Brand’s podcast guests have remained loyal despite the constant threat of being silenced. In an industry filled with individuals claiming to speak the unspeakable, Brand stands out as a defiant figure, staying free despite the intentions of a mysterious “they.” Matt Taibbi, a writer, expressed his belief in Brand’s resilience, stating on Substack in October that “the cancelers of the world seem with each passing week to become more and more crap at their jobs,” while promoting his interview with the visibly alive Russell Brand.
Teasing an upcoming interview with Alex Jones from Infowars, who believes the assault allegations against Brand are part of a grand conspiracy, Brand hinted at a connection between them. “Have you noticed,” he said, using air quotes, “how many of the wild Alex Jones ‘conspiracy theories’ have come to pass?”
Above all, Brand is testing a captivating type of freedom before an audience that holds the word in high regard. Since YouTube started blocking his profits, Brand has hinted at facing financial difficulties and expressed the importance of direct support from his viewers on Rumble. If Brand’s strategy succeeds, if he can thrive without the institutions that previously sustained him, the collaborators who abandoned him, and the former fans who may now cringe at his movie scenes, there is a newfound power in that freedom, and a fresh sense of freedom in that power.
On October 26, Brand informed his listeners, “We’re planning a movement so that we can form new communities as the apocalypse apparently unfolds before our very eyes. Without you, we are nothing.” The episode then shifted to another aspiring movement leader: Vivek Ramaswamy, who was the first presidential candidate to appear on Brand’s show after the allegations. Campaigning in Iowa, Ramaswamy called for a “great uprising” against establishment forces. “It’s when they tell you to shut up that you have to actually grow the spine to be more vocal than ever,” Ramaswamy declared.
Brand responded admirably, stating, “I can see why there would be an appetite to censor you.” He thanked his guest for raising the level of conversation in his “stream of freedom” and teased future episodes, including discussions about the Covid lab-leak theory, another chat with Jordan Peterson, and the necessity for radicalism in politics. Brand concluded with a promise, raising his hands, “Next week, the revolution will grow a little stronger.”