The Flamethrowers
CBC
“The Flamethrowers” captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump.
Location:
United States
Genres:
History Podcasts
Description:
“The Flamethrowers” captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump.
Language:
English
Website:
https://www.cbc.ca/podcasts
Episodes
The Flamethrowers Introduces: The Africas VS. America
2/8/2023
In 1985, at the height of the Black Power era, police dropped a bomb in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Their target? A family of Black radicals known as ‘MOVE,’ who found themselves ensnared in a city — and nation’s — domestic war on Black Liberation. Over seven episodes, host Matthew Amha investigates the events that culminated in the MOVE bombing, and the long afterlife of a forgotten American tragedy. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/OwyxJlEi
Duration:00:53:08
The Flamethrowers Introduces: Pressure Cooker
9/5/2022
John and Amanda have lived on the fringes their whole lives. They’re on welfare, living with John’s grandma, and struggling with addiction to opioids and Dungeons and Dragons. They’ve followed crooked paths to this point. John played in heavy metal bands and dabbled with Satanism. Amanda left home and discovered heroin before her 18th birthday. The couple converts to Islam in an attempt to turn their lives around. But things take a wild turn when a mysterious figure enters their lives and...
Duration:00:37:15
The Flamethrowers Introduces: A Special Front Burner Edition from the Ground in Ottawa
2/17/2022
Front Burner from CBC News and CBC Podcasts is your essential daily news podcast taking you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. In this special Front Burner evening edition from the ground in Ottawa as police move in on protestors, host Jayme Poisson accompanies Steve Day, former head of the Canadian Armed Forces’ JTF-2 special-operations task force, to the protest site at Parliament and staging sites outside the downtown core to examine the challenges law enforcement could...
Duration:00:50:23
Introducing: Boys Like Me
11/23/2021
Why are lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did...
Duration:00:38:37
Ep. 6: The Talk Radio President
10/19/2021
Donald Trump takes the style, tactics, and issues straight from the right-wing radio playbook. The only question now is: Where does it go from here? For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:50:41
Ep. 5: The Rage Industry
10/5/2021
Right-wing radio finds their greatest foe in Barack Obama: As they try to take him down at every turn, they find the perfect formula to manufacture outrage. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:31:16
Ep. 4: The Echo Chamber
9/28/2021
The terror attacks of September 11th have Americans turning the dial to talk radio, where a whole new generation of broadcasters are eager to capitalize on anxiety and fear. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:32:54
Ep. 3: The Information Wars
9/21/2021
Welcome to the world of conspiracy and paranoia. A horrifying act of domestic terrorism brings right wing radio some unwanted attention, which pushes one fan of the supernatural away from politics, while a pair of anti-government broadcasters dig their heels in. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:49:38
Ep. 2: What A Rush
9/14/2021
President Ronald Reagan takes the shackles off right-wing radio and inaugurates a golden era of conservative politics. And Rush Limbaugh — almost by accident — becomes a kingmaker in the Republican party and changes radio forever. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:45:09
Ep. 1: The Father of Hate Radio
9/7/2021
Our story begins with Canadian priest Charles Coughlin — a populist crusader who winds up espousing conspiracy and hate. Right-wing radio flexes its muscle with a boycott of Polish Ham. And the Kennedy government almost wipes right-wing talk off the map. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-flamethrowers-transcripts-listen-1.6852997
Duration:00:43:38
Introducing: The Flamethrowers (trailer)
8/31/2021
How right wing radio took over American democracy. A new series hosted by Justin Ling.
Duration:00:03:30