Behind the Bastards

By: Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
  • Summary

  • There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.
    2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
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Episodes
  • Part One: The Zizians: How Harry Potter Fanfic Inspired a Death Cult
    Mar 11 2025
    Earlier this year a Border Patrol officer was killed in a shoot-out with people who have been described as members of a trans vegan AI death cult. But who are the Zizians, really? Robert sits down with David Gborie to trace their development, from part of the Bay Area Rationalist subculture to killers. (4 Part series) Sources: https://medium.com/@sefashapiro/a-community-warning-about-ziz-76c100180509https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https://sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/infohazardhttps://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https://sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/Wayback MachineThe ZiziansSpectral SightTrue Hero ContractSchelling Orders – SinceriouslyGlossary – Sinceriously https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130330/https://sinceriously.fyi/my-journey-to-the-dark-side/https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130302/https://sinceriously.fyi/glossary/#zentraidonhttps://web.archive.org/web/20230201130259/https://sinceriously.fyi/vampires-and-more-undeath/https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130316/https://sinceriously.fyi/net-negative/https://web.archive.org/web/20230201130318/https://sinceriously.fyi/rationalist-fleet/https://x.com/orellanin?s=21&t=F-n6cTZFsKgvr1yQ7oHXRghttps://zizians.info/according to The Boston GlobeInside the ‘Zizians’: How a cultish crew of radical vegans became linked to killings across the United States | The IndependentSilicon Valley ‘Rationalists’ Linked to 6 DeathsThe Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians | WIREDGood Group and Pasek’s Doom – SinceriouslyGlossary – SinceriouslyMana – SinceriouslyEffective Altruism’s Problems Go Beyond Sam Bankman-Fried - BloombergThe Zizian Facts - Google DocsSeveral free CFAR summer programs on rationality and AI safety - LessWrong 2.0 viewerThis guy thinks killing video game characters is immoral | VoxInadequate Equilibria: Where and How Civilizations Get StuckEliezer Yudkowsky comments on On Terminal Goals and Virtue Ethics - LessWrong 2.0 viewer Effective Altruism’s Problems Go Beyond Sam Bankman-Fried - BloombergSquirrelInHell: Happiness Is a ChorePLUM OF DISCORD — I Became a Full-time Internet Pest and May Not...Roko Harassment of PlumOfDiscord Composited – SinceriouslyIntersex Brains And Conceptual Warfare – SinceriouslyInfohazardous Glossary – SinceriouslySquirrelInHell-Decision-Theory-and-Suicide.pdf - Google DriveThe Matrix is a System – SinceriouslyA community alert about Ziz. Police investigations, violence, and… | by SefaShapiro | MediumIntersex Brains And Conceptual Warfare – SinceriouslyA community alert about Ziz. Police investigations, violence, and… | by SefaShapiro | MediumPLUM OF DISCORD (Posts tagged cw-abuse)Timeline: Violence surrounding the Zizians leading to Border Patrol agent shootingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • It Could Happen Here Weekly 172
    Mar 8 2025

    All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.

    1. The Future of Peacekeeping In Africa

    2. The Last Trial of the Fight Against Mountain Valley Pipeline

    3. The USA's Impending Telemedicine Cliff

    4. King Trump Yells at Congress
    5. Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #6

    You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today!

    http://apple.co/coolerzone

    Sources/Links:

    King Trump Yells at Congress

    https://www.npr.org/2025/03/05/nx-s1-5318104/trump-joint-address-congress-takeaways
    https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/nx-s1-5318102/trump-joint-session-al-green-protest
    https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/03/05/january-littlejohn-donald-trump/
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/03/05/trump-social-security-fraud-claims/81508815007/

    Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #6

    https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4086787/pentagon-deploys-stryker-brigade-aviation-battalion-to-southern-border/

    https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4086539/dod-statement-on-deployment-of-stryker-brigade-combat-team-to-help-secure-our-s/

    https://www.northcom.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/4086531/additional-troops-to-enhance-border-security-operations/

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-ukraine-minerals-deal-trump-zelenskyy/

    https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-643086a6dc7ff716d876b3c83e3255b0

    https://apnews.com/article/trudeau-trump-canada-tariffs-us-5d5ef8bd41c4567926d543a9526b2e84

    https://www.mining.com/web/copper-prices-surge-as-trump-signals-25-tariff-on-imports/

    https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-says-its-ready-to-fight-any-type-of-war-us-wants-till-the-end.html

    https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-lutnick-2b269614084027a4894aa14f3dc16227

    https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/wipp-in-carlsbad-under-doge-cuts/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    2 hrs and 58 mins
  • Part Two: In Honor Of Our New Monarchy, Let's Talk About Versailles
    Mar 6 2025

    Robert tells Ed about the Sun King's very sad death from butt rot and how his great grandson grew up raised by the insane party house of death that now controlled all of French politics.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 36 mins

Featured Article: The Best History Podcasts of All Time


If you’re a history buff looking for a new podcast to check out, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the array of options available. There are literally thousands of podcasts focusing on every corner of history. To help you know where to start, we’ve waded through nearly everything out there and selected just a few of the best of the best in history podcasts. And we've divided them by categories and interests. You’re sure to find your next favorite listen in our list.

What listeners say about Behind the Bastards

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love this podcast

Very informative. He goes into lots of details about each topic. It's so good although it's also hard to listen to at times when you realize how horrible people can be. Robert does a very good job.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Co-host is an absolute waste

Love this podcast, but the co-host reiterating all of these horrific behaviors of poisoned people harming themselves and laughing so hard you can barely understand him is disgusting. These citizens were poisoned with lsd as an experiment. Jumping out a window and breaking your legs..... Then sprinting isn't funny, and laughing at instances over and over about it is pretty abhorrent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Always delivers horribly wonderful tales...

flawless intro. masterful. further research into Oprah's ghoulish troupe. I also suggest the Dr Oz and Dr Phil episodes.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

love these guys, always funny & informative. all the bad reviews need a super soaker full of piss

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Reason I Adore Robert Evans

I adore Robert Evans for one reason, and a logical step. Reason being: His incredibly deep research that leaves no stone unturned*. The logical step is if I have questions after being bombarded with brilliantly acquired, and dressed, information, it's either specific enough to Google-sink on it, or broad enough that Robert offers his sources with mini reviews.

Learning is God and Doctor Sheriff Reverend Barbert Evans is a Prophet.

*or he tells you the jist and offers resources

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

In-depth Profiles of Evil People without

Friends introduced me to this podcast because of my related line of work. I appreciate the sheer amount of research that goes into each subject and the variety of guests brought on to discuss them (although it would be cool to hear more from folks in the field rather than comedians w/ their own podcasts). I also like that each episode has its own list of sources so fans are given a headstart with their personal reading/research.

It sucks that such evil exists in the world, enough so to the point a show like this could run the rest of Evans's life if he so chose. But it's good that people like him are doing the work to expose current & historical public figures... it's a bonus that the information is presented in an entertaining manner without sacrificing journalistic integrity. Evans is also respectful and routinely reminds listeners of the gravity/horrors of each subject. This show isn't exploitative like so many others in this genre (true crime/history/current affairs) and although he often provides statistics or details, Evans reminds listeners that victims are real people. The narratives never feel like trauma porn and some episodes even end with a call-to-action for listeners to get involved, do further research, spread information, etc. Overall, a solid casual listen that I believe is worth a subscribe.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Prepare to be depressed!

A genuinely funny and well-put-together podcast that goes into detail about some of the worst human beings in history. Robert Evans is an excellent host with impressive bonafides when it comes to being able to talk about the horrors humans can inflict on each other, and some of his guests (like the illimitable Prop G) are also excellent human beings in their own right.

Also, Robert's coverage of the 2020 summer protests got me involved doing community work of my own. The perfect anodyne to the sense of powerlessness and dread the world can inflict on you is loving your fellow human beings, and that's the best lesson I got from this show.

And if it need be said, it would not happen without Sophie Lichterman, who deserves a ton of credit for masterfully herding cats.

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Need-To-Know History and Other Stuff Too

This is the finest podcast out there, regularly explores wildly important historical events, and also occasionally dips into stupid fun. This has done more to educate me about my heritage as an American and a person on this planet than any history class I've taken.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Behind the Bastards is the Harbinger we all need

History is fascinating thing, and often it's the worst aspects of it that makes it so. Robert Evans is both captivating and delighting in contrast with his subject matter. His enthusiasm is often joined by the various guests he has on his show. I think the thing that is most appreciable about it is how even though it is difficult, he often finds a sliver lining or a grave lesson that we can take from each point in person or group he discusses, and that alone and often gives me the inspiration I need to make it through my days, and hope to emulate in my also gaping knowledge of some of the worst aspects of humans and their histories.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A deep reveal about the worst people

Want to know how we got here? Find out how evil has evolved and rehashed itself to be the thinly veiled cryptofascists in power today!

Added bonus, current human turds.

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