4 chapters across the catalog
The hosts revisit the 2015 Baltimore riots following the death of Freddie Gray. They highlight Barack Obama's use of the words "thugs" and "criminals" to describe the protesters, contrasting it with the Democratic Party's refusal to use similar language during the 2020 summer protests. They argue that when a riot is "unsanctioned" by the party, the rhetoric changes drastically.
The hosts examine Hawk Newsome's shift from preaching non-violence in a 2018 TEDx talk to his more recent radical rhetoric. They compare this to the radicalization of Nick Cannon and discuss how media coverage can give activists a false sense of security. They use the "Cancel Cannon" sound effect to mark the fallout from these public statements.
In 2015, President Barack Obama used the term "thugs" to describe rioters in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray. Unlike Donald Trump, Obama was not widely labeled a racist for the comment, though he doubled down on the terminology through his press secretary. The hosts suggest this was a turning point where Obama began to lose support among black Americans for appearing "weak" on the community's frustrations.
Following the Freddie Gray riots in 2015, Baltimore experienced a massive spike in murders as police officers allegedly engaged in a "coordinated slowdown" or "blue flu." A veteran officer explains that police stopped being proactive in patrolling the Western District. The hosts suggest this cycle—bad actor, riot, police withdrawal, crime surge—is a structured catalyst for federal crackdowns.
