7 chapters across the catalog
The discussion turns to the FBI's use of surveillance drones over Kenosha during the riots. The hosts question why the high-quality footage was not more central to the case and compare it to similar surveillance tactics used during the Baltimore riots.
In 2017, the FBI created the "Black Identity Extremist" (BIE) assessment following police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge. This classification allows for invasive surveillance tactics against activists protesting police violence. The hosts discuss how the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expanded the government's power to detain and surveil citizens, noting that the label of "conspiracy theorist" is increasingly used to justify placement on government watchlists.
Following 9-11, the FBI adopted a "no tolerance" policy that led to the erosion of legal boundaries. A 2009 Time Magazine article revealed that then-FBI Director Robert Mueller had his own office within the Facebook building, illustrating the deep ties between big tech and government surveillance. Adam Curry notes that he built Podcasting 2.0 specifically to protect free speech from this type of centralized government and corporate interference.
The Wire as Documentary, COINTELPRO, and Baltimore Surveillance
The hosts argue that "The Wire" functions more as a documentary than fiction, illustrating the corrupt links between ministers, politicians, and the drug trade. They discuss historical revelations that the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party was actually started by an NSA veteran as part of an FBI COINTELPRO operation. This history of deep state infiltration and surveillance in Baltimore is used to explain the city's long-standing political and social instability.
Michael German, a former FBI agent and fellow for the Brennan Center for Justice, criticizes the Black Identity Extremist label as a tool to circumvent First Amendment protections. He argues the FBI creates such categories to justify investigating activists and to maintain agency budgets through a cycle of manufactured threats.
The FBI used the 2016 Dallas shooting and other unrelated attacks to justify the Black Identity Extremist Assessment. This classification allows the bureau to utilize invasive surveillance tactics against individuals perceived to be part of the movement, despite critics arguing the events were unconnected.
The Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) was a series of secret, often illegal, FBI projects conducted under J. Edgar Hoover to surveil and discredit domestic political organizations. Targeted groups included the Black Panthers, Martin Luther King Jr., and the American Indian Movement. Although officially disbanded in 1971, the hosts argue that the methodology of infiltration and creating internal fissures continues in modern media and government operations.
