Trump propagandist Mark Levin watched the Ayatollah's funeral — tens of millions of mourners, hundreds of global dignitaries — and called it 'opportunity lost.' Meiselas asks the obvious follow-up: what exactly is the endgame? Millions of Americans dying in a ground war for Netanyahu?
Where this was said
At 16:55 · chapter starts 14:30
Recording on July 5th, Meiselas pauses to note that two days earlier marked the anniversary of one of the most consequential and least-discussed incidents in U.S.-Iran relations: the July 3, 1988 shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes over the Strait of Hormuz. All 290 passengers were killed, including experienced Iranian commercial pilots who had themselves trained in the United States. The U.S. military claimed it was issuing warnings — but on military radio frequencies to a commercial aircraft that had no military radio equipment. The pilots never saw the missiles coming. Meiselas contextualizes the U.S. presence: American warships were in the Persian Gulf because of the Iran-Iraq War, and U.S. forces were on high alert after Iraqi forces had mistakenly attacked a U.S. ship weeks earlier, killing 37 soldiers. President George H.W. Bush publicly declared he would never apologize; a settlement of over $100 million was quietly paid in approximately 1996 — without any formal acceptance of responsibility. Meiselas argues that understanding this history is not optional: it explains why Iranians are 'livid,' why 'death to America' chants persist, and why any realistic policy must grapple with these deep-seated grievances rather than dismissing them. [1] — Ben Meiselas "On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people aboard, including experi…" 14:20
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people aboard; the U.S. never formally apologized.
The U.S. paid over $100 million in a 1996 settlement for downing Iran Air Flight 655 but never formally accepted responsibility for the action.
Ten years ago, 90% of tech media coverage was relentlessly negative and Kalanick felt he couldn't speak freely. Today, the rise of independent podcasters and Elon Musk buying Twitter has fundamentally changed the game — and it's why he's finally willing to talk.
Kay Classman, 28, was arrested for repeatedly posing as a 16-year-old and enrolling in Bronx high schools across multiple districts. She wasn't a predator — just someone so sad and lonely she wanted her lost childhood back. That's somehow sadder.
Disney, Meta, and Paramount have collectively paid Trump roughly $60 million to settle what Galloway calls nuisance lawsuits — all routed to his presidential library. Newsrooms are folding. The White House is handpicking press pool participants. This is what the end of a free press looks like.
One cheap fake documentary made by a teenager in his mother's basement convinced 16% of Americans that 9/11 was an inside job. Social media didn't invent conspiracy — it just gave it a rocket engine.
A progressive organization with a stated mission to destroy Turning Point USA received millions from ActBlue and is now publicly pushing the narrative that TPUSA insiders and Israel murdered Charlie Kirk. Andrew Wilson traced the network of accounts all amplifying the same conspiracy in perfect unison.
The microphone-bomb theory fails on every physical front: no smoke, no ignition, mic on the wrong side of the wound. And the .30-06 rifle round used is extensively documented by the US Army — it does not always produce a through-and-through wound. Wilson argues this is a well-studied projectile with well-understood behavior.
Andrew Wilson publicly offered Candace Owens $300,000 to debate her theory that Israel and TPUSA murdered Charlie Kirk. She refused. He argues that flat-earthers will debate anyone, but Kirk conspiracy theorists won't defend their claims under scrutiny.
Erika Kirk became the CEO of TPUSA while grieving her husband's murder in public, and now faces tens of thousands accusing her of conspiring to kill him. Andrew Wilson calls it mind-boggling psychological torture. The sparklers at the memorial weren't suspicious — they were a grieving widow doing her best in an impossible situation.
Joe Rogan and Andrew Wilson watch a bystander video of the Corey Ruiz police shooting in Madison, Wisconsin live on air. The video is so blurry they initially think a female officer fired the fatal shots. They later learn a male officer did, after Ruiz allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed officers. Their conclusion: you cannot have a hot take on a story you don't understand yet.
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