TrueAnon

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TrueAnon
TrueAnon Logo.png
Presentation
Hosted byBrace Belden
Liz Franczak
Genre
UpdatesTwice-weekly
Length60–90 minutes
Production
ProductionYung Chomsky
Opening theme"You'd Never Guess" by Yung Chomsky
Composed byYung Chomsky, Angelo Badalamenti
Publication
Original releaseJuly 23, 2019; 2 years ago (July 23, 2019) – present

TrueAnon is an American politics podcast hosted by Brace Belden and Liz Franczak. The podcast focuses on left-wing analysis of political issues and events, particularly those concerning deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The title of the podcast is a parodic reference to the QAnon conspiracy theory.[1]

History and content[]

TrueAnon is hosted by Brace Belden, a left-wing internet personality noted for fighting with the People's Protection Units in the Syrian Civil War, and Liz Franczak, a writer for The Baffler and Deadspin.[1] Belden and Franczak met in the early 2000s, through San Francisco's punk music scene.[1] The hosts, who identify as Marxists,[2] developed an interest in the Epstein case after Gawker published the contents of Epstein's personal address book in 2015, which established Epstein's connections to multiple influential figures in politics, finance, academia, and entertainment.[3]

Following Epstein's arrest in July 2019, Belden and Franczak noted how many of the details of the Epstein case, such as his connections to U.S. intelligence agencies, were not covered in the mainstream press.[2] TrueAnon was thus conceived to explore how "the fascination with Epstein is part of a larger story about the rot at the heart of the global elite,"[2] and how this reveals "larger class antagonisms within the United States."[4]

The first episode of TrueAnon was released on July 23, 2019.[1] Branding itself as "the only non-pedophile podcast,"[5] TrueAnon combines elements of the true crime genre and the dirtbag left, the rhetorical style most closely associated with Chapo Trap House defined by "subversive, populist vulgarity."[1] In addition to covering the Epstein case, TrueAnon devotes analysis and discussion to topics such as human trafficking, Medicare for All, Silicon Valley,[2] academia, finance, and non-profit organizations.[1] While TrueAnon covers material that has been described as conspiracy theory, Belden and Franczak assert that the podcast engages in historical materialism, focusing on "the power structures that produced Epstein in the first place" rather than a "fixed theory of Epstein’s death."[1] Notable guests who have appeared on the podcast include Epstein accuser Maria Farmer,[6] journalist Ken Klippenstein,[7] and musician Azealia Banks.[8]

Episode guide[]

As of August 19th, 2021, 178 episodes of TrueAnon have been released.[9]

2019 episodes
2020 episodes
2021 episodes

Reception[]

TrueAnon has been positively received by critics. GQ described the podcast as possessing a "one-of-a-kind flair you won't get anywhere else," offering praise for the quality of the podcast's research.[10] Journalist Jeet Heer cited TrueAnon as one of the few left-wing outlets to discuss the Epstein case in detail, compared to "the reluctance of the mainstream media to tackle the topic for fear of seeming conspiratorial."[3] Journalist Glenn Greenwald has also offered praise for the podcast and its coverage of the 2016 Nevada caucus.[11]

As of March 2020, TrueAnon is the fifth-ranked podcast on Patreon[12] and the 14th ranked account on the site overall, as measured by number of patrons.[13]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c TrueAnon episodes are given an official number, however unnumbered "bonus" episodes were initially not included in the episode count (until episode 50). The "given number" column shows the episode numbers designated in the show title, while the "number overall" column reflects the total number of all episodes.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Beckwith, Caleb (3 March 2020). "Epstein Brain is for the People". San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Goldstein, Sam Jaffe (30 January 2020). "Jeffrey Epstein Is a Feature of Our System: A Conversation with Liz Franczak and Brace Belden, Hosts of 'Trueanon'". The Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Heer, Jeet (18 November 2019). "Jeffrey Epstein Isn't Going Away". The Nation. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. ^ Amato, Natalli (9 November 2019). "Useful Idiots: TrueAnon's Liz Franczak on Epstein Saga". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. ^ "TrueAnon on Apple Podcasts". iTunes. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. ^ "TrueAnonPod -- Maria Farmer". May 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "TrueAnonPod -- D. H. Ass". July 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Episode 70: Azealia". Soundcloud. TrueAnon. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. ^ https://www.patreon.com/TrueAnonPod/posts
  10. ^ Groundwater, Colin; Schultz, Zlex (29 April 2020). "The Best Podcasts to Listen to During Self-Isolation". GQ. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. ^ @ggreenwald (17 February 2020). "Episode 38 of @TrueAnonPod (yes, I've become a bit obsessed) has a great and highly factual review of the cheating shenanigans of the DNC in 2016 for those wanting to know what to expect. Arguably the worst cheating was in the Nevada caucus" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Monthly Ranking for Patreon Podcasts". Graphtreon. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Monthly Ranking for Patreon Creators". Graphtreon. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

External links[]

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