EARLY ACCESS: IDSG Episode 144, The Far Right and the SPLC

I'm still working on the show notes, but I will post them here sometime over the weekend as I listen to the final episode and figure out what's needed. EDIT: Show Notes now available below.

Anyway, the Trump administration (and the Middle District of Alabama) have produced an indictment of the SPLC in which they allege that all of this far-right racism was actually manufactured by the Southern Poverty Law Center. People who have been targeted by that organization, understandably, have varying views based on how they position themselves in the far-right ecosystem.

Jack and I discuss the details by looking at Matt Walsh, Jack Posobiec, John Doyle, and James Edwards of the Political Cesspool. (We also do a cold open with the manchildren of The Daily Shoah spreading nonsense. Don't worry, their episode 1488, posted yesterday as of the time of this posting, will be the subject of the next episode -- to be clear, as of this writing, I have not listened to it yet.)

Thank you as always for your support, even when we're not producing a ton of content to justify it. We're hopefully going to record a bonus episode about Vonnegut's Player Piano (as a kind of pairing with The Caves of Steel) sometime next week, and I'm in early talks with a recent guest to come back and chat about... the things that obsess them.

Take care of yourself and those you care about, as always, and thank you again for your support.

SHOW NOTES:

Associated Press, "Southern Poverty Law Center charged with defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants" https://apnews.com/article/southern-poverty-law-center-criminal-investigation-db7fdcf9baa0d1b24b8f1e1f2cebc0be

> "The civil rights group faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case brought in the federal court in Alabama, where the organization is based.

> The indictment came shortly after the SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its disbanded informant program to gather intelligence on extremist group activities. The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement."

NBC News, "The Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on charges that it fraudulently paid informants in extremist groups" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/southern-poverty-law-center-says-targeted-trump-administration-rcna341237

Emptywheel.net, "Kash Patel Just Invited SPLC TO Demonstrate Their Importance (and His Negligence)" https://emptywheel.net/2026/04/24/kash-patel-just-invited-splc-to-demonstrate-their-importance-and-his-negligence/

Emptywheel.net, "Who's Fooling Whom? How the SPLC Indictment Works" https://emptywheel.net/2026/04/23/whos-fooling-whom-how-the-splc-indictment-works/

Ken Klippenstein, "Assasin Wasn't on FBI's Radar, Sources Say" https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/assassin-wasnt-on-fbis-radar-sources

Eric Garland, "Who Trained the SPLC Spies in the KKK?" https://ericgarland.substack.com/p/who-trained-the-splc-spies-in-the

Posting Through It, "Strange People on the Hill" (Discusses Hayden's time at the SPLC in some detail) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/096-strange-people-on-the-hill-live-in-dc-4-11-26/id1348573415?i=1000761090083

Michael Edison Hayden, "I Know the SPLC's Flaws Better Than Most" https://michaeledisonhayden.substack.com/p/i-know-the-splcs-flaws-better-than

hbomberguy, "Woke Brands." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06yy88tLWlg

Weird Little Guys, "The Southern Poverty Law Center Did Not Plan Unite the Right" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-weird-little-guys-201395214/episode/the-southern-poverty-law-center-did-333608009/

Weird Little Guys, "Murder on Fourth Street" (A retrospective on the car attack at Unite the Right) https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-weird-little-guys-201395214/episode/murder-on-fourth-street-281861018/

The Intruder (1962) (Full Film, directed by Roger Corman) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDaTc3bFWIg

The Intruder (1962) "Hate Speech" scene from William Shatner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0NJxQrDYI

Jessie Gender, "The Manipulations of Matt Walsh's 'What is a Woman?'" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jJty8Dcmuk

Lisa Loeb, "Stay", on Pop-Up Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEc6DtAofo4