OK, I realized I needed more space than the title to fully explain my thoughts around this.
First off I would call myself a Badlands "casual" in terms of keeping up with their stuff... I was MUCH more of a 'Patel Patriot' follower before he set Badlands up.
I think that there are a few folks here who are pretty big into Badlands content... not sure how many casual listeners like myself are around. I ALSO followed Burning Bright's work on Substack before he joined the crew.
I know some people are very hip to the Badlands scene and even clued into some behind the scenes drama, who has [insert personal problem] and all that fun stuff. (I vaguely remember something about a long time female contributor who left?)
I am definitely NOT at that level, so please understand my opinions in context. As I mentioned I followed Patel Patriot but when they announced Badlands Media and started tossing out so many shows it made me dizzy. I thought maybe this wasca bit premature, moving too fast... but I respect the ambition.
Of course now there is like 4x that amount of programming, so what did I know? I have definitely tuned in for full episodes, especially if say a link was stickied here. I probably can't tell you if it was Defected or Eye of the Storm, but...
I guess that was an issue I had with the initial rollout - it felt like different titles but really just different pairings of the same 8 people - and then a **"Special guest" who is just a third member from the roster.**A few truly differentiate themselves, but the lion's share of content seems low on variety despite marketing it the opposite. Again, just my opinion.
With respect to talent there is a pretty clear drop down between the top content creators and the rest of the bunch. Not to be rude but "PGunnels" is a lot more palatable when he is tagging along with 4+ other contributors and confined to his role of reading articles and being playfully chided by the gang.And does he have to be in EVERY other show? Is it just me who feels like that?
The rest of these dudes seem pretty legit. Starting with Jon Herold.. I don't think anyone can deny the indelible mark DEVOLUTION made on the MAGA/Digital Soldier movement. I've heard people say he is a shill; I haven't heard that from anyone important however.
Jon Herold as showrunner and host though... Frequently his role is to keep discussions on topic and moving along. He can seem like a dick sometimes; I don't agree, but I DO think he's a ham. Overall I think he is driven, a hard worker, and more of a reporter than a philosopher or prognosticator.
Zak and Brad both seem like heavy hitters, with a wealth of information from a lifetime of doing this kind of deep dive research. They offer a lot whenever they contribute. Chris Paul is another good one, he brings a lot of passion. He's reliable to add humor to the mix, typically makes strong arguments, more on the topical end, latest news etc.
Ashe is all right, Paul is another very smart one, doesn't want to lead the conversation but makes great contributions when he gets his chances. After this I think we go down a few notches but I admit I may be overlooking someone.
Dont remember much special for Cann, PiP, "Alpha" or most of the rest.... 'RattlerGater' I have no idea, the name is a turn off however. I don't like cryptodude GMONEY at all. Oh and of course Matthew Trump.... ugh, gotta roll your eyes there. 😬
By the way, where is JustHuman? He seems to have disappeared. Seems like there could be a story.
Anyways this leaves Burning Bright, who to me is the BEST of the Badland bunch and I don't think it's close. He is "the narrative guy" but that implies he excels at so much more. He's a deep thinker and an excellent communicator. What's more is that he has the rare IT factor that makes certain people eminently listenable and relatable, even when they present challenging ideas. I don't honestly find that unique, captivating sort of charisma in anyone else on the Badlands team - not meant as an insult either.
In my experience as a reader, he often seeks to challenge you. He delights in exposing a hidden thread that leads to a whole new narrative exposition or reinforces an established one, he is deft at debunking the globalist and leftist notions and their false narratives that they try to sway the public with.
This show is going to be the #1 Badlands program and the one they should've had going all along.
I thought he and JustHuman were fine together in their show but it wasn't made to cater more to one or the other of them. They did work nicely together but this will be something completely different and higher level I believe.
Burning Bright with as little crowd noise or interference as possible is getting their best guy in his element - free to tell the story with no demands or interruptions, bringing in his guest to springboard off of as much or as little as he decides to.
This guy always needed a solo vehicle and I'm excited to see where it goes for him.
All right I spent a long time saying one little thing so this is the sign off. This episode was excellent, btw - and hopefully there's more to come.
OK, I realized I needed more space than the title to fully explain my thoughts around this.
First off I would call myself a Badlands "casual" in terms of keeping up with their stuff... I was MUCH more of a 'Patel Patriot' follower before he set Badlands up.
I think that there are a few folks here who are pretty big into Badlands content... not sure how many casual listeners like myself are around. I ALSO followed Burning Bright's work on Substack before he joined the crew.
I know some people are very hip to the Badlands scene and even clued into some behind the scenes drama, who has [insert personal problem] and all that fun stuff. (I vaguely remember something about a long time female contributor who left?)
I am definitely NOT at that level, so please understand my opinions in context. As I mentioned I followed Patel Patriot but when they announced Badlands Media and started tossing out so many shows it made me dizzy. I thought maybe this wasca bit premature, moving too fast... but I respect the ambition.
Of course now there is like 4x that amount of programming, so what did I know? I have definitely tuned in for full episodes, especially if say a link was stickied here. I probably can't tell you if it was Defected or Eye of the Storm, but...
I guess that was an issue I had with the initial rollout - it felt like different titles but really just different pairings of the same 8 people - and then a **"Special guest" who is just a third member from the roster.**A few truly differentiate themselves, but the lion's share of content seems low on variety despite marketing it the opposite. Again, just my opinion.
With respect to talent there is a pretty clear drop down between the top content creators and the rest of the bunch. Not to be rude but "PGunnels" is a lot more palatable when he is tagging along with 4+ other contributors and confined to his role of reading articles and being playfully chided by the gang. And does he have to be in EVERY other show? Is it just me who feels like that?
The rest of these dudes seem pretty legit. Starting with Jon Herold.. I don't think anyone can deny the indelible mark DEVOLUTION made on the MAGA/Digital Soldier movement. I've heard people say he is a shill; I haven't heard that from anyone important however.
Jon Herold as showrunner and host though... Frequently his role is to keep discussions on topic and moving along. He can seem like a dick sometimes; I don't agree, but I DO think he's a ham. Overall I think he is driven, a hard worker, and more of a reporter than a philosopher or prognosticator.
Zak and Brad both seem like heavy hitters, with a wealth of information from a lifetime of doing this kind of deep dive research. They offer a lot whenever they contribute. Chris Paul is another good one, he brings a lot of passion. He's reliable to add humor to the mix, typically makes strong arguments, more on the topical end, latest news etc.
Ashe is all right, Paul is another very smart one, doesn't want to lead the conversation but makes great contributions when he gets his chances. After this I think we go down a few notches but I admit I may be overlooking someone.
Dont remember much special for Cann, PiP, "Alpha" or most of the rest.... 'RattlerGater' I have no idea, the name is a turn off however. I don't like cryptodude GMONEY at all. Oh and of course Matthew Trump.... ugh, gotta roll your eyes there. 😬
By the way, where is JustHuman? He seems to have disappeared. Seems like there could be a story.
Anyways this leaves Burning Bright, who to me is the BEST of the Badland bunch and I don't think it's close. He is "the narrative guy" but that implies he excels at so much more. He's a deep thinker and an excellent communicator. What's more is that he has the rare IT factor that makes certain people eminently listenable and relatable, even when they present challenging ideas. I don't honestly find that unique, captivating sort of charisma in anyone else on the Badlands team - not meant as an insult either.
In my experience as a reader, he often seeks to challenge you. He delights in exposing a hidden thread that leads to a whole new narrative exposition or reinforces an established one, he is deft at debunking the globalist and leftist notions and their false narratives that they try to sway the public with.
This show is going to be the #1 Badlands program and the one they should've had going all along.
I thought he and JustHuman were fine together in their show but it wasn't made to cater more to one or the other of them. They did work nicely together but this will be something completely different and higher level I believe.
Burning Bright with as little crowd noise or interference as possible is getting their best guy in his element - free to tell the story with no demands or interruptions, bringing in his guest to springboard off of as much or as little as he decides to.
This guy always needed a solo vehicle and I'm excited to see where it goes for him.
All right I spent a long time saying one little thing so this is the sign off. This episode was excellent, btw - and hopefully there's more to come.