Ironweeds

159 - Human Trafficking Rush Hour

September 20, 2022

Absent Britney, who is down flat from the covid booster, the boys tread into lots of local stories, including an update on the Albany Central Warehouse, the Rensselaer County Elections Commissioner getting arrested for voter fraud, and Albany med nurses being trafficked by the hospital. We also talk about the bigger human trafficking story dominating the news, what NYC influencers do on a normal day (it’s not normal), and for a bright spot: Trials for a new Lyme Disease vaccine.

Migrants kidnapped and flown to Martha’s Vineyard: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/us/politics/migrants-marthas-vineyard.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Leg Lengthening: https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening

Rensselaer County Elections Commissioner arrested: https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/Rensselaer-County-s-Republican-elections-17438122.php

New York City influencers: https://www.thecut.com/2022/09/tiktok-influencers-new-york-city.html

Albany Central Warehouse continues to crumble: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Central-Warehouse-owner-misses-key-deadline-17446497.php

More ex-Albany Med nurses to be compensated in human trafficking case: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/More-ex-Albany-Med-nurses-to-be-compensated-in-17439193.php

Lyme vaccine trial enrolling participants for phase three: https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/Lyme-vaccine-trial-phase-three-Pfizer-Valneva-17435963.php

158 - Redshirts Never Die

September 12, 2022

In one of our more casual episodes, Britney and David are back from the Ren Faire with stories. David went on TrueAnon to talk about cities and the trends that ruin them. The Queen is dead. It is (was) 9/11. Credit card companies are beginning to tag all firearm sales and track purchasers. And a non-profit discount grocery store is coming to one of Troy’s biggest food desserts!

Visa, Mastercard, and Amex to track gun sales: https://apnews.com/4aae50c67e40f9683f604a8683acc391

Discount grocer coming soon to Central Troy: https://www.timesunion.com/churchill/article/Churchill-A-Trader-Joe-s-for-Troy-s-poor-17430486.php

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157 - Mandatory Union Coffee Break

September 6, 2022

This week we’re missing David, but are joined by previous guests/friends of the show Sean and Ashley to talk about local union organizing, the potential of a national railroad strike, the weirdo ex-CEO spending millions of dollars to prove that Trump won in 2020, the Albany Police Review Board’s requests for more power and funds, and Germany’s program to cut fuel dependency with cheap rail transit. Don’t miss David’s appearance on TrueAnon where he discusses his forthcoming book!

David on TrueAnon: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1PQNdrvNSZmYdT1yslDpAa?si=ITNeB1ArScuQgFgm2Ly4Gw

Election conspiracy theory conference: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-presidential-biden-cabinet-b4a3422d188fdd921d8e6f38f53ea0d0

Rail workers unions: https://www.labornotes.org/2022/09/rail-workers-reject-contract-recommendations-say-theyre-ready-strike

Albany Police Review Board: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Albany-police-review-board-to-request-budget-boost-17415478.php

Germany’s cheap transit project: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-cheap-transit-offer-prevents-18-mln-tonnes-co2-group-2022-08-29/

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156 - Busting Out The Sack

August 30, 2022

There’s more than one way to discipline a worker, but the sack may be the most effective. Manhattan is further infecting upstate with a bar targeted at lobbyists. UFOs are not only real, and not only non-human, but they are an exponentially growing threat. Apparently. An Alabama Pastor was arrested for watering his neighbors flowers. And a bald eagle caught a baby falcon for lunch, but ended up raising it as its own.

Exponential UFOs: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3adadb/congress-admits-ufos-not-man-made-says-threats-increasing-exponentially

Using the sack to discipline workers: https://theintercept.com/2022/08/24/unemployment-recession-worker-power-douglas-emmett/

'Political junkies' tavern eyeing fall opening near state Capitol: https://www.timesunion.com/tablehopping/article/War-Room-Tavern-eyeing-fall-opening-near-state-17391598.php.

Eagle catches baby falcon: https://pickduck.com/an-eagle-caught-a-baby-falcon-for-dinner-and-ended-up-adopting-it/

Alabama Pastor arrested for watering plants: https://www.al.com/news/2022/08/officer-who-arrested-alabama-pastor-while-watering-neighbors-plants-how-do-i-know-thats-the-truth.html

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155 - The Price of Fame

August 22, 2022

Men, am I right? Oof. This week we’re talking about two real gems of masculinity–violent misogynist Andrew Tate and violent fake liberal CEO Dan Price. Also, did you know Brandon massively scaled back the drone war? Us neither. I wonder why… Then, a father who took a photo of his toddler’s penis to consult with a doctor has had his entire Google account deleted. And for our wildflower, retail sale of legal cannabis is in sight for NY State!

Andrew Tate’s MLM: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/aug/20/andrew-tate-money-making-scheme-for-fans-of-extreme-misogynist-closes

Dan Price’s Social Media: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/technology/dan-price-resign-social-media.html

Biden’s Drone War: https://theweek.com/foreign-policy/1007579/biden-nearly-ended-the-drone-war-and-nobody-noticed

Google Account Deleted for Medical Photo: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html

154 - Back in the Saddle

August 15, 2022

We’re back, baby! Hope you didn’t miss us too much. We catch up a bit before getting into such topics as minor league baseball, guns, Trump’s beautiful safe, a DEA agent who murdered his neighbor with no consequences, an update on the Capital Roots unionization effort, and a bit of good news about the Great Barrier Reef. Keep your eyes peeled for our episode on the Albany Warehouse, coming soon to a Patreon feed near you!

DEA agent kills neighbor, gets off scot free: https://apnews.com/article/shootings-mississippi-veterans-us-drug-enforcement-administration-bc9d8e9152f3b46cf4555010eda0735d

Great Barrier Reef:

https://apnews.com/article/australia-queensland-united-nations-trending-news-f716b3e6ef7a798b5bfd32260aae2b79

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-04/great-barrier-reef-report-says-coral-recovering-after-bleaching/101296186

EKY Mutual Aid donation link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ekymutualaid

Does The New Star Trek Betray The Socialist Principles Of The Original Series?

August 5, 2022

The venerable Star Trek universe is really the only major pop culture property that can be claimed as certifiably leftist. But how do the newest batch of shows hold up? In a special crossover episode, Lyta Gold of Art for the End Times teams up with a lively panel of fellow podcasters and Trekkies—David Banks and Britney Gil (Iron Weeds), Leslie Lee III (Struggle Session), and Aaron Thorpe (Trillbilly Workers Party, Struggle Session, and Everybody Loves Communism)—to discuss the most recent Star Trek show to hit the airwaves, Strange New Worlds. Drawing on decades of collective Trekkie experience, they debate Paramount’s increasingly cynical approach to making Trek, and how the whole series succeeds (or fails) in imagining fully automated luxury space communism while still being created by capitalists.

153 - Tin Foil Hat Cat

July 25, 2022

Something is rotten in the state of New York. A vicious attack on Representative and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin feels suspiciously like a set up. On the other side of the fence, one family has donated $300k to Kathy Hochul’s campaign, with an impressive ROI of $637m. Republicans are having a really tough time with the whole gay marriage issue, so please send thoughts and prayers. And for our wildflower, a randy little parrot is at the height of its game!

A family donated $300K to Hochul. New York has paid the family business $637M. https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/A-single-family-has-donated-300K-to-Hochul-17310875.php

“Attack” on Lee Zeldin: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/nyregion/lee-zeldin-suspect-bail.html

Poor republicans and the gay marriage debate: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3570528-same-sex-marriage-debate-poses-problems-for-republicans/

Don’t call it a Kakapo Komeback: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/471219/kakapo-population-at-its-highest-in-almost-50-years

Shagged by a rare parrot: https://youtu.be/9T1vfsHYiKY

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152 - AstroTurf the World

July 20, 2022

A story sandwich this week–good stuff, bad stuff, and good stuff to leave your palate cleansed. Congressional staffers are unionizing! But the climate is actively killing us and our poor, poor grass. We’ll show them tho, by using plastic grass! Progress! Arizona has effectively outlawed filming the police. But David wrote an essay on psychedelics and architecture! And the good folks at the New Jersey Medieval Times are unionizing!

Congressional staffers unionizing: https://newrepublic.com/article/167058/dear-white-staffers-instagram-interview-unionize-capitol-hill?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=EB_TNR&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1658031609

Delivery drivers succumbing to heat: https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/scottsdale-homeowner-shares-video-ups-driver-collapsing-on-porch-keep-others-safe/75-9b067ffa-b039-4161-8068-6322898707b5

https://abc7news.com/california-ups-driver-dies-signs-of-heatstroke-esteban-chavez-heat-related-deaths/12023790/

Artificial turf: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2022-artificial-turf-grass-lawns-climate-change/

Filming police outlawed in Arizona: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/thinking-filming-police-encounter-arizona-make-sure-s-not-8-feet-rcna37566

Read David in Dwell Magazine! https://www.dwell.com/article/rick-doblin-maps-arcturus-sarasota-florida-psychedelics-1970s-9060cbd6

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151 - What Are You Doing, Step Dad?

July 12, 2022

We got a real grab bag for you this week. A Goop smores station gone wrong, a horrifying I Voted sticker, a cartoonist’s regret over not killing his stepson, the most ambitious assassination in recent history, and much more. Check out our Patreon for the final part of our MK Ultra series at patreon.com/ironweeds!

Fire at the Goop Store: https://news.yahoo.com/2-men-hospitalized-explosion-gwyneth-170049836.html

Elon the bullshit artist: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-tears-into-bullshit-artist-elon-musk-at-anchorage-rally

Storming the palace in Sri Lanka: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/storming-the-palace-and-then-tidying-up-sri-lanka-s-civil-uprising-20220710-p5b0i3.html

Fetus on board, HOV lane denied: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2022/07/08/pregnant-woman-says-her-fetus-should-count-as-a-passenger-in-hov-lanes-she-got-a-ticket/

I Voted McVoteface: https://mashable.com/article/ulster-county-i-voted-sticker-contest

Kill your son: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/dilbert-scott-adams-kill-sons-b2117427.html

Shinzo Abe Links: