Behind the Bastards

Behind the Bastards

Ad free and exclusive episodes from all our shows

$4.99/mo or $41.99/yr after trial

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

  1. It Could Happen Here Weekly 181

    4D AGO

    It Could Happen Here Weekly 181

    All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.  Who We Talk About When We Talk About Borders Trans Journalism In the Era of Trump Trump vs. DC: Inside the Takeover You’re Not Hearing About feat. Bridget Todd The Gang Reviews Andor Season 2, Ep. 4-6 Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #15 You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone  Sources/Links: Who We Talk About When We Talk About Borders https://www.patreon.com/posts/127235976?utm_campaign=postshare_creator Trans Journalism In the Era of Trump https://ashevilleblade.com/ https://thefreeradical.org/ https://www.madycast.com/subscribe Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #15 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/one-killed-seven-injured-militant-attack-indias-kashmir-india-today-tv-says-2025-04-22/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/05/trump-defends-toy-tariffs/83455040007/ https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/news-and-opinion/us-visa-applications-from-japan-require-disclosing-social-media-history/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/trump-libya-migrants.html https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/libya-horrific-violations-in-detention-highlight-europes-shameful-role-in-forced-returns/ https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/63406/sudanese-war-refugees-recount-libya-horrors https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/62731/scores-of-bodies-uncovered-in-libyan-mass-graves-linked-to-human-trafficking https://www.context.news/money-power-people/sudans-refugees-face-deadly-game-of-snakes-and-ladders-in-libya https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/61979/david-yambio-life-in-libya--living-a-nightmare-part-2 https://www.aclum.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2025-05-07-105954.pdf https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2025/05/06/eeuu/inteligencia-ee-uu-venezuela-tren-de-aragua-ley-trump-trax https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-blocks-trump-administration-requiring-proof-citizenship-register/story?id=121134512  https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-home-suspect-accused-doxing-ice-agents-raided-searched https://www.axios.com/2025/05/05/israel-gaza-destroy-trump-deal  https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-is-heading-for-a-full-occupation-of-gazaand-all-the-risks-it-entails-58516d60  https://www.axios.com/2025/05/04/un-rejects-israel-gaza-aid-plan https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ship-carrying-activists-aid-gaza-attacked-by-drones-ngo-says-2025-05-02/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3h 38m
  2. It Could Happen Here Weekly 180

    MAY 3

    It Could Happen Here Weekly 180

    All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.  The Old Economy Is Dead Cosmopolitanism feat. Andrew The Canadian Election: NOTHING EVER HAPPENS May Day Special: The Gang Reviews Andor Season 2, Ep. 1-3 Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #14 You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone  Sources/Links: The Old Economy Is Dead https://www.versobooks.com/products/2222-carbon-democracy?srsltid=AfmBOop1btGiR59VH99WTMZMzuAgua2p9xgWyT8zbZzAhET-DEwjImqw https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-11/china-raises-tariffs-on-us-goods-to-125-in-retaliation https://spectrumlocalnews.com/us/national/business/2025/04/11/tariffs-shipping-china-port-of-la-declines https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trans-pacific-blank-sailings-soar-as-ocean-shipments-plunge https://gcaptain.com/massive-surge-in-transpacific-blank-sailings-amid-u-s-china-trade-tensions/ https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-faces-22b-revenue-hit-when-china-tariff-exemption-ends https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-to-reflect-trading-partner-retaliation-and-alignment/ The Canadian Election: NOTHING EVER HAPPENS https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2025/results/#/all-parties https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4jd39g8y1o https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/the-ndp-is-set-to-lose-official-party-status-after-canadas-election-heres-what-that/article_ac2e10a8-98f0-412d-81dd-a3408b07c6b4.html https://abacusdata.ca/2025-federal-election-final-poll-of-campaign/ https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/ Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #14 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-department-reassigns-about-dozen-civil-rights-attorneys-amid-shakeup-2025-04-22/  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/strengthening-and-unleashing-americas-law-enforcement-to-pursue-criminals-and-protect-innocent-citizens/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-communities-from-criminal-aliens/  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/enforcing-commonsense-rules-of-the-road-for-americas-truck-drivers/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/advancing-artificial-intelligence-education-for-american-youth/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/investigation-into-unlawful-straw-donor-and-foreign-contributions-in-american-elections/ https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/10/politics/political-fundraising-elderly-election-invs-dg/  https://bsky.app/profile/jameeljaffer.bsky.social/post/3lnxyq7teck2e https://knightcolumbia.org/content/federal-court-says-first-amendment-bars-government-from-deporting-students-and-faculty-on-basis-of-political-viewpoint-says-challenge-to-trump-policy-can-go-forward https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/29/trump-border-militar-zone-migrants-charges/ https://bsky.app/profile/reichlinmelnick.bsky.social/post/3lnxqhgvlzs2a https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/04/border-patrol-injunction/ https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/UFW%20v%20Noem%20PI%20CLASS%20CERT%20RULING_04.29.pdf https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=35bc713ede854401a475cb9957dd2765  https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-eases-tariffs-on-select-us-goods-as-trump-says-beijing-will-eat-the-costs-191201015.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trumps-china-tariffs-are-shutting-the-big-loophole-that-make-shein-and-temu-so-cheap-234229735.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    3h 22m

Shows with Subscription Benefits

  • Weird Little Guys is a weekly show about the worst people you’ve never heard of, taking you beyond the headlines to get to know the race warriors and aspiring terrorists trying to unravel the fabric of our society. Weaving together the origin stories of modern American white supremacist groups and the crimes that land their members in court, independent journalist Molly Conger exposes the monsters for what they really are - some weird guy. Whether they’re conspiring to build bombs or serving swastika shaped cookies at a dinner party, the weird little guys trying to destroy America are a little less scary with their masks off.

  • It Could Happen Here started as an exploration of the possibility of a new civil war. Now a daily show, it's evolved into a chronicle of collapse as it happens, and an exploration of how we might build a better future. Every day Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, and James Stout take you on a jaunty walk through the burning ruins of the old world and towards a better one that lays just on the horizon.

  • Better Offline is a weekly show exploring the tech industry’s influence and manipulation of society - and interrogating the growth-at-all-costs future that tech’s elite wants to build.  Combining narrative-form storytelling, one-on-one interviews and panel-based discussions, Better Offline cuts through the buzzwords and obfuscation of the tech industry, investigating and evaluating the schemes and scams of everyone from cryptocurrency scumbags to the greediest of the venture capital elite. Tech industry veteran Ed Zitron and a dynamic coterie of guests will help listeners understand the who, how and why of how tech’s most powerful players are changing the world - for better or for worse.

  • As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.

  • Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) is a weekly show from Jamie Loftus that takes a closer look at the internet’s main characters – one part reported, one part interviews, and one part Jamie collapsing her permanently internet-damaged brain. Whether it’s an enduring meme or a dreaded Character of the Day distinction, it’s the kind of notoriety that often results in little money, unwarranted attention, and a confusing blurred line of consent. What do you do when you get more attention and judgement than any one person is built to handle? The Sixteenth Minute of Fame is the place where we figure that out, putting people in the context of the moment they've been frozen inside of.

  • The political landscape can be confusing, but it doesn't have to be. If you've survived junior high, lived in an urban city or understand gang life, you can understand geopolitics. Join rapper and author Propaganda and his friends as they use their hood-knowledge to break down the political scene.

Ad free and exclusive episodes from all our shows

$4.99/mo or $41.99/yr after trial

4.4
out of 5
14,715 Ratings

About

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

More From Cool Zone Media

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada