Ruitt

I am convinced that at least one Biederman sibling was involved in distilling and citing all of that. I'm all for it.

William Engels

Who's the reader for the Peter Thiel story?

Eddy

The regulatory regime around homeschooling (read: no regulations to speak of) does more to enable child abuse of all types than probably anything else in this country and that’s saying something. Underrated form of societal rot. Encourage those interested to look into the Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling for more info. I was “homeschooled” starting in 6th grade and while there’s some parts of it I’m thankful for (mainly escaping bullying and the US propaganda onslaught), on the whole it really was more harm than good and my parents weren’t even directly abusive, just neglectful, and that neglect was enabled by there being NO oversight whatsoever. Everything I learned after they pulled me out of school was self taught, 0 plan, 0 help, 0 oversight - it’s a miracle I was able to bootstrap my way to a GED and a BS. In most of the country thanks to this pro-child abuse lobbying it’s perfectly legal to teach your children literally nothing at all and remove them from any contact with a mandatory reporter. Ridiculous amounts of abuse are enabled by this

TugNuggins

Parasocial slam dunks 🏀🏀🏀

MoldyTolge

I bolted upright in bed upon hearing it, real Ghost Stories for the End of the World moment

Dennis Schmidt

Peter Thiel was supposed to be on the Shanksville flight!?!?! WTF. I can’t find a mention of this anywhere else.

fuzz

This show is hard to follow. It's bullet points with unexplained references and no emphasis.

Schwartz666

Sent me into a Bachman-Turner overdrive!

Schwartz666

Unfortunately, I didn't live thru, I only existed thru. 😋

Schwartz666

To gaffe is human, to ignore is divine

Schwartz666

Tl;dr... like J.A. said, eat some shrooms, then recoalesce, homie 😁

gatito

bro gotta get that intention span up

gatito

my head hurts and i blame you brother

Schwartz666

Nah, sounds like a 'you' flaw

etienne

write drunk edit sober

THOMAS GIBBONS

Soul Brotha Steve Bannon straight spittn'

J. A.

it was bill clinton spoken word

J. A.

Jim you need to experience ego death

Jim K

Felix all time high has to be hot couch nation / some of his other beautifully colored fragments, and, divisive / controversial , but I like his Rod Blagojevich interview; I really think that’s where he’s strongest as either a listener (even if you don’t like Rod or his policies much, which, fair enough?) & performer or quasi documentarian like Barbet Schroeder (minus organization and actual practice idk?). Idk if he was a suck up or just let the mask slip a little & showed how the Obama and Obama types could/would strangle in the cradle anyone in the model of ‘ward healing shit heads’ / sell out anyone who isn’t some gross NGO / swamp creature like them? As to other Felix stuff that makes me curious enough to read something strange (god forbid), it exists? Although after reading the source material, It kinda makes me value this stuff lower/ have my own take and feel (more) cynical about chapo fitting it to whatever’s popular to monetize / capitalize on it, but, ok, entertainment/ comes with the territory and knowing what business you’re in? I guess all criticism is a mirror at some level and was real grateful (at the time) to be ‘checked out’ ~’08-‘14 and just have a job, girlfriend / family life, which was rare for a guy born mid 80s who was supposed to graduate (just dropped out and worked) and voted for / supported Obama neither time and just instinctually found him a 2-faced cynical narcissistic mediocrity (although having no drive or ability to see a future opportunity to monetize or persistence & networking with the ultra wealthy (or just connections & luck in chapos case idk?) over talent) / largely ignored the culture war stuff and thankfully any lib phase was very brief (if I ever had one?), but also kind of hate myself for giving $ to these guys who I struggle to stomach (Matt and Chris less so (maybe them being less upper middle class and video gamers?), but the Mr. Memory of chapo seems to have met his end of meaningful contributions to public life the same as the character in the 39 steps?) who shot the moon, absorbed all this, did no actual meaningful work at the time and relay it back in this form where I can pay to absorb it between brutal grueling work if I choose? Whatever, nice work if you can get it, I guess? And a good Felix line: ‘podcasting is easy, but yet few people can do it.’ (Well? Get paid idk how he means precisely?) Idk, I sense media collapse that will hit breadtube & left podcasts w/ little research into what inflated the bubble in the first place?

Seth Miller

Unless I misunderstood/musheard, Felix mentioned Nikki Haley blaming BLM for the Dylan Roof shooting. I looked that up but couldn’t find anything like that said by her - where did this come from?

concernedmom420

Ep so nice I listened to it twice

THOMAS GIBBONS

"A jealous bitch she is true, but it's not wise to fool Mother Nature. Proud mother of God, like all hoes, is jealous of her own shadow. "- I thought that intro was George Clinton spoken word for a moment.

Mitch

I believe McCains dad was part of the cover up from within the Johnson admin but idk. I’d have to here what he said again

Mitch

Mitt also said if he leaned into his Mexican heritage liberals would love him I guess neglecting that a Mexican American wasn’t going to win a republican primary. Also maybe hard to explain his grandfather fleeing America so he could keep his harem of slave-wives. But he played into agrievement that minorities are somehow getting a better deal

Doug Cartel

I enjoy listening to felix but that solid block of purple prose around the hour mark was impossible to absorb sorry I guess that's his flaw or whatever

Kevin A

Really well done Felix!!

Bi War Criminal

thats what made me comment lol

Bi War Criminal

I know it isn't on recall lol I am just impressed by the ability to piece it together into a compelling narrative when there is so much out there

Ben Chisholm

These are so great Felix. Kudos.

Zach H.

Thanks, Felix et al for this. It has the same flow and vibe as Fighting in the Age of Loneliness and I’ve greatly enjoyed it.

Jordan Aguilar

It's the independence day bill Pullman speech music. Ready to run through a brick wall now

æmbər

Is that Mr. EZPR himself reading at around the 18 minute mark?

Dee Rubes

The patriotic song over that gamergate speech 🫡

The True Horror

Man these are so good, thanks yall ❤️❤️❤️

etienne

ppl dont write thinkpieces about how chapo is problematic anymore they just methodically erase every politician and policy that ever was associated with the show away from power

Matthew Krueger

Mitt going so hard on immigration wasn't something I remembered. (I just remember it being so jarring that the Republicans were going with the Bain Capital guy four years after the economy collapsed.) The take that that's what got him past everyone else in 2012 for the nomination is especially hilarious in light of the current right wing civil war over visas. Although, it wouldn't be surprising at all to discover that Chapo understands the right wing base better than Musk or Ramaswamy does.

Matthew Krueger

It's a pretty perfect title in terms of the long running established tradition of Chapo episode titles: You got a lame/silly (pop) cultural reference with another layer of deeper meaning in terms of ironic internet significance there. But opinions are like assholes, as the saying goes.

Matthew Krueger

There's a link to the bibliography and sources cited link up above. You'll get a finger cramp in the time it takes to scroll through it. It's difficult to imagine something more exhaustive.

Owen Morawitz

GamerGate section goes crazzzyy 🔥

Khemith

By creating a wonderful narrative.

Brad Plumb

Listening to this reinforces how tuned out of politics I became around 2014. I sadly remember everything mentioned vividly up to that point...

Corey Reynolds

Where and how did you guys find a Steve Bannon screenplay?

Austun

Being that these are media/political history there is a record/archive of all this stuff. The work is digging through it all and, at times, assembling the pieces. I doubt this is straight off the dome.

Khemith

So far this series is not so much how Dobbs and the anti new deal forces were smart and resourceful, but how the left was destroyed before it could fight back. Like a untreated STD they are never challenged except by liberals offering candycorn as a placebo.

Craig

Damn, Order of the Nine Angles is a deep cut

Martin Kasey

What's the RINO, uss liberty connection?

Aaron Enold

went “Awhhh 🥹” when he mentioned that’s where he met Matt and Will lol

Kvvvy

The Oingo boingo drop was primo 💯

Bi War Criminal

These are so insane and impressive. How does one even have the media memory to pull something like this off?

Kvvvy

But you must admit, felix one-liners are unmatched

David Rachinsky

39:41 I can just see Tim Heidecker doing his De Niro squint face

NYCM&AHole

NGL listening to the description of the Republican party’s belief in its inevitable success had a lot of resonance with Dems a la 2024 (and 2020 could be the same but re Covid and not financial meltdown)

the CIA blew up the moon

legendary tim heidecker clip

Joe

literally thought that was virgil talking for gamer gate

Dustin Sparks

That’s fair but it’s also a completely different thing than what you have been saying

sneep

That is by no means the only verbal gaffe in the episode

buttface

i actually just think the title is really dumb

Zach H.

W was a dull blade handled by surgeons. Trump a mallet handled by toddlers.

Fombat

Thanks. I was driving home and like the last 4 minutes of a 3 hour drive were to this song and it was lovely. I appreciate u

Matt Colston

These freaks are gross.

J Fitz

Sounds like someone has a short intention span

J Fitz

Did anyone else hear “limited intention span” somewhere in there

kiteme

sick tim heidecker cut

Alex Gullen

This is the solution to the ‘like’, ‘but erm like’ speech impediment Felix has.

future man

my hillbilly grandma just brought me a fifty dollar bill; it’s real

Dustin Sparks

It’s just a play on words with the movie title, you could probably draw some parallels between its plot and this series but I think you’re overthinking this.

buttface

Still not understanding the relationship with the movie? It also doesn't work for the reason that the right wingers are no longer peripheral weirdos who need to meet like-minded individuals on shadowy corners of the internet. They have achieved almost a total victory over our political discourse and government. I think it's just a bad title for the series that doesn't really work in any context.

Zen Ben

Only verbal gaffe to this point: 'BLM was a symptom of the discontinence of the time'. 'Discontent' was the word you're looking for. 45:10

FDRomanowski

Vaati is a right-wing operative? Bummer.

Dustin Sparks

“Fren” is an acronym for Far-Right Ethno-Nationalist, which is what the groypers call themselves (or they made that a backronym from when they had their mutated frogs speaking gibberish like “henlo fren” to each other.) Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a 2012 romcom with Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley. I think the title is supposed to reference the old religious/premillennial dispensationalist right seeking their unholy alliance with the weirdos of the new online right.

Brad Plumb

their best song after Bob got the boot.

ica p

‘Grandma based welfare present in Scotts-Irish strongholds across the country’ caught a stray

Matthew

Psychic Damage 9999

Brad Plumb

Minus 2 morale for dragging that Oingo Boingo song out of the memory hole.

absoluteboi

you guys arent online enough for this series https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/fren

Jerimiah

A family member met Richard Mourdock once. She described him as having the charisma of an undertaker.

Justin Buell

AS THE DANUBE WASHES AWAY THE BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES, ah fuck i can't finish the joke

Justin Buell

That makes no sense to me. What's a groyper meme?

Justin Buell

The Independence Day theme was🤌

buttface

what? still have no clue

buttface

correct take

compton

i cleaned my room 10/10 to this

Mitch H.

chapo how the fuck were you just sitting on the Bannon screenplay until today? This is like season 1 chapo territory

Wisselbanken

Gamergate speech is incredible

Nick Muscatiello

The Paypal Mafia

Andrew Cross

A-4 Skyhawk mention

Ben Thelen

Gorka here and on Mancow? An embarrassment of blessings in this life.

MCL

We’re all just hotdogs in gods microwave

Kendall Krawchuk

Tim Heidecker’s classic “Our Values are Under Attack” is about midway

etienne

JOIN ME, MR CHAPO; INTO THE NEW YEAR

absoluteboi

loving this series. as someone who lived through the bush and obama eras this really brings back the absolute clown show that were the late aughts and early tens primary races. which arguably laid the groundwork for the nonstop reality show-esque reality that is the current political environment

Dan

Entertaining and interesting, but awful writing. Contemplating listening again to make sure I understood it all, but can’t decide if it’s worth it. Not a good problem to have

Feedbag

This just needs to be a book. one of those “very short introductions” or something like that

etienne

I'll give you that: Hell on Earth had expo dump sections *and* dialogue riffing sections and that was nice

Ross Moore

Its ok you just like dumb shit

etienne

bzzt wrong-o

Ross Moore

These episodes are so fucking boring. It would be much better if it was a conversation, like if you were asking questions to an expert in the topic in something. Instead of these long monotone snore fests.

Siddhartha

The Crowder audio is bleak. So bleak.

etienne

look I enjoy josh he's a funny guy but the section about tcot online outlets uncooking the 2012 romney numbers was ... very funny in context

Leonardo Restrepo

The thing i am is one of the most horrible things I've ever heard

J Lit

Listened to this in my scots Irish grandma's house, I feel attacked

demonsweat

Replacements, "Swingin Party"

Fombat

Song at 30:00?

Nakatomi_Jones

High water mark of chapo

Andrew Rassling

Based on the timeline we'll be hitting the based groypers soon. You'll get it then.

Dannyflanny

Grandma-based welfare system that only exists in Scots-Irish households will be rattling in my brain for a while

Charles Frum

BACHMAN MENTIONED!!

ploob

Also being a good bedfellow is extremely gay

ploob

Gamers are some of the bravest

ploob

It means don't kill yourself..?

Patrick LeJeune

Is this driving a rancid nostalgic feeling for anyone else? My first inklings of political awareness came from hating creationists because I liked dinosaurs as a kid. I think that’s what gives me more of a guttural hatred of W than I can manage for trump (that’s mostly the Iraq war but the evangelical component to the bush years really make the bile rise in my throat)

Patrick LeJeune

BRIGHT TIDINGS OF THE RENEWAL OF THE EARTH IN ITS CRUSADE AGAINST THE LOWER ORDERS OF LIFE MISTER CHAPO

etienne

fren is the new extremely online groyper meme respelling of "friend" that 4chan nazis use when posting frog memes. I think when you jump of of that it's pretty easy to conceptualize?

John A

Have to applaud Felix's acting skills in the first third of this ep. It has to be demanding to sound this engaged when talking about the intricacies of polling.

buttface

Is the title of the series going to be explained at some point? Makes no sense to me.

Maxwell

Thank you Count Gorka

Richard Cochnar

Peter Lyndon.

RubbishBinMan

I love little girls by oingo boingo?

Marya Hart

What is that horrible song halfway through?

Creemi

Episodes like this underscore once again that it is really impossible to underestimate the importance of rape, pedophilia, repressed homosexuality, incest and other sexual pathologies in politics

bruce moment

Happy new year Mr chapo

Pepipopa

Your analysis on ganergate was perfect as someone mat Allah forgive me participated in that mess. Happy new year to everyone!

Jonathon Bird

The gamergate speech is truly inspiring

Benjamin Jarvis

С Новым Годом!

Uso Dayo

Just got back from listening to this while walking the dog. It was good but this kind of thing depresses me

mike tursi

perfect upload timing. i work in the AV industry got home from a NYE gig at 230AM, back up at 730 this morning to strike the show. gonna have both airpods in, at such a volume so i can't hear my coworkers.