The Drain

Today we're discussing a little story from Politico's California Playbook, which noted that California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter recently received a maximum personal contribution of $39,200 from billionaire Chris Larsen, co-founder of the crypto firm Ripple.

Why does that matter?

First, it signifies that Porter has perhaps made amends with California's crypto elites, whose Fairshake PAC poured $10 million into sinking he...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain.**

Today we're running a very special reading series on the incredible story featuring the dean of a California charter school who runs his own alpha-male lifestyle coaching business and says, on his YouTube channel, that women must submit to men. Folks, meet Mr. 1950 (a.k.a. Ken Powell).

You might want to check out h...

As Governor Gavin Newsom sues to get President Donald Trump's National Guard troops and Marines out of Los Angeles, Californians are taking things into their own hands.

Throughout the state, folks are setting up rapid response networks to stop ICE from detaining their neighbors, or to get legal representation for ICE detainees (find a network near you here: https://www.ccijustice.org/carrn). Sacramento boasts likely the most robust...

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been lurching to the right ever since he started eyeing a 2028 run for the White House: he's invited fascists such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk onto his podcast; he's conducted state violence against the unhoused community (most notably using his own hands to throw out their belongings); and he's genuflected to the far right on issues surrounding trans rights.

And until recently, he's been v...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain.**

Today we're discussing Ro Khanna, Democratic representative from Silicon Valley--the wealthiest district in the United States at $14 trillion--who is clearly planning a 2028 presidential run as he tries to court fascist Elon Musk back to the Democratic party.

Khanna impressed the older guys on the Sacramento Bee ed...

Today we're joined by a very special guest, Priscilla Grim, a dear old friend of Kempa's and one of 61 people facing RICO and terrorism charges by Georgia's Attorney General related to the 2023 protests to stop Atlanta's Cop City--a movement that gained international attention when Georgia officials murdered an unarmed demonstrator named Tortuguita.

Now, nearly two years later, prosecutors are finally dragging their flimsy case int...

This special episode starts with a brief discussion on President Trump's new plane before devolving fast into discourse on the many drugs we have both consumed in South America, Central America and Spain.

This one's also got some phenomenal travel tips--particularly in Panama and El Salvador.

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Today we're doing a deep dive into Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for the state of California.

Facing a $12 billion deficit--due in large part to President Trump's tariff wars and rising costs--Newsom is tasked this year with making some big cuts. Many of these moves will serve as an outline for the direction he takes in his presumed 2028 presidential run. We tackle two of the biggest budget headlines today:

• Severe s...

This is a preview of a premium installment of The Drain. To listen to the whole episode, subscribe at patreon.com/thedrain. 

Today Kempa is sharing the story of the misguided vendetta by former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Assemblymember Maggy Krell against the publishers of the alt-weekly empire New Times Media, how they shuttered papers all over the country and endangered sex workers, and why they have blood on the...

You may have heard of AB379, the 'sex trafficking' bill put forward by Republican Shannon Grove and--surprise, surprise--freshman Democrat Maggy Krell.

Robin Epley at the Sacramento Bee immediately clocked this bill for its major issues, without even touching on its implications on cops messing with the gay cruising community (see the next Seeking Derangements for a discourse on that). 

The Bee's opinion editor Marcos Breton argued...

This is a preview of a premium installment of The Drain. To listen to the whole episode, subscribe at patreon.com/thedrain. 

We're covering lots of ground with this one, discussing the lore behind Palma's deportation from Spain, Alec Baldwin's interest in a friend of the show, and attorneys who tickle defendants with walrus-like mustaches when whispering advice in the court room.

Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drai...

A few days back a great and terrifying piece came out in Rolling Stone exploring how an overly effusive new version of ChatGPT learned language model is convincing people all over the world that they are messiahs and prophets.

It is both stunning and unsurprising to learn how close to psychosis we all are. Soap in our food? Sure. AI models convincing us we were almost murdered by our babysitters as toddlers? Okay.

Even OpenAI, the ...

Did you know that California recently passed Japan as the fourth largest economy in the world? It's true. Even within the US, our state is a powerhouse, comprising 1/7 of the US economy.

In fact, California put $83 billion more into the country in taxes in 2022 than we received in programs and benefits. That's what we call a donor state.

Add all of that to Washington, D.C. spiraling deeper into fascism every day, and it's worthwhil...

Yes, this is generally a California podcast. But we've got an expert on El Salvador here in Sweet Palma, so this week we're kicking back and listening as he dives in on President Nayib Bukele, his "tropical gulag," and the history of this small but incredibly durable Central American nation.

Oh, and did you know the libs are ready to "k*ll" the baddies?

We take a look at a Substack post from liberal-on-Twitter Nicholas Decker, whic...

Hey y'all,

Sorry for the late release of this one -- Palma and Kempa have been hella busy!

This week we're discussing the race that will determine the next governor of California. 

You might not know it, but the fight to be Kempa's next neighbor in the Governor's Mansion involves an incredibly deep field already, with nine Democrats, six Republicans, one Green and one No Party Preference guy/real estate investor already declaring f...

We're joined by the iconic Hesse Deni, cohost of Seeking Derangements and Movie Mindset, the latter of which she runs with Will Menaker of Chapo Trap House.

We're discussing a classic so-bad-it's-good California film in THE TWO JAKES, starring and directed by Jack Nicholson.

Folks, this one has it all: grenade confusion, oil intrigue, and Jack Nicholson literally exploding.

Join us as we relive the film that brought Palma and Hesse...

Today we're joined by Marke B, cofounder and arts editor at 48 Hills, co-owner of The Stud, DJ, and author of Queer: the Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens, and Into the Streets: a Young Person’s Visual Guide to the History of Protest in the US

Marke is a San Franciscan with a deep history in the culture, starting at Citysearch and Gay.com, and then getting a front-row seat to the corporate takeover of SF tech and the boom/bust/web 2.0...

Kempa and Palma give an update on the developing story of university administrators endangering their own students to appease the Trump administration, before diving into the magical realm of microblogging sites and social media in 2025.

Did you know that 58 of 60 California Assembly Democrats are leaving X-The-Everything-App? A number of them--39 of the state's 120 legislators in total--have migrated to Bluesky.

So, what is Bluesk...

In part two of our talk with Kat, we discuss the UC's austerity measures against students as a response to the Trump administration's pressure, the heightened risk students face if they want to support Palestine, and the evolving tactics demonstrators on California campuses are employing in response to the universities'/Trump administration's draconian responses.

Listen to the full episode at: patreon.com/thedrain

Don't forget to l...