A NSFW LONG-FORM PODCAST ABOUT
FACT CHECKING THE NEWS
Can you smell it?
The media is full of dubious stories. As the American journalist IF Stone wrote in 1952: “Emphasis, omission, and distortion rather than outright lying are the tools of the war propagandists.”
The same is true in peacetime. On this podcast, we take stories that are in the news and dissect them to see if we can work out where the propaganda lies.
First time here?
Latest Episode
Your Humble Hosts
#142 – Fascism Goes Corporate
In this final instalment of the Fascism miniseries, Cameron and Ray trace how fascism didn’t die after 1945 but simply changed its wardrobe. Once openly discredited, fascist ideology went underground, hiding behind anti-communism, Catholic conservatism, Cold War geopolitics, and the language of “law and order.” The pair outline how the same structural anxieties that fuelled Mussolini and Hitler found new hosts in post-war regimes like Franco’s Spain and Salazar’s Portugal, apartheid South Africa, Cold War dictatorships in Latin America, and today’s far-right populists in Europe and the United States. They explore how neoliberalism, manufactured fear of socialism, weaponised Christianity, resentful middle-class voters, and billionaire backing continue to make fascism useful to the powerful. The conversation ends by drawing uncomfortable parallels between classical fascism and modern MAGA politics, arguing that America is not on the verge of fascism — it is living through it in a new, suited, media-savvy form.
Latest Episode
#142 – Fascism Goes Corporate
In this final instalment of the Fascism miniseries, Cameron and Ray trace how fascism didn’t die after 1945 but simply changed its wardrobe. Once openly discredited, fascist ideology went underground, hiding behind anti-communism, Catholic conservatism, Cold War geopolitics, and the language of “law and order.” The pair outline how the same structural anxieties that fuelled Mussolini and Hitler found new hosts in post-war regimes like Franco’s Spain and Salazar’s Portugal, apartheid South Africa, Cold War dictatorships in Latin America, and today’s far-right populists in Europe and the United States. They explore how neoliberalism, manufactured fear of socialism, weaponised Christianity, resentful middle-class voters, and billionaire backing continue to make fascism useful to the powerful. The conversation ends by drawing uncomfortable parallels between classical fascism and modern MAGA politics, arguing that America is not on the verge of fascism — it is living through it in a new, suited, media-savvy form.
Your Humble Hosts
Recent Episodes
#141 – Franco: The Fascist Who Lived Long Enough to Become a Western Ally
This episode dives into the rise of Spanish fascism, the Spanish Civil War, and the long shadow of Francisco Franco. We unravel how Spain’s brand of authoritarianism differed from its Italian and German cousins, how the Civil War became a proxy fight between democracy and fascism, and why Spain’s dictatorship endured for decades after WWII while the Axis regimes collapsed. We dig into the murky politics of the 1930s, the church’s role, the elite’s fear of socialism, the failed Popular Front experiment, the bloody purges on both sides, and how Franco cleverly played Hitler, avoided WWII, and rebranded himself into the West’s “acceptable fascist” during the Cold War. It’s a sweeping tour from Primo de Rivera to Guernica to the Pact of Forgetting and the strange evolution of fascism as it mutates into new forms.
#140 – How Germany Went MAGA (Fascism #4)
In this episode of *The Bullshit Filter*, Cameron and Ray trace the evolution of fascism from Mussolini’s Italy to Hitler’s Germany, drawing unsettling parallels to the modern American political climate. They unpack how post–World War I trauma, economic collapse, and fear of socialism created the perfect storm for extremism to flourish. The conversation moves through Hitler’s infiltration of the German Workers Party, the myth of “National Socialism,” the violent consolidation of power through the Night of the Long Knives, and the weaponization of antisemitism that culminated in the Holocaust. Along the way, they compare the cult of Hitler to modern political movements, dissect propaganda’s emotional hooks, and explore how faith-based thinking can be twisted to serve authoritarian ends.
#139 – Make Italy Great Again: The Birth of Fascism (Fascism #3)
In this episode of The Bullshit Filter, Cameron and Ray continue their deep dive into the history of fascism — tracing its emergence from the ashes of World War I to Mussolini’s rise in Italy. They unpack how the trauma of the war radicalised millions, creating...
#138 – Fascism: The Remix of History’s Worst Ideas (Fascism part 2)
In this second episode of our fascism series, Cameron and Ray trace the roots of fascism from the French Revolution through the 19th century and into the early 20th century. They explore how nationalism, the Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment, industrial upheaval, social Darwinism, Nietzsche’s philosophy, Bismarck’s realpolitik, futurism, and mass psychology all fed into the eventual rise of fascism. Along the way, they compare past anxieties about modernity with today’s fears of AI and technology, dig into the religious devotion of MAGA Trumpism, and unpack the Italian Fascist Manifesto of 1919. By the end, the groundwork is set for how Mussolini and others fused these cultural, philosophical, and political threads into a movement that would reshape the 20th century.
Welcome To The Bullshit Filter Podcast!
This show is different from some other podcasts in the following ways.
1. There are TWO OF US. This is a conversation, not a lecture.
2. It’s FLEXIBLE. Which means sometimes we cover a few stories in a single episode, but other times we might take 3 or 25 episodes to tell a story.
3. It’s NSFW. While we take the world affairs very seriously, we also know that learning is more effective when you’re having fun. Sometimes (okay, quite often) “having fun” for us translates as bad language and dirty jokes. Let’s face it – this world is violent and sexy. This is NOT a child-friendly show, nor is it safe for work.
4. We sometimes CHARGE MONEY. We do this for a living and put a lot of time and effort into making our content. So some of our episodes are free and some require a paid subscription. Feel free to listen to the free ones and then, if you like them, register to listen to the rest.
Learn more about the show and hosts.
Worth Your Time
★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by El Groo from United Kingdom on May 17, 2019
I’ve just listened to and thoroughly recommend the mini-series on vaccines, both from its exploration of the subject, but also it’s demonstration on how to decide what can be believed in a post-truth society.
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They read books!!!
★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by Divicus from Switzerland on November 26, 2018
So, the scandelous news is public!! All that these guys know is only from……BOOKS! Anyone who has followed their detailed, funny and well documented stories from the great JC to Stalin, from Brutus to Beria or from Alexander to Rooswelt would have thought that Ray&Cam must have a misterious time machine, hidden somwhere in Ray‘s secret basement, just behind the dark-age tourture machines. How else could Ray&Cam have discovered that many famous songs from the 1980‘s were in fact written by ancient singer&songwriters, among them the Toto Song Africa, which was originally composed by Sextus Pompeius, better known to the podcast community as Sexi Pee. Since all Ray&Cam know is from books, the still have to read the book of books received in Florence. No, not the bible, the book about how the 99% rule over the 1% instead the other way around. Yes, read the book about the secret formula to limit government spending on arms and direct cash to hospitals, schools and roads instead and how to tax the rich! The book is about Direct Democracy in good old Switzerland, a country with 4 impossible languages, sorunded by powerful neigbhours and divided by different religous believes and high mountains. Well, so keep reading your books! Great to listen to your podcasts!
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This is The Greatest Show!
★★★★★ in Apple Podcasts by Benakiba from Australia on May 13, 2018
Imagine yourself having a chat over a coffee with a good friend who you admire, for their wits, humour and general view on humanity. You could easily sit there and listen all day without saying a word, and still feel you participated in the conversation and came out of it richer and looking for more. This is what you will experience listening to Cam and Ray. These guys are totally politically incorrect, contagiously funny, yet deadly serious in their relentless search for facts about the world we all live in. So, get yourself a cuppa and plug in. But be warned – you’ll keep coming back for more!
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