{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Frealclearinvestigations.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2F141-_1DYdT2F","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Battling the Unelected Elite with DataRepublican | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #141","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/69be5d4f-b498-44bc-b3b5-f614ce9a7957/d109fd37-2624-4661-aad2-05ce49daa6b1/rci_141_thumbnail_square_1080x1080.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/e365c6f8-c013-4399-8a55-a265ea35e66e\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Battling the Unelected Elite with DataRepublican | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #141\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Jennica Pounds, who runs the influential government watchdog account @DataRepublican (small r) on X, about her new book, “Unelected: How You Paid a Sinister Elite to Take Over America.”\n\nIn the news segment, Zane and Varney discuss an RCI article reporting how the historic drop in crime in 2025 can be traced to vigorous efforts to arrest, prosecute, and deport more alleged criminals. They also discuss two New York Times stories that cut against the Democrats: one reporting that Rep. Ilhan Omar might indeed have married her brother, and another detailing how Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign successfully persuaded someone with the same name as her opponent, Dan Sullivan, to run for office in an effort to confuse voters. Finally, they examine Varney’s recent RCI article on how wealthy tech barons are using their growing fortunes to transform society.\n\n00:00 Cold Open\n01:11 Meet @DataRepublican and Her New Book, \"Unelected\"\n03:51 How Unelected NGOs and Supranational Groups Shape American Life\n06:17 George Soros, the \"Open Society,\" and a Weaker America\n11:28 Populism, the Nation-State, and a Possible \"Color Revolution\"\n20:00 Following the Money: What DOGE Changed\n22:14 AI as a Tool for Citizens, and Why Elites Fear It\n30:03 The USAID Question: Why Good Intentions Fall Short\n34:06 Midterm Predictions and Faith in Public Life\n39:32 News Roundup: Falling Crime, Two Surprising NYT Stories, and the \"Bacon Wars\"\n\nMaterial Discussed in This Podcast:\n\nDataRepublican (small r) X Account\nhttps://x.com/DataRepublican\n\nOrder a signed copy of Unelected\nhttps://passage.press/unelected\n\nRCI/John R. Lott Jr.: Go Figure: Arrests, Prosecutions and Deportations Fuel Record Drop in Crime\nhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/10/26/go_figure_arrests_prosecutions_and_deportations_fuel_record_drop_in_crime_1213581.html\n\nNew York Times: Obama-Era Probe Found Evidence Omar Marriage a Sham \nhttps://archive.is/7LnKR\n\nNew York Times: Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot\nhttps://archive.is/gYxbM#selection-8945.0-8945.56\n\nRCI/James Varney: The Bacon Wars: Pig Farmers Battle Tech Barons Over Animal Welfare\nhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/10/30/the_bacon_wars_pig_farmers_battle_tech_barons_over_animal_welfare_1214198.html\n\n"}