Bro History

Iran’s protests flare up, the internet fills with “this is it,” and then… silence.

In this episode of Bro History, we watch and react to a sharp (and frankly blackpilling) breakdown from Sharghzadeh — an Iranian diaspora creator — on why Iranian protest movements repeatedly fail, and why the same cycle keeps repeating.

Sharghzadeh’s core argument is uncomfortable but important: anger isn’t enough. Without leadership, a coherent endgame, and a realistic path to defections (plus a plan for what happens after), protests can burn out while the state escalates and survives.

Original video we react to (go subscribe):

Sharghzadeh channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/sharghzadeh/videos

00:00 – Setting the stage: protests “wound down,” not “resolved”07:35 – Video begins: “bad analysis” + wishcasting12:23 – Pronunciation debate (and what that actually signals)18:37 – “Revolutions take years” (why the timeline matters)31:39 – No ideology, no clear end state46:20 – Why “a leader” isn’t the same as “a symbol” (Reza Pahlavi section)59:05 – “Foreign help won’t rain from the sky”01:01:00 – States can limp on indefinitely (the depressing part)01:11:16 – Religion, motivation, and why regimes have “true believers”01:19:41 – The hardest point: what happens to regime remnants?01:30:10 – Our take + what a “non-collapse” transition can look like01:34:04 – The big open question: “Okay… now what?”01:40:02 – Shoutout to Sharghzadeh + wrap

#Iran #IranProtests #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #BroHistory #IranianDiaspora #IRGC #RegimeChange #Revolution #ForeignPolicy #PoliticalAnalysis #HistoryPodcast

TIMESTAMPS

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#344
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Venezuela’s collapse didn’t start with sanctions — and it didn’t start with Hugo Chávez either.

In this clip from our Bro History series on Venezuela, we break down how decades of oil dependence, political exclusion, corruption, and institutional fragility created a system that was always one crash away from disaster.

We walk through:


How Venezuela’s post-1958 “stable democracy” was built on oil money and exclusion


Why the Punto Fijo system carried the seeds of its own collapse


How Chávez did improve living standards — and why those gains were structurally fragile


How Nicolás Maduro inherited the same broken system… and made every worst-case scenario come true


Why the oil crash, hyperinflation, repression, and mass migration all reinforced each other


How U.S. sanctions escalated an already collapsing state


And finally, the little-discussed moment when Maduro reportedly offered to leave — and why Washington said no

This episode isn’t about defending regimes or repeating talking points. It’s about understanding how states fail — and why Venezuela’s story is more complicated than “socialism bad” or “imperialism did it.”

📌 This is Part 3 of a multi-part Bro History breakdown on Venezuela.
Catch the full series on our channel.

⏱️ Key Moments:
00:00 – Why Venezuela’s crisis didn’t come out of nowhere
01:00 – The Punto Fijo pact and oil-fueled stability
02:00 – Exclusion, corruption, and the petro-state trap
04:00 – Why Chávez wasn’t an accident
06:30 – What Chávez actually changed (and didn’t)
09:00 – Maduro, oil collapse, and hyperinflation
15:30 – Sanctions, repression, and mass migration
21:00 – The failed exit deal and why it mattered

#Venezuela #HugoChavez #NicolasMaduro #OilEconomy #Sanctions #LatinAmerica #Geopolitics #StateFailure #BroHistory #PoliticalEconomy #USForeignPolicy

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#343
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This clip breaks down the rhetorical shift behind U.S. policy toward Venezuela — and why language matters more than missiles.

We examine how Washington reframed Venezuela from a collapsing petro-state into a “narco-terrorist threat”, unlocking expanded legal war powers. The centerpiece of that shift? A $50 million bounty on President Nicolás Maduro — a reward larger than those once placed on Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.

We unpack how:


Criminal language quietly turned into security doctrine


“Narco-terrorism” became a legal workaround for extraterritorial force


Low-level smugglers are treated like enemy combatants


Terror labels disappear when geopolitical utility changes (see Ahmed al-Sharaa)

This isn’t about defending Maduro — it’s about exposing how labels expand power, and why those tools are nearly impossible to put back once normalized.

This is Part 2 of our Venezuela series. Part 1 covers the U.S. naval escalation in the Caribbean.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – From Drug War to “Narco-Terror State”
01:55 – The $50 Million Bounty Explained
05:00 – Maduro vs. Bin Laden: The Price Tag Problem
07:30 – Terrorists… Until They’re Useful
11:30 – What “Narco-Terrorism” Actually Means
15:00 – Who’s Really Being Killed?

#Venezuela #NarcoTerrorism #USForeignPolicy #Maduro #DrugWar #Geopolitics #BroHistory #LatinAmerica #Sanctions #WarPowers

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#343
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In this clip, we break down the 2025 category shift in the Caribbean: the Trump administration’s move to frame maritime interdiction as “narco-terrorism”, and why that legal reframing suddenly makes drone strikes, Hellfire missiles, and a massive naval posture sound “normal” — even when the public evidence is thin.

We talk about:


Why “counter-narcotics” doesn’t match the scale of what’s offshore


How “narco-terrorism” changes the rules (criminals → combatants)


Why Puerto Rico is quietly becoming a staging hub again


What this posture can support: blockade, raids, long-range strikes — not just boat stops

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Setting the context: why Venezuela, why now
03:45 — The “narco-terrorism” framing (and why it matters)
05:10 — Drone strikes on small boats: why the story feels off
07:00 — Maduro bounty + escalation logic
09:00 — Category shift: interdiction → warfare
12:00 — What’s offshore: carriers, Marines, strike capability
16:30 — Puerto Rico as a staging base again (and why that’s a tell)
19:00 — What this posture enables if things escalate

#Venezuela #Geopolitics #USForeignPolicy #NarcoTerrorism #Caribbean #PuertoRico #MilitaryAnalysis #PodcastClips #NewsAnalysis

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#342

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Zohran Mamdani — the Ugandan-born Muslim socialist making a serious run for New York City mayor — is sparking national debate. Is he the city’s next AOC… or a dangerous radical?

In this episode, Henry and Danny break down Mamdani’s platform and persona — from his rent freeze and city-owned grocery stores to his viral exchange on Israel. They debate the so-called “Sharia socialist” narrative, why conservatives are losing their minds over his wardrobe, and how his rise exposes deep shifts in American populism.

We explore:


🏙️ Rent freezes, affordable housing, and “cracking down on landlords”


🧾 His plan to tax millionaires + corporations to fund public programs


🚍 Free buses, mental health investments, and “community safety”


💥 The culture war backlash from Fox News and right-wing media


🗽 What Mamdani’s rise says about the future of left-wing populism in America

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Intro & Henry’s tendonitis bench press tangent
03:00 – Cuomo mocks Mamdani’s workout video
07:30 – Who is Zohran Mamdani? From Uganda to Queens
10:30 – The “Sharia communist” smear and Fox News freakout
17:00 – Rent freezes & housing policy breakdown
35:00 – Cracking down on landlords & property control debate
43:00 – Community safety and NY crime myths
58:00 – City-run grocery stores and free public buses
1:14:00 – Taxing millionaires & corporations: the real funding plan
1:22:00 – Populism, prejudice, and the Obama parallel
1:30:00 – Final thoughts: Is left-wing populism the future of NYC?

📺 Full episodes (ad-free) on Substack → https://brohistory.substack.com

#ZohranMamdani #NYCPolitics #LeftWingPopulism #BroHistory #NewYorkMayor #AOC #Socialism #UrbanPolitics #FoxNews #HousingCrisis #ProgressivePolitics #NYC

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#341

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