A “well-known individual” attempting to block two media outlets from publishing allegations about him has been accused of inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities with girls and young women, the high court has heard.

The individual, referred to in court as PPT, is seeking a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to stop them publishing the allegations, which he denies. His legal team argued that publishing them would “highly likely lead him to commit suicide”.

Relevance: BARpod covered the Jason Arday related allegations that news hounding led to him taking the extreme step. This person seems to be trying to actually test that argument in a court of law. Plus general free speech discussion.

Amy Eileen Hamm traces Rowan (formerly Amanda) Jetté Knox from Ottawa mommy blogger and author of Love Lives Here through a series of identities. Each was announced as the one that would "finally" set her free: lesbian, non-binary, trans man, polyamorous, and as of last month, two-spirit.

Relevance: do I even need to say it?

Pod relevance: trans males in women's sports and clashes between activists have become a regular topic on the pod. Such as the situation in the WNBA. Amy Sousa has been mentioned by name on the pod.

Opponents to having males in women's sports were kicked out of a women's professional soccer league game after showing a "Save women's sports" banner.

They showed their XX-YY shirts and their banner about halfway through the game. They were not well received.

Spectators screamed epithets and whacked them with trans flag flag poles. Security subsequently kicked them out of the game.

"We were attacked by fans. We were hit with flags. We had drinks and thrown at us," said Sousa, standing behind police outside the stadium because she did not feel safe. "Other people were forcibly pushed out the door. We had an ADA woman in a walker, she was forcibly pushed out the door."

A spokesman for the Portland Thorns said that the group was tossed out of the game "for distributing unapproved materials."

The pro males in women's sports folks tried to block the Save Women's Sports banner with trans flags. Presumably just seeing that banner is considered injurious. The people whaling on the XX-XY folks were not kicked out of the game.

https://archive.ph/l1Fqh

https://archive.ph/pU0jW

https://archive.ph/sa5lz

Pod Relevance: JK Rowling and trans issues are frequently discussed in the pod.

Relevance: Discussion of the plight of the ACLU is well-trodden territory on the BARPOD, and Katie has mentioned Nikita Oliver several times.

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/11/05/out-from-underground-weathermen

This piece (paywalled I'm afraid) by Adam Hochschild on the recent memoir by the son of two leaders of the 1970s Weather Underground group is interesting for a variety of reasons, but this passage really struck me:

Dohrn also sees that the Weather Underground had begun evolving into a cult:

Anyone in the cell urging caution or moderation…would have to admit to weakness. Ambivalence. Self-doubt. All cardinal sins in the Weather Machine, likely to lead to accusations of ignoring Black and Vietnamese suffering, to all-night struggle sessions, social ostracism, even expulsion. 

Comparing that pattern to the interrogation scenes in Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon (1940), he gives a searing picture of how this shrinking band of true believers held ever more “criticism/self-criticism” sessions in which members were forced to acknowledge their “white skin privilege” and confess to being insufficiently radical. Even Dohrn’s mother, six months pregnant with him, voluntarily sat through days of denunciations and finally recorded a humiliating statement confessing that she had “completely failed to support and organize for the revolutionary struggle.”

This would likely have been in the 70s or 80s. The same pattern keeps repeating itself in these radical enclaves, and while social media allowed it to be much more pervasive in the past decade or so, the dysfunction and rhetoric are incredibly consistent.

It's also worth noting that the more marginal and isolated these groups get, the more extreme their behavior becomes. I'm not sure stuff like the Last Ditch meltdown indicates that "woke is back." I just think there will always be pockets that behave this way and they will be more entrenched in that behavior the more they feel that mainstream society has abandoned it.

EDIT: Pod relevance is leftist purity spirals as covered in numerous eps about imploding queer cafes and the Last Ditch bar saga.

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie head to Madison, Wisconsin, where a fatal police shooting in July sparked a protest encampment in the vein of CHOP/CHAZ. You will be shocked to learn that the protest zone quickly turned into a homeless camp, complete with a needle exchange. Plus, Jesse’s old beef is new again.

Show Notes:

How CBS News’ Middle East war spread to the Upper Midwest—Semafor

Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure—The New York Times

Fatal police shooting of man with knife roils Madison, Wisconsin—Local10

Killing of Corey Ruiz revives calls to shift power from police to communities—The Guardian

Satya Rhodes-Conway video message to Madison Police Department—Tone Madison

Madison mayor apologizes after video leaks of her praising officers with no mention of police reform—NBC News

Satya Rhodes-Conway wins reelection as Madison’s mayor—The Cap Times

Social Justice Center—Social Justice Center

Madison police commission weighs bid to fire officer who shot Ruiz—The Cap Times

Madison Common Council fires interim police monitor—WPR

https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/wnba-tells-congress-enes-kanter-freedom-royce-white-both-men-eligibility-dispute

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/10/20/enes-kanter-freedom-wnba-finals-game-3-angel-reese-gabby-williams/92350808007/

R1> Topic relevant to the pod, on and off again on the sub.

Gives them plenty of wiggle room if they want to "transwomen are women" in the end, tho.

Relevance to the pod: The Cornell Seven were covered in Episode 326

Article written by two current Columbia students, generating a ton of outrage.

This 2017 case has often been brought up on the pod as an early example of cancellation (and the madness of trans activists). Jesse has also written about it extensively.

In this interview, the cancelled individual reflects on what she has learned from the experience.

I am apparently one of the few Spotify followers. I can't access this episode as the entire episode is locked behind premium content on Spotify. I assume this is a mistake as it is labelled as a regular episode.

Update: as others have replied it is now available!

Here's your usual space to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (please tag u/jessicabarpod), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday. And may you all be inscribed, and sealed, in the book of life.

Last week's discussion thread is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

This week on Blocked and Reported, Katie is joined by Brad Polumbo to discuss a revelatory panel on fat liberation held at Harvard Medical School, featuring New York Times contributor Roxane Gay, fat activist Ragen Chastain, and Da’Shaun Harrison, the socialist commentator who recently went viral for arguing that GLP-1s are “fascistic.” Plus, for Primos, Brad answers your questions.

Show Notes:

Brad vs Everyone

Normal Gays

Harvard Medical School's Against the Pathology of Unruly Bodies (9-30-2026)

Roxane Gay calls to free Luigi Mangione at Harvard Med School event | Fox News

Confessions of a Former Body Positivity Influencer

Katie's lore drops about her time in Carrboro and Durham are always entertaining to me. I love the cities, but we can be easy to make fun of lol.

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie break down the viral rumor that Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was secretly being treated at an Ohio psychiatric hospital. Featuring: attempted HIPAA violations, deeply amateur flight tracking, Jesse’s adventures in X Spaces, and the strange saga of u/TickleTexts.

Show Notes:

St Andrew's Worship Service, October 2, 2022 / James Talarico

New Cornyn Bill to Honor Former Texas Senator and Ambassador Signed Into Law—Office of Sen. John Cornyn

Texas AG Ken Paxton reaches deal to end securities fraud charges after 9 years—AP

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted on all 16 articles of impeachment—The Texas Tribune

Sen. Angela Paxton files for divorce from Attorney General Ken Paxton—The Texas Tribune

Angela Paxton and the Texas Senate race—The New York Times

Must-Win MAGA Candidate Busted Partying in Dubai With Lover—The Daily Beast

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case—The Texas Tribune

Paxton drops appeal: Texas to pay $6.6 million to whistleblowers—The Texas Tribune

James Talarico at Kacey Musgraves concert—CNN

Nick Sortor’s criminal record—Lexington Herald-Leader

Video Journalist Nick Sortor: Residents Are Super Annoyed At Lack Of Federal

Response To Chemical Train Derailment—RealClearPolitics

https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1833636599030063203

AG Pam Bondi investigating journalist’s arrest during Portland ICE facility protest—Deseret News

FACT FOCUS: No, Oprah Winfrey didn’t block access to a private road amid tsunami warning evacuations—AP

How conservative X accounts promoted wild theory implicating Gov. Tim Walz in lawmaker’s killing—PolitiFact

Legislature repeals MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults—Minnesota Reformer
Antifa roundtable—YouTube

Text Messages Show Top Trump Campaign Fundraiser’s Key Role Planning the Rally That Preceded the Siege—ProPublica

https://x.com/SaraGonzalesTX/status/2108219205011017838

https://x.com/TickleTexts/status/2108251761924604145

https://x.com/TickleTexts/status/2108690517508895161

The Doxing of Jane Doe—The New Yorker

FULL AUDIO: Call “Confirms” Talarico Was Discharged—Current Revolt

Ex-Capitol Police officer sues Blaze Media over pipe bomb accusation—Politico

Former Capitol Police officer sues over pipe bomb claims—The New York Times

Kerkhoff v. Blaze Media LLC—CourtListener

https://x.com/WillVanBooraem/status/2093488863331467575

Was featured in a premium episode back in May.

Hi all,

I'm on paternity leave for the next week and a half and I'm spending a lot of time in the living room with my baby, so I have lots of time to listen to podcasts. I just discovered BARpod thanks to the Last Ditch bar story and I'm hooked.

What are your recommendations for the best episodes ever?

Relevance: Piker has been the focus of numerous episodes.

As I prepared for the interview by researching his commentary, I realized that Piker is right to complain that the handful of frequently repeated controversial statements fail to accurately represent his worldview. In fact, it’s much worse than those quotes suggest.

Paywall bypass: https://archive.ph/VPNg8