Is Twitter really going to “go crazy” now that new owner Elon Musk has allowed previously banned users like former President Donald Trump back on the platform? Hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill discuss the prospects for the beleaguered social media site on this week’s episode of Fever Dreams. Also on the episode, Heidi Beedle, a reporter for the Colorado Times Recorder and host of the Western Fringe podcast, tells Sommer and Weill that anti-LGBT hate from Colorado Springs community leaders ...
Nov 23, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 88
In this week’s episode of Fever Dreams, hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill discuss how just two weeks on from the Pelosi controversy, the Twitter CEO jumped on board a vague and unverified theory that is being used to explain why the “red wave” failed to materialize on Election Day. As well, the hosts talk Kari Lake’s Arizona election loss and their surprise that she is among the first to make vague references of fraud during this election cycle, noting her Nov. 15 tweet : “Arizonans know BS when...
Nov 16, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Would you eat raw testicles to become an alpha male? This week, Julian Feeld and Annie Kelly of the QAnon Anonymous podcast join us to discuss their new series “Man Clan,” which delves into the dark, dietarily dubious world of masculinity influencers. Meanwhile, as voters go to the polls, election vigilantes are flocking to Telegram channels where they award each other “points” for conspiracy theories about people they baselessly believe to be election “mules.” If Republicans take the House of R...
Nov 09, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 86
There’s a very good chance that at least two secretary of state positions in the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona will be won by people who are part of a coalition put together by a QAnon promoter who some people believe is also JFK Jr. In this week’s episode of political podcast Fever Dreams, hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill take a deeper look at that “shadowy character,” Juan O. Savin, and how he, along with his supporters, could destroy American democracy. Also on the podcast, Alex ...
Nov 02, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Things have gotten a lot crazier over the past few years for award-winning former CBS News war correspondent Lara Logan. Now reinvented as a far-right commentator, she was most recently kicked off Newsmax after appearing on Eric Bolling’s primetime program and launching into a QAnon-themed rant on air, claiming world leaders drank children’s blood and made people eat insects, among other notable wild conspiracies . Elsewhere in the episode, Maurice Chammah, a reporter at The Marshall Projec...
Oct 26, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 84
The rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West , faces an uphill battle to revive the “ghost town” that is the conservative MAGA site Parler , say hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill in this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast. Ye is buying the social media platform after being kicked off Instagram and Twitter for an antisemitic post, Parler’s parent company announced Monday. Also on the podcast, Kyle Spencer, journalist and author of the new book Raising Them Right: The Untold S...
Oct 19, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Kanye West has been inching towards reimagining himself as both a virulent antisemite and the public face of Fox News and over the past few weeks, he’s been off the handle. Also on the podcast, Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and host of the podcast, Posting Through It , discusses a new report that he co-authored on the ugly election trends we can expect in 2022 and 2024. In this week’s “Fresh Hell” segment, the hosts discuss the new Republican “unwok...
Oct 12, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Herschel Walker already faced an uphill battle to become a U.S. senator after The Daily Beast reported he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion . But now it appears Walker is embroiled in another fight: one with his own son . Christian Walker, a conservative with a substantial social media following—particularly on TikTok—has taken aim at his father , whom he accused of violence and said abandoned his children from multiple women. “Herschel’s problem is that his son has such a way with words,” Will S...
Oct 05, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 81
“Corruption chic” is in. That’s according to The Conservateur , a new “D.C.-based fashion-and-lifestyle platform” from some of conservative fashion’s most elite, who, upset over Vogue snubbing Melania Trump , are now throwing in their political views with a cute new pair of shoes–or ankle monitors–in their own attempt at creating content. Michael Schaffer, a senior editor at Politico whose Capital City column runs weekly in Politico Magazine , tells hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill in this epis...
Sep 28, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 80
What's the motivation and meaning behind the recent Trump rally in Ohio where supporters held up one finger in a “weird” salute. But what does it mean? Plus, Matt Binder, reporter for Mashable and host of the podcasts Doomed and Scam Economy, brings us inside the wacky world of crypto scammers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 21, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 79
It’s on par with Don’t Worry Darling for being one of the most talked about cinematic events of the fall, but just how bad is Goonies star Robert Davi’s film My Son Hunter ? On this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast, host Will Sommer and returning co-host Kelly Weill review the biopic of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. “It’s got legs on Don’t Worry Darling ,” Weill says. “I think I fell into some kind of brain fog while watching it.” Also on the podcast, Ethan Chori...
Sep 14, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Just when you thought Dr. Mehmet Oz was losing the war against Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, this week, the reality TV star found a new arsenal at his disposal. On this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast, host Will Sommer and guest host Ursula Perano, politics reporter at The Daily Beast, discuss the latest in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Also on the podcast, Philip Bump, National correspondent at The Washington Post , explains how he became the guy to go through a...
Sep 07, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 78
On this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast, host Will Sommer and guest host Andrew Kirell, senior editor at The Daily Beast, discuss the new song released by the pro-Trump YouTuber , who has used some of his wealth to fund a rock song, “Only Ever Wanted.” Also on the podcast, Andy Kroll, a reporter for ProPublica and the author of the upcoming book, A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy , discusses how the story of Seth’s life and death took...
Aug 31, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Sometimes the biggest surprises come from the strangest of places. On this week’s episode of The Daily Beast’s Fever Dreams podcast, host Will Sommer and guest host Andrew Kirell, senior editor at The Daily Beast, return to the icy north to discuss the QAnon “Queen of Canada,” Romana Didulo, and her disco RV.Also on the podcast, Rolling Stone political news reporter Nikki McCann Ramirez talks former kickboxer “turned-awful-man” Andrew Tate . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
Aug 24, 2022•54 min
The fallout from the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort feels never-ending, and those still suffering the sting of the right-wing backlash are the ones who enforced the move, including the federal magistrate judge who signed off on the search warrant.Also on the podcast, the hosts talk with Nick Lutsko, a musician who writes and sings songs that, according to Sommer, are a crossover between our crazy political moment and the lives we lead on the internet. But most im...
Aug 17, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 75
The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago! This week on Fever Dreams, Will Sommer and guest host Anthony Fisher talk about the FBI search on Mar-a-Lago, whether the feds should have given Trump advanced notice, and whether Republicans will vaporize the Justice Department the next time they have power. In Fresh Hell, Will explores the depths of alleged depravity at James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas group, where an ex-employee claims sexual harassment and drug use is running wild. Anthony talks about the Twit...
Aug 10, 2022•53 min
On the latest episode of Fever Dreams, host Will Sommer and guest host Anthony Fisher discuss the motive behind Donald Trump’s endorsement for Eric…but which one? The team also discuss and review Alex Jones’ “documentary” as his Sandy Hook trial continues. Elsewhere in the episode, Matthew Remski, cohost of the Conspirituality podcast, explains the meaning behind “conspirituality” and what it encompasses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 03, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 73
On the latest episode of Fever Dreams, host Will Sommer and guest host Anthony Fisher discuss Alex Jones’ upcoming trial and John Rich’s No.1 hit, “Progress,” along with the problems surrounding the title. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 27, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 72
On the latest episode of Fever Dreams, host Will Sommer and guest host Asawin Suebsaeng–returning to the podcast he helped launch– talk about the “little people just riding around the miasma of MAGA-ism”. One of those people is Ray Epps, whose life has been turned upside down by a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory and who's had to go on the run. But the big guys have problems, too. The hosts discuss Trump's reasons for running again in 2024—not least among them, his belief that it's harder to prosecutors...
Jul 20, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Move over, MAGA — it’s LAVA time. With efforts to overturn the election stalling, a former inventor and treasure hunter proposes that Trump supporters embrace a new acronym: LAVA, or “Let America Vote Again.” Fever Dreams host Will Sommer buries the hatchet with his one-time podcasting partner and Rolling Stone reporter Asawin Suebsaeng to break it down. Also on this week’s episode: Trumpworld looks for a patsy to take the fall as the Jan. 6 committee closes in. Will explains the meaning of “NES...
Jul 13, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Hope you didn’t get too rowdy on Independence Day — the Large Hadron Collider is about to zap us into another dimension, and July 4th partygoers will be left in the old universe. So goes the thinking in a new TikTok conspiracy theory. On this week’s Fever Dreams, host Will Sommer and guest host Andrew Kirell discuss what they’re expecting to get from the new dimension, and whether the Mandela effect is at play. Also on the podcast: MAGA supporters declare July to be “America Month,” and a Michig...
Jul 06, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Q of QAnon infamy has returned! Hosts Will Sommer and Sam Brodey talk about Q’s new posts after a nearly two year hiatus, and QAnon conspiracy theorists’ excitement about them. Sam gives an update on the pardon-crazed January 6th committee, and Will talks about the right’s obsession with a possibly fake pro-abortion rights group promising a “Night of Rage.” In this week’s Fresh Hell, QAnon believers are duped into buying bogus cryptocurrencies and lose a ton of money. Hosted on Acast. See ...
Jun 29, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Will Sommer and Sam Brodey chat with Jessica Huseman, editorial director for Votebeat, about how folks who actively tried to subvert the 2020 election are now vying to get on ballots for positions that could allow them to influence the next presidential race. Elsewhere on the podcast, the hosts discuss the “kerfuffle at the GOP convention in Houston over the weekend” in which a “YouTube prankster” staged a dramatic confrontation with Congressman Dan Crenshaw, and wonder how many British document...
Jun 22, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 67
The Proud Boys are at the center of the January 6 committee hearings — but who are they? HuffPost editor Andy Campbell, the author of an upcoming book on the Proud Boys, joins Fever Dreams host Will Sommer and guest host Sam Brodey to give. from their cereal-themed beat-in rituals and their varying self-love regiments. Sam, a congressional reporter for The Daily Beast, weighs in on the committee hearings. In other extremist news, Will and Sam discuss a botched appearance from Patriot ...
Jun 15, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 66
From the newest development in the Capitol riot investigations, with Proud Boys charged with seditious conspiracy indictments, to Kevin McCarthy’s war with MAGA hardcore believers, Will Sommer and guest host Zachary Petrizzo break down the state of the political right in this week’s episode of the Fever Dreams podcast . As for the guest this week, the duo was joined by documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger who is behind the upcoming Nextix docuseries Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies, an...
Jun 08, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 65
In another wild week for right-wing Fever Dreams, Ted Cruz is all about door control now, Dinesh D’Souza has new competition from the MyPillow guy in the fight for the craziest documentary about what Democrats supposedly did to steal the 2020 election, and much more as host Will Sommer and guest host Zachary Petrizzo help navigate the madness, with an assist from “Unholy” author and Christian nationalism expert Sarah Posner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 01, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Who’s the most goated pro-Trump rapper alive? Perhaps it’s Forgiato Blow, the trash-talking, Hooters-addicted “Mayor of Magaville.” Vice News reporter Tess Owen joins Will Sommer and guest host Zachary Petrizzo to talk about her recent profile of Blow. Plus: the wheels come off the trucker convoy, and Zach and Will break down the latest failed stunt from Jacob Wohl. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 25, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 62
The Pennsylvania Senate primary results are in, and the hosts discuss how insurgent right-winger Kathy Barnette’s rise was an indication of how fringe figures are now outflanking even the former president and his favored candidates. Michael Hayden from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) joins the podcast to discuss the mass shooting in Buffalo and the accused killer’s obsession with the bogus ‘great replacement’ lie. The podcast hosts also discuss a recent New York Times expose on how QAnon ...
May 18, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 61
A newly nominated Republican congressional candidate in Ohio claims he’s not a QAnon guy, despite appearing to own an extensive wardrobe of QAnon merchandise. This week on Fever Dreams, we revisit J.R. Majewski, the next likely candidate to join Congress’s growing Q wing. Elsewhere, hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill discuss a falling-out among the white nationalist America First movement, which entered a bitter feud after its former treasurer got a girlfriend (a faux pas with the movement’...
May 11, 2022•55 min•Ep. 60
The right has achieved a decades-long goal by successfully overturning Roe v. Wade, but all they want to talk about is finding out who leaked the opinion breaking the news. Fever Dreams hosts Will Sommer and Kelly Weill talk about the right’s leak-hunt and insistence that, somehow, the leaker is a terrorist. Meanwhile, Alex Jones gets some hefty bitcoin donations. Plus: this potential future congressman has bars! Will and Kelly discuss J.R. Majewski, the Ohio congressional candidate poised to be...
May 04, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 59
