It Could Happen Here

Margaret reads a story about a strange visitor by a civil rights activist and writer
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All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file.
How the United States Built its Colonial Empire, Pt. 1

The Dangers of Silica ft. Kim Kelly
How AI Companies are Monetizing Intimacy, Ft. Bridget Todd

Fighting for Incarcerated Workers

Executive Disorder: Iran Ceasefire Expires, Corrupt Military Contractors, Florida Election

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Sources/Links:
How the United States Built its Colonial Empire, Pt. 1
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23780231241274187
https://fortune.com/2026/07/27/hormuz-fertilizer-guano-islands-act-fertilizer-empire/
https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/navassa-island-the-uss-160-year-forgotten-tragedy
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-09-26/almost-half-of-americans-dont-know-puerto-ricans-are-us-citizens-poll
https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/politicatypes
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/30/puerto-rico-independence-movement
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-CARIBBEAN/MILITARY-BUILDUP/egpbbnzyrpq/
https://www.nminewsservice.com/cnmi-covenant-united-states-50th-anniversary-explainer-timeline/
https://apnews.com/article/american-samoa-voting-citizenship-alaska-trump-eda6c32ce0fcdca6edb22efac26e403d
https://www.nminewsservice.com/cnmi-covenant-united-states-50th-anniversary-explainer-timeline/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/how-us-controls-iraqs-oil-revenues-2026-01-23/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/magazine/venezuela-empires-colony.html
https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-us-state-trump-rodriguez-chavismo-silence-634203c885803b018ecd8ac012bb249d
https://time.com/article/2026/06/02/trump-annex-canada-51st-state-rhetoric-carney-us-partnership-message/
https://theconversation.com/us-territories-have-a-voice-in-congress-but-no-vote-heres-why-283547
https://www.usace.army.mil/Media/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheets-View/Article/4463352/154-the-longe
st-blackout-in-us-history-hurricane-maria/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-was-serious-about-trading-hurricane-stricken-puert
o-rico-greenland-n1237336

https://www.democracynow.org/2001/8/3/as_navy_pounds_vieques_with_largest
“Nationals” but not “Citizens”
https://www.aclu.org/news/voting-rights/nationals-but-not-citizens-how-the-u-s-denies-citizenship
-to-american-samoans
How AI Companies are Monetizing Intimacy, Ft. Bridget Todd
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Love-at-First-Prompt/Bridget-Todd/9781668179826
Fighting for Incarcerated Workers
https://audrasrealthoughts.wordpress.com/
https://incarceratedworkers.org
https://www.instagram.com/incarceratedworkers/
https://www.jailhouselawyersspeak.com/new-page
Executive Disorder: Iran Ceasefire Expires, Corrupt Military Contractors, Florida Election
https://x.com/CBPCommissioner/status/2089395143136731579?s=20
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/19/korea-KOSPI-Korea-Stock-Index-fell-six-percent-steep-losses-chipmakers/2411787132055/
https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/shares-fall-asia-kospi-57-oil-prices-jump-135759997
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2089911556301550045?s=20
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.3_3.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.8_2.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.6_3.pdf
https://archive.ph/ZF3Y0#selection-4307.0-4307.372
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73489661/212/united-states-v-sant/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117119807819944656
https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-confirms-irgc-backchannel-calls-irans-white-flag-surrender
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/vessel-struck-by-unknown-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-casualty-reported-ukmto-2026-08-18/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/18/no-talks-with-iran-says-trump-as-us-president-stews-over-hormuz-deal
https://x.com/UK_MTO/status/2089719923295556095?s=20
https://x.com/UK_MTO
https://x.com/RudawEnglish/status/2089263666742931732?s=20
https://www.propublica.org/article/general-dynamics-artillery-factory-failed
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/30/General-Dynamics-Corps-alleged-proposal-to-sell-a-wrench/2171439016400/
https://time.com/archive/6710343/general-dynamics-under-fire/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/18/us-iran-war-trump-hormuz-trump-ceasefire-expires-extension-.html
https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/us-iran-economic-strain-strait-of-hormuz-conflict/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/business/strait-of-hormuz-ship-attack.html
https://archive.is/f4Ei8#selection-4447.0-4447.264
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/selling-grips-bond-markets-us-japan-inflation-fiscal-worries-take-hold-2026-08-18/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/treasury-announces-upscaled-buyback-operation-for-longer-term-debt-sending-yields-lower.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/bond-market-warning-yields-hit-2007-record-2026-8
https://angienixon.com/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-special-elections/florida-senate-results#democratic-primary https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/us/politics/florida-democratic-senate-primary-results.html
https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/2087282981593387046?s=20
https://x.com/genzforchange/status/2088252309243297868
https://x.com/genzforchange/status/2088037851086614842?s=20
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/08/15/democratic-socialists-progressives-tout-momentum-in-south-florida-skeptics-say-its-a-myth/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gang discuss a DHS investigation into Minnesota labor unions part of an alleged anti-ICE conspiracy, military detention near National Defense Areas at the border, the USS Lincoln, why a General Dynamics factory can't make artillery shells, what’s up with the bond market, and Angie Nixon winning the senate nomination in Florida.
Sources:
https://x.com/CBPCommissioner/status/2089395143136731579?s=20
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/08/19/korea-KOSPI-Korea-Stock-Index-fell-six-percent-steep-losses-chipmakers/2411787132055/
https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/shares-fall-asia-kospi-57-oil-prices-jump-135759997
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2089911556301550045?s=20
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.3_3.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.8_2.pdf
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416/gov.uscourts.mnd.234416.212.6_3.pdf
https://archive.ph/ZF3Y0#selection-4307.0-4307.372
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73489661/212/united-states-v-sant/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117119807819944656
https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-confirms-irgc-backchannel-calls-irans-white-flag-surrender
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/vessel-struck-by-unknown-projectile-strait-hormuz-crew-casualty-reported-ukmto-2026-08-18/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/18/no-talks-with-iran-says-trump-as-us-president-stews-over-hormuz-deal
https://x.com/UK_MTO/status/2089719923295556095?s=20
https://x.com/UK_MTO
https://x.com/RudawEnglish/status/2089263666742931732?s=20
https://www.propublica.org/article/general-dynamics-artillery-factory-failed
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/30/General-Dynamics-Corps-alleged-proposal-to-sell-a-wrench/2171439016400/
https://time.com/archive/6710343/general-dynamics-under-fire/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/18/us-iran-war-trump-hormuz-trump-ceasefire-expires-extension-.html
https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/us-iran-economic-strain-strait-of-hormuz-conflict/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/business/strait-of-hormuz-ship-attack.html
https://archive.is/f4Ei8#selection-4447.0-4447.264
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/selling-grips-bond-markets-us-japan-inflation-fiscal-worries-take-hold-2026-08-18/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/19/treasury-announces-upscaled-buyback-operation-for-longer-term-debt-sending-yields-lower.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/bond-market-warning-yields-hit-2007-record-2026-8
https://angienixon.com/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-special-elections/florida-senate-results#democratic-primary https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/us/politics/florida-democratic-senate-primary-results.html
https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/2087282981593387046?s=20
https://x.com/genzforchange/status/2088252309243297868
https://x.com/genzforchange/status/2088037851086614842?s=20
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/08/15/democratic-socialists-progressives-tout-momentum-in-south-florida-skeptics-say-its-a-myth/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mia talks with Colin, Giselle, and Audra of the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee about organizing behind bars and the conditions of incarcerated workers in the US.
Links:
https://audrasrealthoughts.wordpress.com/
https://incarceratedworkers.org
https://www.instagram.com/incarceratedworkers/
https://www.jailhouselawyersspeak.com/new-page
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Garrison talks with Bridget Todd about how personally intimate AI chatbots are creating a new form of emotional surveillance and why focusing just on “AI girlfriends” overlooks the need to regulate emotionally manipulative AI and for-profit tech companies.
Sources:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Love-at-First-Prompt/Bridget-Todd/9781668179826
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.