326: ERIC SWALWELL, YOU MESSY B!TCH!

Welcome to Without a Country, where we break down the biggest stories in politics, culture, and the internet without the usual filter. This episode covers a wide range of topics, starting with the LA mayor race and why Spencer Pratt is being taken more seriously than people expected. There’s also a surprising shift from Perez Hilton after a near-death experience that completely changed his perspective. We get into the situation between Alex Cooper and Alex IRL and what it says about the podcast and influencer space right now. From there, the conversation moves into a New York Times op-ed, the idea of a “liberal Joe Rogan,” and why figures like Hasan Piker keep coming up in media discussions. There’s also a longer breakdown of Zionism, anti-Zionism, and how the meaning of those terms has evolved, along with how younger generations are viewing Israel and Palestine differently. Later in the episode, we talk about the SantaCon fraud story and how something that’s supposed to be charitable turned into a major scandal. Then we spend time unpacking the allegations against Eric Swalwell and the larger conversation around power, politics, and sexual misconduct. The episode wraps up with a deeper look at global conflict, including the situation in the West Bank and what it could mean going forward. 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:30 Show Overview News, Politics, Culture 00:02:50 LA Mayor Race Spencer Pratt vs Karen Bass 00:05:00 Perez Hilton Near-Death and Religious Shift 00:09:50 Alex Cooper vs Alex IRL Drama 00:12:30 Call Her Daddy Industry Tension 00:15:10 NYT Op-Ed Breakdown Ezra Klein 00:17:00 Liberal Joe Rogan Debate 00:21:00 Hasan Piker and Media Hypocrisy 00:26:00 Zionism vs Anti-Zionism Deep Dive 00:32:00 Language, Politics and Online Narratives 00:36:00 Israel, Gaza and Lebanon Discussion 00:39:00 Democrats, Media Strategy and Cancel Culture 00:41:20 Why Conversation Matters More Than Agreement 00:45:00 Cancel Culture Backfiring 00:49:30 Algorithm Clips and Misrepresentation 00:51:00 SantaCon Fraud Scandal NYC 00:54:30 Money Laundering and Arrest Breakdown 00:55:50 Patreon and Show Support 01:00:00 Eric Swalwell Allegations Begin 01:02:00 Power, Politics and Timing of Accusations 01:08:00 Additional Accusers and Misconduct Claims 01:12:00 Workplace Dynamics and Power Imbalance 01:18:00 Believability vs Political Strategy 01:25:00 Sexual Misconduct in Politics 01:35:00 Cultural Patterns and Repeated Behavior 01:45:00 Global Abuse Cases and Survivor Stories 01:48:30 Case Studies and Trauma Impact 02:00:00 Trust, Trauma and Psychological Fallout 02:10:00 Justice System Failures 02:20:00 Gender, Power and Media Commentary 02:35:00 Audience Reflection and Societal Patterns 02:50:00 Political Media and Messaging Frustrations 02:55:00 NYC Politics and Content Strategy 03:00:00 Final Israel and West Bank Discussion 03:01:00 Settler Violence and Long-Term Consequences 03:05:00 Outro and Credits SUBSCRIBE TO THE PATREON: https://patreon.com/WithoutACountry?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink FOLLOW WITHOUT A COUNTRY ON IG: @withoutacountryppodcast FOLLOW CORINNE ON IG: @philanthropygal FOLLOW MIKE ON IG: @themharrington Liberal Joe Rogan Op Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/opinion/hasan-piker-democrats.html ENEMY OF THE STATE: Santacon https://archive.is/gkNzf DICTATOR = Christopher Fanguy Capitalist Pigs, Cuties! Hello to my newest Capitalist Pig = Xana Rogers MAIN STORY Eric Swalwell (and Tony Gonzalez) https://www.thecut.com/article/all-the-allegations-against-eric-swalwell.html https://www.archivebuttons.com/articles?article=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/eric-swalwell-abuse-allegations-lewd-photos.html#google_vignette https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/15/swalwell-allegations-democrats-california-rise/ Tony Gonzalez' https://archive.is/QUgSS Cutie Corner https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pennsylvania-man-pleads-guilty-creating-and-distributing-animal-crush-videos GUUUURL Ticketmaster https://www.npr.org/2026/04/15/nx-s1-5786715/live-nation-ticketmaster-antitrust-verdict-monopoly Trump As Jesus https://archive.is/snmkZ Surveillance in America https://www.npr.org/2026/04/14/nx-s1-5768270/what-to-know-about-section-702-surveillance Sam Altman https://archive.is/ClM50 Hungarian election https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/04/13/hungary-election-orban-defeat-message-democrats-00868584 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/world/europe/viktor-orban-peter-magyar-election.html Israel/Lebanon https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/15/headlines/lebanon_and_israel_hold_first_direct_talks_in_more_than_three_decades FP article actually critical of Israel https://www.thefp.com/p/israel-has-an-extremism-problem?utm_campaign=260347&utm_source=cross-post&r=3l2hy&utm_medium=email Sexual Violence by IDF https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/i-wished-death-sexual-violence-israels-prisons-organised-state-policy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.