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Episode Description
In this episode of The Dugout, we start with a mental health check-in and reflections on our goals for 2026, then move straight into the chaos of the moment: ICE activity in Central Ohio, shifting global conflicts, and what non-campist solidarity actually looks like when empires, states, and militias all claim to be the answer.
We talk about Venezuela, Iran, Kurdistan, Greenland, and Sudan — including scenes from El Fasher — to make sense of how one system of domination shows up across many places and in many forms. We dig into new developments in repressive technology, the rumored DEA–ATF merger, and what it means to organize under expanding surveillance and policing.
Finally, we sit with the psychological weight of living inside constant crisis: how to process endless media, how to stay grounded, and why “retreat” is different from surrender. We close with reflections on Diane di Prima’s Revolutionary Letter #18 and what it offers those trying to remain human while resisting empire.
One war. Many fronts. The same fight for dignity, survival, and freedom
Time Codes
01:20 Intro and mental health check-in
10:33 Goals for 2026 and The Dugout
14:05 What the fuck has been going on
14:32 ICE in Central Ohio
16:00 International non-campist news: Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, and Kurdistan
33:02 Why non-campist solidarity matters and how
36:39 Scenes from El Fasher, Sudan
37:45 Repressive tech updates
49:51 DEA and ATF merger??
51:31 How do we process so much media and stay sane
54:49 What we’re seeing right now that’s making us concerned
59:19 Do not flee America — retreat
1:05:48 Closing: Revolutionary Letter #18 (Diane di Prima)
Mentioned Media
CrimethInc – Rapid Response Networks in the Twin Cities (2026)
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/15/rapid-response-networks-in-the-twin-cities-a-guide-to-an-updated-model
“Being ready for the incoming surge of ICE enforcement in your city… means studying the terrain… Start studying, planning, connecting, and experimenting now.”
404 Media – ICE contracts company making “bounty hunter” AI agents
https://www.404media.co/ice-contracts-company-making-bounty-hunter-ai-agents/
ACLU – DHS is circumventing the Constitution by buying location data
https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/dhs-is-circumventing-constitution-by-buying-data-it-would-normally-need-a-warrant-to-access
FOIA documents page:
https://www.aclu.org/cases/aclu-v-department-homeland-security-commercial-location-data-foia#legal-documents
404 Media – Inside ICE’s tool to monitor phones in entire neighborhoods (geofencing)
https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-tool-to-monitor-phones-in-entire-neighborhoods/
Texas Observer – Texas police invest in Tangles surveillance software
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-police-invest-tangles-sheriff-surveillance/
Texas Observer – Texas DPS $5.3 million Tangles contract
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-surveillance-tangle-cobwebs/
LA Times – ICE / Border Patrol operations (Dodger Stadium example)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-04/ice-border-patrol-dodger-stadium-parking-lot
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Anti-ICE organizing / MinneapolisICE, AI, and surveillance techICE operations context