@evoterra@podvibes.co cover
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

evoterra

@[email protected]

OG Podcaster from 2004. Co-authored Podcasting For Dummies way back in 2005. Ran Podiobooks.com from 2005–2015. Hall of Fame class of ‘22. Professor of podcasting at ASU since 2025.

Retired from podcast punditry. Focused on curating #AudioFiction at https://theend.fyi and making good trouble at https://rhrr.us.

Ex-expat (SE Asia), #คุณปู่ (grandfather), #ebike enthusiast, and more!

Politics: Anti-fascist progressive. Ethos: Science-minded atheist

https://gravatar.com/evosimplermedia

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

Happy Epstein Files Release Day to all who celebrate!

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

I’m standing outside the ICE Field Office in Phoenix with a friend waiting for her family member—who is here on a valid tourist visa—to be released from the gulag.

This is the same location I’m out in front of every Thursday, protesting against the American Gestapo using this 24-hr holding facility to inhumanly hold people for a week or more.

And now we’re told he’s not getting out tonight. We’re back on the phones with Senators, Consulates, and anyone else.

This shit is real.

1/5

Me. Pissed.
ALT
evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

He’s 27 years old. Lives and works in Rockey Point (Puerto Peñasco). Visiting his family for the holidays. Like he does every year.

No criminal record. None.

Nabbed during a “routine” traffic stop for “obstructed tags.” He wasn’t driving. Just a passenger. The vehicle was a work truck, so the cops called ICE on the suspicion he was working. He was not. And, again, valid and current travel visa.

And now they’re just fucking with him. And us.

Fuck everyone who voted for this.

2/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

We’ve moved across the street in the off-chance (it’s not an off-chance) that the assholes inside who weren’t hugged enough as children are choosing not to let him out because of our presence at their gate.

We’re pretty intimidating. His aunt, brother, two sisters-in-law, and me and @ @SheilaDee . No signs (they are in the car.) No noisemakers. (Also in the car.) Just people who want to take him home.

3/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Holy shit. Did that work?

Apparently, we’ve been told that if Sam, the sister-in-law, goes up to the gate—by herself and with a flashlight (WTF?), they’ll release him.

I’m ignoring the absurdity for now and staying focused on this new glimmer of hope.

Details to follow.

4/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

He’s out!

He’s now with his family, and very much looking forward to a shower and a bed. Oh, and food, since they’ve only given him—and the rest of the abductees—one meal a day. Yeah. Nice people, ain’t we?

Well, ICEholes. If you were trying to radicalize me even further, mission accomplished. I was using my white, strait, cisgenderd old man status as a shield.

Now I’ll use it as a cudgel. 🖕

5/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Epilogue, pt 1

This story had a happy ending. But most don’t.

In the cage were dozens of other detainees, all of them from Latin American, South Asian, or Middle Eastern dissent.

Phone calls out cost $50. And who memorizes phone numbers any more?

This has to stop. We need Nuremberg 2.0 trials. It will take generations of work to repair the U.S.’ reputation around the world.

6/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Epilogue, pt 2

Belay that "happy ending”. 😡

ICE, DHS, HSI, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, or some other group of cruel and incompetent buffoons managed to "lose” his tourist visa card, his I-94, his driver's license (from Mexico), and his voter registration card (also from Mexico).
So... how's he supposed to get back to Mexico now?

Whatever our government does to them they'll do to us. This is why I keep showing up, making a scene, and spreading the word.

Did I mention ?

7/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar
evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Epilogue, pt 4

I’m back in front of the ICE Field Office in Phoenix, supporting Sam, who’s doing a follow up interview with the media.

We’re lot letting this shit go.

9/5

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Epilogue, pt 5

As if by magic, Edward’s missing documents—some of which are the property of Mexico—have been located!

And by “magic,” I mean we raised hell with the Mexican consulate until they went in to the ICE Field Office and got them.

So now, Edwar can return home. I’m seriously considering driving him back across the border myself.

And, as always, .

10/5

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

I appreciate the voters of Tennessee reminding us all that generational trauma and racism normalization are quite the hurdles to overcome.

Davidson county, where Memphis is, had 442,852 registered voters as of June 2025: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/RptSixMonthSumJune2025.pdf

Tonight’s voter turnout for that county, with 95% of the votes in, was just over 40,000.

So less than 10% of registered voters in that county cast ballots to determine who would be TN’s next U.S. Representative. Of course.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

I fully expect a flurry of rationalization from Dems on gerrymandering, the percentage shifts to blue, and what this might mean for the midterms.

All of that is very likely the case.

None of that excuses a 10% voter turnout.

As I say way, WAY too often, people tend to get the government they deserve.

@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

“The term "antifa" is short for anti-fascist;“

EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE should be antifa, if not, only “fascist” is left

It’s pretty disgraceful how parties and governments think of classifying it as terrorists

In my eyes those parties and governments are the real terrorists

I am

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@stux

Antifeagle agrees.

@nlowell

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

Get out on the streets this . We need your presence at a rally.

Everyone who is afraid to join a No Kings or other protests needs to understand this; you're afraid of the wrong thing. You should be afraid of what will happen if we all stay home. threads.com/@caroline467792
ALT
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar pluralistic , to random

Bourbon luge

Me, with a bone marrow in my mouth, while a bartender pours bourbon into it.
ALT
evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@pluralistic

[runs to the butcher’s…]

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

Just your typical Thursday night, watching an game on the big screen while keeping up with these three frogs in talking about how they’ve lived a good life.

Scene outside Portland ICE office. Three people in inflatable frog costumes are talking while masked ICE agents are observing from the roofs. Like fucking cowards.
ALT
evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

A skeleton frog has joined Operation: Inflation at the in in front of the ICE field office!

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

ATTN: a polar bear has been spotted.

He’s reported to be nonviolent toward humans.

Masked Gestapo agents? Not so much.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Holy shit. Either the gummie is hitting hard or three flaming unicorns just showed up.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

I can’t keep up. This shit is wild.

So far, I count:

• 3 frogs +1 skeleton frog
• 3 fabulous unicorns
• 1 polar bear
• 1 panda bear
• 3 sharks
• 1 albino raccoon
• 1 tuxedo cat
• 1 Bag of Holding that keeps dispensing inflatable costumes.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

Gods dammit, Portland. Stop making me fall in love with you.

(Can this boy living in the SW live without the sun for that long? 😬)

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

I have a few close friends who are pretty much all-in on LLM/ML tools hyped up as , integrating it in their existing workflows. Some even developing new “skills” (e.g.; vibe-coding).

They aren’t worried about the bubble popping.

But @pluralistic is, and he brings receipts: https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/27/econopocalypse/

“… 1/3 of the stock market is tied up in 7 AI companies that have no way to become profitable… [T]his is a bubble that's going to burst and take the whole economy with it…”

@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar ProPublica , to random

Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Program Spent Twice as Much on Administrative Costs as on Health Care, GAO Says

Republican lawmakers cite Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage as a national model for federal Medicaid work requirements that are set to take effect in 2027. A new report shows the program has spent at least $54 million on administrative costs alone.
https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-pathways-medicaid-work-requirement-gao-report?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@ProPublica

If there’s one are good at, it’s blowing millions of our taxpayer dollars to ensure they can keep making things worse for—or not helping all—the people most in need.

I can’t wait until the tears itself apart so a genuine conservative party emerges from the ashes of the embarrassment the Tea Party and MAGA inhabit today.

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

Remember: At no point did the Propaganda Department worry pinning autism on (, ) would be a bridge too far for their followers.

There is no bridge too far when it’s anointed from your lord and savior. It’s a cult. Nothing can shake the foundations of the faithful.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@failedLyndonLaRouchite

I’ll be on the streets three times this week in protest of the Republican regime.

I can’t tell you what you should do. All I can do is lead by example and do what I can do.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@failedLyndonLaRouchite

Yeah, nothing you’ve said in this exchange resembles being helpful. It’s more like you are demanding others do the work.

Therein lies the problem. Stop pestering people on your side to tell you what you should do.

You want advice? Go to events. Join resistance groups. Make phone calls. Go door to door. Stand on a street corner. Or do what people in your state did on Dec 23, 1773.

Every bit of resistance helps. Don’t belittle others efforts.

evoterra OP ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@failedLyndonLaRouchite

But you weren’t just thinking. You were belittling my comment and demanding I do more.

Be better.

@transworld@masto.ai avatar transworld , to random

The University of Texas at Austin told its transgender students this week that the school’s campus clinic would soon stop providing hormone replacement therapy

https://www.kxan.com/lgbtq/ut-austin-to-stop-providing-hormones-for-transgender-students/amp/

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@transworld @SrRochardBunson

More evidence that .

As an OU fan, I said that for decades as a poke at UT, nothing more. Because I got married in . My son was born in Texas. My dad’s side of the family lived in Texas for years. My sisters graduated from high school in Texas. My in-laws still live in Texas.

But it sure seems like Texas and the Texans that keep voting for party hell-bent on making everyone realize that Texas does indeed suck are OK with sucking.

🤷

@ProPublica@newsie.social avatar ProPublica , to random

NEW: Programs for With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push

Federal funding for organizations that help students with hearing and vision loss across eight states will stop at the end of the month, according to letters sent by a top Dept. official and obtained by ProPublica.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dei-students-education-deaf-blind-grant-funding?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=propublica-mastodon-post&utm_content=9-10

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@ProPublica

‘… apparently the administration is going through past grants and two words were flagged: One was transition and one was privilege,” Klenz said. “Transition — transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Privilege came up because a parent wrote a glowing review of staff that said what a privilege it was to work with them.’

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

My standard and the inspiration behind it.

Come see at an event near you next week!

https://rhrr.us

@renewedresistance

Two people stand on a sidewalk holding large signs. On the left is me, holding a US flag at the bottom and on top is my message, which says “Republicans are gutting your Social Security to fund their Nazi SS.” On the right, the inspiration (with identity hidden), holding a trans flag. On top, it says “END ICE.”
ALT
@homegrown@social.growyourown.services avatar homegrown , to random

Mastodon Admins, you may want to switch your servers to "Approval required to sign up" and perhaps ask for a reason for joining. You can do this at Preferences > Administration > Server Settings > Registrations

There is currently another big wave of scam posts on the Fediverse pretending to be Mastodon support accounts.

All of these scam accounts are on servers that apparently allow instant sign-ups. It would help to stop these scammers if servers can switch to requiring approval.

Screenshot of a scam post on Mastodon which reads: "Urgent: Final Notice for Account Confirmation Your account has not yet been verified under our latest guidelines. Immediate action is required to avoid access issues. Please confirm your account via the following link: 🔗 (link removed) Quick and easy process—don’t delay. Thank you, Mastodon Support" On top of the screenshot a large notice has been added saying "SCAM! DO NOT CLICK!".
ALT
evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@homegrown

I was resistant to change to manual approval because I know that when I first joined a Mastodon server years ago, I hunted for a server with open registration.

But then I heard many moderation horror stories from admins.

When I acquired Podvibes, I got a small taste of said horror stories. It didn’t take me long to say “nah, fuck that” and implement manual approval with a question for all new registrants.

Life is better now. Yeah, it impacts growth, but so what?

@benroyce

@homegrown@social.growyourown.services avatar homegrown , (edited ) to random

recommendation, there's a rogue server cloning lots of real accounts so it can impersonate them. There is no legitimate reason for such behaviour, admins should suspend it ASAP:

mastodon.arell.ai

Admins might want to suspend the main domain:

arell.ai

This would be good in case the owner tries the same stunt on a different subdomain. Blocking the main domain also blocks all of its subdomains.

(via @thomas , thread at https://metalhead.club/@thomas/114878505580336321 )

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@homegrown

Admin of a small instance here.

Domain block on arell.ai in place. 2 accounts suspended, so thanks!

I put in the public comments section in the event someone is working on a way to automate these actions.

@thomas

@SrRochardBunson@universeodon.com avatar SrRochardBunson , to redstateinsurgents group

Do I wish sometimes that I could checkout & ignore reality, like half of the privileged white people on the normie board?

Sure, but my daughter's skin is too brown for me to just give up and accept their fate.

What the fuck are we going to do about these fascists?

The only thing I know for sure is that and remberbering are acts of

What can you do today to put yourself in a better position to fight tomorrow?

redstateinsurgents@a.gup.pe icon redstateinsurgents group

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@SrRochardBunson

Same here. I’m way down the list of groups to persecute. But that’s not the case for family and friends that I love.

So I go make good trouble for them, using my privilege in a productive and helpful way.

redstateinsurgents@a.gup.pe icon redstateinsurgents group

@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , to random

Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema was plainly working only for herself when she held office -- a key reason why she was so widely loathed by the people who elected her.

Looks like she hasn't changed.

https://www.notus.org/money/kyrsten-sinema-campaign-committee-spending-2025

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@dangillmor

Ugh. Arizona has seen its share of shitty politicians in its 100+ years. But Sinema is something else. She went from beloved to reviled faster than you can give a thumbs down in the Senate.

@ktdoggett@c.im avatar ktdoggett , to random

🚨BREAKING: The gangs of L.A. brokered a truce and just did more for injustice against innocent immigrants than the entire U.S. Senate has done since they discovered C-SPAN doesn’t have commercials.

Yeah, you heard me. Street crews… yes, those same folks your racist uncle thinks are the final boss in a Fox News fever dream… are now escorting immigrants to court like chivalrous vigilantes in Nike tech fleece. Because when the state decides the Constitution is optional and ICE turns into a roaming death squad with a mask and a clipboard, sometimes the only due process you get is five dudes in matching hoodies telling the feds, “Nah, bro. Not today.”

And guess what? It works. Because ICE agents will happily snatch a grandma from a church picnic if she makes a good deportation stat… but put them near anyone who doesn’t say “yes, sir” with a trembling voice and suddenly they remember they have “other priorities.” These federalized cosplay commandos without badges (but definitely daddy issues) don’t go after the dangerous… they go after the docile. Why? Because they’re not enforcers of law… they’re mall cops with militarized toys and the moral compass of a broken Etch A Sketch.

So of course ICE targets “assimilated immigrants with families.” Because God forbid we deport a white-collar CEO laundering cartel money in Miami… nah, better to rip a kid from his dad in front of the school, then call it “border security.” These aren’t agents… they’re cowards in windbreakers playing hide-and-seek with the American Dream.

And meanwhile, the gangs… yes, gangs… have done what Congress won’t: form a coalition to protect vulnerable people from a government that thinks “compassion” is a foreign threat. These guys just unionized against fascism faster than the Democratic Party could agree on brunch.

So let’s be real. If you’re more outraged that gang members are helping immigrants than you are that the government is hunting them like they’re Pokémon with poor English, you’re not patriotic… you’re complicit. You’re the spiritual lovechild of George Wallace and a Ring doorbell, screaming “law and order” while your empathy dies in 4K.

ICE isn’t about safety. It’s about optics. It’s about keeping middle America scared shitless so they don’t realize who’s actually robbing them blind: it’s not José from Oaxaca, it’s Jeff from JPMorgan.

So props to the homies rolling deep to immigration court. Because while Congress filibusters itself into irrelevance and ICE roleplays as apartheid cosplay, someone’s actually showing up for justice.

You call it gang violence. I call it community defense.

And if that scares you? That’s not fear. That’s your conscience trying to escape the prison you built out of denial. Let it out. Or stay silent… and history will remember you the same way it remembers the cowards: not at all.

If your biggest concern is how uncomfortable this rant made you, congrats… you’re officially less useful than a wet napkin at a house fire. But hey, keep scrolling. I’m sure there’s a cat video somewhere that’ll let you pretend the world isn’t burning.

Wake the hell up.

Image of Latino men and a woman and child. Text reads: Gang .embers protect immigrants from ICE.
ALT
evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@aral @ktdoggett @lashman @SrRochardBunson

Ok, so now I wanna see Predator v. ICE in theaters.

Heck, even straight-to-streaming.

@dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , (edited ) to random

Seriously, Bluesky? Your new account-verification system requires signing into a Google account and uploading a photo of a state-issued ID via a Google Form? GMAFB.

Update: I'm told by someone I trust that there is not a requirement to upload an ID. Still trying to figure out what's what.

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@dangillmor

It is after much contemplation that I say: Fuck that. And fuck Bluesky for the shitty things they have done and will do before they get bought by a Nazi billionaire.

@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar indivisibleteam , to random

The arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is a warning sign of just how far Trump and his allies are willing to go to silence dissent. This is not normal. It’s authoritarian behavior, plain and simple.

For months, Trump has been using ICE as a political weapon, targeting immigrants, communities of color, and students exercising their right to free speech. Now, it’s being used to intimidate elected officials who dare to speak out. That should alarm everyone. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/us/new-jersey-mayor-arrested-at-ice-detention-center

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@indivisibleteam

The response to this will be telling. Hopefully more than a sternly-worded email from Schumer. Hopefully less than armed conflict.

@w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

Federal District Judge William Sessions orders Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts doctoral candidate, be immediately released from immigration custody on bail, saying her case raises "very substantial" and "very significant" First Amendment and due process claims. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rumeysa-ozturk-bail-hearing-tufts-student/

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@w7voa

Encouraging. However, the Republican regime hasn’t followed the courts’ rulings that people “be immediately released from immigration custody” so far.

I’m hoping this order bucks that trend.

@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random
evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@kevinrothrock

I had genuinely forgotten about Threads.

@blogdiva

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to random

This sign perfectly captures why we .

NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL MY CHILDREN I DID NOT STAY SILENT
ALT
@w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

President Trump directs the US military to take control of federal lands along the border with Mexico to seal it and for "repelling invasions." https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/military-mission-for-sealing-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states-and-repelling-invasions/

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@w7voa @BruceMirken

The opening salvos of a war against… every country south of us, I guess?

@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar indivisibleteam , to random
What’s going on your sign for Saturday’s nationwide events?
ALT
evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar
@stux@mstdn.social avatar stux , to random

Wooooooooooooot! :blobcheerwitch:

"Total firework ban in the Netherlands may now be a reality"

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/03/total-firework-ban-in-the-netherlands-may-now-be-a-reality/

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@stux

Now I have another reason to consider Holland as a place to live.

@kellyromanych

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

The right has jumped the shark.

A tweet from Joe Wilson criticizing Vladimir Putin, calling him "Woke Putin" and listing social issues in Russia, with a response from Dr. Silas expressing shock: "WOKE PUTIN?!?!?!?"
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evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@georgetakei @cstross

I thought this was fake but no, there it is on his Xitter feed.

This jackass all just dead named Myanmar in a Xit an our ago.

@indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar indivisibleteam , to random

A GOP representative who is hiding from her constituents tried to sneak into the livestream of a town hall that she skipped.

But IndivisibleTX24 had a message for Beth Van Duyne.

This weekend, you can help hold Congress accountable before recess ends: https://indivisible.org/muskorus

A protester holds up a sign that reads “GROW A SPINE BETH VAN DUYNE” while the screen on the livestream says “Beth Van Duyne is watching.”
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evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@indivisibleteam Now, see? This is how the internets can be used for good!

Her constituents met her where she was! 😆

@w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

“We will use Gulf of Mexico, while acknowledging the name Gulf of America in our copy. We will also use Mount McKinley rather than Denali.” - AP https://apnews.com/article/ap-style-gulf-mexico-mount-mckinley-denali-13bd46d636cef6f2608bd5d2c3d907ee

evoterra ,
@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar

@w7voa Hey, AP… you didn’t have to do this. Really, you didn’t. You chose to.

And it won’t help you. Cowards.

@evoterra@podvibes.co avatar evoterra , to bookstodon group

I finished my 2nd reading of Iain M. Banks’ ‘The Player of Games,’ the 2nd book in his .

One of the lessons (and there are many) is that power corrupts absolutely, and that the higher a person gets in privilege and power, the more depraved and disturbing their proclivities.

Epstein Island? Not a fluke. A feature.

Read it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Player_of_Games

@theculture bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group