| I Don't Speak German | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Daniel Harper, Jack Graham |
| Genre | Political podcast |
| Language | English |
| Length | 24-120 minutes |
| Publication | |
| Original release | January 8th, 2019 |
| Related | |
| Website | idontspeakgerman |
I Don't Speak German is a podcast about white nationalism in the United States, self-described as "a podcast confronting white nationalism one asshole at a time" [1] by its hosts Daniel Harper and Jack Graham.
Harper started the podcast after listening to Fash The Nation , and after the Unite the Right rally white nationalist movement occurred. [2]
Episodes in September 2019 discussed Siege, a collection of neo-Nazi writings by James Nolan Mason, considered essential reading by The Base – a neo-Nazi hate group – and the Bowl Patrol, a group of idolizers of Dylann Roof. The groups adhere to its theory of accelerationism, which advocates for mass killings to create a white ethnostate. Harper also discussed Bowl Patrol's leader, Andrew Richard Casarez aka "Vic Mackey", [3] who has a "penchant for trafficking in obscene rape and death threats". [4]
Casarez, and former Wisconsin congressional candidate Paul Nehlen (whom Harper called "a vicious, horrible human being"), attempted to dox Harper, finding a similarly named individual in the town of Dexter, Michigan. Bowl Patrol members began driving by this unrelated house, taking photos and videos of the home, to send threats to Harper. Days later, US Army soldier and Atomwaffen Division member Jarrett Smith was arrested in Fort Riley, Kansas, alleging he discussed bomb-making, sending bombs to CNN and Beto O'Rourke, and setting fire to Harper's house. [4]
In late October 2019, a video was posted on Nehlen's Telegram channel, showing his Bowl Patrol patch and the incorrect Harper house. The residents later received a threatening white supremacist letter directed at Harper, signed "the Cüm Bomber". [4] Black-clad members of The Base continued to visit the house through mid-December, including taking flash photos of the house the same night the residents came home with their newborn son. The family wrote to Harper, asking him to publicly disavow the address. Harper was finally able to get a response from the FBI and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office; the Sheriff's office described the details as "non-threatening photographs and statements" [5] and indicating they had not connected Jarrett Smith to the other people casing the house, indicating they considered the case closed. [6]
In October 2020, two members of The Base were arrested by the FBI for their harassment at the home a year earlier, and were charged with gang membership, unlawful posting of a message, and using computers to commit a crime. [7] [8]
The podcast was described as "uncomfortable" by The A.V. Club 's Anthony D. Herrera, who noted "what is most surprising about I Don't Speak German is just how much cringe comedy is involved in the lives of these racists". [9]
Writing for The Daily Beast , Nick R. Martin said it "might be the most important podcast countering the white nationalist movement today." [2]
The Order, also known as the Brüder Schweigen and Silent Brotherhood, was a Neo-Nazi terrorist organization active in the United States between September 1983 and December 1984. The group raised funds via armed robbery. Ten members were tried and convicted for racketeering, and two for their role in the 1984 murder of radio talk show host Alan Berg.
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white racial and national identity. Many of its proponents identify with the concept of a white ethnostate.
A bowl cut is a simple haircut where the front hair is cut with a straight fringe and the rest of the hair is left longer, the same length all the way around, or else the sides and back are cut to the same short length. It is named so because in medieval times, when it was popular in Europe, a bowl would be placed on the head and then used as a cutting guide to trim the hair.
Stephen Donald Black is an American white supremacist. He is the founder and webmaster of the neo-Nazi, Holocaust denial, and homophobic website Stormfront. He was a Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and a member of the American Nazi Party in the 1970s, though at the time he was a member it was known as the "National Socialist White Peoples' Party". He was convicted in 1981 of attempting an armed overthrow of the government in the island of Dominica in violation of the U.S. Neutrality Act.
In the United States, domestic terrorism is defined as terrorist acts that were carried out within the United States by U.S. citizens and/or U.S. permanent residents. As of 2021, the United States government considers white supremacists to be the top domestic terrorism threat.
Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies. It can be motivated by Ultranationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment, patriot movements, sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated by opposition to abortion, tax resistance, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.
The Daily Stormer is an American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and Holocaust denial commentary and message board website that advocates for a second genocide of Jews. It is part of the alt-right movement. Its editor, Andrew Anglin, founded the outlet on July 4, 2013, as a faster-paced replacement for his previous website Total Fascism, which had focused on his own long-form essays on fascism, race, and antisemitic conspiracy theories. In contrast, The Daily Stormer relies heavily on quoted material with exaggerated headlines.
The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a far-right neo-Nazi political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "alt-right" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center's list.
The Right Stuff is a neo-Nazi and white nationalist blog and discussion forum and the host of several podcasts, including The Daily Shoah. Founded by American neo-Nazi Mike Enoch, the website promotes Holocaust denial, and coined the use of "echoes", an antisemitic marker that uses triple parentheses around names to identify Jewish people.
Michael Enoch Isaac Peinovich, more commonly known as Mike Enoch, is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, Holocaust denier, blogger, and podcast host. He founded the alt-right media network The Right Stuff and podcast The Daily Shoah. Through his work, Enoch ridicules African Americans, Jews, and other minorities, advocates racial discrimination, and promotes conspiracy theories such as Holocaust denial and white genocide.
Christopher Charles Cantwell, also known as the Crying Nazi, is an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and antisemitic conspiracy theorist.
Paul Nehlen is a white supremacist and former Congressional candidate from Wisconsin. During the 2016 and 2018 Republican Party primary elections in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, he spouted various racist, white nationalist, nativist, protectionist, and antisemitic views. In 2016 he was defeated by incumbent Paul Ryan by 84 to 16 percent. The 2018 primary was won by Bryan Steil; Nehlen came third.
Lana Jennifer Lokteff is an American far-right, antisemitic conspiracy theorist and white supremacist, who is part of the alt-right movement. She became a prominent YouTube personality before being banned. She is the host of Radio 3Fourteen.
Christopher Paul Hasson is a former United States Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist who pleaded guilty to federal gun and drug crimes in 2019, and the following year was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. Although not charged with a terrorism offense, prosecutors called Hasson a "domestic terrorist" and accused him of plotting the targeted assassinations of high-profile American politicians, media figures, and others, as well as indiscriminate terror attacks against what Hasson called "leftists in general."
Matthew Q. Gebert is an American former foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department. He was suspended from his position in August 2019 after he was reported as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Base is a neo-Nazi accelerationist paramilitary group and training network, formed in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro. It is active in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Europe, and designated as a terrorist organization in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Tom Kawcyznski is a white separatist who produces a coronavirus-related podcast which has been criticized for pushing misinformation. Kawcyznski was town manager of Jackman, Maine until he was fired for promoting white supremacist content on social media.
Red Ice is a white supremacist multimedia company based in Sweden and led by the married couple Lana Lokteff and Henrik Palmgren. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has described Red Ice as being important in the YouTube alt-right radicalization pipeline, further radicalizing people tentatively on the far-right and having "a history of embracing white supremacist rhetoric and talking points".
Jack Donovan is an American far-right writer and activist. A self-described masculinist, Donovan was an influential figure in the alt-right until he disavowed the movement in 2017. He has at various times advocated male supremacy, white nationalism, fascism, and the political disenfranchisement of women. He led a chapter of the Wolves of Vinland, a Norse neopagan organization and SPLC-designated hate group, from 2014 to 2018.
Co-host, 'I Don't Speak German,' a podcast confronting white nationalism one asshole at a time.
Daniel Harper is the co-host of what might be the most important podcast countering the white nationalist movement today.It's called I Don't Speak German, and since launching in January it has helped lead people back from the brink of radicalization, drawn plaudits from researchers of violent extremism, and attracted an audience of thousands of regular listeners.
The sheriff's office said that neither the Sheas, Harper the podcaster nor the Harpers that moved have received direct threats related to their investigation, and that only non-threatening photographs and statements have been shared in connection with the address.
Knowing the post office couldn't return it to the sender and thinking hand written likely meant personal and sentimental, I forwarded the letter to the former homeowners," she said. "It turned out to be a threatening letter of a white supremacist nature. At this point, the Harpers who used to lived at our address let us know what the letter was, that they were in touch with the FBI and we learned that the intended target was in fact another Michigander, also named Daniel E. Harper, who has a podcast designed to unveil and antagonize white supremacist organizations. Apparently they are not amused.
What is most surprising about I Don't Speak German is just how much cringe comedy is involved in the lives of these racists.