| I Don't Speak German | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Daniel Harper, Jack Graham |
| Genre | Political podcast |
| Language | English |
| Length | 24-120 minutes |
| Publication | |
| Original release | January 8, 2019 |
| Related | |
| Website | idontspeakgerman |
I Don't Speak German is apodcast aboutwhite nationalism in the United States, self-described as "a podcast confronting white nationalism one asshole at a time"[1] by its hosts Daniel Harper and Jack Graham.
Harper started the podcast after listening toFash The Nation, and after theUnite the Right rally white nationalist movement occurred.[2]
Episodes in September 2019 discussedSiege, a collection ofneo-Nazi writings byJames Nolan Mason, considered essential reading byThe Base – a neo-Nazi hate group – and theBowl Patrol, a group of idolizers ofDylann Roof. The groups adhere to its theory ofaccelerationism, which advocates for mass killings to create a whiteethnostate. Harper also discussed Bowl Patrol's leader, Andrew Richard Casarez aka "Vic Mackey",[3] who has a "penchant for trafficking in obscene rape and death threats".[4]
Casarez, and formerWisconsin congressional candidatePaul Nehlen (whom Harper called "a vicious, horrible human being"),[4] attempted todox Harper, finding a similarly named individual in the town ofDexter, Michigan. Bowl Patrol members began driving by this unrelated house, taking photos and videos of the home, to send threats to Harper. Days later,US Army soldier andAtomwaffen Division memberJarrett Smith was arrested inFort Riley, Kansas, alleging he discussed bomb-making, sending bombs toCNN andBeto O'Rourke, and setting fire to Harper's house.[4]
In late October 2019, a video was posted on Nehlen'sTelegram channel, showing his Bowl Patrol patch and the incorrect Harper house. The residents later received a threatening white supremacist letter directed at Harper, signed "the Cüm Bomber".[4] Black-clad members of The Base continued to visit the house through mid-December, including taking flash photos of the house the same night the residents came home with their newborn son. The family wrote to Harper, asking him to publicly disavow the address. Harper was finally able to get a response from the FBI and theWashtenaw County Sheriff's Office; the Sheriff's office described the details as "non-threatening photographs and statements,"[5] indicated they had not connected Jarrett Smith to the other people casing the house, and that they considered the case closed.[5][6]
In October 2020, two members of The Base were arrested by the FBI for their harassment at the home a year earlier, and were charged with gang membership, unlawful posting of a message, and using computers to commit a crime.[7][8]
The podcast was described as "uncomfortable" byThe A.V. Club's Anthony D. Herrera, who said that "what is most surprising aboutI Don't Speak German is just how much cringe comedy is involved in the lives of these racists".[9]
Writing forThe Daily Beast,Nick R. Martin said it "might be the most important podcast countering the white nationalist movement today."[2]
Co-host, 'I Don't Speak German,' a podcast confronting white nationalism one asshole at a time.
Daniel Harper is the co-host of what might be the most important podcast countering the white nationalist movement today.It's called I Don't Speak German, and since launching in January it has helped lead people back from the brink of radicalization, drawn plaudits from researchers of violent extremism, and attracted an audience of thousands of regular listeners.
The sheriff's office said that neither the Sheas, Harper the podcaster nor the Harpers that moved have received direct threats related to their investigation, and that only non-threatening photographs and statements have been shared in connection with the address.
Knowing the post office couldn't return it to the sender and thinking hand written likely meant personal and sentimental, I forwarded the letter to the former homeowners," she said. "It turned out to be a threatening letter of a white supremacist nature. At this point, the Harpers who used to lived at our address let us know what the letter was, that they were in touch with the FBI and we learned that the intended target was in fact another Michigander, also named Daniel E. Harper, who has a podcast designed to unveil and antagonize white supremacist organizations. Apparently they are not amused.
What is most surprising about I Don't Speak German is just how much cringe comedy is involved in the lives of these racists.