Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
societyOct 24, 202522:53pending

Nazism has entered the group chat

About this episode

Why is there so much Nazism in the news? And when does a "joke" become hate speech?

Politico broke a story last week featuring what it said were leaks from a Telegram group chat that included Young Republican National Federation leaders. These chats made headlines for reportedly racist and pro-Nazi messaging. But this is not the only story in the news about people in politics engaging with Nazi rhetoric. Is it happening more often? And is this kind of thing just a “joke”? 

Brittany is joined by Odette Yousef, domestic extremism correspondent for NPR, and Gene Demby, co-host of NPR's Code Switch, to get into it.

(0:00) Young Republicans group chat screenshots go viral...
(3:40) Where's the line between joking and hate speech?
(5:56) Is Nazi talk more common, or are we just more aware of it?
(10:29) Why white adults are considered "kids" even in their 30s
(14:45) Are there consequences for spreading hate? And what you can do about it.
(19:41) 'Wait, What?' - a pop culture trivia game
(23:29) Responding to listener comments :)

Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse

For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Get every episode summarized

Each time It's Been a Minute publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

Nazism has entered the group chat

It's Been a Minute

0:00
22:53

More episodes

More from It's Been a Minute

View all episodes →