Can Violent Racists Kick Their Addiction to Hate?
The Mother Jones Podcast
Mother Jones
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 11 July 2018
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Shane Johnson was born into the Ku Klux Klan—now he works to convince others not to join hate groups. How did he get out? And what can we learn from his story?
Mother Jones senior editor Wes Enzinna shares exclusive audio from his interviews with the former KKK leader. It's a fascinating conversation that explores the difficulties of leaving hate groups and how violent extremism can be similar to addiction.
Later in this episode, DC Bureau Chief David Corn explains why President Donald Trump's behavior makes him feel like we're in the "upside down world in Stranger Things." Plus he gives us a big update in the Russia investigation — and it doesn't bode well for Trump.
Follow us on Twitter: @MoJoPodcast.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Oh, hey, we've got a great show for you today on the Mother Jones podcast. But before we get started, |
| 0:07.0 | I wanted to tell you about another podcast. The Outside Podcast brings Outside Magazine's tradition of literary storytelling into the audio world. |
| 0:16.9 | Their science of survival series presents sound-rich, immersive stories about how people endure extraordinary events. |
| 0:24.0 | In an upcoming episode, the Outside Podcast investigates the myths and realities of wildfires in the U.S. |
| 0:31.0 | Why does the West catch fire each summer? |
| 0:34.9 | And are we fighting these fires correctly? |
| 0:38.2 | Listen to the outside podcast at outside online.com, |
| 0:43.0 | on iTunes or anywhere podcasts are found. |
| 0:48.5 | And now for the Mother Jones Podcasts. |
| 0:52.0 | And now for the Mother Jones podcast. I'm Jamila King in New York. |
| 0:57.0 | On this week's show, we explore what it takes to de-radicalize white |
| 1:04.0 | supremacists. They meet a person who overturns their stereotypes. |
| 1:07.7 | Hear from a man waking up from a lifetime of hate. |
| 1:10.7 | It's flat out embarrassing. The fact that I believe that shit, the fact that I lived it, and the fact that I was so extreme with it, but if you tell the truth, people won't want to join. |
| 1:20.0 | And what can happen when you renounce that life? |
| 1:23.0 | And then I'm fetal position, and I'm getting a goddamn life kicked out of me, dude. |
| 1:27.0 | Plus we ask, can you ever really leave? |
| 1:31.0 | The task is not to think you can fully erase the influence of white supremacy on your way of thinking |
| 1:36.9 | but you have to acknowledge it to fight against those impulses and we help you make sense of one of the most important and confusing stories in the news. |
| 1:46.2 | You know what, Putin's fine. |
| 1:48.2 | It's like we're in the upside-down world in stranger things. |
| 1:54.0 | First, when President Donald Trump signals to white supremacists, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Mother Jones, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Mother Jones and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

