The Flamethrowers

Follow The Flamethrowers
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

“The Flamethrowers” captures the punch-you-in-the-mouth energy and sound of right-wing talk radio. Host Justin Ling takes us from the fringe preachers and conspiracy peddlers of the 1920s to the political firestorm that rages today. With humour and candour, Ling examines the appeal of broadcasters like Rush Limbaugh, who found a sleeping audience, radicalized it, and became an accidental kingmaker — culminating in the election of Donald Trump.

CBC Podcasts


    • Sep 5, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 37m AVG DURATION
    • 11 EPISODES


    More podcasts from CBC Podcasts

    Search for episodes from The Flamethrowers with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from The Flamethrowers

    The Flamethrowers Introduces: Pressure Cooker

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2022 36:10


    John and Amanda have lived on the fringes their whole lives. They're on welfare, living with John's grandma, and struggling with addiction to opioids and Dungeons and Dragons. They've followed crooked paths to this point. John played in heavy metal bands and dabbled with Satanism. Amanda left home and discovered heroin before her 18th birthday. The couple converts to Islam in an attempt to turn their lives around. But things take a wild turn when a mysterious figure enters their lives and draws them into a web of conspiracy, deception and terror. More episodes are available at smarturl.it/pressurecookercbc

    The Flamethrowers Introduces: A Special Front Burner Edition from the Ground in Ottawa

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2022 49:24


    Front Burner from CBC News and CBC Podcasts is your essential daily news podcast taking you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. In this special Front Burner evening edition from the ground in Ottawa as police move in on protestors, host Jayme Poisson accompanies Steve Day, former head of the Canadian Armed Forces' JTF-2 special-operations task force, to the protest site at Parliament and staging sites outside the downtown core to examine the challenges law enforcement could face. And she talks to protesters about why they're digging in. More episodes are available at hyperurl.co/frontburner

    Introducing: Boys Like Me

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2021 37:01


    Why are lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did two young men who started in similar circumstances, end up on such drastically different paths? More episodes are available at: smarturl.it/boyslikeme

    Introducing: White Hot Hate

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 36:16


    White Hot Hate is the second podcast in an investigative trilogy from CBC Podcasts exploring three different strands of the radical right. The series follows the extraordinary case of young Canadian journalist Ryan Thorpe who infiltrated an international neo-Nazi extremist network. While host Michelle Shephard explores the rise of white supremacist accelerationism: the ultra-violent ideology that drives believers to create chaos, in order to seize ultimate control. More episodes are available at: hyperurl.co/whitehothate

    Ep. 6: The Talk Radio President

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2021 49:39


    Donald Trump takes the style, tactics, and issues straight from the right-wing radio playbook. The only question now is: Where does it go from here?

    Ep. 5: The Rage Industry

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2021 30:13


    Right-wing radio finds their greatest foe in Barack Obama: As they try to take him down at every turn, they find the perfect formula to manufacture outrage.

    Ep. 4: The Echo Chamber

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2021 31:30


    The terror attacks of September 11th have Americans turning the dial to talk radio, where a whole new generation of broadcasters are eager to capitalize on anxiety and fear.

    Ep. 3: The Information Wars

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2021 48:04


    Welcome to the world of conspiracy and paranoia. A horrifying act of domestic terrorism brings right wing radio some unwanted attention, which pushes one fan of the supernatural away from politics, while a pair of anti-government broadcasters dig their heels in.

    Ep. 2: What A Rush

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2021 43:39


    President Ronald Reagan takes the shackles off right-wing radio and inaugurates a golden era of conservative politics. And Rush Limbaugh — almost by accident — becomes a kingmaker in the Republican party and changes radio forever.

    Ep. 1: The Father of Hate Radio

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2021 42:36


    Our story begins with Canadian priest Charles Coughlin — a populist crusader who winds up espousing conspiracy and hate. Right-wing radio flexes its muscle with a boycott of Polish Ham. And the Kennedy government almost wipes right-wing talk off the map.

    Introducing: The Flamethrowers (trailer)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2021 3:30


    How right wing radio took over American democracy. A new series hosted by Justin Ling.

    Claim The Flamethrowers

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel