Intro.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Bring it Home, Max.

Post Show Musings.

Outro.

The movement to get money out of politics will take a very long time. I know people don’t want to hear that. My guess is, in the best case scenario, we’re looking at 20 years. Best case. If it makes you feel any better, the movement to get money into politics took 181 years so by that measure, two decades to unravel what took 181 to build isn’t all that bad. Either we’re committed to playing the long game or not. The assholes that got us here were.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:33

Chapter One: Non-Negotiable #4. 00:01:11

Chapter Two: The Long and Winding Road to Citizens United. 00:07:05

Chapter Three: Media Complicity. The Revolution Was Already Televised. 00:16:46

Chapter Four: Defying Its Creator. The Tale of Mitch McGolem. 00:20:43

Bring it Home, Max: 00:28:47

Post Show Musings: 00:37:13

Outro: 01:11:09

Resources

OpenSecrets: Money-in-Politics Timeline

Brennan Center for Justice: Since Citizens United, a Decade of Super PACs

Cambridge University: Dark Parties: Unveiling Nonparty Communities in American Political Campaigns

De Gruyter: Television Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

De Gruyter: Digital Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

Bowdoin College: Government Scholar Michael Franz on Impact of Ads during the 2024 Election Cycle

Brennan Center for Justice: Life Tenure for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Is a Global Oddity with Clear Costs

Ballotpedia News: Looking ahead at 2025 ranked-choice voting legislation

Justia: Citizens United v. FEC | 558 U.S. 310 (2010)

Senate: Saving American Democracy Amendment 

Constitution Center: Interpretation: The Twenty-Seventh Amendment

American Promise

CampaignFinanceReform.org

Book Love

Adam Jentleson: Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy

Kermit L. Hall: The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States


UNFTR Episode Resources

Housing First.

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse.

Medicare for All.

Project 2025.

What’s the Deal with Peter Thiel?

“Russputin” and the Tsar.

Convention of States.

--

If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com.

Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

The movement to get money out of politics will take a very long time. I know people don&rsquo;t want to hear that. My guess is, in the best case scenario, we&rsquo;re looking at 20 years. Best case. If it makes you feel any better, the movement to get money into politics took 181 years so by that measure, two decades to unravel what took 181 to build isn&rsquo;t all that bad. Either we&rsquo;re committed to playing the long game or not. The assholes that got us here were.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:33
Chapter One: Non-Negotiable #4. 00:01:11
Chapter Two: The Long and Winding Road to Citizens United. 00:07:05
Chapter Three: Media Complicity. The Revolution Was Already Televised. 00:16:46
Chapter Four: Defying Its Creator. The Tale of Mitch McGolem. 00:20:43
Bring it Home, Max: 00:28:47
Post Show Musings: 00:37:13
Outro: 01:11:09
Resources
OpenSecrets: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/timeline">Money-in-Politics Timeline</a>
Brennan Center for Justice: <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/citizens-united-decade-super-pacs">Since Citizens United, a Decade of Super PACs</a>
Cambridge University: <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/9576CD955EE490DD6555439FC1E34E71/S0003055423000187a.pdf/dark_parties_unveiling_nonparty_communities_in_american_political_campaigns.pdf">Dark Parties: Unveiling Nonparty Communities in American Political Campaigns</a>
De Gruyter: <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/for-2023-2005/html">Television Advertising in the 2022 Midterms</a>
De Gruyter: <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/for-2023-2006/html">Digital Advertising in the 2022 Midterms</a>
Bowdoin College: <a href="https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2024/12/government-scholar-michael-franz-on-impact-of-ads-during-the-2024-election-cycle.html">Government Scholar Michael Franz on Impact of Ads during the 2024 Election Cycle</a>
Brennan Center for Justice: <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/life-tenure-us-supreme-court-justices-global-oddity-clear-costs">Life Tenure for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Is a Global Oddity with Clear Costs</a>
Ballotpedia News: <a href="https://news.ballotpedia.org/2024/12/18/looking-ahead-at-2025-ranked-choice-voting-legislation/">Looking ahead at 2025 ranked-choice voting legislation</a>
Justia: <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/558/310/">Citizens United v. FEC | 558 U.S. 310 (2010)</a>
Senate: <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Constitutional-Amendment-FAQs.pdf">Saving American Democracy Amendment</a>&nbsp;
Constitution Center: <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxvii/interpretations/165#the-twenty-seventh-amendment-by-steven-calabresi-and-zephyr-teachout">Interpretation: The Twenty-Seventh Amendment</a>
<a href="https://americanpromise.net/">American Promise</a>
<a href="https://campaignfinancereform.org/explanation">CampaignFinanceReform.org</a>
Book Love
Adam Jentleson: K<a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781324091981">ill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy</a>
Kermit L. Hall: <a href="https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-oxford-companion-to-the-supreme-court-of-the-united-states/319130">The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States</a> 
UNFTR Episode Resources
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr141">Housing First.</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr142">Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse.</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr145">Medicare for All.</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr118">Project 2025.</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr77">What&rsquo;s the Deal with Peter Thiel?</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/episodes/unftr138">&ldquo;Russputin&rdquo; and the Tsar.</a>
<a href="https://www.unftr.com/cos">Convention of States.</a>
--
If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/unftr.com">Bluesky</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@unftrpod">TikTok</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>.
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1PpzNXBub9FLngMradJByC?si=abaed3d396504fae">spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.</a>
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"> bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.
Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (<a href="https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com">mannyfacesmedia.com</a>). Original music is by Tom McGovern (<a href="http://www.tommcgovern.com/">tommcgovern.com</a>). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 

Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 

As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 

Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 
Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 
As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 
Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

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