The Coming Storm

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America through the looking glass - enter a world where nothing is as it seems.

As America heads into a presidential election, Gabriel Gatehouse dives back into the labyrinthine rabbit warren of American conspiracy culture. Whilst liberals across the world worry about a possible return of Donald Trump, millions of Americans are convinced that their democracy has already been highjacked - by a sinister Deep State cabal. How did this happen? And who is behind it? That's the story that Gabriel Gatehouse is investigating in this series of The Coming Storm.

The search for the origins of this story takes Gabriel inside a paranoid political group that tried to build its own Deep State during the Cold War, now back in fashion in the conservative backwaters of western mountain states. Gabriel meets the January 6 rioters running for office who see their detention as political imprisonment in gulags, and the militia men convinced the CIA and FBI are working against the American people. In the background lurk the tech utopian ideologues, using their vast wealth and power to fund conspiracy flavoured content as they work to create sovereign states free of all government control. And online, amateur finance bros foment distrust of government, central banks and giant financial institutions to millions of followers.

What were once fringe ideas have burst into the mainstream. Conspiracy theories have become central planks of Trump's Republican Party, while Democrats run on dark warnings about the end of democracy. With both sides convinced the other is an existential threat, what are the prospects for the survival of the American political system?

Recent Episodes

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Recent Reviews

munchiekat

Disappointing

The producers should probably research the true background of the sound of freedom.
saperlo

Biased Liberal Nonsense

This is whole thing is an appalling piece of distorted and deliberate anti conservative propaganda that picks up the liberal ball and just runs with it. The BBC really has disappeared into a vortex of elitist vanity and metropolitan wish fulfillment, so far away from reality that it looks like actual propaganda
Scott2

Beware the Satanic Pedophiles!!

I thoroughly enjoy this podcast, but I consider it entertainment and not news.
Original_Owl

Fearmongering

Most Americans voted for Trump because they’re centrists and are sick of the radical left taking our country further into irrationality.
Marco Polo Mint

Two seasons of a rollercoaster ride through the American conspiracy landscape

Just finished the second season a few minutes ago. I’m a Brit who has lived in the states for the past 13 years. I actively avoid US media. The first season was a tight and well-researched investigation with excellent interviews of key actors in the run-up to Jan 6. The second season is a bit different, casting a wider net. It has some killer interviews too, but the last few episodes start to unravel a little. No spoilers but there is a surprising final episode that ambitiously tries to weave together the multiple theories into one conspiracy theory of everything’. Even if I disagree with some of the conclusions made, there is no doubt this is a compelling, really well-produced couple of series, and I rarely listen to podcasts at all. A lot of the pleasure is in the journey, making the connections with the presenter, and seeing how disparate events reported in the news cohere into narratives. It’s quite dense, so you can’t be distracted for too long when you listen. And there are links between people within each season and between seasons. So some episodes bear repeated listening to make the most out of it. The resulting book will help with this. Oh and ignore the one-star review bombing morons who don’t like it because it’s the BBC and not ‘Merica.
Sherry USA

Interesting but dissappinted

I find the subject fascinating to hear about. I was excited to hear about conspiracy theories. But I was very disappointed in the anti-Trump stance taken by the host.
egwugwu

Wow, So Bad

Congratulations. This election debrief episode is among the most ill-informed in a competitive field. Unsubscribing.
Revans50

This Needs A Bigger Audience!

From start to finish, an excellent podcast. It’s a sad commentary on US politics and reporting that the best podcast I’ve listened to about all the various conspiracy theories comes from the BBC rather than from US sources. Well done! I truly hope that a 3rd season isn’t necessary.🙂
Patriot chrelve

Merica

I love how people who still have a king can discuss democracy That only had its origin because of their monarchy
The Nameless Twin

Immanentize the Eschaton

The Illuminatus Chronicles level crazy of QAnon never escaped me, but I always had my own “conspiracy theory” of the troll pushing to see the limits of what he could convince frightened conservatives to believe… between this and the Q: Into the Storm docuseries on HBO… well, make up your own mind. Sometimes the conspiracy theory is the conspiracy.
Hmmmmm….

Bezmenov was right

Really enjoyed the approach. It does feel like the only agenda here is to understand what is happening in America right now. A podcast that can easily be listened to multiple times.
Petey428782

Interesting but Unimpressed

I’ve voted for both sides. Heard of but didn’t know Q-anon before this. His mocking tone while agreeing with many of the assumptions and cover ups is biased. Also he never once says the real name of the Mormon church correctly which seems either biased again or as though he doesn’t thoroughly research enough to get a very basic and clear fact correct.
mjwilkes74

Not just another piece on Qunatics

Any podcast that needs a rabbit hole warning is a good one and this series could force you to take a couple of “sick days” off from work. Great perspectives on the totality of the movement and the breakdown of the major players are chilling at times to say the least. The only complaint I have is that the show topic isn’t fiction.
Aunty Entropy

Required listening for all democracies

This brilliant storytelling documents the origins of shadowy webs of people who are in fact trying to take control of the world. Everyone everywhere confused about where these people came from, and how they gained control of their governments' levers of power, needs to listen to this outstanding story.
KamiCujo

Best this year!

By far my favorite podcast series of the year!
Shabba baba wing bang

Beautiful

And that is all
Dan T. 123

Great podcast

Super high production quality, great narrator, and great execution on a topic that is discussed more and more. They do a good job of keeping it interesting even if you’ve heard something like this story before. Literally every single negative review (except for one three star review from someone with technical difficulties) is from a conservative outraged by the choice of topic. So this show undoubtedly would have a 4.9 or 5 without the negative reviews based on politics.
freewallace

Absolute Garbage

This is nothing more than paid British actor to regurgitate liberal garbage. Nothing based on fact only conjecture from the alt-left… so sad we’re still going through this
Gliiiiiitttttt

Clap

Well done and I love some of your reviews, hilarious and scary. I think you might be Q...pass it on
Smileybx1

Infiltration of Q

There’s Q and there’s anons not Q anons. Anons were not supposed to turn into some kind of cult. People were not supposed to believe everything that was put on the internet but do their own research and be aware of whom they follow. The anons were supposed to be the news since the Mainstream media was not being biased. I believe the anons were infiltrated by paytriots and conspiracy theorists to make anons look and sound crazy. I’m pretty sure everyone has read the Q drops and there’s a panic among those who the drops are about.
Ty Ploucha

Amazing

Beautifully and masterfully done
quicapeeka

Clumsy, if we’re being honest

It felt like the announcer was putting together a puzzle with giant pieces by fumbling around in the dark. Not only were the pieces too big to get any kind of nuance, but it seemed like he had a superficial understanding of American society (despite the time he’s spent in it). Further, he treated his comparison between the internet and the printing press as somehow novel, and couldn’t stop talking about how he met the “Q shaman” once but didn’t film the interview (a mistake which also speaks to his clumsiness with American politics in general). Unclear how this podcast deserved the giant platform (and funding) of the BBC when there’s so many talented people & teams out there.
a64736362

Loved it

Perfectly balanced and insightful reporting. Gabriel Gatehouse blends compassion and objectivity in a way that brings you closer to understanding qanon and those who believe in it. The story of how the internet is distorting our beliefs about reality will be the story of the next several decades. Thank you all for making this!!
Saismaat

Brilliant and disturbing

The fact a bunch useful idiots took 4chan seriously depresses me so much.
helio122

Is this our future …? … now …?

I’ve heard about this podcast from another podcast and curious began listening to it.. Gabriel brings a full story that can not and could not be contained by a summary of what happen Jan 6 2020.. I was surprised by the contents that got unveiled but at the same time thankful for not getting only half of a story .. as it said, “this is not the end but just the beginning” I can fully appreciate and understand the causes that brought us here. Thank you.
Rlz8785

It won’t play

I have been trying over and over to listen to this podcast all week but got some reason it won’t play. Any other podcast I put on plays fine. Hopefully this issue gets addressed.
RevivalReel

Well done.

A really levelheaded, fair examination of the events that lead up to 1/6. It’s not going to leave you feeling very optimistic about the future of the U.S.. To the moron below complaining about the time spent on the Clintons and Arkansas… stop having a minuscule attention span, it’s important to look at where all this started.
tzito2

Shill

Another podcasts that goes on and on about how crazy “QAnon” is but wouldn’t dare tell you anything that’s actually discussed in the posts; much less the evidence to back it up. This is perfect for all you brainwashed Covidians who so desperately want Hillary to rule over you. Remember: keep your mask on forever; never disobey.
rooster6987

Important podcast here.

The idea that the social and political movement which was shoved in our face on January 6 has tangled roots which lead to the Clintons has been bouncing around a little bit. This podcast fills in a lot of great information and helps to clarify the timeline. The tangling of religious and non-religious factions has been very confusing, and this shed some light on that strange phenomenon.
Shenny156

A great help

This podcast has been a great help to me as I try to untangle the chaos of the current political landscape. I have a family member who has completely lost her self down the rabbit hole and it helps me to understand more about this so that I can hopefully help her find her way back out. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this here. I am very grateful. But also quite sad that the world has become so cynical and gullible.
Edwardsmarcom

About the Clintons or QAnon?

So far (3 eps) this is about the Clintons in the 1990’s and not explaining the connection to Q and it’s very irritating when the ep descriptions say Q Anon but the whole ep takes place in freaking Arkansas talking about Clinton. Reset your expectations.
shsjjdks

Gripping Expose

Thank you for this excellent expose of the QAnon Phenomenon. Please check out ‘The galactic federation of light’, you may find the source of the cult like Satanic Ritual Abuse stories. Sadly, my spouse was brainwashed by that group and indoctrinated with QAnon beliefs.
Brooke276

Really???

You took Juanita Broderick seriously? You actually gave time to that whack job?? Stopped listening after episode 2.
jaiabean

Excellent

It’s an entirely accessible, incredibly well produced deep dive into the Q phenomena. I have already done a ton of reading on the subject and I still found it fascinating.
angrylf

Fantastic

This series is a perfect example as to why anyone in the UK looking to defund the BBC is a short sighted moron. You just don’t get this kind of quality from any other media source.
ChoffWisco

Outstanding and Disturbing

I had a “conservative” friend who told me January 6th was years in the making. Of course, he meant that it was years of “leftist” provocations. This podcast tells the true story of the “years in the making”. I wish everyone who calls themselves a conservative would listen to this.
cyberswampswami

At the end of the day . . .

I liked it much better when the way we said this was, “in the final analysis. . . .” Of course, it makes perfect sense that we had to change it, given the current state of things, to give ourselves over to this more apocalyptic of expressions. Besides which, do we analyze anything closely these days other than contemporary poetry? Gabriel Gatehouse, who sounds like some journalist who I would have had full confidence in just a few short score years ago has given me reason to believe that true reporting, in the final analysis, isn’t dead. He has done a remarkable job, against all odds, of keeping it real for the listening audience. “The Coming Storm,” is as perfectly executed as possible in such an imperfect world as this, a world which no matter what we choose to believe will, at the end of the day, leave us all well-grounded.
troyeseffigy

Peachy

After listening to this wonderful podcast I’m not feeling so peachy
El Phantsmo

Ex Pizzagate adherent here….

I hit rock bottom around 2016, have been working on my mental health since then. If there is any conspiracy occurring, it is one in which those responsible are at war with nuance itself. This show, and others like “knowlege fight” have been instrumental in my recovery. Don’t be so paranoid as to think everything is conspiracy, but also don’t be so naïve as to think that there is none at all.
Camelot C

Thought provoking

I couldn’t stop listening! It was very well done and thought provoking. We live in a world where social media and misinformation can greatly alter people’s lives. I can only hope that reality and truth would prevail in the end.
Never clean enough

A life-changing podcast

Quite honestly, I have been suffering for years trying to understand and make connections between what has been happening with family and friends who have been embracing Q and various conspiracy theories. It has been playing out in the background and foreground of my life, intensifying with the election of Donald Trump and culminating with the Insurrection a year ago. This podcast weaves together many disparate and vital threads which is helping me make sense of all the upheavals taking place around the world—the rise of authoritarianism in particular. Thanks for this podcast!
mgrace411

Fantastic!

I started this podcast last night and next thing I knew, I’d listened to the entirety of it. Very interesting and eye opening. So much happened before from years past all the way up to the day of the storming the Capital. Riveting and highly recommend
SurferDog03/1985

Great series!

I just listened to the whole series while at work and I just could not get over of how interesting everything was presented. It seemed fair, informative and gave me a fresh perspective on what the he’ll happened a year ago. Thank you for this!