A blunt, unsentimental dive into propaganda, ideology, and the contemporary cult of belief.
Host Todd Thompson dissects how both corporate and collectivist power structures manipulate guilt, fear, and identity to keep the herd in line. From Ellul and Chomsky to Didion and Camus, the show fuses political philosophy, field experience, and gallows humor to expose how revolutions become religions, and how “progress” often hides new forms of control.
The X-Pod is an autopsy of the narratives that shape us: digital Marxism, moral theater, and the algorithmic priests of the new faith. Expect philosophy with scars, historical context with teeth, and the rare luxury of an honest sentence.
Episodes
Monday Sep 08, 2025
Monday Sep 08, 2025
Broadcast September 8, 2025, on WBCQ shortwave (7490 kHz), this episode challenges the idea that human beings are “blank slates.” Todd Thompson argues that much of what is labeled racism is better understood as cultural and tribal reflex — instincts wired by evolution, not just products of environment.
Drawing on research by primatologist Frans de Waal, Todd shows how empathy, loyalty, and group boundaries appear in chimpanzees and humans alike. These instincts shape culture and survival, and when they’re ignored or denied, societies fracture. From Rwanda and Yugoslavia to American Indians to today’s unrest in Europe and the United States, history demonstrates the cost of refusing to acknowledge human nature.
The broadcast also explores Cold War lessons. Former KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov described a four-stage strategy of subversion: demoralization, destabilization, crisis, and normalization. While he was speaking in the 1980s, the pattern is recognizable today. Modern influence campaigns no longer need spies in every institution — social media amplifies divisions at the speed of light. Every divisive slogan, every cultural flashpoint becomes a lever.
The final segment turns to today’s grassroots pushback. In Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, and even Australia, ordinary citizens are reclaiming their flags and cultural identity. These aren’t marches for empire, but local communities refusing to surrender their way of life. Todd argues that what’s dismissed as extremism is more often people defending memory, tradition, and cohesion.
The conclusion is clear: tribes that fail to rise above internal fracture are replaced by those that can. In practice, the broadest “tribe” available is the nation itself. Patriotism — allegiance to country above grievance — remains the only force strong enough to resist both ideological pressure and foreign manipulation. And as Todd reminds listeners, we are not heirs to apology but to resilience; descendants of people who endured unimaginable hardships fighting to build our nation out of nothing.
📡 WBCQ 7490 kHz, Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/ 2 a.m UTC
📡 WWCR 4840 kHz, Fridays at 11 p.m. CT / midnight ET/ 4 a.m.UTC
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