Prevail with Greg Olear Greg Olear

Gal Suburban is an open source researcher who has spent the last six years deep-diving on fifth generation warfare, psyops, corrupt creatures of the Florida swamp, and traitors to our democracy.

In this conversation, Greg Olear and Gal Suburban discuss various topics including Gal's focus on understanding anti-democratic influencers, the concept of fifth-generation warfare, and the potential dangers of a second Trump term. They also speculate on potential picks for Trump's vice president and discuss the recent comments made by Kevin McCarthy about Matt Gaetz. The conversation explores the dangers of normalizing and underestimating the threat posed by Gaetz, a charismatic and manipulative politician, and  emphasizes the need to be vigilant and informed about his actions and motives. The discussion also touches on the tactics of narrative warfare and the importance of recognizing and countering them. The article in The Atlantic about Gaetz is criticized for normalizing his behavior and not adequately addressing the potential harm he could cause. The conversation concludes with a reminder to protect democracy and engage in open dialogue to prevent the rise of authoritarianism. Plus: a courtroom lullaby!

Robbie Harris is a strategic communications and behavior change subject matter expert with over 25 years’ experience working with local influencers, activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and senior stakeholders in Iraq, Syria, Africa, and Central America. She has designed and implemented successful programs for US DoD, DoS and USAID, and UK FCDO and MoD. She’s the co-founder of a small international business; has worked for USAID-OTI; speaks Arabic, Spanish, and English, and has a M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University.

In the interview with Greg Olear, Harris discusses her background and how she got into her line of work, which involves strategic communications and behavior change. She shares her experiences working in Iraq and countering ISIS propaganda. The conversation also touches on the legacy of colonialism in the Middle East and its impact on the region today, the situation in Kurdistan, the proxy war in Syria, the refugee camp in Northern Syria, the growing stateless population, and the experience of living in Somalia and Niger. Finally, she shares her advice on messaging to US voters and warns about the potential consequences of a collapse of democracy and of civil war.

In this discussion with Greg Olear, the historian Manisha Sinha discusses her book “The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920.” The book explores the period between the Civil War and World War I, highlighting the importance of Reconstruction in shaping the country. Sinha explains her motivation for writing the book and the significance of the Second American Republic. She also draws parallels between Andrew Johnson and Donald Trump, emphasizing the consequences of showing mercy to Confederates. Sinha delves into the horrors of the first Ku Klux Klan and the violent opposition to Reconstruction. The conversation explores the end of Reconstruction, the Compromise of 1877, the nadir of American democracy, the conquest of the West, and the legacy of Reconstruction. It also delves into the question of how a society can atone for its national sins. Plus: coup right, with Coup-Vite!

Manisha Sinha is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and a leading authority on the history of slavery and abolition and the Civil War and Reconstruction. She was born in India and received her Ph.D from Columbia University where her dissertation was nominated for the Bancroft prize. She is the author of “The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina,” which was named one of the ten best books on slavery in Politico and featured in The New York Times’ 1619 Project. Her multiple award winning second book “The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition” was long listed for the National Book Award for Non Fiction. It was named Editor’s Choice in the New York Times Book Review, book of the week by Times Higher Education to coincide with its UK publication, and one of three great History books of 2016 in Bloomberg News.

Lisa Graves is the founder and Executive Director of True North Research, a national investigative watchdog group that exposes the shadowy machinations of dark money funders like Leonard Leo, Barre Seid, Harlan Crow, Charles Koch, Dick Uihlein, and Rob Arkley, and their front groups. She served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Policy Development/Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice under Attorneys General Janet Reno and John Ashcroft, Chief Counsel for Nominations for Senator Patrick Leahy on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy Chief of the Article III Judges Division of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts with oversight of the Financial Disclosure Office and more. She also launched the award-winning ALECexposed.org investigation, KochDocs, and other projects. Her op-eds have run in the most prominent newspapers and magazines in the country, and she is a frequent guest on MSNBC. From 2009-2017, she led the Center for Media and Democracy.

In this discussion with Greg Olear, Graves discusses her work with True North Research, how she shares an alma mater with one of the most notorious dark money maestros, all the stuff that went on during Brett Kavanaugh’s FIRST confirmation hearing, the failures of the Roberts Court and John Roberts, the Clarence & Ginni Thomas corruption, and more. Plus: a gift idea!

For 26 years, Rone Tempest was the national and foreign correspondent for the LA Times, based in Paris, New Delhi, Beijing, and Hong Kong, as well as the craziest capital city, Sacramento. After his retirement, he worked for Pro Publica and was the co-founder of the Wyoming nonprofit public policy news site, Wyofile. He’s taught journalism at Berkeley, his alma mater, and has won numerous awards. He’s also the author of two books, including “The Last Western: The Unjustified Killing of Michael Rosa by Ed Cantrell.” Now in Salt Lake City, he lived for many years in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains outside of Lander, Wyoming.
In this discussion with Greg Olear, Tempest discusses his experiences as a foreign correspondent in China, Afghanistan, and Paris; Liz Cheney’s demise and the enigma of Wyoming politics; and his Wyofile profile of Kevin Roberts, head of the Heritage Foundation, thought leader behind Project 2025, and Tempest’s erstwhile Wyoming neighbor. Plus: Amazing Mace!

For more than 30 years, Alexandra Hall Hall worked as a diplomat in the British Foreign Office, with postings in Bangkok, Delhi, Bogota,Tbilisi, and Washington. She resigned in December 2019 because she felt unable to represent the Government’s position on Brexit with integrity. She is the co-host, with Jason Pack, of Disorder podcast. In this discussion, she talks to Greg Olear about Georgia, British politics, the monarchy, the role of diplomacy in crisis zones, Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas War, the death of Navalny, and the Baltimore Ravens. Plus: 867-5309 (Ginni) (remix).