This is one of your best episodes ever. I love when you guys do deep dives on world politics with knowledgeable guests. Please have Thor Valvorsson back soon.
Might be an outlier here. I admire Thor’s passion and commitment, but I think he dodged several important questions, such as the legality and wisdom of extrajudicial killing (the boats off the coast). He also adopts too much drug warrior rhetoric for my taste, blaming (American) cocaine users for indirectly causing the death of Venezuelans while ignoring the effects of criminalizing the drug.
He was really grating to me. I'm totally primed to be on Thor's side in all of this, but by the end he almost had me wanting to set up a rival cartel in Venezuela.
I was disappointed to see him dodge Matt's question as to what consequences the generals had to fear so long as they didn't step on a boat, although on a second listen he might have missed the question completely. Would have liked to hear how he'd have answered.
Who would’ve thought that I’d tear up listening to a 5th Episode.
When Thor spoke about Maria Corina I was awash in memories. I’m not Venezuelan but I grew up surrounded by its culture and still seek it out & enjoy it (I’m traveling to Chicago in November to see Yordano).
Also Thor not bending his pronunciation of Spanish names to suit Anglo ears? Chef’s kiss.
Dear Matt, Kmele, MM….and especially Thor…I will preface this by saying I dont know if it was the diesel unlimited gordo or the 4 glasses of whiskey I had while smoking that beast and listening to this podcast or the absolute boss-ness that Thor brought to the discussion, but as a paying subscriber since day 1 and a listener since The Independents days…this is (one of) the best conversation Ive ever listened to. Thor is reinforcing all of my beliefs and values that make me…me…at a time when I feel uncertain and lost with the things I believe and the seemingly breakneck pace with which they are under assault on modern day America. Thank you!
I'm only part way through but so far I have to say that I don't find Thor to be very sympathetic. I get the impression that he is *laser* focused on one thing to the point of being myopic. Like when Matt brought up that the Trump administration is rescinding the legal protections for Venezuelan refugees, and he dodged it by saying that there's always bad apples and mistakes in law enforcement. But this isn't a few rogue ICE agents, this is an institutional policy sending Venezuelans back into the clutches of the Maduro regime!
It makes me wonder if he's more interested in toppling Maduro than in the fate of any given refugee, and maybe sees the Trump administration as the best chance for doing so? But you can still be supportive of Trump's stance towards Maduro and critical of his treatment of Venezuelan refugees...unless Thor's worried that the excellent Secretary of State will catch wind of any criticisms and have him deported, too.
I'm sorry if this comes off as overly snarky, and maybe I'm way off base, but there's just something about Thor's answers that rub me the wrong way.
EDIT: I finished the whole episode and while I stand by what I said, I thought his demeanor improved after they moved on to other topics besides Venezuela. I especially appreciated his thoughts on the cynicism prevalent in the US and much of the rest of the West, and on the importance of romanticism.
If you look through a lot of the comments you’ll see that your sentiment is represented by a lot of us. He presented as hostile for much of the episode. Maybe he thought it was on the Pierce Morgan show. I appreciate MM for pointing out a couple of times when Thor was rude. But I also understand that they all wanted to be respectful and gracious even if their guest wasn’t.
There should be a new tier above Never Fly Coach that allows members to receive screenshots of the guys’ group chat after they go on Megyn Kelly and learn that Candace Owens is actually brilliant.
This has been one of the most informative podcasts in recent memory.
Came here to say the same, I learned a lot. And I'd thought that I was well informed about Venezuela.
I agree, and I'm only halfway through.
I haven't listened, but I take that to mean they finally unveiled where to get all the merch!
And I thought Moynihan was intense. Thor brought down his hammer.
This is one of your best episodes ever. I love when you guys do deep dives on world politics with knowledgeable guests. Please have Thor Valvorsson back soon.
I feel much better knowing they have beverages during recording.
Getting back to their roots baby!
Also happy to see they haven't gone with the distressed wood and/or "personality shelf" backdrop.
Might be an outlier here. I admire Thor’s passion and commitment, but I think he dodged several important questions, such as the legality and wisdom of extrajudicial killing (the boats off the coast). He also adopts too much drug warrior rhetoric for my taste, blaming (American) cocaine users for indirectly causing the death of Venezuelans while ignoring the effects of criminalizing the drug.
He was really grating to me. I'm totally primed to be on Thor's side in all of this, but by the end he almost had me wanting to set up a rival cartel in Venezuela.
And oddly hostile considering he was a guest on this show, where he was among supporters. Maybe he can go on more hostile shows and act this way.
I was disappointed to see him dodge Matt's question as to what consequences the generals had to fear so long as they didn't step on a boat, although on a second listen he might have missed the question completely. Would have liked to hear how he'd have answered.
I'm only part way through, but he seems to be dodging several questions...
I don't want to say they soft-balled him, but they were questions with answers that he just refused to entertain.
Agree completely. I really enjoyed the conversation but there were a couple of serious record-scratch moments for me.
Hard to top the great Russ Robert’s episode but this one was all gas no brakes awesome!
Episode reminds me of the early TFC I fell in love with. Thanks gents. Thor was great.
Who would’ve thought that I’d tear up listening to a 5th Episode.
When Thor spoke about Maria Corina I was awash in memories. I’m not Venezuelan but I grew up surrounded by its culture and still seek it out & enjoy it (I’m traveling to Chicago in November to see Yordano).
Also Thor not bending his pronunciation of Spanish names to suit Anglo ears? Chef’s kiss.
I googled that woman's name and learned so much. In fact I googled each time he said "google this" and learned more than I expected to.
I would have listened to three more hours of this. Bless up
I believe that would be called a “Freedom Cadena”…
This was one of the best episodes of the show, ever.
“Journalistic fellatio” is a term that should be employed more frequently
Can't wait to listen on the road trip tonight with my girlfriend, who it turns out went to school with Thor.
What’s the word on that? So cool to hear Small World stories if you’re good with sharing
Well we now know the answer to the question "Who *could* mau-mau Moynihan on his own fucking show?" Really great episode.
Dear Matt, Kmele, MM….and especially Thor…I will preface this by saying I dont know if it was the diesel unlimited gordo or the 4 glasses of whiskey I had while smoking that beast and listening to this podcast or the absolute boss-ness that Thor brought to the discussion, but as a paying subscriber since day 1 and a listener since The Independents days…this is (one of) the best conversation Ive ever listened to. Thor is reinforcing all of my beliefs and values that make me…me…at a time when I feel uncertain and lost with the things I believe and the seemingly breakneck pace with which they are under assault on modern day America. Thank you!
I'm only part way through but so far I have to say that I don't find Thor to be very sympathetic. I get the impression that he is *laser* focused on one thing to the point of being myopic. Like when Matt brought up that the Trump administration is rescinding the legal protections for Venezuelan refugees, and he dodged it by saying that there's always bad apples and mistakes in law enforcement. But this isn't a few rogue ICE agents, this is an institutional policy sending Venezuelans back into the clutches of the Maduro regime!
It makes me wonder if he's more interested in toppling Maduro than in the fate of any given refugee, and maybe sees the Trump administration as the best chance for doing so? But you can still be supportive of Trump's stance towards Maduro and critical of his treatment of Venezuelan refugees...unless Thor's worried that the excellent Secretary of State will catch wind of any criticisms and have him deported, too.
I'm sorry if this comes off as overly snarky, and maybe I'm way off base, but there's just something about Thor's answers that rub me the wrong way.
EDIT: I finished the whole episode and while I stand by what I said, I thought his demeanor improved after they moved on to other topics besides Venezuela. I especially appreciated his thoughts on the cynicism prevalent in the US and much of the rest of the West, and on the importance of romanticism.
If you look through a lot of the comments you’ll see that your sentiment is represented by a lot of us. He presented as hostile for much of the episode. Maybe he thought it was on the Pierce Morgan show. I appreciate MM for pointing out a couple of times when Thor was rude. But I also understand that they all wanted to be respectful and gracious even if their guest wasn’t.
There should be a new tier above Never Fly Coach that allows members to receive screenshots of the guys’ group chat after they go on Megyn Kelly and learn that Candace Owens is actually brilliant.